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Message: Re: Pricing my Boxter

Changed By: longislander1
Change Date: May 13, 2011 12:13PM

Re: Pricing my Boxter
I think MarcW has the best answer. You need to market the car for its strong points, especially the fact that when the '05 was introduced, it was considered one of the world's best handling cars regardless of price. Go back and look at some of the original road tests and quote from them in the body of your ad. Link to some of the most favorable video road tests on YouTube. If you have a friend who's in marketing or PR, ask him/her to take a look at what you've written. I also agree that you need to go to Panorama as well as regional PCA sites. You should also be on autotrader with a slew of photos. Just advertising your car on this board simply isn't enough. And you should be clear that your asking price is negotiable. You should also take your Porsche to car shows and put a "for sale" sign in the window.

There's also nothing to prevent you from putting up a Facebook page on your car and posting about the wonderful experiences of owning it (posting the link to the Facebook page in your ads). You can also set up an accompanying Twitter account. I'm doing those things right now as part of my effort to sell my home. I know all of this sounds like a lot of work, but it's not always easy to sell a car privately.

I also think you're feeling the effect of something that will hit all owners of '05s -- the potential for serious engine problems. You probably know that if you go to Consumer Reports, you will see "much worse than average" ratings for the '05 on major and minor engine issues. A newbie who sees that might very well want to stay a million miles away from your car. I know I would. And most Porsche enthusiasts will probably already know about those problems. I've been roundly criticized about the effect of the engine problems on resale values, but I think your situation is a perfect example. You have a car that is, by all other measures, an incredible machine, yet you'll probably have to let it go in the low $20K range (if that), when it would be worth so much more without the IMS stigma. I got $20K for my 10-year-old 968, but I bet you probably won't do much better with your six-year-old Boxster. It's really a shame. Nevertheless, I'm sure there are some people out there who are willing to overlook the engine issue -- or are still unaware of it. You may also want to go to Planet 9 and ask advice there. That forum also has some good folks and the view of IMS failures over there is a little more balanced and far less emotional.
(Plus, I doubt any of the folks over there will call you "slow." It's supposed to be "about the people" on this board, but . . . well, sometimes not.)

Best of luck with your sale.

Original Message

Author: longislander1
Date: May 13, 2011 12:06PM

Re: Pricing my Boxter
I think MarcW has the best answer. You need to market the car for its strong points, especially the fact that when the '05 was introduced, it was considered one of the world's best handling cars regardless of price. Go back and look at some of the original road tests and quote from them in the body of your ad. Link to some of the most favorable video road tests on YouTube. If you have a friend who's in marketing or PR, ask him/her to take a look at what you've written. I also agree that you need to go to Panorama as well as regional PCA sites. You should also be on autotrader with a slew of photos. Just advertising your car on this board simply isn't enough. And you should be clear that your asking price is negotiable. You should also take your Porsche to car shows and put a "for sale" sign in the window.

There's also nothing to prevent you from putting up a Facebook page on your car and posting about the wonderful experiences of owning it (posting the link to the Facebook page in your ads). You can also set up an accompanying Twitter account. I'm doing those things right now as part of my effort to sell my home. I know all of this sounds like a lot of work, but it's not always easy to sell a car privately.

I also think you're feeling the effect of something that will hit all owners of '05s -- the potential for serious engine problems. You probably know that if you go to Consumer Reports, you will see "much worse than average" ratings for the '05 on major and minor engine issues. A newbie who sees that might very well want to stay a million miles away from your car. I know I would. And most Porsche enthusiasts will probably already know about those problems. I've been roundly criticized about the effect of the engine problems on resale values, but I think your situation is a perfect example. You have a car that is, by all other measures, an incredible machine, yet you'll probably have to let it go in the low $20K range (if that), when it would be worth so much more without the IMS stigma. I got $20K for my 10-year-old 968, but I bet you probably won't do much better with your six-year-old Boxster. It's really a shame. Nevertheless, I'm sure there are some people out there who are willing to overlook the engine issue -- or are still unaware of it. You may also want to go to Planet 9 and ask advice there. That forum also has some good folks and the view of IMS failures over there is a little more balanced and far less emotional.

Best of luck with your sale.