RXDOC you should instruct. You haven't lived until you get into a highly modified turbo with the owner's 18 yr old son who is on track for the first time.

He isn't going to die. He is 18 and immortal, you might though.

Make sure that Aveo is white with blue stripes. Stripes make it 10mph faster. WOW! 80 in an Aveo? That takes brass...bearings.

 

Here is an 03 being totaled and getting low balled at $28.5K by insurance.

https://rennlist.com/forums/off-topi...e-squeeze.html

 

What could possibly happen to the resale value? You already have a $60+ (when new) down to $15K. How much lower can it go? $10K or $5K?? You are talking to an ex-996TT owner who lost over $40K in 5 years of the TT ownership AND enjoyed every minute of it. What are they going to do to me when I try to sell this car, ask me to pay some money out of pocket to take the car??

 

Sorry, I wasn't clear. I'd swap the 5 to before the decimal point. Key phrase was 'for my tastes'. For $5K it's worth a punt.

It's all about your attitude to risk and mine would be $5K on that car.

PPI blah blah blah.....depends who is doing it, how much you trust them, if they have a good day etc etc. For a car with history much less of a problem, but for a car as you describe, it's a punt.

Not saying you shouldn't do it, but 'not for my taste'.

And as for pricing....come on this is Rennlist....you will get every number under the sun thrown at you

 

I would like to touch on the Salvage title issue.

For me, it would depend on if the reason for Salvage status was verifiable. Having worked in insurance and having several recent cars classified as "Salvage\Rebuild", I am not necessarily afraid of these cars. BUT, YOU HAVE TO KNOW the details.

As much as most of hate to admit, our fine Euro cars aren't worth as much to an insurance company, as they are to us. The parts cost a ton and minor body issues can "total" a car now. Airbags will almost certainly total a car out, especially when many states won't let a car be repaired with used modules. I recently had a fender bender in my beloved V70R 6-Speed. The car had slightly higher mileage, and the insurance company was super eager to slap a TOTAL on it, even though the car looked gorgeous and I wanted to keep it. I was forced into a situation where the low value of the car, versus the high cost of parts left me no choice but to walk away from a beloved, rare car (Mainly because the mileage of the car, pushed it slightly below the value needed to jusitfy repair). I could have bought the car back and fixed it, but it was forever a REBUILD title.

On another hand, I have personally seen a mid-1980's Porsche 928 stolen, put on jackstands. The hood, hatch, wheels, stereo, seats and other items were snagged. Insurance guy rolls up, sees an old car with a Blue Book of under 10K, and instantly Totals it and brandishes it Salvage. Gives the guy his check for $7K. Would any of you be afraid of this car, if Porsche parts were thrown on it and there was absolutely ZERO structural damage? I would buy it all day long if the price were right, and I wouldn't be afraid to race it.

Just keep in mind, that the word "Salvage" on that title, usually comes from an insurance adjuster. If they total it out of convenience, cost savings, or laziness, that car could forever be gone, even if it is a good car. If it were a flood car, or head-on, or high-speed one-way, I would walk away from it.

Just my thought, as I have seen some great salvage cars come along, lately.

 

This could be a very nice way to get into a low mileage 996 for very little money. A salvaged vehicle could be anything from a very slight damaged theft recovery that just needed a good detailing to a car that was hit so hard that it needed half of a doner grafted on to make it work, or anything in between.

I have purchased many salvaged motorcycles and repaired them for sale. All have been cosmetic with no structural damage. A motorcycle with a full fairing can fall over in the driveway and be totaled, picked up and driven 150 mph with one hand on the handlebars without issues.

Have the car checked out, know what was done and go with your gut. The price seems right at just over 50% of NADA rtl.

 

A coworker managed to lemon-law a brand new BMW 535i because the dealership was not able to get the wood trim (inside) to match the original that had to be replaced after 3 times and some very convincing arguments.. This is not the same as "salvage" but close.

My own BMW 745iL was totalled after 5 of the 13 airbags deployed. Ofcourse there was front end damage, but the bodyshop said the airbag count was enough to total out a $28K car.

 

Did you post why it was salvaged?

I'd have it checked thoroughly on the alignment rack, and also find out why it was salvaged. I'd also try to get my hands on the repair bill because that will explain a lot.

Even if it all checks out, that car is tough to register and insure in some states... that equals horrible resale potential.

Salvaged title and I don't care how well repaired, it's worth at MOST $15k and that's probably 2 to 3k on the high end. I would put a real number of about $12.5 on it.

If it was salvaged due to water damage or something, it could be a great buy for a driver or track car. Just don't plan to resell or trade-in. You buy that one, it will likely be your for a long time.

 

ivengene, you old curmudgeon come back and bring your
This thread is no fun without you.

 

LOL

 

I would want to know the details on the salvage before proceeding. Does the CARFAX have details? Some of the repairs may be obvious when the car is on the lift for PPI. I would want to be under there with my own flashlight.

Quibbling about a thousand here or there seems sort of silly. It is worth whatever the market will bear.

For me, the tiptronic would be a show stopper. But if you are only going to use this to cruise or DD, perhaps that is no big deal.

Good luck!

 

i think he meant $5,016

 

The only other thing I can think of to have checked out is that the frame is within specs. A local body shop can point you in the right direction.

 

This is just my personal opinion... I would not bother with it. I don't like the Salvage Title, I don't like TIP, and I don't like the sound of auction with no records.

It reminds me of some friends back in high school, they would buy 5-series that were salvaged and drive them with the biggest smile on their faces cause that didn't matter to them because they were driving a BIMMA! Oh, and they also had replica Rolex's.

The cars situation would still bug me even though it’s a beater.

 

I know from exeprience that its hard to walk away from what you perceive as a good deal. Listen to the guys on this forum and keep looking.

Salvage title = no resale value, no financing, no insurance other than liability, unknown history, crap automatic anyway. Walk away and dont keep thinking about it.