calling RSA crowd
 

Help me, please. I'm being offered a car and I really don't know what it's worth. please tell me your opinion.
1993 RSA guards red, 60k, good shape, but was previously damanged on the left front. car is straight in as new condition. it was repaired by a concours Porsche builder with only factory parts, there is no "frankenstien" work.
car is lowered with Porsche RSR suspension (no really, RSR factory components). car was a street car and not a race car. I've driven the car, and it drives beautifully. I did see the car before it was fixed and personally know the extent of damage, needed new fender/bumper/hood. title is "salvage".
please let me know what you think.
Kmatts.

It seems to me that a car that only needed a new fender, bumper and hood wouldn't come out of it with a salvage title.

Even if the car is perfectly straight, that salvage title would scare me. I'm going to guess a value in the low $20k range. Maybe $22k?

Just a wild guess.

Mike

salvage cars typically bring 1/3 of what a clear titled car of the same condition would bring...but there is always some "guy" that'll pay more and then regret it later when they want to sell...


if you have all the photos, paperwork, etc. it may help...my brother bought a 1994 Grand Prix with 5k miles that was side-swiped in 1994 and it was totaled, it only cost him $2000 to fix it and he had all the pictures of damage, especially from underneath (there was none)...so if you have documentation like this, that should help...

I don't have the documentation on the accident, but i might be able to get it. my thinking was that the suspension alone was 5k or even more.

Unless you are looking for a track car, the salvage title is a big negative. You may not be able to register or insure it for street use in your state or others, and may have a problem should you decide to sell it later on. I have heard people say a salvaged vehicle is worth only 50% of what a clear-titled car is worth.

Personally, I would not pay more for a salvage-titled car than what I could get back quickly by parting it out, unless it was a well-prepared race car and I was intending to use it only at the track. Sounds like this car may be a perfect candidate for that, and may easily be worth $25-30K as a track/DE car.

TT

This has been covered many times on here. The short story,.. Salvage title is bad if its a low line car, like a Camry or such, not a big deal if its a high line. I work in a dealership, I see wrecked cars coming in everyday, you wouldnt believe what gets fixed. The reason is a camry, which is valued at 15,000 will get repaired if the estimate is as high as 10,000, but a Porsche which is valued at 40,000 will not get repaired if the damage is over 20,000, it will be salvaged. If the car is repaired right, which would you rather drive? I agree they are worth a little less, but certainly not 1/3. More like 80% I realize that each car must be carefully looked at based on the type of accident it was involved in. Im with TT, its worth at least 25K
IMHO.

The "RSR" suspension parts are all available new for about $2500. This includes Bilstein struts, hats and spacers, springs, and camber plates. Not really a big deal.

rattlsnak, thank you for your opinion, that's a very good point you've made, especially with the low prodution number of 701 RSAs. John, I must have been mis-informed about the suspension, i will look into it. thanks for pointing that out.

Friend of mine sold a low miles RSA last year for low 40's. Excellent condition, suspension mods (revalved shocks, springs, etc) & bigger brakes. With mileage & salvage title, I wouldn't pay more than mid-upper 20's. And only if it was a car I wanted as a 'keeper', because it will be a hard sell with title issues.

IMHO RSA'a are desirable as 'delete option' for track cars. As such, more desirable if it has no sunroof & no A/c.

What is it that you want to use the car for? The RS America is sort of a strange stepchild in the 911 family. It's not really a high performance variation, and it's not really a collectible. Still, it has its niche in some club racing classifications, and is at least as fun as any other 964 as a track day car.

Alan, do you recall what your friend sold his RSA for?
Jack, I plan on using the RSA for general tomfoolery, i may drive it to work (27 miles), i'd like to do some DE/track days. I have driven this car on the street and really do like it. Kyle.

Married to a salvage title
 

RS America's seem to have a cult like following which keeps the prices high. You can check www.rsamerica.net in their classified section to see about where the market is on these things. In the spring of 2000 I sold one with 48,000 miles on it for 36k. I would draw a higher price then that now. I recently ( 2 to 4 months ago) inquired about an RS America in SO Cal that had a salvage title. Infact I asked a similar question to this BB about salvage titles. The car appeared to be expertly reapired yet the seller could not even give the car away.... we were talking low to mid 20's and no one was interested. I believe he finally sold for high teens to 20k. With the fine work some shops do these days and the "quick to total" attitude of some of the insurance companies, SOME cars are worth the look. The biggest problem is you better really like the car cause you're going to be married to it, its very tuff to sell em.



I can tell you a silver RS america is 30k miles with no sunroof and no AC just sold for 37.5k around here. It had the H&R lowering kit on it. A local factory dealership also has a black one with 60k miles on it for 38k and change.

Yea, in PCA club racing the RS America enjoys running in "D" class at a weight of 2760 pounds. What's weird is that the RS America doesn't weight anything close to 2760. PCA club racing is very thorough on balancing car classifications and some hot controvery has emerged about various classing issues. Yet somehow and for some strange reason the RS America continues to be allowed to run at a grossly incorrect weight.

The RS America is the "Teflon 911". No fact or criticism can stick to it!

John, thanks for torturing me. like i need that influence!!!! quick, hide the checkbook and the piggy bank. yes, that's my kidney on Ebay. Kyle.

Beware of anyone who possesses both a salvage title and an obvious willingness to use PhotoShop on the pictures they're using to sell the car.

well if they really knew how to use Photoshop, they'd clean the title too.

Jack, thanks for the warning, but I don't have a picture of the car. Although I could probably get one and throw some fuzzy dice and dangle balls on the mirrors, cheech & chong style.

Oh, I thought the posted picture was of the one for sale.

I think that picture is that 60 mile example we debated here about a month ago. That ultra low mileage one thats been for sale for over a year.