I am thinking of buying a 03 C4S. The car is very clean with what I would call normal wear and tear for a vehicle with 43k miles. The dealer said that the previous owner backed into a fire hydrant and had to have the rear left bumper repaired. If you move your hand across the very corner of the rear bumper you can feel where the paint gets a little more rough. It's a small spot. I couldn't see it visually but it was there. He said it was very minor damage but would show up on carfax as an accident. What does this do to the value of the car? They are asking 42k for it. My research tells me between 36,500 and 39,500 price range. I was thinking of making an offer. Options are pretty scarce. The car has silver gauges and the silver trim on the interior. The seats are embossed with the Porsche crest. That's about it. It is very clean, has newer tires. Is the accident a big deal? Thanks. Hope to be a owner soon!

 

Turn the tables on them. Trust me, if you took in your C4s to a dealer as a trade in and they found out it had an obvious Carfax accident report and paint work, they would probably deduct 3-5K on the trade in value even if Mr. Porsche personally repaired and certified it fixed perfectly. So it should work both ways (but dealers don't like to think it should, of course).

Also, I wouldn't trust that it was just the bumper that was fixed. If I just did "minor damage" to the rear bumper cover, I would be very hesitant to make a claim since I still have to pay the deductible, it would go on my record, and it would show up on a Carfax and kill my resale value. But it is possible the previous owner doesn't think that way, but I still rarely trust dealers.

 

You have to PPI the car. That applies to all Porsche purchases, if they have had body work or not. Negotiate a price first then adjust the price based on the report findings.

 

Price seems very high, especially with accident damage.. I've been looking for a C4s as well, here are 2 great cars for much less money, less miles and no accident damage:

http://forums.rennlist.com/marketpla...uct/303/cat/65
http://forums.rennlist.com/marketpla...uct/347/cat/65

That car is worth 30k tops in the current market with accident damage.. You can get a Turbo with similar miles/no damage for 42k

 

Wow, those cars look like great deals. It seems like the asking prices are much higher and there are a lot fewer 911s on the West coast.