Found a 'gash' on a car I want to buy.. help me evaluate plz!

I found a car I like, its a 2002 C2 white on gray leather. The car has 32,000 miles and I have gotten the price down to 52K, with the CPO warranty etc.. The car drives well BUT, there is a dent/gash about 10 inches long on the bottom side of the passenger rocker panel. (the location where the areo side piece would cover up) The location on the dent/gash is on a metal piece of the body, it looks like it hit a curb or something. It is not noticeable from close up, but when you step back, you can see the dent on the bottom of the car... the dealer said he can get it fixed, and that the dent has othing to do with the frame or structural integrity of the car... Is what he is saying true? Is this a body/cosmetic issue that can be fixed? Do you know if the frame of the car reaches out there? Dealer says the frame is much narrower than that area & so it would not have been affected... It looks like the previous owner may have run over a big curb, and the middle of the car landed on the curb, creating the dent/gash... help, you opinions really matter, I am thinking about pulling the trigger.

I would put down a refundable deposit and have him fix the car. If you're satisfied afterwards, no problem. If you're not, take your money back. Before or after the repair, I would have an independent place check the car's frame if you're worried about that. If you're uncomfortable, don't be afraid to walk away and move on. You can find CPO cars with 32,000 or fewer miles over and over again. Good luck.

I am starting to think that the frame of the car is underneath the part of the car that is damaged.. reason being this is the general area where the jacking points are on the car.. arent the jack locations under the car located on the frame so that you can lift the car up from these 4 points?

I have attached a picture of a C2 with the damage area circled in red... please note that this is not the actual car I am looking at that has the damage, the car in this photo is for illustration purposes only.

tell the dealer to give you a set of sideskirts instead. his cost vs repair costs will probably be close. and you car will look better

I don't believe the dent involves the frame. The frame is further in. This is a cosmetic defect, not a structural one. It does detract from the attractiveness of the car, however. I would definitely have the dealer repair it or cover it up with sideskirts.

purely cosmetic !! nothing to worry about.

i think the price is a bit high for a 32k mi 02. I think it should be another 2k less esp given this body damage. I'd have a PPI done or take it to a body shop for an estimate before you decide to buy. A good shop can tell you what would have caused this (accident, scrap when transporting, etc). I doubt it but maybe a dent pro guy can fix this without repainting? That would be the best fix.

I turned down a 996 that had a gash in that location but it wasn't just a scratch there was some indentation. My previous car had the same gash as the one I turned down but mine was from a truck hitting me from the side. The entire car was repaired but they left the gash so when I saw it on the 996, I ran away to never look back.

The gash that I am talking about does have an INDENTATION .. it definately looks like some sort of parking stucture drayway incident or that perhaps the car went over a curb & the curb hit the bottom/side of that panel. Is this piece removed & replaced with side skirts or do the side skirts fit over the this damaged piece?

That underside part was not replaceable on my old car I don't know if it is on the 996 but didn't want to waste time finding out.. I can say though, my old car drove fine afterward. The 996 I was looking at had other things I didn't like as well so that gash was the icing on the cake. I'm not sure how I would have reacted if that was the only flaw.

I did go on a Mtn road test drive and the car is fantastic! drove better & had no rattles like the other 996 I was looking at with only 18K mi.! Is anyone else suprised that this gash didnt get picked up during the 100+ point CPO inspection?? I am still considering the car, esp. because it drives stong & its CPO. But I dont get where you guys get your pricing.. I get mine from KBB, but you guys think its high.. it seems most dealers go with KBB used car values, so its hard to walk in w/ a lowball edmunds number & have them take you seirously... right?

Try www.autotrader.com to see what others are selling it for. CPO'd Porsches are not supposed to have been in accidents so you should be ok.

No offer is too low, so long as you are serious about it. My motto: If you don't ask, you don't get. It's all about attitude and the value of a sale in hand to the dealer. To let them know you're serious, tell them you are ready to sign at the dotted line, and have pen and checkbook ready. There's a lot of good 911's out there. I'm pretty sure they wll either take your offer, or negotiate. The one thing they will NOT do is not take you seriously. By the same token, be ready to walk out anytime. Walking out on what the dealer says is a good deal does not mean you were not serious. If the dealer can not make you a good deal, it's the dealer who was not serious.

Is it Porsche CPO?? or Dealer CPO?? Porsche CPO isn't supposed to have any dings or dents or visible repairs. Dealer CPO is a different dog!! I would definetly want an independent eval of that problem before I plunked my hard earned money down.

the car is from a Porsche dealership that sells new Porsches, and some Certified PreOwned ones too... i think that means that it is Porsche CPO.

Is it Porsche CPO?? or Dealer CPO?? Porsche CPO isn't supposed to have any dings or dents or visible repairs. Dealer CPO is a different dog!! If the car is sold at a Porsche Dealership, the CPO warranty would be through Porsche. The Porsche Dealers near me do not repair any body damage prior to sale. They want the potential buyers to see that the damage is superficial. Most Porsche buyers look very closely for evidence of body damage, and it's not that difficult to spot freshly painted areas even when they are professionally blended into adjacent areas. After the buyer and seller agree on a price, a conditional contract is made whereby the buyer agrees to purchase the car if the car is repaired to his satisfaction.

The dealer agreed to go around the car with me and measure the paint around the car with a paint meter. I guess my #1 concern is whether or not the frame would be hit in this type of case... the dealer says that the frame is not that far out & that the frame ends around where the wheel well starts. Is that rocker panel in the picture removeable? Maybe I can ask the dealer to take it off for me to see whats inside.

Not trying to hijack thread but, I'm confused as to where you are talking about that the frame ends, in general is the ending location the start of the inside of the tire towards the outside. And is the frame damaged in the image I attached?

Not sure if that car has frame damage, but the dealer said that the frame ends pretty much where the door sill starts, not sure if he was accurate tho. Would be nice to know. Anyone?

Why not have the dealer put the car on the rack and have a look yourself. If the frame is involved, you should be able to see the dent protrude inwards. Have them remove any underpinnings that would hide damage. My guess from what you have said is no way the frame is involved. If it were, and the dealer knew, it wouldn't be CPO-able and they would have wholesaled the car out. Now is your opportunity to get some free side skirts if you want. If you get the skirts, they will cover up the dent and I wouldn't care if it was repaired.

Like just about every other car, these cars are unibody construction. There is no frame per se. The entire structure carries the loads, although there are structural members carrying large loads. The question should be whether the integrity of the stucture has been compromised and, assuming not, whether the repair was properly done. A body shop doing high end work should be able to evaluate the car and suggest an appropriate repair.