997turbo07

Looking to buy 997 turbo that’s been on accident, left me know if you think it’s repairable

Gnarlycharlie

Anything is fixable with enough time and money!

Balr14

That should buff right out!

Seriously, the damage does not look terrible on the surface. But, frame or suspension damage could change that. In any case, it will have significantly reduced market value, even if repaired by the best Porsche shops.

997turbo07

It has a clean title, have a great shop to do repairs

mujeriega

If you're getting a great deal and your goal is to fix and drive the car for a long time yourself, then it should be fine... looks like a sideswipe, not a t-bone.

However, if you're going to fix and sell for a profit, I'd think twice on that... P-cars with previous damage command WAY less than those with no accident history.

Bruce In Philly

There is risk. Cam you have a reputable shop look at it? If not, I would pass. The unit body could be deformed.

Skin is no problem.

Peace
Bruce in Philly

Balr14

It looks like a tow hook in front, so damage was probably incurred on a track. Maybe this will help. some.

groovzilla

Another thing to consider is resale.
If it doesn't matter and you have deep pockets and won't feel any pinch giving it away when it comes time to sell no problem.
But if you think you might make out on top at some point thru resale or even gain your investment back don't count on getting even close on a car with severe accident damage whether clear title or not..
Turbo buyers are finicky and they have every reason to be.

HLCinCOU

Agree with everything said so far, but I might have a minor added point that's useful. Specifically: while everybody's right that the resale is going to tank compared to an accident-free car....one presumes you'll be buying this one at a massive discount, so maybe that's OK. No reason to compare resale to a car you can't buy for the same money. I might even go so far as to say the purchase/resale ratio is likely to be favorable to purchase/resale on an unwrecked car. After all, you're buying it unfixed too.

As for the damage, I agree that it looks an awful lot like rubbing a wall at a track. Less likely there's frame or internal damage, but definitely have it looked at. If it's just the body that needs fixed, and you're getting it super cheap, I'd say go for it.

sandwedge

No doubt. See the number 88 on the rear window also? Lots of damage here. Both quarter panels, the door and both bumpers. And who knows what's underneath all that. I would want to know that before even considering. In fact, how could you even price this car before taking the damaged panels off to see if there's more than just body work to it? To each their own but for me to buy something like this I would have to plan on keeping it for life or at least for a long time. Resale would be difficult.

Balr14

Yeah, I only mentioned the tow hook because it was harder to spot with the pictures sideways. The fact it was tracked could very well mean it lead a hard life before hitting a wall or guard rail.

HLCinCOU

Oh I definitely agree with both of you. No way you buy it without looking behind those panels. But again, to my point...one has to assume it's being sold for a song, right? If they're asking anything in the same ballpark, league or sport of non-wrecked examples, sure obviously you walk away; I guess I assumed OP would know that.

Yes, when you go to sell this it absolutely will not sell for anything near what other similar cars that weren't wrecked sell for. But what's the discount there? And what's the discount he's getting it for wrecked (plus the cost to fix)?

Consider this example with numbers pulled directly from my backside. They aren't correct and aren't that important...just illustrating the point:

Suppose this car accident free goes for $75k. And in 5 years you expect you can sell it for $65k. Now, suppose the wrecked one goes for $30k, costs $10k to fix and in 5 years will sell for $32k. It's absolutely true that the wrecked version has lower resale value.....and also absolutely true that it's the better financial deal. You lose $8k instead of $10k, and put less capital into it up front.

Again, that was completely made up. The question is what goes into each of those variables.

The formula ends up being something like:
(Cost of wrecked car) + (Cost to fix) - (Discounted sale price in X years cause it has been wrecked)
vs.
(Cost of unwrecked car) - (Sale price in X years, hopefully still unwrecked)

...including in both cases normal time value of money calculations. I guess what I'm getting at is without knowing what they're asking for it, it's really hard to evaluate against the unwrecked car. But I stand firmly by my main point above: it's totally wrong to try to compare resale of this car to an unwrecked example...simply because you presumably would have to pay massively more for the latter. It's like saying "well the Golf won't bring as much at resale as the R8." Sure, that's true, but then you can't buy the R8 for Golf money!

sandwedge

Right. I only saw the hook after you pointed it out. And like you said, add the damage to the obvious track history and I think this car will have to be discounted pretty steeply to find a buyer. I say this after having been beaten to death over a replaced rear bumper with no other damage when my car was up to sale. P-car buyers don't like accident histories to begin with no matter how minor. This is certainly not a minor one.

HLCinCOU

Hey @997turbo07, you want to give us an idea of what you're thinking of spending on this thing? That's pretty much the starting point on whether there's value there.

Yeah, but the difference is you bought it without accident history. In other words, you weren't in OP's shoes...you were in the shoes of whomever might sell this car to OP. In OP's case the discount should be applied right now. Whether that discount is sufficient is the question.

Balr14

I know there is a great temptation to take a chance on a salvage car you never thought you could afford... been there, done that. The last time was a wrecked R8 Spyder that was priced about $35k below market price for a comparable good example. As it turned out, I would have had one hell of a time getting it registered in Wisconsin and it would have been expensive to insure because my insurance company wouldn't touch it. So, reluctantly I passed on it. I will never know if that was a good thing or not.