Hello, I am new to the forums here.

Have some experience with market value of 997 turbos, but none with any of the other models.

I am potentially purchasing a 2007 911 C2. Not fully sure of the details yet but car would be significaltly low priced. Car is a 2007 carrera with 6,000 miles. Car was hit at 1500 miles and owner who seems to be decent guy and into porsches purchased it from the insurance company and had it repaired at a porsche dealership.

Car has all records and services, however does have salvage title. I talked to a few people and they said could potentially turn some profit if new owner was planning on putting alot of miles and keeping it for a long period of time OR if I could potentially sent it overseas since they go for a significant percentage higher over there. ( know a person who could arrange purchase and transport)

Anyways, was just looking for some opinions. Not really looking to making a quick buck but wanted to see if it could potentially be a good buy and mabye drive it for a few weeks or make a few thousand.

 

Thanks ahead for any help

 

I will never again buy a salvaged car. Is it a death trap? The frame may be misaligned and have poor handling or eat up tires. Is the salvage for flood damage? Too many questions. I was so relieved when I sold my salvaged mercedes.

 

DON'T DO IT !! Bottom fishers ALWAYS lose. You will see...................

 

I would never buy a salvage car .

 

Run...and run far away from a salvaged car.

 

My first 997 was rear ended by a garbage truck, the damge was over $30K, and I traded it back in on my current car. I refused to do drive it as the frame was heavily damaged. Stay away from the car!

 

some insurance company won't insure a salvage car .

 

honestly it is not worth, listen to us.......never bought, so i cant tell you my experience, but know people who have and it is the worse.... just save a little more and get the real complete deal....

 

Pass unless you own a body shop/repair fecility and can ensure that everything is on the up and up.

 

I'd pass even if I owned a body shop !

 

i bought a svg title car once in my life, many moons ago... it was the worst decision i ever made. looked fine at purchase, but 1 yr in the doors wouldnt align with the body. i took it in and was told there was signficant frame damage to the car. i took out the center console etc. to install a SSK, and EVERYTHING was rusted underneath... horrible. lastly, i modified the motor, and had a lot of problems. i was getting a lot of detination... anyways, i sold that car at a huge loss... it was a lesson learned and i will never touch a svg title car again...

 

If you had a way of knowing exactly what the damage was, and how it was repaired, so that you knew it was done right and was not too extensive, etc. and you were buying the car to drive yourself for the long term, maybe. But for a 2007 to be totaled there had to be alot of damage.

On some of the older 996's even relatively minor, esaily fixable body damage can lead to a "total" as the cost of repairs/parts is high and the market value of the cars is so low.

 

Depending on the damage, if it is mostly cosmetic go ahead and throw and offer to the auction/insurance company. Too many people back away when they hear of any accident a car had, be it salvage or not, but the truth is, if you know it was repaired at a reputable body shop with OEM parts then it can be easy for resale.

If you buy second hand parts and have "joe's garage" do the repair then you will have a sub-standard repair that will definitely show on a high end car. In the end, a 997 is worth quite a bit, but many of the people who are buying Porsche's have a passion for one and have the finances available so they don't want the headache of negative history unless there is a substantial price reduction in turn.

Good luck ... my advice, buy it if it's cheap and enjoy it. Who knows, you may not even want to sell it after you fix it.

 

I have bought and sold several salvage titled cars from the insurance auction (IAAI) and from a local salvage yard. The cars that I have rebuilt include: a 99 Porsche 996 (tiptronic in vesuvio metallic...engine fire), 99 Jaguar XJR, 99 Mercedesl SL600, 04 and 03 BMW 330i, 99 Porsche 996 (6-speed, iris blue...dash fire), and an 05 Range Rover. There are some incredible bargains to be had, provided you know what you are getting into. I resold two of the cars, my dad owns two of the cars, and I still own three of the salvaged cars.

I did not have a problem reselling the two cars...the vesuvio 996 or the 03 BMW 330i. I documented the rebuild of both of the Porsches over on Rennlist. I prefer to rebuild the cars myself, rather than buying cars that I don't know what caused the original damage. Cars can be salvaged for a variety of reasons...flood, theft, fire, vandalism, and collision. Theft recovery cars can have no damage, and still carry a salvage title.

Based on my experience, I have found that salvaged cars are not a problem to insure, they can not be financed, and the prior salvage history voids the original warranty. I would personally steer clear of any salvage car that has had frame damage or flood damage. There is a stigma attached to a car with a prior salvage history...you are not going to sell them for as much as a car with a clear title, that is in the same condition. The two that I sold were priced less than any other similar car nationwide. I made them enough of a bargain that the buyers did not care about the salvage history.

Rebuilding salvaged cars, for me, is more a labor of love than a money making proposition. I have a hard time parting with them, once I am finished. I would be surprised if you can make a significant amount of money on one that someone else has rebuilt...why would they sell it to you, for less than they could sell it for on ebay? If you are buying it to enjoy, you might get a bargain. Don't be afraid to have a PPI done by a mechanic and a body shop. Good luck.

Here are some pictures of the two Porsches that I rebuilt. I plan on keeping the blue car forever.