2001 rebuildable for 20K

Hello All, I have an opportunity to purchase a 2001 996 with damage to the front left quarter area. The impact was behind the wheel and in front of the door jamb. The impact seemed to be hard enough to move the steering column to the left and exposing portions of the firewall. It has 53K miles, technic package, aerokit, aftermarket rims, no damage to motor/trans. needs front clip, Interior needs center console, passgr side airbag, and some cosmetic parts. Any information would be appreciated

Pic of front left quarter area would be more descriptive. Repairs don't come cheap

If it has a salvage title it will have a major negative impact on the value of the car should you decide to sell in the future.

you are better off with a good, used 1987.

I would be wary of rebuilable cars. If the insurance company decides it would cost more to fix the car than to buy total it, that means there is a lot of damage you can and cannot see. Additionally, you will have to go to a second rate shop to keep the costs down. Ask this question. It is in the insurers best interest to pay the least amount of money. If they could have fixed the car to safe STANDARDS they would have. How are you going to get the car to the same standards for less? Maybe I'm wrong but I'd stay away from it. Bobby

I don't know about your own age or physical condition but, unless you are a Porsche mechanic who also knows body work pretty well, this is a good opportunity to figure out how fast you can run ... the other way. J

That's a good car for a Porsche mechanic that can work on it for a hobby... I would not buy a car with that damage in the hopes of repairing it. 20K is still a lot of money and you would need to put at least 15K into it from what you've described.

How come nobody has asked the most important question.....is the RMS leaking? The rest of the stuff is cosmetic.

Hey Aben, I was faced with a similar situation and here's what I decided. My dad is a dealer and rebuilds wrecks for a hobby/retirement income. I've owned 4-5 of them over the last 15 years and never really had any problems that new (non-wrecked) cars don't have..and I paid a helluva lot less for them. Generally 50% of new cost for a car ~12 months old. Kinda gives you the warm fuzzies! Honestly it's a great way to get an inexpensive daily driver if you have reasonable expectations (i.e., a common model, not hit hard, location of hit, not a nit-picker for details, etc.) Having said all that, when I decided to buy a 996 I discussed it with him and we came to the same conclusion...don't bother with rebuilding one. Reasons? - high parts cost (do some pricing on those parts you think it needs but an airbag and cover alone will probably be ~1$k) - more limited selection of wrecks to choose from (mileage, dmg location, etc.) - salvage title (not a big deal on a $8k camry but this is going to be a $35k+ carrera by the time you're done...resale will be very difficult as people buying a Porsche at that price have diff stds.) - end of the day savings as a % off used just wasn't worth the hassle (what're you gonna save vs. an avg condition used car? $5-8k maybe?) For me the positives just didn't overcome the negatives but maybe your requirements are different. For what it's worth I think the salvage car prices have been driven through the roof the last couple of years and there aren't many bargains out there like there used to be. In the end I bought a used 99 with low miles in very good condition. Is it perfect? no but if I want to sell or trade up in the next couple of years it's a lot easier to gauge market value than with a car with a salvage title. I'm not saying don't do it but go into it with your eyes open. Good luck, Keith

All, Thanx for your opinions. I decided to call them back and let the next buyer have a shot at it. Apparently allot of interested parties have been calling up wanting to purchase the car. Thanx again