Trey03

As many of you know from my recent posts I am searching high and low for a 96-98 cabriolet. Recently several have sold days before I reached them.

I found a 97 with ~45k miles. It is Zenith Blue (which I love) over light grey. The web link is below; the color combo is very desirable for me personally. The car has all the service records and has had the 45k service performed. (according to owner but I don’t know what that entails) The car has the two options I really desire, motor sound and heated seats. It also has H&R springs and RSR mufflers.

The seller is asking $38,000 for the vehicle, and I haven’t even started to negotiate the price. So far so good right???

According to the carfax the car was reported at a Collision Repair Facility in 2003. The owner was up front with this fact. He stated, prior to my pulling the carfax, he backed into the car in his driveway. The bumper was cracked and the hood was bent. He stated the hood and bumper were replaced and the paint matches perfectly.

Is this something I should be extremely leery about? How much should this affect the value of the car?

As always thanks for the advice!!
Trey

http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.js...n&cardist=1746

mborkow

i'd have a professional body shop check over the work.

ca993twin

Trey,

I don't think I'd let that stop me from purchasing the car. I agree with the above post that suggests getting the repair checked out carefully... make sure there was no more serious damage, make sure there was not much filler used, and to see if the paint and seams all match well. Is this car local to you? If not, can you get a Rennlister to toss an eyeball at it for you?

rcwelch

The car pictured in the ad doesn't look like it has H&R springs as the ride height looks too high...just my observation. The car looks good though.

Bull

If the bent parts were replaced, I wouldn't worry about it. Have the parts and paint checked when you get a thorough PPI.

JasonAndreas

I would ask for copies of the repair invoices, from those you can determine just how bad the "accident" was. Assuming that only the plastic front bumper and the hood were replaced than the only concern I would have is the paint blending into the front fenders. You won't notice it at first but will eventually (3-4 years later) because the the paint used by the body shop and the paint used at the factory will fade at different rates (even if they are using the same brand).

jimq

seem like with all the bumper upgrades and repaints for chips a repainted bumper would be almost the norm. Like the color.

Michael_Philippi

Trey: I don't want to rain on your parade, but you need check this car out thoroughly. When I was looking for my car in late 04, early 05, this car was forsale here on rennlist. I really wanted this car because of the same reasons you do. Cool color and the right options and additions. The car was "sold" before I could buy it. (I needed to unload my SL500 before buying the Porsche per the wife )

Now, this is not say there is anything wrong with the car, but for the same car to come up for sale again in about a year--well that's worth asking about. I would worry about the dreaded SAI issue because nobody would want sell such a great car in a year. Would they?

Good luck
Michael

Trey03

Thanks for all the replies so quickly!

Michael,

That is rather interesting. I believe the gentleman never sold the car. According to him, he is the second owner and has owned the car for 3+ years. The Carfax does verify this as well. When I spoke to him he stated the car has been for sale and not for sale over the last year. I didn't ask why he decided to not sell it only to later decide to sell it. I assumed he had a case of momentary sanity, realizing you should never get rid of a good 993 (I sold mine 2 years ago and kick myself daily)

What is everyone's thought on price. I am thinking of low balling him due to the "repair" issue. At the sametime, I would have to make sure it checks out properly as everyone has suggested.

I am not local and would LOVE some fellow rennlist help to check it out in person,

Thanks
Trey

Trey03

p.s.

I agree with your assesment Randy. The ride height seems too high for H&R springs.

ca993twin

Trey,

Start a new thread with the title "I need someone to checkout a 993 in <city>", and then post some details. Anyone that helps you with this is doing you a nice favor... which should be repaid somehow.

Perhaps the springs were replaced AFTER the picture was taken?

gordo993

If you send it to a body shop for evaluation, see if you can have them pull the bumper cover to see if important things (oil radiator, ac condensor, frame rails, etc.) have been replaced/repaired. That should give you a better idea as to the extent of the damage.

If it's just a bumper cover and hood, I wouldn't worry!

mborkow

i thought that with clear coat that was less true...i have seen a couple 993s with metallic paint that had been resprayed in the front (nose job) that i really could not tell had been touched.

DC from Cape Cod

I had a small dent/scrape from my wife - it was about 10" long on the front left fender. Purely cosmetic. I paid through the nose (about $1500) to have it repaired as close to perfect as possible including spraying the surrounding areas to perfect the paint matching. This was done by Ira Porsche and inspected by Alfie for me (thanks bro!) to make sure it was perfect. If you replace your hood, try to save the option tag from the old hood, this is something that a future buyer might want to have intact. My car is very low miles and I wanted perfection without regard to cost....for a higher mileage example, I would ask for a copy of the repair invoice to verify what exactly was done and have a body shop PPI it. If those match up then buy the car and enjoy it.

Leland Pate

993's are ten years old now. Accidents happen. These cars do now exist in a vacuum. I don't think fender benders are a terribly big deal if you look it over closely to make sure there is no hidden or poorly repaired damage.