Hello All,


First post here, but been lurking for a while. Currently a long-time VW/Audi owner (RS4, S4, A4, GTI's, etc.) but looking at trading my B8 S4 for a 911. I have been looking off-and-on over the past while for a 2006+ 997.1 as these cars seem to be in my price range with reasonable mileage. My only real requirements are manual tranny and any colour but black.


I came across a 2007 C4s with low mileage (48k km's) for a very good price, but before checking it out I noticed that it has a $28k CarProof for damage to the "left/rear side". Also concerning is the fact that this damage/repair happened in January 2014 and it looks like the car has only been driven 2,000 km since the accident (CarProof shows mileage at time of estimate in February as 46k and the sale listing now shows mileage at 48k).


The car is about $10k to $20k less than comparably equipped C4s with similar mileage. $28k seems like a lot for an accident repair, especially when the car is only selling for about $20k more than that.


Any thoughts? A good deal or should I run away? Is it worth investigating any further or is that too big a hit?

 

Just me, but I would not even consider it. There are sooooo many available, why buy one that has been in obviously a serious wreck.

 

Even if the car is perfectly fine now it will likely make a future sale of the car a pain in the *** for you. Cars like this are good candidates for track conversions.

 

Run!

 

This your first post? Why do people ask the dumbest questions?

 

Yes, I said it was my first post in the first sentence of the OP.


Thanks for your insight, I appreciate it...

 

Thanks for the advice all. I wasn't sure if $28k on a Porsche was highly unusual or if the numbers would run up pretty quickly for even a moderate impact.


As I suspected, I'll keep searching.

 

price should be much lower.
try to get info about the accident (picture before repairs, what was damaged, who did the repairs...)


I wouldn't mind buying a 997 that was involved in an accident for a big discount on purchase. but it must have been fix properly and pass a PPI by Porsche.


all depend of what was the accident and what had to be fix.
I mean, ok the car had damage on left/rear side. but if parts in the front right (headlight, bumper, fender) don't line-up, it's pretty extensive damage. I would not touch it.
but if car was still straight and all they had to do was to replace parts (bumper, fender, tail light, exaust, headers... then Im ok with that.

 

I don't think your question is dumb at all. We all want to get the best deal we can on a car purchase and for some a repaired car is not an option and for others not a big deal as long as it looks like new.

You seem to indicate that the price is about $48K - this seems high to me for an 07 but things may be different in your market.

 

Thanks. Honestly, I've purchased an accident-repaired car before and I know it can make resale a hassle. But if done right, the only would be the only one who knows to look at it so it can be a good deal under the right circumstances.


The Canadian market is definitely pricier than the US. Autotrader only has a handful of 997.1 C4s in Ontario, and this is on the bottom end, even at $47k.


After looking for a while, I think that patience is the key to finding the right one, and then jumping on it once "the one" comes along.

 

That's a pretty big collision.

Honestly after my last car was in an accident, it changed my opinion on cars with a history a lot. If properly repaired, you'd never know the difference. I'd get a very good bodyshop that I trust to check the car out.

But, a lot of people will be scared off from buying it, so you should expect to both purchase it heavily discounted and have some difficulty selling it - heavily discounted.

 

Should we assume that your second question is about YOUR FIRST QUESTION ?

 

Is it difficult to purchase a car in the US, and import it into Canada ? I thought that was what many Porsche buyers in Canada do...

 

look for car in the US.
I bought a CPO 2006 C2S cab with 32 000 mls for $51k, 2 years ago from a Porsche dealer.


I had an importation company doing everything for me. they bought the car, imported it (paper work, towing...) and they sold me the car for 51k+import taxes and fees + towing + $500 (their work)


easy.
Porsche.com. location: USA
search used cars.
find the one you want
fly there, test drive, PPI by another Porsche dealer
get the importation company to buy it for you and import.
ENJOY!


you won't save much today with exchange rate.
but instead of having to choose between 5 porsches in Canada, you have 50 in USA that meet you personal requirement/taste

 

Importing a car is pretty easy, no need to pay someone else to do it.


All the info you need to do it is at www.riv.ca. For transport you can drive it, or have it moved. For international vehicle relocation I would strongly suggest TFX International and recommend that you avoid a company called Livingston International.


When you visit the customs office to pay the duties/taxes they need to determine the value of the vehicle to figure out what to charge you. Some officers will ask for the bill of sale right away, but if they don't, don't volunteer it. Sometimes they will attempt to determine the value through KBB or similar, which of course is always lower than what cars actually cost, and this will reduce the car's value on paper so you pay less tax.