gkwoodfin

My '88 911 Targa took on about 18-24" of water in last weeks huge rain event and I'm looking for best advice on options to total v repair. Not sure on exact damage yet. Adjuster feels it's fixable but have not had professional eval yet. Call to local porsche advisor says don't even try to fix; too many issues/risk long term. Still waiting for tow to shop due to volume of flooded cars here. I need a game plan.

FYI- I've only owned it about a year, my first porsche and a one owner 80k mile, very nice model that I'd prefer to keep.
Thanks
gkw

theiceman

Wow thats just awefull ... 88 911 is about as god as it gets and i would want to see everyone saved .. but flood damage ( salt of fresh ? ) is a terrible thing.

Dont have any suggestions but i would buy it back after its beenwrite off and take my chances.. lets face it the electronics in this car are allmost non existant when compared to new cars.. I would try and fix it ..

gkwoodfin

Thanks for the input. So you think it will be better to fix? It was fresh water and assuming mostly electrical issues, but really don't know yet.
Options likely are:
If ins totals, buy back less salvage cost but then it's titled as salvage??
If ins says fix then proceed (or insist on totaling?), but is it really going to be ok long term?
If totaled, search for another one, but might not find one like this was pre-flood.
Maybe once I get the specialist opinion, will have better feel for decisions.

Billm

if Porsche specialist says it is fixable for certain amount make sure they are willing to fix it for that price and guarantee that everything will be fixed to your satisfaction. DO NOT sign off on anything until you are 100% satisfied.

theiceman

It is certainly NOT better to fix a flood car than to have it replaced by equivalent . But.I would try to fix one before scrapping it

awhenry

Assume the worst on a flood damage car. You will need to replace at the minimum, entire wiring harness and grounds, components, switches and accessories. You will need to clean all interior pieces, duct work and connectors. In sum, you will need to dissassemble the complete car and redo it all. If you try to piecemeal the car, just cleaning and replacing chosen items, you will be chasing shorts and smells for the remaining time with the car. Are you up to that?

theiceman

While in principle I TOTALLY agree with this and it is not for the faint of heart. I dont see our cars as having that much electronics and mumbo jumbo .. if the water didn't reach the dashboard or aboove the fuse box i would be sooo tempted to try and recover this . New engine harness and harness to the DME .. a few lights and what not. Dont get me wrong it would be a big undertraking and i would have to buy it back cheap, but i have had my car down to the tub before and it really wasn that bad.. a couple weeks work in my garage and i quite enjoyed it...

i think a couple pictures of the carnage might be good.

I did see a boxster At Hershey last year that went through katrina ( Salt water ) . The Damage was just incredible .. anything like that and forget it.

MUSSBERGER

18-24" means the water got up to the seat backs. Never mind all the mechanical and electrical problems. They don't make new interiors so what's the adjusters game plan? What type insurance did you have?

awhenry

I am glad to hear that you want to try the rebuild. Not many people have stripped and rebuilt a complete car(esp without having a box full of unused parts) but it can be done. Before I came back to Porsche, I spent over 20yrs racing various Mazda products, buying and selling salvage cars to use for parts and for cash to finance the racing. I also built 4 different race cars; two of which were very successful in their road racing class. I have messed with similar cars and just know all the downsides of that project. Good Luck to you.

gkwoodfin

Yes, it did get into the back seat but not to the dashboard and maybe not to the fuse box (not sure where that is exactly). Appeared to stop just below the door handles.
(I will try to upload some pix.)

Flood was on 4/30 and water was in for about 2 days. Just towed to local garage for initial assessment so not much more info yet. (unfortunately not to a Porsche specialist yet but I had to get them out of my garage). I do plan to get several opinions before I make my decision but initial ins adjuster comment is they are fixable not likely not totaled, but he may not realize the extent of damage.
I will get this eval and then plan to have 2nd eval by best local Euro tech once he has room in his shop next week. Unfortunately our best long term PM is battling lung CA and will not be able to help. Thats my other concern, if it is truly a repair job, who has the knowledge and can guarantee the work will last. I can't do it myself so that's out.
Since it was a one owner, 80K very clean car when I purchased Jan '13, I really hope I'm not going to lose it but I understand the risks.
Insurance is with Grundy Classic Car and they also cover my 66 Lincoln convt with same water issues. That may be an easier fix, I hope.
Thanks again for your time and interest in helping me.
Greg

Amber Gramps

My car is also an '88, one previous owner, and currently 81,000 miles. I can't see this being a total loss unless you want it to be. Insurance company is going to want to do what is easiest for them to deal with. They would rather cut a $30,000 check than hassle with 9 months of repair even if the repair bill is half that.

rusnak

Oh my. just below the exterior door handles? The list of replacements is going to be daunting.

gkwoodfin

Sorry for not clarifying. Inside door handles not exterior. Waterline was a few inches above the kick plate. Still not good but hopefully not impossible to work thru.

theiceman

Take the cash. Buy it back and have fun...

MUSSBERGER

Take the cash and make an offer based on the value of a tub. If they take it....then the fun begins. It will be a daunting task just in the man hours alone.