Mark

With several posts lately of non-928ers looking to join our 'club', I thought I'd post a story of how NOT to buy one...

6-8 months ago, I was contacted by someone who had a friend that was wanting to get a 928. I spoke to them on the phone about all the things to look for, etc...and SEVERAL times - stated the importance of getting a PPI!

Long story short...they committed to buying a car, sight unseen (except for some pictures), over 1000 miles away. They bought it from a "really nice....very knowledgeable...seemed very honest" dealer. Flew the 1000 miles to get the car, fell in love at first sight, handed over too much $$ and drove it back.

On the way back - they started experienceing some overheating problems - close to getting it back here - but were able to finish the trip, with a few 'water stops'. Otherwise - no real problems...AT THE TIME...

I met them a day or so later at my wrench's place. On first look, it appeared to be a nice example of an '89ish S4 (can't remember the exact MY)...BUT - the "nice example" from a distance, quickly turned sour.

As the mechanics and I started walking around the car (with the new owners excitement level still very high!), we started giving each other some "WTF?" glances...There were some tell-tale signs of T-R-O-U-B-L-E!...Headlights that fit into their fender holes differently....front of the hood a little 'crooked' where it met the front bumper cap...etc...etc...etc..Further inspection indicated that (GASP) - This car had had a FULL FRONT CLIP replacement! (even tho it DID NOT have a salvage title - which, as we know,[edited after Hacker's clarification] can be gotten around in many ways!).

In the aprox 6-months since they got it, the car has been 'down' or had significant problems for almost the whole time. (It currently sits, with many problems, at the shop - undriveable). Obviously - their opinion of 928's is sharply different from a short time ago.

So - lets add a NEW acronym GAFPPI! (Get a friggin PPI!).

The importance of this story will prove to be even more relevant in the near future. MANY vehicles in FL were flooded by the hurricanes. I have personally seen 3-911's, a 944 and a 928, that are off to the salvage auction, even tho they APPEARED to be fine. Most of the local ones are going to SADISCO - http://www.sadiscosouth.net/ - which has primarily DEALER ONLY auctions. I am concerned that people are going to be buying "BARGAINS" that are literal TIME BOMBS ...waiting for the effects of the water (SALT WATER in many cases) to take its toll on various components.

hacker-pschorr

That is rare - the reality is the only person that determines if a car will have a salvage, clean, junk title is the insurance adjuster. I have a database of pictures I've collected from insurance auto auction sites of destroyed cars that have a clean title.

I was at a local body shop a few years ago. The guy had a Pontiac that looked like it hit a tree at 55 mph in the front. Next to it was an identical model (different color) that looked like a semi tagged the rear. He was cutting them both in half to make one good car.
Guess what, the car hit in the rear had a clean title. This means the dealer having the work done will NOT have to tell the buyer anything about the wreck. The body shop guy said he would use factory weld spots on the chassis - very hard to tell if anything fishy was done.

Bottom line is - insurance companies will get more money for cars at the auction if they have a clean title. Mark's story is an excellent post about this. The "moving cars from state to state" my be true, but few realize how many cars are never salvage to begin with. I've worked with a few dealers buying cars in many states. I have yet to find a state that has any regulations to determine what makes a car salve or not. It's 100% up to the insurance company.

Mark

Good points, Hacker...there is NO universal "SALVAGE" definition. And, based on your description of 'salvage' being designated by the insurance company...If I wreck it, and fix it myself WITHOUT an insurance claim - it is likely to NOT show as a salvage title.

On the TURD (My '79 track project)...the Kansas title says:
"Formerly Salvage"
with a comment: "This vehicle is no longer titled as a non-highway vehicle due to vehicle being salvaged or totaled" WTF does THAT mean??? So - If it gets registered in FL - I am guessing that it will NOT show as a salvage title!

hacker-pschorr

That means the car had a salvage title - was fixed - issued a clean title from whatever state it was inspected in.
If the car is registered in a different state, the "former salvage) should stay on the title, but we all know the DMV is so reliable..............that may not happen.