smichael

I am in a similar situation with a car out of NY. Carfax shows an accident report and police case #. Bill provided by the owner lists a $2500 repair of right rear fender/bumber cap (+ 750 for a rear wheel replacement). Something to be concerned about?

Nutbeem

50k? You're killing me.

Phil G.

+1 [whimper]

Nutbeem

Hey Phil, you and I should pick out some investments together. If they work out as well as our Porsches, we'll have the families in the poor house in no time!

Jake Ok

Are you leasing or financing? If you are paying cash and planning to keep the car forever, great.
Bargain and you may end up with a great deal.
Leasing and financing companies will not touch a Porsche with accident history." No Residual Value "

When in doubt, walk away.

Dave S

Accident aside if C4S's are going through auctions in the high 40's wouldn't you think this one with only 14000 miles would be very close to 50? Then deduct how much for the accident and add whatever since it is being bought from a dealer. I would think it would leave you pretty close to 50 no?

Porsche917K

Geez! $50k isn't a bad deal for an 02 with 14K!

gota911

Gant - you forgot to tell him to avoid any cars that have this "switch" on the upper center console!

MJBird993

Ever price a Porsche part? I imagine that buying, painting and installing a new bumper cover isn't going to be real cheap. And if you've got insurance, why not use it? Or just as likely, someone else hit the car and their insurance paid for it. What are you going to do, pay for someone else's mistake yourself just so that there's no record of the accident?

Any good body shop will be able to look at the car and see what was done. If the work was done well enough that it looks factory (and they can't spot the damage) then it shouldn't concern you.

I agree that a perfect unmolested pristine virginal car is optimum. I'm just trying to point out that a minor repair shouldn't keep you from buying a car that otherwise fits the bill for you.

Michael

ArneeA

rmillnj

As long as the PPI is ok and there is no evidence of damage from the accident, I would not worry about it. The big "but" is that if you ever go to trade it in at a dealer, they will really knock down the value of the car due to the carfax. If you are buying from a private owner, that should be a major negotiation point. While the mileage is nice, the car will never officially be valued on the high side by anyone who sees the carfax with a report of an accident. I had a Boxster that I took for a trade and the dealer saw that one panel had been painted and they immediately dropped $5000 off the value. Another dealer didn't bother to check the paint and I got full value.

If you don't care about potential resale value, just make sure you are happy with the car. But if money means anything to you, it should be part of the negotiations. The car should be valued at the lower end of the curve due to the carfax.

fbeyer56

Thanks everyone for your advice/comments. The seller isn't willing to move off the $50k price and can not provide me with a copy of the repair invoice, so I've decided to keep looking. I am not planning to sell it soon, but as several pointed out, an accident on it's vehicle history will impact the value, especially if I can't produce a repair invoice to show what was repaired. So the search continues!!!

Thanks again

Phil G.

Fortunately, I didn't buy the Porsche as an investment. But, mine is certainly worth more than the $40K's - an '04 with 1900 miles, yeah!

Quick story - back in '70 my brother and I were driving back on route 22 near Easton PA and passed a Toyota dealer. On the floor was a brand new white Toyota 2000GT - MSRP $7K (James Bond drove one in one of the flicks). I asked how the car got into the country since they weren't DOT legal then. Dealer was as surprised as we were - but said it was for sale at list price. We knew, even then, that the car would be worth something down the road. Just saw one in Hemmings Motor News this month - for $249K. Unfortunately, in '70, we just didn't have the $$ to buy it and put it away as an investment. Unlike baseball cards (I routinely put my Mickey Mantle cards on the spokes of my bike), we knew the car would be worth lots of $$ someday, and it now most certainly is!

BReyes

I think you have made a good decision. The issue may be mute, but no records is disconcerning. I had Jack in Norcross do a PPI for many years ago and taught me it is important to know when to walk away.

Regards,

arr0gant

Very, VERY smart choice. If you see any in the St. Lou area, I will be happy to check-it-out.

GOOD LUCK!!!