I have been looking for a 968 CAB, red over tan, and one is for sale in my area. After doing a carfax it showed up with a junk title then salavage and rebuilt salvage back in 1997 before being moved out of state to return with a clear title.

Any thoughts on buying one with this kind of history?

 

For the right price with a clean PPI..why not

The salvage title is issued in the event that damage was done to the car in excess of 60-80% of the cars value (depending on insurance company)... on our cars that could be anything between a stolen car recovered with a stripped interior to a car that bounced off a concrete barrier a few times...

PPI would be a must, any issues on the PPI should be addressed or rule out the car...

Another possibility to explain the title issues... it COULD have blown the motor (timing belt anyone) and been turned over to a scrap yard that then sold the car as a "fixer-upper"... some states do not have "salvage" or "scrap" titles... this could be legit, but is commonly referred to as "washing" a title..... how much time elapsed between the salvage and clean title?

 

salavage title was issued in 1997 in Texas. Car later went to VA and GA before returning to texas last year and a clean title. Owner claimns to have no service records and did not know about the history though he has a steel building with 6 other vintage cars including Modina Spyder.

 

Speaking purely for myself, there is nothing "questionable" about a car with that kind of history. The documentation is there -no questions needed - they've already been answered. It should be avoided at all costs, case closed.

 

It's a crap shoot.

If you are OK with the history and get a good deal, then it's worth it. If you're strapped for cash and can barely afford this car hoping that the car is sound... well let's just say don't go there!

 

I'd rather buy a car with full records and known history just because resale value will really be down on a car without it. However I will say if you can get that factored into the selling price of the car when you purchase on the front end then its no matter.

Key would be not to over pay for a car without a clean service/wreck history.

 

PPI... enough said, get a PPI from a respectable Porsche shop and they should tell you everything you need to know if considering buying it...

Me personally if a good PPI result is had I would offer a price reflecting the title history... never know, you might get a 968 for a really decent price... but get a PPI done first...

 

I agree, get it checked out, very well. If a good car and repairs done properly then who cares. The thing that concerns me is that it was at most 4 years old (this means major damage to the car). The car should be 1/2 the price of comperable condition clean titled example. If its not, then walk. Minor colision history is not an issue, however a salvage title on a 4 year or newer car would have to be major damage and as others told you the resale is significantly lower and it makes for a tough sale. This stuff HAS TO BE DISCLOSED!!!!! If the seller is hiding it, then again walk or run.

One other thing that could have happened is that it may have been a theft recovery, in that case than again it may not be an issue.

 

A junk title history will make it practically impossible to sell it again. Only a few people would even consider buying a car with that kind of history, and the ones that will expect to pay next to nothing for it. If it was a hardtop then someone may buy it regardless of history for a race car but it being a cab makes it less of a race car candidate. I dont know if a a PPI really will pick up whether it is 2 cars made into one unless it is pretty obvious. But if it was junked at 3 years old then something major happened to it, simple as that. If you dont care about the history and plan on never selling it again then it is worh buying but at a really low price.

 

PS I knew an auto dealer in the 90's that bought from the junk auction and regularly built 2 cars into one and resold them. He took a lebaron convertible that was a factory crash test car and it had some kind of un-rebuildable title. He took another one that had a good cowl section, dashboard and VIN, cut the middle out of it and had it spliced into the unrebuildable one. He then sold it telling the new owner that it had some damage that was fixed. The car didn't even drive right after that kind of wrenching. Stuff like this happens all the time.

 

I buy salvage all the time, if it's repaired properly there is no reason to question the car, but there are some real hack jobbers out there that give legit re-builders a bad rep. Carfax is a joke they list my 1 owner mustang as a lease that was bought in florida yet I'm the only owner ever, my dad used to get alot of irregularities with at the car too. Have someone who knows these cars well look it over first, it may have been a theft that wasn't recovered until after the ins settled. I see perfectly good cars come through the sale regularly that are "salvage" title because of theft etc.

 

Personally I wouldn't touch it. If you do decide to chance it I would look at it from the underside to make sure you aren't buying two cars that are welded together. Look along the frame rails. Decay can start to set in where the car was repaired and when you push the car around the twisties it could start to flex where you don't want it to flex. I have a buddy here in Atlanta with this problem and it really sucks.

 

Well owner has dropped the price to $6500, its a 1994 red ext with tan interior, tiptronic transmission and 67000 miles. I have asked him to allow me to use the local highly recommended independent porsche shop to do a PPI. Hey, its the color!

 

make sure it is a very thorough ppi, that low a price for that low mileage is fishy, unless he REALLY needs to clear it out

 

If you buy a salvage/rebuilt car just plan on driving it into the ground as it will be extremely hard to sell in the future if you ever decide to.