I'm looking at possibly purchasing a 964 model, and it's noted to have a Salvage title.
Obviously getting the Carfax history is critical.
What else should I be specifically wary of? and what else should I be looking to ask?

 

I wouldn't trust the carfax to be too instructive in this situation, especially if the damage happened a long time ago.
If I were buying a salvage car, I'd want to know exactly what the damage was and how it was repaired, ideally with photos and invoices.
Of course I'd get the car inspected extra thoroughly by a specialist.

 

If this is your first 964, there are a few things to keep in mind. Regardless of salvage title, a 964 is not particularly cheap to maintain. You are paying a premium on parts and unless you do most of the work yourself, labor can be expensive. That said, a 964 tends to be a reliable car, even with higher mileage. Most 964 engines do leak a little oil and some of the rubber / plastic components are starting to age out after 30 years. They are fantastic cars but you do need to have someone knowledgeable take a good look (PPI). A salvage title can be ok if you know what you are getting and the price takes any required repairs into account. For example water damage to electronics is harder to detect and expensive to remediate. You will most likely never get the money back you may have to put into the car - which is fine if you never want to sell it again

This forum ha a bunch of useful information. Good luck.

 

I have a salvage title car. Crucial question is when was the title branded. Mine was in ~2000 when the car was worth very little so a bumper ding resulted in a marked title. Car is a-okay.

As a reminder on value - as late as 2013 I was looking at a nice black/black 964 C4 with a $18k ask. I had a PPI which suggested an upcoming top end rebuild. I offered $12k which was countered a few k higher, I ended up passing. For a G50 coupe for $19k

 

Why was the car salvaged? And were the repairs done properly?

I'm not skilled or experienced enough to buy a salvage car without a PPI, to look for evidence of damage and repairs my eyes would miss.

 

@scotttocs so there are people here with a lot more knowledge than me, so take this with a grain of salt.

However, I just went through the process of sourcing a 964, and after looking at 964's every single day across the North American, European and Japanese markets I fee comfortable making a few recommendations, especially in light of the current market.

If you are getting into this really fresh, I'll pass on some advice I got (most I took, some I didn't and regret not taking).

1. Decide what your budget is first. (As I am sure you know the market for 964's at the moment is pretty wild, so the days of the cheap 964 are long gone. I really would suggest setting your budget, and then spending the time to really dig in to try to find the absolute best example you can for your budget. There is way more **** out there than there are nice cars, and none of these are cheap anymore, so you are way better off buying the best example you can get. Because let's say you find a car for 75 grand that has 115,000 miles, but needs 40,000-50,000 in repairs to get it sorted and put right (engine rebuild, etc.), at the end of the day you just spent 115,000 for a 964 with 115,000 miles. Instead you could spend 100,000 for a 964 with lower miles that only needs 15,000 in work, and get a car that is in overall better shape, and that you can get more out of when you decide you want to upgrade to something better.

2. Decide what you really want in a 964. Everything about 964's is a factor in establishing their price (color combo, originality, mods, year of manufacturer, car fax history, daily driver, resto mod project, etc.), and all of those factors work together. A 1989 964 C4 guards red over black is going to be wildly different in price than a 1994 964 C2 in Star Ruby, even if all of their other factors are the exact same, just the color. The year, the fact it is a C2 and the color may result in the star ruby being close to double if not more the price of the guards red C4. That being said What you want may be a circumstance of your budget, but if you are budget conscious on these cars, then I still think my recommendation as far as budget is super important, in that you should get the best example you can for your budget, because you will get more out of it when you decide to sell it for something else, or if you never sell, at least you will feel better knowing that 964 you bought is appreciating.

3. If you aren't super experienced with 964's (even if you are) I can't recommend getting a PPI from a reputable and experienced porsche expert enough. DO IT DO IT DO IT, especially if you aren't familiar and you are considering buying a salvage title car. Use someone who really knows their stuff. I cannot tell you some of the stuff I found on 964's I PPI'd this year (Rolled back dials, not number matching, Unreported Damage, Photoshopped Images, etc. etc.). These cars are old, there is going to be stuff with them no matter how perfect they have been kept, so make sure you know what you are getting into before you cut that check. Its one thing to anticipate that a few grand, its another thing to find out the car you thought had 75,000 miles has 175,000 miles. This is a hard thing to do, because the market is so hot right now, you might see that perfect 964 (or at least what you think is perfect in pictures) and be like ohh damn I have to buy it fast or it will be gone. This is true to an extent, but you can still move quick on these without moving unintelligently.

4. Carfax is important and helpful, but it is not a replacement for a PPI. If I see damage on a car fax, it would be really hard for me to consider the car personally. I don't want to have to explain it to another purchaser when I sell the car, and where there is smoke there is usually fire. If the car fax shows damage you know something happened, then you have to do a good investigation to see everything that happened, and even more so on a salvage title. If that is something you are already considering that is perfectly ok, just know that a big portion of the community wont buy salvage title cars, so consider that in the value. Another thing to consider on a carfax that will affect value is number of owners, where the car has been, and service history (although on Car Fax this is less useful).

5. Get as much info as you can on the past service history of the car. Stamped books, receipts of invoices, reputable repair shops, porsche dealer receipts, etc. The more information you can get the better.

Ultimately, what you are trying to do by doing all of these things is to gain a better understanding of the history of the car. The more knowledge you have the better you can assess whether the price is right for what you are buying. At the end of the day this is something you should enjoy, whether it is driving it or just keeping it in your garage, we all get enjoyment from our P Cars in different ways. However, its always easier to enjoy something when there aren't surprises, especially when those surprises are potentially expensive repairs or when the car you thought was a 10/10 is really a 1/10. A salvage 964 wouldn't bother me if I got it for the right price, however I could never let it go i I bought a car that had a salvage title that I thought had a clean title for the price of a clean title car, but later found out it wasn't.

Lastly, I will say that if you are really new to looking into these, read as much as you can and talk to as many people as you can about it. I would even suggest if you are just getting into it, really dive into it and dont just try to get the first car you find. Really hone in on what you want and interact with the community to help narrow down what you are really after. The community around these cars is absolutely awesome, and a lot of guys are happy to help out. I would bet there are a lot of guys in your area who would even be happy to go look at the car with you, and give you their thoughts if you are against a PPI (even though I cant stress how important getting a PPI is). Also, if you aren't a big reader and just want to watch some cool videos that goes through the ownership and buying experience as well as pitfalls I would suggest you check out Will's channel the Rennthusiast on youtube. I think he does a fantastic job, especially for guys just getting into these cars.

Anyway thats my wall of text hope it helps in some way, and good luck. With patience and some work I have no doubt you will find a car that you absolutely love, because at the end of the day.