A few weeks I took a look at one of the most jarring Porsche interiors I have run across with a 1999 911 up for sale in San Diego. It wasn’t so much that the Jade Green was all that ugly, but rather the Burl Wood that was plastered everywhere clashed so much with the Jade and the rest of the interior. Add in the fact that the car is automatic, has 166,000 miles and isn’t priced all that well, you can probably guess what it is still for sale. Most of you in the comments seemed to agree with my thoughts on that 996 as well judging by the reaction that it got. Although one commenter (Thanks JonnyA) passed along another late ’90s Porsche with a green interior that still has loads of green leather, but isn’t nearly as gaudy or off-putting. This 1997 Boxster up for sale outside of Dallas features Nephrite Green leather and even better, has just 8,900 miles. Is this a better option if you still want an inexpensive Porsche with a wild interior?
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1997 Porsche Boxster at True Car
Year: 1997
Model: Boxster
Engine: 2.5 liter flat-6
Transmission: 5-speed manual
Mileage: 8,872 mi
Price: $15,688
1997 Porsche Boxster Roadster * Less than 9K Miles MILES * 1 of 67 made with this color combination * Original Owner * NO ACCIDENTS * Flat 6 2.5L 6 Cylinder Engine. 5 Speed Manual Transmission. Leather Seats. Power Windows. Power Locks. Power Mirrors. Cruise Control. Power hard top!!! Power top works great and we have so many goodies to go with it (Front bra, side mirrors cover, car cover, front dash cover, both keys, owners manual mats etc)
Yes this is a 1 Owner Porsche with less than 9K Miles. Let me repeat 1 Owner with under 9K Miles! Show Room Condition. This is just an amazing car! This Car NEEDS NOTHING. This car comes with a TEXAS clean title!!! Power top works great and we have so many goodies to go with it (Front bra, mirror cover, car cover, front dash cover, both keys, owners manual mats etc).
Jumping straight into the interior, you can see that painted silver plastic looks much better than the faux wood from the 996. Nephrite Green looks like a slightly lighter shade of green than Jade, so I don’t think it smacks you in the face quite as hard when you first look at it. The 8,872 miles probably has a lot do with how pleasant the car looks and I’m curious if I’d still look at it this way if it had 118,872 miles given the way the first generation Boxsters have held up. The rest of the car looks just about perfect and it even has a bunch of other cool like things like the factory front bra and mirror covers as well as a dash cover.
Prices for these early 986s are probably at rock bottom and I don’t see them really going anywhere anytime soon. They are a cheap way to get your hair blown around and that is about it. Seems crazy that the earliest Boxsters are over 20 years-old now and now new Boxsters are selling for over $100,000 given Porsches propensity to charge you air in the tires. I would say $15,000 is fair for this example given the miles and a decent pre-facelift is going to be around that $10,000 mark and you could maybe hope for these to creep up in value over the years. If you are someone who likes first generation Boxsters, this one would be tough to beat all things considered.
– Andrew
What’s the gauge on the driver’s side A-pillar?
Exterior looks great. I could not live with that interior though.
That interior makes my stomach queasy. I’d also be concerned that it has so few miles. Ridiculously few miles for its age. Maybe staring at that interior as you drive gets old. Maybe. Did the early Boxters have the IMS problem?
@Frank. I forgot to mention that. Looks like an aftermarket volt gauge? Those were popular back in the Fast & Furious days.
I’m used to seeing the Porsche option codes and explanation on BAT. To my untrained eye, this looks like a poverty-spec Boxster. Sure, low miles means it’s pretty unused, but you have the potential IMS problem as WoodieMan mentioned, and I’d check the date codes on all of the tires.
I’m just not seeing the value in this one. Could be the photos or the color combo, but 15k buys more Boxster if you’re willing to have more miles. I don’t think this will be a true collectible, so don’t expect massive appreciation – maybe a gradual rise in value over time. In other words, only buy it if you love this particular example. @E88Guy, I tried to pull the build sheet on this but nothing came up in VINAnalytics. I don’t remember this being a standard interior for these.
So…I’m seeing some BAT defectors. Only one IMS comment so far. Internet wisdom would say too few miles to assess the risk of the dreaded “epic fail” which negates the low-mileage premium. I don’t know, I really dig the color combo and would be willing to roll the dice and offer $11k and see what happens. I’ve seen this car on other sites, just can’t remember where or when. Time will tell.
@Euromoto too much noise on BaT
@Jeff: copy that. It’s not the site it used to be, that’s for sure. They’re making money hand-over-fist but there’s not much wisdom to be found there anymore.
@E88Guy – Nephrite Green was a $2,380 option on the base Boxster in ’97-98. Option code is JA. ‘Boxster Red’ (MA) was in the same category. Both were the top-tier color options for the car.
Re: IMS – from my research, the pre-2000s have a claimed lower failure rate, as do the post ’05s. As suggested, the mileage on this one is probably too low to say “it’s safe”, but the suggested failure rate varies between 5% and 20%, with 10% being the quoted figure. Roll the dice?
Unless you just have to have that green, a nice low miles 2001-2001 Boxster S is a much better decision at the $15k price point. The low miles just don’t mean much in such a volume car at this point. Maybe someday…
I just bought it. I also have a low mileage 2008 RS60 Spyder version, silver on Carrera Red. With this silver on green I’m gonna have me a Christmas colored Boxter love fest. Low miles rule. The depreciation stops.
Congrats, Ben! We would love to hear more!
Please do not take this listing down. I will have some very interesting news regarding this car shortly.
Looking forward to it, Ben!
I ended up buying this car about two months ago sight unseen because of the low mileage. I though I could trusr the owner. Boy was I wrong! Shaun the owner assured me that the car was flawless and needed nothing cosmetically or mechanically. Well to say that he wasn’t telling the truth is an understatement. Nearly every panel on the car had body damage. I specifically told Shaun that I was keeping the vehicle as a collector.There are also many other things in the car that did not work. IInstead of him accepting the car back with me willing to pay for the shipping both ways the owner charge me a $2800 penalty in order to take the car back. This disingenuous unfair way of dealing with me really upset me. Then I found out another individual was treated in the same shoddy way. Unless you want to car that has paint blemishes everywhere and looks like it’s been through a hailstorm I would steer clear of this Wreck and these unscrupulous people at paradisei Auto of Arlington.
Horrible to hear, Ben! Thanks for sharing your warning and I hope you have a better experience soon to make up for it!