Sajmik

Hello!

I am considering buying used 981 Cayman S. Car was in accident and had changed front bumper, rear 1/4 panel and rear bumper. The airbags were not deployed.

The car is about 7-10% cheaper than other similar specs.

Would you consider buying this car? I am not afraid about car being repaired wrong, but I am afraid about potential resale value and lenght of selling. (planning to keep it for about 1 - 2 years)
I would also buy Porsche Approved warranty for this car.

Thanks for all opinions

Phil G.

Personally, I would never buy a car involved in a significant accident (or any accident requiring repainting or body work). Resale would be an issue, IMO. I would advise you to steer clear.

Auto_Werks 3.6

I would consider buying a repaired car... but not at a 7-10% discount. I would think at least 25% for a car that had substantial body repairs. Some people may not care as much as me... but 7 10% is only several thousand dollars off, no thanks!

kiznarsh

Does it have a salvaged or clean title?

I agree that 7-10% isn't enough of a discount for an accident. I'd be looking at least 20% less than others, knowing you won't get much when it comes time to sell it.

PorscheAddict

Don't buy a wrecked car if you know you're reselling soon. It would probably be fine if you planned on keeping it forever (at over 10% discount, as others have said).

daylorb

That sounds like a lot... I have purchased quite a few used cars, about half of them have something reported but front/rear bumper and quarter panel seems like a lot. I'm guessing it was a stop-and-go sandwich which probably isn't a big deal, but it still is a lot to see on there.

PPI it though - I bought a Spyder last summer that had a very bizarre carfax comment on it about the rear bumper. It turned out to nothing more than a scratch. I was nervous as hell about it, had it taken for PPI to Porsche dealer and they verified exactly that it was not an issue.

If you are going to drive it for 10 years or turn it into a track car, then not a biggie.

il pirata

I would pass. Even at a bigger discount. Not worth the hassle especially if not planning on keeping it long. And even if the title is clear now, it could change or the car could have been washed though a state that clears the the title.

SpyderSenseOC

I would want at least a 20% discount (probably 25-30) no matter if I was keeping the car long term or not. The rear 1/4 needed welding and serious body work and that is the biggest turnoff to me. Front and rear bumpers? If OEM parts? Meh.

fast1

Stating that the car is selling at a 10% discount to me is meaningless. I need the actual numbers. If comparably equipped 981s were selling for $40K and the damaged car was being sold for $35K, I'd take a look at it. I want to emphasize that I'm referring to selling and not asking prices. Of course the repairs have to be perfect and a comprehensive PPI would be mandatory. I'd then find a stretch of highway where I could take the car to over 100 MPH and see how the car handled. If I detected any vibration, regardless of how small, I'd walk.

Archimedes

No

kiznarsh

How often do people let you take their cars above 100 mph?!

daylorb

Good points - finding what the "discount" actually winds up to be is pretty subjective.

As for taking it to 100mph - I think it happens pretty often - isn't that what we buy these cars for?! I love that as a test of whether it is sound or not!

Cosmo Kramer

I'm OK with a repaired car as long as it's done right and the price reflects it. Yes it will be harder to sell later but as long as you put a realistic price on it you will be OK. As the car gets older and depreciates, the fact that it has an accident on its record becomes less and less significant.

Based on your description I say 15-20% less then a similarly equipped car with similar mileage and clear history.

Maverick787

First you have too many cars for sale in the market to buy a damaged one, but if I hear you correctly you like the deal? If you’re going to sell the car you will take a hit, but to me that’s a neutral position because you got the savings on the front end of the deal. If you have records of the damage and it’s minor and done correctly no big deal the car is not a collector, and the deal has to be worth it.

Sajmik

Thank you for the replies.

I am located in Europe, we do not have salvaged title. If the repair was through insurance you can find the records about that.

The car is 50.000 euro, comparable cars are about 55 - 56.000 euros, but right now there is a few cars for sale (compared to different time of a year) so the prices are higher than I think they will be in upcoming 3-4 months. I assume this of the history of market for the last year and also when I was selling my 987.2 CS. But it is just an assumption, if it was sure thing, I would wait for another car.

So you can get some perspective, the absolutely cheapest 981 CS is for 44.000 euro, but it has 126k km (80k miles). The car I am talking about has 40k km (25k miles).

Yes as someone said, it is not a collectors car and I am planning to put about 12 - 15.000 miles a year. For example I would not buy a GT4 which was in accident.

As to as highspeed testing, 100 mph should not be a problem on autobahn :-)

Once again thank you for your time.