Best place to advertise - Page 1 - Porsche General - PistonHeads UK

I saw some figures for Autotrader the other day. Something like 90% of web users check it when looking for cars.

You could try Pistonheads!

Ah, but here's something you didn't know. If you advertise in their mag, it goes on the 'Web gratis, but if you advertise on the Web (with your own JPEG etc), it DOES NOT automatically go into the magazine. When I sold Mrs Greg's MX-5 I was most upset to find this out, so I phoned them up and ranted at them a bit, mainly because all the interest I got was a load of chimps wanting me to advertise with them... So.... HOW ABOUT SINGING FROM THE SAME HYMN SHEET !!!

I've been tracking Boxster ads on AutoTrader.co.uk for a few months now. There are normally between 70 and 90 Boxster 2.5s on there for sale at any given time. I only track RHD Boxsters within 100 miles of home (London/Surrey borders), so this may skew the figures slightly. Also, some ads don't mention engine capacity specifically, so I assume anything registered pre-2000 is a 2.5 litre unless the ad says otherwise. Boxster 2.5s on AutoTrader today: Quantity: 68 Min Price: 21,000 Avg Price: 26,589 Max Price: 31,995 If you post basic details (esp. year, transmission and mileage) I can fine-tune these figure so as to be more relevant for you. Ian. P.S. In case you're wondering - I'm busy saving for a Boxster and so have been keeping a close eye on the market!

Thanks Ian for the info. Details of my car as follows - 2.5, 1998, R reg, 19,000 miles with full AFN history, silver with full metropole blue leather interior, lux pack, aluminium gear lever/hand brake, sound pack + a few bits I can't remember ! Originally, I was interested in getting the new Boxster from AFN Reading (where the 2.5 has come from and has been serviced) but the sales reps there are just too slimy and arrogant for my liking now (and no thats not just because they insist on the 'standard' Porsche dealer mark-up of £6K+ - more to do with the 'there's a long waiting list and we don't give a s***t attitude' !).

Okay - to give you an idea of the level of supply for a Boxster similar to yours, I ran a query looking for 1998 manual Boxster 2.5s with 15-25K on the clock. (I didn't use your registration letter in the query because many ads don't mention it - just the year. And including the other details you mention would provide few, if any, exact matches.) Since the beginning of April (when I started tracking prices) there have typically been around five Boxsters for sales on AutoTrader.co.uk at any one time which match the spec I used. Cheapest advertised price over that period was £24,500; most expensive was £29,500. Average advertised price has stayed reasonably steady at between £26,500 and £27,500. Averages can be deceptive, however. For example, today there are five cars which meet the spec I used - four of them are between £25,950 and £25,999 (just £49 apart!) but one is £28,995 which pushes the average up to over £26500. About half the ads mention a full Porsche history, although this doesn't seem to affect the advertised price significantly. Your options should, however, push the price up towards the upper end of the ranges mentioned. What we can never tell from an ad though, is the condition of the car - and this obviously has an impact on price. And (finally) the last five such Boxsters to be sold (or stop being advertised) were on AutoTrader.co.uk for an average of 9 days. Hope this is of some help. Interesting. Does this mean that if I see a Boxster advertised at an OPC for, say, 30K it's likely that they bought it for about 24K? Interesting to know for negotiation! Ian.

Ian, On the Porsche dealer mark-ups, they seem to be 'justified' as follows: "cost of preparing the car (average)" - £2000 "cost of 1 years warrenty" - £1000 "salespersons commission and profit" - £3000 In my experience, Porsche dealers are somewhat like estate agents, in that they are much keener to do a deal (and helpful) in a flat market (usually the winter months for Boxsters) than in one of high demand (Spring/Summer). Sure, this is a rule you could apply to any business - but seems particularly true for Porsche dealers ! Good luck with your Boxster purchase - by the way, if I can interest you in mine (will be for sale in early July) just drop me a line.

I must admit that I have been talking to AFN reading about a 996 C2/4 or Box S. I have found them most helpful and not at all arrogant. I have had test various drives and visits and have been suprised with how freindly and helpful they have been. My expectations were for arrogance, smarmyness etc but I have been pleasingly surprised.

Kris - you looking new or used? How flexible have AFN Reading been on pricing - or hasn't it got to that stage yet? (By the way - the bad things I've heard about AFN have tended to be about AFN Guilford.) (I hope to be hitting the dealers in the next couple of weeks (need to get a new contract first - current one runs out on Friday!) but would need to get about 10% off an OPC advertised price for a used '99 Boxster 2.5 for it to be within budget. I doubt I'll achieve that and so will probably end up buying privately.)

No not yet, I have to sell a Cerbera first before I get down to pricing details. However, one of the main attractions of a OPC such as AFN is their financing schemes so I guess that such a scheme will limit my negotiating power. I would say that it is worth making an offer anyway and see what response you get. Business is a bit slow for most right now so you may be surprised.

I was surprised by AFN Reading's attitude as well - I got my first Boxster from them and they were refreshingly pleasant to deal with at the time. I think it comes down to who you get deal with and their sales manager. Incidentally, I've always found their service department excellent - apart from one one notable incident when they managed to cock up on 4 different items !

Regarding AFN Reading, just to chip in my dealings with them have been excellent. They have carried out all the work on my C4 on time, to an exceptionally hight standard (to be expected I know) and most suprisingly, under budget! My advise is like in any other business transaction... build a relationship. We all are looking for that long-term client, not a quick win and I would imagine they are no different.

Need to sell my Boxster 2.5 to fund a Boxster S, or even possibly a TVR Grif. Has anyone got any tips or advice on the best place to advertise these things - otherwise it'll be my usual advertising haunt of the Sunday Times.