Thoughts on salvage title 2001 c4s 70000 miles

I'm not usually on this board but thought I'd ask for some advice. I looked at a 01 c4s yesterday. Known salvage title 70000 miles. Unknown service history (is ims) car drives nice but I'm sure some suspension work will be needed. I was thinking of buying as a track car/driver. I like to work on my cars so figured I could do ims and other needed work. He is asking 24000. I told him subtext 40% off the bat for a salvage car that's not in need of any repairs. I was thinking of offering him 11000 since the history is unknown and the title branded. Any suggestions or help would be appreciated. Or do you think my offer offensive.

Is it a track car you really want? personally I wouldn't track a 996 very hard, I'd pick something else like a lotus with a toyota engine perhaps

It wouldn't be the main reason. More of a daily driver without worrying about it kinda car. I also have a 05 turbo s speed yellow and thought it would be nice to swap seats. If I did track it. It wouldn't be hard or often. I have a 10 7 and 4 year old so free time is at a bare minimum/)

That is not a c4S... but if the aerokit is OEM... sport seats, etc... looks a nice car.

What is it? I'm not to up on the NA 996.

I'll check the build sheet

Since it's a narrow body '01 it's either a C2 or C4.

Thanks. Any thoughts on price

He's asking $24K and you are going to offer him $11K. If I were him, I'd laugh you out of town. The motor and aerokit alone are worth more than that. I don't think it is a C4S, that is a narrow body car. Either a C2 or a C4.

That's why I asked your opinion. Thanks for the helpful advice.

I'd want to know what the reason was for the salvage title. Relatively low mileage will demand a higher price. 1999 is more desirable than a 2000/01 mkI car, but the 2001 is the most recent mkI. Aerokit drives the price up. I think the asking price is reasonable. And the advice may not have been helpful, but I think is is unreasonable when someone offers a small fraction of the asking price. I find it incredibly insulting.

Until you know why salvage title and quality of repairs you are flying blind. As for a low ball offer you might want to rethink until you know more.

For a known salvage title car - $24,000 is also wishful thinking. $11,000 may be a bit low but something in the neighborhood of $15,000 may be more like it. $24,000 would buy you a nice clean title car, IMO. (Ask me how I know, wink-wink, nudge-nudge, hardy-har.)

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Concur

Need to know the damage done before I would consider buying it at all. Quick thing to check: Turn the key to ON but not START. note the airbag light illuminates, and after 3-5 seconds it goes out. If it were water damaged, no way ever. If it was a body damage hit from the side, maybe. If it was hit from the front, it needs to be checked for the airbags deployed, and properly replaced. As for price, I think both of you are a bit wacky.

Silver horn crest alone is worth $24k!

It's to know from photos, but it looks like the salvage title is due to a hit on the front passenger corner. $24k would be a good price for that car if it had a clean title and a slightly cleaner interior. The car looks to be highly optioned though. If the salvage title is from a hit and it was fixed competently, I'd say that's a $14k car.

Thanks my friend. I was thinking around that but I'd have to have it inspected from that standpoint. Then there is the service and maintenance issues which are unknown. I appreciate the constructive response. Sometime I wonder why people can't respond with out being smarty pants. I guess those people are just a lot smarter than me.

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Good luck buying that car for $14K.

Yeah, $24K is way high for a salvage title. Hell, I'll sell you my '99 aero with 79k miles for $24K I agree, depending on the reason for the salvage title, around $15K might be about right.

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^^This^^ The car looks beautiful, but the "salvage" title kind of ruins it...If you absolutely love the car and plan on keeping it forever, it might be worth $15-20k to you - $24k seems crazy for a salvage...If you ever plan to sell, it will be a $ loser

Ya no way on gods earth that would pay 24 for it. I was gonna offer 11000 but some here think I'll be hung up an lynched for even considering it. I know it's really lowwwwwww. But to a prospective buyer that's thinking they might want to get rid of it some day. I think not. For the same reason this car will NEVER Sell anywhere near that price. Is the same reason I'm not willing to pay much for. In the end it's up to him what he will take or not take. If he doesn't hit the lower teens I don't think he will ever sell it. But hell what do I know since I'm asking what people's advice would be.

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I don't get it, why not track a 996? What is the point of having a Porsche then, grocery getter? It clearly isn't a track rat but any Porsche is a ton of fun at the limit and doing that on the street is well, not a great idea.

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You're going to need gooder luck selling that car for $24K.

Seems like the first order of business would be to get an explanation from the seller why it has a salvage title. It would also be worthwhile to get a CarFax since that will typically show some service records and may provide more info/corroboration on salvage status. It's a beautiful car -- it should be worth 24k, but salvage status will always be an anchor on resale value. The market value with salvage title may be closer to 15k. Given that it's listed at 24k, 11k would be an offensively low offer if I was the seller.

As others have said, not a C4S (those didn't come around until 2002 with the facelift style headlights). That is definitely a narrow body 996.1, and appears to have a factory aero kit. Beautiful car! I really like the wheels, and I've always loved the mk1 aero kits. You can check the build sheet to make sure its factory aero. Also as others have said, 24k is very wishful thinking with a salvage title. Regardless of why, a salvage title lowers the value, period. That being said, you should find out why the title is a salvage, and then make a smart decision based on what you learn and the other factors. The salvage title + no maintenance records are both pretty big negatives. The aero kit is a big positive. Hard to say what its worth, honestly. Before I bought mine I spent 6 months looking at every 996 for sale to try to get a feel for the market.

This guy is so out of touch with the value of his car. I wouldn't even waste your breath because he is going to think that his car is worth way more than it is. I could line you up hundreds of 996s for 24k and under so he is clueless. 11k may be a tad low but if you are willing to spend 14-16k you can find many good specimens. As far as tracking it I have no clue about that.

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+100

i bailed on it he wanted to come down to 19000 but hell there's a ton of 19000 dollar 2000 C2's out there without a salvage. It's definitely cool as hell looking but I really woudn't pay more than 11 for it. Regardless of what anyone says that's all it's worth to me. thanks all and have a great thanksgiving!!!!

I would hit him up every other week as long as your offer is good. The market for salvage cars is narrow. A no record salvage 996 even narrower. Just keep dropping the hint as long as your willing to buy it. Worse he can do is decline or block your number and not respond. You never know .As the market lets him know the value he might settle for your offer.

$19k might be a decent offer if I knew what the salvage was for. It really doesn't take much to salvage these cars. If I knew it has an LN IMS done, and the rest of the car checked out I might pay $19k if it was just a couple bent fenders.

Finding out what the reason for receiving a salvage title is important. Cars get salvage titles for reasons other than accidents. Could be a theft recovery. Also, the reason why these cars don't make the best track cars is because of the oiling oil sump design. They starve for oil in severe turns. One of my cars had an engine failure due to this and it had the X51 oil pan baffle installed. There are some better options out there, but the stock setup is not recommended. Sad, but true.

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Also could be a flood car which I would stay away from.

Ya I don't know much about why except what he told me. He bought at salvage auction. He said The guy who owned previously side swiped something and then got in a fight with the insurance company due to the cost of repair. Insurance ended up totaling it and wouldn't sell it back and that's how it was sold. I guess if I really wanted it I could have a thorough inspection done. He said he would accept 18000 for it but if it checked out I still wouldn't pay more than 15000. So that's what I'll offer and see if he accepts. Pending and inspection. Here is the carfax

Right rear is the place to get hit. Very unlikely to set off the airbags. Have a frame/body guy look up in there, and tell you what he finds.

Even car fax says it’s only worth $12,200

Clean title

I think you are in ballpark with 11K offer, 24K for a real C4S w that mileage. I would test the water with the offer, If he doesn't bite, walk and he'll come around later. As far as Aero kit value, it's what someone will pay you for it. I have salvaged a couple of cars over the years, They are a tough sell, if you own it. you will always get questions as to why. You might have a hard time insuring it other than liability coverage. AS far a tracking these, you can, but be careful and keep an eye on things. Lot's of people track them.

what does "non-collison damage mean"...flood or theft?

I know this is now a moot point, but just adding to the conversation. My car was sideswiped and had extensive damage. There was no collision impact, just a shredding of the driver's side. The insurance company assessed the damage at just under the amount that would have totaled it. The estimator miscalculated what it would cost to replace a Sport Techno wheel. When informed that the insurance company needed to fork over more money for the wheel, they were going to total it. The body shop worked with me to avoid that as they didn't want my car to get a salvage title. In my case, the difference between a clean title and a salvage title was a couple hundred dollars. So understanding why a car has a salvage title is important if you're planning to keep the car. If your plan is to sell it later on, then you will likely take a hit on the sale regardless of the reason for the salvage title.