Yan

Hi!

I know that my topic isn't directly related with the 911 but I'd really appreciate somebody to help me. I found a sweet damaged Porsche Boxster 1999 with 18 000 miles for sale and I'm interested in buying it. My question is: where can I find used parts for this Boxster at a great price? Is there any big Porsche scrap yard?

Here are the damaged parts that need to be changed: both front wings, the hood, the front bumper, both headlights, the radiator, the radiator support, the air conditioning rotor, "maybe" the left front door, the left mirror, the rear right braking light, both front suspensions assemblies, the rear left suspension assembly and both airbags.

The engine, the interior and the wheels aren't damaged at all, everything is ok. The guy is asking 17 500$ canadian (about 10 500$ US?). Can anybody help me? What do you think about the condition of the car?

Here is a picture of the car:


Thanks ALOT for your help!
Yan

Stephen Masraum

Personally I'd avoid that car like the plague. Looking at the front end I would be impressed if that thing would ever drive straight down the road again. A normal car that is bent sucks, a high performance car like a Porsche that is bent is even worse. I would think at best you would want to fix it and then sell it, but even then to really make out on that you would probably have to be dishonest about the cars history.
Maybe someone with more body work knowledge can give you a better idea.

Pedro

Hi Yan,

I was in a similar position as you a while back, I came across a Boxster S. It had only 7000 miles with apparently light damage (bumpers, lights and bonnet, the wings and doors were fine) at almost half list price. Second hand parts to repair the damage were included in the price. Anyway, my brother who runs a body shop checked it out and warned me against it.

The first thing he noticed was ripples in the engine bay, and trunk floor, indicating that it was out of line. Open top sports cars hold most of their strength in their floor, therefore to knock one out of line takes a large impact. Similarly they’re very difficult to pull back into line, much harder than a fixed head car.
The second point to consider is even if it is straightened out and the bodywork repaired, if a high performance car such as this is even slightly out of line, the handling can be significantly impaired.
Another thing you might want to think about is the value. Ok, so you could be on the road in a shiny modern sports car, for small money, but trying to sell it on in 4 or 5 years could be a different story, it'll be just another rebuild.
Even if you hang on to it long term it will depreciate much quicker than an original car.

I saved my cash and bought a 1980 911sc with impeccable history, and it’s the best car I ever bought!

Good luck with your decision.

Steve, 914 guy

The reason it's not being repaired in a body shop right now is because experts assesed the damage and determined that it's not viable, economically or otherwise, to repair. Hence, total loss.

Jim Michaels

Nice parts car.

Thom Fitzpatrick

Yup. The body shops get first pick of the rebuildables, and if they turned it down, it's a loser.