What's it worth? - 99 996 C2 Cap Tip 105K Salvage

1999 C2 Cab Tiptronic 105k miles, IMS retrofit by LN already done. Includes hard and soft top. Salvage title at 20K due to water damage. Everything on the vehicle works. The drivers seat needs some leather work, but other than that it's in pretty decent shape. I've got a PPI in a week for it. I've been looking for a while and of course want a 997 black on black 4s manual, but I don't want to pay for it. I'm thinking this may be an opportunity to scratch this horrible itch to be a 911 owner at a stupid low price. If the PPI shows no major issues, what would you pay for it? 12K? 10k? 8k? 6k? How bad does salvage effect price?

If it runs and drives okay and is in decent condition then I'd say it's worth at least $10k. Some might say it's worth less and they may be right, but I haven't seen too many "running" 996's for under $10k. With that being said, it'll probably need another $5k or more in maintenance and repairs in the first year or two. Don't think that there's any way around this, there isn't. For around $15k you can find plenty of non-salvage 100k mile cars in decent condition all day long. Which car makes more sense to own? Also just fyi, there's no such thing as being a 911 owner at a stupid low price (unless you do all the work yourself). I'd walk away fast. Nah, on second thought, I'd RUN! Either way this is a no win situation for you.

Just my two cents a salvage car due to water I wouldn't pay more than $5k for. You'll be running into electrical issues on it for a long time. Which are expensive to track down. If it was salvage due to an accident I'd do $10k as you can have it inspected to see if it was repaired correctly. You can't really inspect to see if water damage has been fully addressed.

I have a very similar car . I bought the car knowing the water damage history . Besides the seats drying and cracking , its a great little car . The only electrical issue is passenger air bag lite on ? A good running and driving example should fetch + or - 15k . The key is the history , if its been sorted out for a couple years its no more at risk of failure than any other car .

I would like to see an example of a water damage salvage NA 996 selling for $15k.

8k

$5-8k. You'll have a bear of a time selling when that time comes....

Just my $.02, I never have bought a salvage car, and never will. I can't stress that enough. I think there are plenty of clean title vehicles on the market worth buying. Even if you have to fly somewhere and drive it back, plus why would you buy a tip?

the only reason to buy a salvage car is if you plan to keep it - $7K tops for tiptronic - $8K manual - considering you can now find clean title drivers for $11-12K i would be driving that as much as possible prior to the purchase to make sure the electrical system is functioning with no warning lights that prohibit passing emissions/etc...

when looking at the PRICE to get into the game, never lose sight of the COST to stay in it.

If it has traveled 85k miles since the damage I would worry more about worn out bits then the water damage. Running with no major problems in a PPI and LN IMSB retrofit $10k.

$8736.95 !!!

Check that you can get insurance on a salvage title. And realize how difficult it will be to later sell it as the title will follow it. No one has mentioned mold than might be lurking inside the doors and seats and under the carpets and up in the headliner or up under the dash, etc. That could create a serious health hazard that might not immediately be felt.

$8,000. You could part it out and get that much. Engine alone should be worth close to that. And, we just learned over the weekend that someone is willing to pay $1,000 plus shipping for used wheels (separate question - does that make the value of a roller more than $3,000 as some people say since apparently a set of wheels are over $1,000 alone?) If I was buying a salvage car (I wouldn't because I learned my lesson when I did buy a salvage titled MBZ 450SL back in 1990 and it was an SOB to sell and it had a rear subframe that wouldn't allow a perfect alignment and the other stuff cost just as much to maintain as a non-salvage title car), this reason for salvage might be one of the best for the buyer. Since it wasn't wrecked, you don't have to worry about the car disintegrating at speed or being unsafe if involved in an accident. Plus, the car has 85,000 miles on it since the water damage. So, I would expect that any problems caused by the water damage would be evident by now. I would spend a couple of hundred bucks to have it gone over thoroughly to check for lingering water issues that might be hard to detect by a non-mechanic. That being said, I agree that you'd be better off buying a $13,000 to $15,000 nice driving car. Should be plenty out there with around 100,000 miles at that price point. I don't think a good condition 996 will ever drop much below $13,000, so worst case, if you bought one for $15,000, drove it for 5 years and sold it for $10,000, you're out $5,000 plus maintenance. Same scenario with the salvage car, you buy it for $8,000 and sell it in 5 years for probably $6,000 max, you're out $2,000 plus maintenance. So, probably your net maximum financial gain for buying and living with the salvage titled car and the hassle of having to sell it someday is $3,000. Just not worth it to me, plus if a couple of water damage issues do show up that you have to fix, then financially you could be "underwater" (pun intended ) versus buying a non-salvage title car. And, there's a good possibility that the $15,000 car might be worth $12,000 or $13,000 (or more) in 5 years if you believe that the early 996s are hitting the bottom of their depreciation curve.

Thanks for the responses all. I'm thinking if the PPI works out offering $6k and maybe willing to go as high as $8k. I understand that for 15K I can get a clean title car, but often, at least in my area that car doesn't have the IMS done. Which means it's an 18k car. I'm thinking salvage saves me 50% and if the car takes a dump in 5k miles, I can likely offload it for $3-5K in non-running condition. Wish me luck. I'll keep this thread updated as I go through the process.

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+1

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Not a bad plan, frankly. Your logic is sound: low investment = low risk It might not be the way I'd go, but hard to get hurt too bad when you have that little invested and can get nearly that much from the carcass or by parting it out.

a running salvage title car is never going to drop below auction type value for wrecked cars... so in that respect, 6k is out of the question. figure 8k if you are lucky. 9-10k is more likely. break up value of that car is much more than that.

I owned four salvaged cars so far. It is a great way to get a car at 1/2 of the regular price for the non-salvaged car. With older cars, a broken headlight and a door dent will force the insurance company to salvage the car due to body shop rates. Offer $7k for the car and you are covered. If it ****s on you, you can part it out and make ALL of the money back. With DDs and older cars, salvage title is a way to go. If you intend to keep the car for a few years at least, salvage title is a great option to buy a good car for little cash.

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well said weed hopper...

It's still aTIP, just sayin.

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I've only had one, but I regretted it even though it was so cheap. Seems like that's what they always claim, no? Yeah, if you get the right car it can work out well, but you have to be pretty careful. I will say that it is remarkable how scared people generally are with title issues. I have a car with a few title issues that I'm 100% confident are not valid, but the dealers have offered me less than salvage price for it.

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I know I'm in the minority but I love the TIP. I've had manuals all my life, I'm 72 and am lazy now. I have a Kenworth with 18 speeds that I still drive a few days a week. Its a pleasure to drive the 996 with the auto after that.

Never buy a salvage title Porsche ... That's my rule. I know where a solid C2 cab is with a clean and clear title for 12k. Needs a cracked head repaired. Other than that it's a solid car that just needs some interior trim pieces replaced.

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But this car didn't get its salvage title due to a broken headlight and a door dent. The car was a flood vehicle. At 20K miles. That it has gone another 85K miles is perhaps a plus but the car is still a salvaged vehicle. I would still give it a miss. With so many cars without a salvage title to chose from why bother?

Well - I drove it yesterday. Car's in pretty good shape by my eye ball. Brought my mechanic buddy who thought the engine had a slight tick. He thought it was an exhaust manifold leak? Tires only had 500 miles, brake pads were REALLY thick and the rotors seemed a bit scalloped. Paints in pretty good shape, but has some cracking. It is 15 years old. Convertible mechanism tested and working, no water leaks, but the soft top has some issues inside. Couple of paint dings, but nothing dented. Couple of paint scratches on the hard top as well. Waiting on their availability to drop off the car for PPI. Found a good mechanic 10 minutes from their house. I told owner I'd be @ 60% of asking, he came back @ 80% and I basically said it's good to see we're flexible... Seems we'll be between 65% and 75% of asking. I could get a good deal on this if the PPI goes well... We'll see. More updates to come.