Do I own the earliest UK registered Boxster?

[Daboy3000]

On the 1st December 2022 my car became 26 years old.  It wasn't until a facebook post and a chat with a car journalist from the 90s that I started realising how early my car is.  It was in fact registered in the UK before both the press cars used for Autocar, Top Gear Mag etc.  Going by the chassis of 1129 it was actually built after P159 EGM (press car and BoXa members car).  But why registered before?

I have contacted Porsche GB to see if they can help but so far have only come back with help regarding service history.

Does anyone have any ideas on how to find out more or do you own an earlier registered car?

Lastly, if mine is really the first or one of the first, does that affect it's value?

[brillomaster]

yep definitely worth a lot less, as early cars will likely have problems that were ironed out or improved as the build progresses.

I'd certainly never consider one of the first cars off the production line, it'll be riddled with problems 😈 😄

[Menoporsche]

Ssh.  He bought it really cheap with various problems.   Don't rub it in  

 

 

Srsly - I wouldn't expect that to affect its value much. A bit of novelty maybe.

[Daboy3000]

Thanks @brillomaster love the positivity.

At 135k, most the problems have come and gone. But as i paid £1500 it's irrelevant. 

[edc]

If it was a museum piece or had a bunch of documents telling the story that might be worth something. 

[Boxob]

@the baron's car is an early one - 1996 IIRC.

[Cybot7]

5 hours ago, Daboy3000 said:

Thanks @brillomaster love the positivity.

At 135k, most the problems have come and gone. But as i paid £1500 it's irrelevant. 

A good buy. 

[Daboy3000]

7 minutes ago, Cybot7 said:

A good buy. 

As it turns out, was a bit of a gamble at the time though. lol

[Cybot7]

17 minutes ago, Daboy3000 said:

As it turns out, was a bit of a gamble at the time though. lol

I’m envious. I’ve only had my 2003 manual 986s for 4 months but I reckon it’s the most enjoyable car I’ve ever owned. If I had space I’d get another. 

[Daboy3000]

7 minutes ago, Cybot7 said:

I’m envious. I’ve only had my 2003 manual 986s for 4 months but I reckon it’s the most enjoyable car I’ve ever owned. If I had space I’d get another. 

I had a '98 2.5 in 2010, sold it in a moment of madness and regretted it until I bought a '98 911 3.4 in 2017 but had to sell that to buy a house.  I didn't think I would ever be able to have another 986/996 as the prices were rising, then I saw this old lump for sale, 5 mins away for £2,200.  I just thin these cars just keep getting better looking, nevermind how great they drive. 

I only use mine every now and again for local stuff, I always feel disappointed approaching home, wishing I had more places I needed to go! 

[Daboy3000]

Got an email back from Porsche GB today

"Regarding the provenance of your Porsche Boxster, and whilst it is genuinely a pleasure to read that our older models remain on the roads, it is with this and the vehicle’s age that renders the information to its history as being hard to find physically documented.

You may wish to reach out to Porsche Club GB.  Whilst not affiliated with Porsche, they may be able to provide you more advice.  Their contact number is 01608 652 911.

I hope the above has assisted you in some way and I wish you the very best."

Oh well.  I'll give PCGB a call, see what they say.

[Menoporsche]

3 hours ago, Daboy3000 said:

I only use mine every now and again for local stuff, I always feel disappointed approaching home, wishing I had more places I needed to go! 

I’m a bit like that, I think there are a few others here who can empathize. 

[dunks]

11 hours ago, Daboy3000 said:

On the 1st December 2022 my car became 26 years old.  It wasn't until a facebook post and a chat with a car journalist from the 90s that I started realising how early my car is.  It was in fact registered in the UK before both the press cars used for Autocar, Top Gear Mag etc.  Going by the chassis of 1129 it was actually built after P159 EGM (press car and BoXa members car).  But why registered before?

 

The chassis numbers for the european cars from 01.08.1996  are  98-VS600061 >98-VS610000 so potentially 1068 before yours... But certainly an early one

[Southy]

Now is it a Stuttgart or Valmet car? 

 

[½cwt]

35 minutes ago, Southy said:

Now is it a Stuttgart or Valmet car? 

 

Valmet cars didn't come online until 98 MY (designated bay a W), so are 98WU600061 onwards.

[Daboy3000]

10 hours ago, Southy said:

Now is it a Stuttgart or Valmet car? 

 

As halfcute says. It's a stuttgart car. 

[½cwt]

15 minutes ago, Daboy3000 said:

As halfcute says. It's a stuttgart car. 

halfcute ??!!??  Its ½cwt or halfcwt please ,dear chap!

[Daboy3000]

34 minutes ago, ½cwt said:

halfcute ??!!??  Its ½cwt or halfcwt please ,dear chap!

Lol, I'm sure it is. At least i didn't use halfwit. 

[Menoporsche]

I thought it was rather sweet  

[Daboy3000]

PCGB couldn't help. They suggested contacting the supplying dealer.  I think it was registered in Birmingham as the last letters of the reg are OX.  I just can't think what a receptionist, service or salesperson could realistically do to help.  If someone had phone me when I work in a dealership I would have just referred them to head office.

[edc]

What exactly are you looking for? Old service records won't add much to the 'premium' value. 

[½cwt]

It is more a case of how do you find an earlier car?  The only definitive place would be DVLA but they will only give information on a specific vehicle and even then only if you are the keeper. Porsch Classic at Stuttgart may be able to tell you when and which cars were the first delivered to the UK, but you will be working with VINs then which is rather trickier that reg nos.

Whatever, if you have a 1 Dec 1996 registration date you blow apart this thread on PH:

First UK Porsche Boxster P159 EGM - Page 1 - Boxster/Cayman - PistonHeads UK

According to the DVLA MOT look up, P159 EGM registered 5 Dec '96 and P168 EGM on 6 Jan '97 but I believe 168 has an earlier chassis number.  I note that 1 Dec 1996 was a Sunday so a hard-working dealer getting a car out of the door on a Sunday back in 1996.

[Daboy3000]

That's strange, date of registration is when you go to the dvla office to register the vehicle(certainty was in 2000). We always did this before the car was collected and they were never open Sundays as far as I know. 

[Daboy3000]

I had to double check, that Sunday date is odd. 

[½cwt]

1 minute ago, Daboy3000 said:

I had to double check, that Sunday date is odd. 

That's why I mentioned it.  DVLA are known to make errors, 10/12/1996 possibly?? when it was keyed in from the document.  I've tried a couple of times in the past to get my full name Christopher corrected on my DL which says Christpher (no 'o' for those that don't spot it).  Might give it another go now it is all digital not paper based, and it was a pain when I tried to renew my DL photocard online recently and the docs didn't match with my passport...