A Boxster Tale

My phone rang on an early Saturday morning interrupting my oatmeal consumption. It was my father-in-law, Michael, and therefore I promptly ignored it. It rang again two minutes later, same number, and sensing urgency I answered. In a very excided way Michael begun describing that this mechanic in town which he goes to twice per year has this great Porsche for sale. I listened while desperately trying to prevent my eyes from rolling into the back of my head: “it’s a 2001, and it only has 14,000 miles on it, it’s a two-seater, it’s in great condition and he is asking $20,000 for it”. Despite my obvious efforts not to entertain this, Michael was insistent that I drive there and look at it. Fine.

The Father

My father-in-law is an Italian immigrant and the only son of a four children family. Throughout most of his life, he was depended on to take care of his sisters and later his own family. The importance of financial responsibility was therefore enforced upon him, be it by his European uprising or simply lack of funds.

He is currently a retired art teacher who runs his own small art school. He is also a sculptor and is heavily involved with local New England art community. He does not know much about cars, nor does he really care. For him cars have always been appliances and throughout his life he would only buy slightly used and cheaply priced cars and promptly run them into the ground. Those automotive purchases have been based on a strict budget set by a family of seven relying on a teacher’s salary.

The Boxster

It’s was there, parked near the street edge of a gas station/repair shop with a For Sale sign in the windshield. I looked around quickly thinking to myself “damn, this is such a wrong car for him”. I got on the ground and looked from the rear toward the engine for any sign of oil leaks. Dry. I followed the exhaust pipes toward the bumper and I was instantly wowed, “twin pipes?” I got up and I looked at the badge which clearly says “Boxster S” on it. Well, hello there.

I noticed all the subtle S cues. At first the 17″ wheel threw me a bit but later confirmed that they were in fact the proper size. The black leather interior with yellow seat belts and silver trim was like new. It seemed perfect, even the plastic rear window was in great condition. 

Owner of the Boxster, mechanic and owner of the shop, came out. He was an Italian guy, accent and deep tan included, about my age. He purchased the car two years ago from the original owner. He put about five thousand miles on it as he simply did not have the time to drive it. He is selling it to buy a new SUV for his growing family. Over the two years he kept changing the oil, replaced the tires and brake pads. He seemed very knowledgeable and insisted on taking the car to a nearby independent Porsche shop. Furthermore, he was willing to throw in a one month warranty; technically he does not have to as this would be a private sale.

His price quickly went down to $18,000. Further conversation revealed that he would be willing to go even lower. At this point I was thinking (which was later confirmed by the internet) that this is a killer deal. Too bad it was yellow and more so I was still confident that it was the completely wrong car for Michael.

The Wrong Girl

Right after leaving the sight of the Porsche I drove Michael straight to a Mazda dealership. “Here is the car for you” I said pointing to a new Miata in the showroom. “It is the same size as the Boxster, same features, same six-speed transmission and for a little more money you get a brand new car in color you choose. With it you get full warranty and your choice of low interest finance or lease which will relive you of having to remove twenty large from your bank account.”

Michael sat in it and made himself comfortable. He acknowledged that car was nice and probably a wiser choice. We even discussed some figures with the sales manager. I noticed that the whole time Michael seemed unenthusiastic, in a kind of melancholy mood, much different from a teenager-like enthusiasm he expressed for the Porsche.

The Numbers

Back home, I threw some numbers together. First was the cost of a new Miata over three years (insurance excluded), followed by the same for the cost of a used (‘06+) Miata and the Porsche. Below are the rather surprising numbers. Depreciation and maintenance values were my best conservative and realistic estimate.

	2011 Miata	2006 Miata	2001 Boxster
Cost	$13,500 (lease)	$14,000	$17,000
Maintance	$1,000	$2,000	$4,000
Depreciation	N/A	$5,000	$3,000
3-Year Cost	$14,500	$7,000	$7,000

While strictly reference, these are interesting numbers indeed. They get more interesting when the time of ownership is reduced. I presented this to Michael and his initial thought is to put off the toy purchase. Understandable.

Vino & Bruschetta

Michael started telling me some stories. In the late 50’s he was stationed throughout Europe with the U.S. Navy. For his off-duty excursions throughout the continent he needed a car. After several adventures with Fiats and French cars, he decided to get something better. He came upon a Porsche, what I can only imagine to be a James Dean-like Spyder or some kind of 356. He loved the car but his fiscal consciousness prevented him from purchasing the $4000 car. In its place he ended with up with a $1300 Beatle which he ended up bringing to the US.

At this point I realized that this is a man looking to reverse a regrettable decision. He wanted his Porsche and not some modern version of an MG. I promptly placed a call to my wife.

To Be Continued…