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Valuation · Porsche · 981 · 2012-16
Porsche Boxster S
3.4L NA flat six · 232 kW / 370 Nm · 6sp manual/PDK · RWD
CONSIDERRated within the $30k to $100k band · 70 of 94 at this money
Model value
$58,000
Must gain each year to break even
+9.9%
The projection does not clear it, and nor does most of the library.
CarQuant score
51/100
Scored against the $30k to $100k band, not the whole library
Evidence grade
Thin
One to three recorded Australian sales
$58,000
$33,260 lowhigh $55,192
Modelled estimate
No recorded Australian sale stands behind this figure. Treat the level as indicative and the structure as the analysis.
Measured across this library, a value resting on a single Australian result runs high about six times in ten, by a median of five per cent.
Looking at a Boxster for sale?
Put in the asking price and the odometer reading. You will see what this model should make at that reading.
Should make, typical example
$58,000
At about 110,000 km. Enter an asking price to compare.
Odometer only. Colour, options, history, condition and the photographs move it further, and that is what the report reads.
A person reads the advertisement and its photographs. Usually back within 48 hours. Read a real listing report
Price history
Today $58,000 · modelled median at five years $46,145
Solid line: the value this library has carriedDashed from 2026: modelled · even money $39,367 to $50,904
The green band is the even-money range and the one to plan on: half of outcomes land inside it. The pale band behind it bounds eight in ten ($33,260 to $55,192). The path is this model's own: it starts along the momentum of its recorded history and bends toward its projected median as the horizon lengthens, so no two cars share a future curve.
The verdict
A defensible case with reservations. Scores 51/100, ranking 70 of 94 in the $30k to $100k band. Risk resilience is the strongest input, scarcity the weakest.
Running it costs about $6,050 a year (10.4% of value), which is what the economics score measures. All in, including the projected value change, it is $9,185 a year.
The model's five year median is $46,145, a -20.4% move, with the tenth percentile at $33,260.
Value calibrated to a thin record. Treat the level as provisional.
Evidence
Thin1 recorded sale
Off its peak
-45%
Value band
moderate
No external evidence. A modelled estimate whose structure is more useful than its level.
Scored against every recent Australian sale this library holds, half its values land within 11.2 per cent of the price paid and the rest miss by more, in either direction. Projections are therefore damped toward flat in proportion to how little is known, and the plausible band is never narrower than the error the model is known to make.
Short term (1-5 years)$9,185 a year all in, -20.4% median value move
Long term (10-15 years)Scarcity case already formed
Negotiate from$58,000
Recorded sales
Every recorded observation, and when
3 rows on record$73k$61k$49k
20252026
the value this record published, year by yearnow $58ksoldaskingcontext, excluded2 rows sit off this scale. Open the list below to see them.
Every row, with its price and note (3) ↓
2026ASK$94,900Asking
ASKING. 28,918km S, AutoHaus Hamilton, Jul 2026. A listing, not a transaction
2025Collecting Cars$51,200Sold
SOLD. 17 Dec 2025, Warner QLD, 92,092km, base
2024Collecting Cars$110,500Context, excluded
SOLD. 8 Apr 2024, Fortitude Valley QLD, 56,349km, GTS - a tier above this record, context only
1 completed Australian sale of 3 rows. Rows marked asking, no sale, or context are shown for honesty but do not count toward the evidence grade: an ask is not a transaction, a pass-in is a refusal, and a provenance or overseas result does not price the ordinary local car. The badge on every row is computed by the same rule as the grade, so the two cannot drift apart.
Score breakdown
Against the $30k to $100k band median
94 cars in band · ink tick marks the medianOwnership economics30% of total
54/100-1
Scarcity25% of total
27/100-26
Demand durability20% of total
58/100-8
Liquidity15% of total
60/100+8
Risk resilience10% of total
70/100+34
Sub-scores run 0-100 before weighting; the weighted total is 51/100. Medians are computed live from the 94 cars currently in the $30k to $100k band, so this picture moves when the library does.
The working behind each factor: baseline and drivers ↓
Ownership economics30% weight
54/100Baseline80 pts
− 10.4% of value a year to run-26 pts
Sub-score (baseline plus drivers, clamped 0-100)54 pts
Scarcity25% weight
27/100Baseline22 pts
+ 438 registered in Australia, still relatively available+5 pts
Sub-score (baseline plus drivers, clamped 0-100)27 pts
Demand durability20% weight
58/100Baseline44 pts
+ Mid-engine balance and flat-six soundtrack widely praised+14 pts
Sub-score (baseline plus drivers, clamped 0-100)58 pts
Liquidity15% weight
60/100Baseline44 pts
+ Active market, 32 days on market+16 pts
Sub-score (baseline plus drivers, clamped 0-100)60 pts
Risk resilience10% weight
70/100Baseline58 pts
+ 981 generation resolved the earlier IMS bearing issue+12 pts
Sub-score (baseline plus drivers, clamped 0-100)70 pts
Model output, not advice or a valuation. Verify independently before acting.
What it costs to own · about 9,167 km a year
Annual cost of access, excl. fuel
$6,050a year
Share of value per year
10.4%
Scheduled servicing$1,45024%
Tyres, annualised$1,05017%
Registration and CTP$80013%
Insurance$1,65027%
Sinking fund (failure table)$1,10018%
All-in annualised (a different number)
Purchase (model value plus duty)$60,320
Running costs × 5 years$30,250
Median exit, net of selling cost$44,645
All-in annualised over 5 years$9,185/yr
Share of value per year15.8%
Cost of access is what the car costs to run. All-in annualised adds depreciation, duty and selling costs across a five year hold. They answer different questions and are labelled separately for that reason.
Break-even appreciation, 5 year hold
9.9%a year, only to get the money back
This library projects
-4.5%a year
The projection falls 14.4 points a year short of the hurdle. On these assumptions this car is a cost, not an asset, which can be an entirely rational thing to buy but should be bought knowing it.
Purchase$58,000
Stamp duty$2,320
Running costs x 5 years$30,250
Selling cost at exit, 2.6% of the salescales with price
Sale price needed at +5 years$92,975
Storage
Bought at
No forecast is used to compute the hurdle. It is the purchase, the duty, any premium and 5 years of running cost, grossed up for the cost of selling and spread back over the hold. The projection it is measured against is the weakest number in this product and is drawn that way in the chart above. Transport, finance and any restoration spend sit outside it.
Specification
Engine3.4L NA flat six
Power / torque232 kW / 370 Nm
0-100 km/h5 s
Transmission6sp manual/PDK
DriveRWD
Kerb weight1,385 kg
Built worldwide45,000
Delivered to Australia1,800
Effective AU survivors438
Australian sales / year95
Typical days on market32 days
Launch price$152,000
What moves the price on this model
Colour hierarchy
GT Silver Metallic+3%
Guards Red+4%
Black-1%
Options
Manual over PDK+5%
PASM adaptive suspension+3%
Sport Chrono package+2%
Odometer sensitivity±1.6% per 10,000 km vs 110,000 km
Applied on top of these
Condition, history, originality, ownership, delivery and modification multipliers apply to every car in the library. They are applied automatically when an advertisement is analysed, and the schedule is set out once, on the analyser page.
Projected value in five years
Projected value at five years
$46,145
-20.4% on today
The model's figure. Today it is $58,000.
Even odds it lands between $39,367 and $50,904.
$33,260 lowhigh $55,192
The shaded range is even money and 29% wide; the outer figures bound eight outcomes in ten. Band width follows the evidence - a model with a tight measured record carries a tight band.
A weaker five year outlook than 93% of the library.
-26.6% weakest projected move in the librarystrongest +73.1%
Five-year cost of ownership
Value change alone: -$11,855 across five years.
Running costs over the same period: $30,250.
Duty and expected selling costs: $3,820.
Net cost of five years of ownership: $45,925, or $9,185 a year.
The projected value fall is added to the running cost. Depreciation is the larger number here.
The case for and against
The case for
The 981 generation resolved the IMS bearing issue that affected earlier Boxsters, removing the biggest historical risk factor for buyers. The mid-engine chassis balance and flat-six soundtrack are widely praised and the market is active at 32 days on market.
The case against
At an estimated 1,500 AU survivors it is not a scarce car, and values have fallen from their 2016 peak before stabilising. Specialist Porsche servicing costs remain a meaningful ongoing expense regardless of the resolved reliability issues.
Known faults and risks
Risk 1Convertible top mechanism wear
Risk 2Coolant pipe/expansion tank age-related failure
Risk 3Specialist servicing cost
Convertible top mechanism service$1,200
Coolant system overhaul$1,500
Clutch replacement (manual)$1,800
Similar cars, and what they cost to run
Evidence behind this valueThin · 1 recorded sale
Carried value
$58,000
Historical price
2016 · $105,0002026 · $58,000
Thin
No external evidence. A modelled estimate whose structure is more useful than its level.
One counted Australian result, a GTS a tier above it, and a dealer ask
$51,200 at 92,092km for a base car in December 2025 is the only row this record counts. $110,500 at 56,349km for a GTS in April 2024 belongs to the tier above and is held as context, and a 28,918-kilometre S was last asking $94,900 through a dealer in July 2026. The base result taken out to the 110,000 kilometres this record expects supports about $46,000, and the S sits above that; the value moves $68,000 to $58,000.
Read the rest of the evidence notes (2 more)
One point, one tier-above result and an ask is not a curve,
And no distance penalty is fitted from them.
The GTS is a tier up,
Exactly as it is on the Cayman record. SOURCING: aggregator-surfaced results, unconfirmed against the auction house, the weakest evidence grade here.
This page prices the model.
The report prices the car in the advertisement.
The report prices the car in the advertisement.
Send the link. A person reads the advertisement and its photographs and sends back what that Porsche Boxster S is worth, what to offer and when to walk away, with five years of costs at the distance you drive.
The evidence on this model is thin and the report says so on its cover. Read a complete one on a real car first. Seventeen sections, no account, nothing to pay.
This model, today$58,000
Half of sales are further out than$6,484
The report$249
26×
the price of the report: what half of real sales of this model sit further from this page's number than, on this car
Watch this model
Told when the next one is called.
One line of email when this desk publishes a call on a Porsche Boxster S, or records a new Australian sale of one. Nothing else, no schedule, and on a quiet model you may hear nothing for months, which is itself worth knowing about a car you are chasing.
Free. One address, one model, and no account.