[Steve 82SC]

I posted this on the Boxster BBS, but there doesn't seem to be a great amount of traffic on there, so, I'll repost it here. I don't have a canidate at this time, but I'm on the borderline of considering a used Boxster for my wife. The car would be used year around, other than in deep snow that low bodywork might create an issue and would have a winter wheel and tire package. I figure a low mileage 2001, 02, or possibly 03 would be affordable. At most, even if used 12 months a year, the car would see no more than 4000 miles. I was leaning towards buying it from a particular Porsche dealer where my friend is the senior tech....assuming the car is certifiable, he would be able to go through it and right anything that should be attended to. Here's where I need your opinions. My wife wants a Tiptronic, and these seem to be extremely scarce on dealer lots. This dealer is going to call me when a viable canidate with a Tip comes in. In thinking about it, I said to my wife that the Tip thing takes away any bargaining chip that we may have had. The dealer's attitude will be, "Here's the car with the Tip, here's the price, take it or leave it." She's agrees with my reasoning and is amenable at this point to explore the possibillity of a manual. When she has to, she drives my everyday driver (Saab), but it isn't pretty....she's way out of practice. However, she agrees that it's just a matter of driving it every day in order to be smooth. Do you agree with my reasoning regarding the Tiptronic? Also, any particular issues with particular years? The dealer certification makes me comfortable with the purchase of a used car, but have any of you had any negative or positive experience regarding private party purchases. I'd appreciate whatever you can contribute.

Thanks alot,
Steve