DonW-Cape Cod

as some of you know I've been looking for a 993 Cab/Tip.

There is one on ebay, that has been there for off and on for months.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...m=220073671101

Here's my question. I know all about salvage titles, but if the car is in good condition and it goes very cheap and I don't plan on re-selling it..just drive and drive it, etc...

What do you think it my be worth. Did a carfax and have seen receipts. Damage was superficial and salvaged primarily for insurance purposes.

?????
Don

CarmG993

Can you get pics of what the damage 'was'? Repair paper work. If that is available, it should tell you the story. Hitting a pillar probably did some nice damage depending on how it hit.
I understand your thinking, and if you are fine w/ it after you do some research on it, and it checks out on the up and up, then go for it. If you have any doubts after your research, don't. Keep looking.

vjd3

Careful ... apparently it also comes with two kids and a wife.

CP

Don,

If the frame is checked out to be straight and true, with no kinks/weak points, I am not afraid of salvage titles. But then there must be a life-time ownership commitment (resale would be a major pain), and the buying price must be 'right'.

The advantage is that you will have no issues piling miles on the car, as you are not worrying about resale anyways.

CP

TCallas

Be very careful. Sometimes you cannot get insurance and or financing for a car with a salvage title. Generally speaking, I would stay away from a salvage title car.

993inNC

Irrelevant of WHAT the damage was, its got a salvaged title and its a Tip.....he's gotten way more than its worth (IMO). Do an Ebay search for solds and see what Tips bring in general and then deduct a good 25% for the title and thats where this car should be.

my .0002 cents

Chuck W.

Six of the eight cars in my household are salvaged cars, including the 993 and a '06 BMW 530I. I have rebuilt all of them so I know the history. If you know the reason for the salvage title and know that the repairs were done correctly and you're saving a fair amount of money you'll be OK. The problem with salvage titles is it could be a simple theft recovery or a major rollover traffic accident. Have a frame shop check the car out as part of your PPI. Insurance is not a problem. I have State Farm and they have treated me well over the years. One of my daughters totaled her 2002 Passat GLX and they were more than fair in the payoff. I have never financed a car but I am betting it would be a problem. Good luck...

JasonAndreas

Have you tried Dave Maynard in Framingham/Natick?

How much $$$ was the damage and what parts were replaced? Insurance companies put salvage titles on a vehicle for financial reasons, it doesn't matter what the owner wants. For that to happen to a MY98 993 requires a lot of damage because 993 body panels aren't that expensive. In this case was the front trunk replaced? I've gone over quite a few accident damage receipts and photographs for people looking to buy 964s and 993s and when I've broken down the individual pieces that were replaced it almost never matches with what the seller is claiming and a few times the photos didn't even match the receipts. be careful!

Chuck W.

Not always true. Many times an insurance company will pay off instead of entering into a prolonged legal battle. If you had just bought a $60,000 BMW and another driver took out your driver's side would you want to have the car repaired or have it totaled so you could get a new one. Many people will fight and win.

The below photo is the 2006 salvaged BMW 530I I bought and had repaired. It had 8,002 miles on it when hit. Total repair cost...$8500.00.



Finished:

CP

Chuck,

Great repair job. So how much did you pay for the damaged BMW?

Thanks.

CP

JasonAndreas

I'll go along with that.

It looks great especially considering how little you spent but how much was the original insurance company repair estimate?

vjd3

The problem with these sorts of cars, I think, is there's usually no way to tell how well it was repaired and how bad the original accident damage was. When my perfect 95 Carrera 2 coupe with 23k miles was totalled in a head-on at 45 mph, there was way more damage than I would have been comfortable driving again, but I was barely able to get it totalled by the insurance company; fortunately, the bodyshop foreman noticed the gearbox was leaking fluid, pointed out to the adjuster that a new 993 gearbox was $11k and he totaled it.

That car was bought for $14k by the owner of a bodyshop in Worcester; the guy knew zip about Porsches and called me to see if I would send him the books, records and extra keys. He said he was rebuilding it for his own personal car just for fun. Did he do it correctly? Did he cut as many corners as possible to save money? I don't know. Has he sold it to someone else three years later? It's certainly possible. I know it had a Mass. salvage title (if anyone has an active Carfax acct. I will look up the VIN and we can see where it is now).

But down the road someone could easily say, it was in a minor accident, the owner was picky and fussed about it until they totalled it, I fixed it for $7000, and who is going to know the difference without taking the car apart or getting a bodyshop pro who knows Porsches to look it over?

For someone like Chuck who has learned by hand what he is doing, bought the car in its damaged state and knows exactly what it took to put it right, that's one thing. Coming across the car in the hands of someone who bought it recently, learned its history and wants to get rid of it ... well, that's a pretty big red flag. As Bruce Anderson was wont to say, "Fresh paint can cover a multitude of sins," and that is certainly true in this case.

One more tale ... a good friend of mine is a master Porsche technician; a doctor in SW Florida was searching for a 3.2 Carrera cab back in 1990, and my buddy was helping him look. The doctor went over to Fort Lauderdale, found a gorgeous low mileage white over blue car, bought it on the spot, brought it to my friend who put it up on the lift, and he told him, "Congratulations, you got a heckuva a deal because you actually bought two cars for the price of one." Then he showed him the weld where they'd put the front of one car on the back of another.

Chuck W.

$28000

I never saw what the insurance company put the damage at.


Bingo...That's why unless I did the restoration I would never buy a salvaged car, especially a 993, with out good documentation and a PPI from a body shop. One trick of some body shops is to "mold" the body panels around a bent frame. To the eye it will look fine.
Here is where I do so well on the damaged cars I buy. A new 993 tranny for 11K. If any of us blew our trannys would we go to the dealer and buy a new 11K tranny? Hell no. eBay, salvage yards, Rennlist buddies or a good shop that rebuild it with the right gearing and upgrades while he's in there.

On vjd3's car I would have looked at it real close as a project. Low mileage, right modes and well cared for. Buy it for $14000, have a front clip put on, new turbo bumper and other upgrades.

I have rebuilt the following cars in this order over the years; 2000 Audi A4 with 8000 miles on it for my son; 2002 Audi S4 Avant with 5000 miles on it for my wife; 2002 Passat GLX 2002 Passat GLS and 2003 Passat GLS for daughters; 1997 993 Cab for me; 2006 BMW 530I for wife and a 2005 Audi A4 for daughter that totaled her Passat. One advantage I have is a salvage yard owned by two guys that have become friends and a body shop that takes great care of me. Those two combinations make these projects possible.

However, the hunt for parts is brutal at times. Most parts I use are used verse the insurance companies new ones. The BMW killed me because I had to use a lot of new parts on it.

I did the 2002 Audi in 2002. The new ones were still on the lots with window stickers of $43,000+. At the time some dealers had them marked up. By the time I bought the car, fixed it and paid tax and license I was into it for $24,000. We drove it for 4 years, put 55,000 miles on it (60K total on the car) and sold it for $14000. A clean title one would have gone for $18000 to $20000.

The Wimbeldon Green 993 with 14,000 miles on it on eBay looks like a great deal...IF you get a PPI from a body shop and mechanic and it all checks out.

Keep us posted....

Berkley

If you have reviewed the repair documents, had any pre or post damage photos reviewed, have talked to the body shop, then have a reputable West Coast Porsche body shop examine the car today.....maybe a PPI

Offer him $28,000 less shipping to you in Naples or the Cod.....

The key here is you plan to keep and have no intentions of selling

We used to chat by phone...I'll send you my # by PM and or you do the same......we have owned similar Porsches thru the years

My Best to your Bride

PS Here is my bride's '02 Tip. new $100,000 sold in 9/05 for $60,000 with 22k miles....it was a great car

Pete

I wouldn't touch this with a 10' pole, and not just because of a salvage title. I wouldn't trust this seller. He claims he bought it with a clean title in Oregon but CA DMV tells him it's a salvage title? What's up with that? It's either a clean title or it isn't and why wouldn't Oregon DMV know it was salvage if it was? He also thinks he can sell it for $50K! HA!

There's tons of 993 cabs out there, tip or 6 speed, based on my recent search for a coupe so I would keep looking if I were you. And there's absolutely no way I would be considering a salvage-titled car from the opposite coast, especially one for sale by an individual. Check this dealer's inventory: http://schmitt.com/

Last I checked they had a bunch of cabs. No connection and never purchased anything from them but I've been to their lot and they were a long-time RR dealer in StL until the old man had some problem with RR several years ago. They're legit and I would trust them for a "by-mail" sale before I would an individual....just my opinion.
Pete