What does an accident do to the value of a 911?

[Mike Juzenas]

I am looking for a 964 or 993 and have found a very nice 91 964. It has all the right pieces (ie LUK flywheel, distributor vent kit) the engine number indicates it has the head-cylinder seals, its immaculate inside and out, has only 61,000 Kms (that about 37.900 miles), full maintenance records since new, and drives tighter than a drum.

Only one problem : Last year it was hit on the right rear corner by someone switching lanes and screwing up. It was repaired by the best body shop in the area.

Okay, I like the car, I am going to checkout the repair records, talk to the body shop, have it inspected mechanically and by another body man that I trust but....

The bill to fix the damage was around $16,000, or just over half the asking price of the car.

My first instinct is run as fast as I can but lets explore this some more.

If the car is repaired correctly it could be a good as new. If its sold at the appropriate price because of the accident, the new owner could have a good deal if he anticipates the resell value will be low as well. The depreciation just flows through. It may be a hard to sell the car.

My Question : What does this accident do the value of the car assuming the repair is first rate and the car is otherwise perfect?

Is it 10% off perfect price? 20%?

What do you guys think? Besides running? ;-)

[don911]

For a daily driver car, I don't think a minor accident should affect the value very much....as long as the repair was done correctly. My car was rear ended (very light hit in the rear) last year and repaired by one of the best p-car guys in my area. I don't feel my car is worth less because of the accident since there is no sign of the repair. The car actually looks better now than before the accident.
If the body was twisted or tweaked and the alignment is screwed up, that might be another story.
A $16K repair may not be a minor accident. That's a big bill unless they did a complete respray. If you have the repair records and know that the repair was done right, I wouldn't think the value should be that much less than before. Just my .02 but I know I wouldn't consider taking 10-20% off my car to sell it. The owner may feel like he now has a hard to sell car and be willing to deal more on the price. I wouldn't run from it. If it checks out, you might get a great car for a good price.

Good luck!

Don
87 coupe

[orbmedia]

An accident repair should knock 20%, and if the car has a branded title then you're talking 40% or more. There are just too many clean cars out there with no damage.

[Sportsman]

i think you have to be reasonable. it is very likely that a car driven for over ten years will inevitably have some type of fender bender.

what if you pay more for a clean one and then on the way home some 16 year old chick who just got her liscense hits you?

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Daryl Planter 91C2
Targa

[Doug Zielke]

Hey Mike,
You know the rules here in BC...you'll have an accident declaration on the ICBC papers until that car is scrap. Makes it a ***** to sell...the buyers are wary...*you* should be too!

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'81 SC Coupe (aka: "Blue Bomber")
Member: SCWDP
Canada West Region PCA
The Blue Bomber's Website
"If it ain't broke...we'll help you fix it 'til it is!"

[Sleazy]

Can only speak from germany...
Cars with a repaired accident loose ~20%.
ONLY repairs made by official porsche-trader with a bill lower it to ~10%.
Itīs simply cause most of the "known good" other mechanics donīt fix it as it should be.
You can buy a porsche for half the price which looks fine.
But after some years you will see the difference.
In germany they simply rust.
Accident-free cars donīt show any rust for 15-20years.
(and itīs always raining in germany)
I have only one strict point for bying a porsche.
NO accident or a little one fixed by porsche.

greetings
Sleazy

[Jim T]

Originally posted by Mike Juzenas:


If the car is repaired correctly it could be a good as new.

Don't kid yourself, no matter how its repaired, it can never be quite as good as new.

$16,000 is not a fender bender. That is a lot of work done on the car.

I'd need at least 25% off "perfect price" to even start to talk about it (although I personally would walk on this one).

[Rick Lee]

The amount an accident can lower the value also depends on whether you're selling it to a private buyer or a car dealer. Dealers will not care in the least how well it was repaired. If an insurance claim shows up on Carfax, you lose a good chunk. However, I looked at two '87 Carreras that had both been in accidents, but which were well repaired and was comfortable with both. I got one for a steal and plan to eventually have it totally resprayed, as I want to keep it for a while. If resale value is a huge concern, you may not want a once-hit 911. If you plan to keep the car forever, drive and enjoy it no matter what, then I say go for a once-hit, if it checks out.

[Nickshu]

Having repaired my own 911 from a wreck, and having done a fair amount of body work, I'll chime in here.

Anything can be fixed. The question is, did someone do it RIGHT! In a commercial body shop environment, production matters. The guy fixing your Porsche often does not think about how much you have invested in the car, nor has the eye for detail that you expect, but is more interested in the boss breathing over his shoulder to keep production up.

SO my point is that you need to find out where it was fixed and what kind of work they do. High production, low prices generally mean lower quality. Yeah they could have done an "adequate job", but you obviously have high expectations. Low production, high price shops often will do much better work (possibly the $16K bill?) and most likely did an excellent job.

Try to see some receipts as to what parts were replaced. This will give you an idea of how extensive the damage ACTUALLY was. I would be more concerned with a 911 hit in the rear, than one hit in the front due to the large # of engine components in the rear and the potential for minor and undetected damage to any of them.

Ask for pictures if available. When I rebuilt my wrecked 911, I took a picture of everything I did for documentation if, in the unlikely event, that I sold it, I could show the buyer that all repairs were done correctly with no corners cut.

Do you homework. If you have doubts, look elsewhere...in the end, you're the one who has to sleep at night!

Hope this helps
Nick.

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_ _ __ _ _
Nick Shumaker
1982 911SC Coupe
nickshu@yahoo.com
PCA -- Rocky Mtn. Region

[Mike Juzenas]

Thanks for all your help guys!

Interesting enough, the dealers I talked to have heard of this car and would not touch it. They said it would be way to difficult to sell.

However, the body shop that worked on it was first rate, the particular guy who worked on it is first rate (reference from a body guy that I trust absolutely), it appears no corners where cut at all, so its been fixed correctly. I do believe that.

However, he is not asking 25% below market, or in fact he is close to market. Not even 10% down. So the price is not that attractive once you see the damage numbers.

My gut is telling me to walk. My brain is waffling. I will follow my gut instinct unless he comes back to me with an offer that I cannot refuse. That offer has to be very very low.

So I am on the hunt for a car again. Actually, being on the hunt is kindof exciting!

You are right there are too many cars that do not have this kind of damage done to them to have to settle on something that your gut tells you is wrong.


**Sigh** it was a nice car though!

Thanks!

Mike

[JonSeigel]

Mike:

Your instincts are exactly right. Assuming it was in the price to some extent, I would have *no* problem purchasing a car that had been in an accident, but was repaired by a quality shop-especially if I expected to keep it for a while. However, (and here is where your instincts are correct), there is no discount. For that price you should be able to find a 92-93 with all "964 issues" taken care of (except maybe venting the distributor, which is cheap anyway). It will maybe have a few more miles than the car you're looking at, but will still be reasonable mileage-wise and you will not have resale problems.

What you're going through is the typical rush to purchase an aesthecally pleasing P-car. But the name of the game is *patience*, as painful as it is in the short run.

Good luck and be patient,

Jon

[This message has been edited by JonSeigel (edited 10-27-2001).]