Hi,

Let me first start out by saying that I have no experience with Porsche other than having respect for them, and admiring one drive by me every once in a while. I have several friends that are avid Porsche enthusiasts, but I've always been more of a domestic person (judge me all you want). I drive a cadillac, and while it may not be as slick as a porsche, it's still a good car and i'm happy with it.

That said, i got a call from my dad today. He is a boat enthusiast, and one of his friends that has a boat salvage yard (buys wrecked boats) had an opportunity to purchase a 2008 Cayman S. The car is wrecked, but my dad sent me a dozen or so pictures. It appears all the damage is done to the front (lower) end. The rest of the car, including the engine, is in perfect condition.

It's a 2008 model, manual transmission, and 23,000 miles.

I have the opportunity to pick this car up for $20,000 even. Obviously it doesn't have a clean blue title. I would like to know if it's worth doing (attempting)? My aim in doing this would not be to drive it myself, but rather to fix it up and make a few thousand dollars selling it to someone.

Being that you are Porsche (and perhaps even Cayman) owners yourselves, what would your take be? Obviously if this were a 911 turbo or a GT3, i'd be all over it for the price, but I know the Cayman isn't too expensive, so I'm wary if I should even begin to tackle it.

I'm attaching a few pictures so you can see the damage.

What are your thoughts on a) the cost to get it running and working again? I have a guy that can take care of any paint work, who does work for the local Porsche dealership, so really i'm more worried on parts and installation.
Also b) the potential resale value.

Thanks in advance guys

 

That will be a cheap fix if you have a good connection to a bodyshop. Parts wise, you are looking at 3 grand give or take 500$. Frame rails look straight. No real components in the front to worry about. Front tub can be straigtened out. You will probably be in it for about $26ish all said and done.

I wouldn't hesitate to buy it and keep it for myself, but resale might be a little harder as people don't like rebuilt titles. I don't see a huge profit margin anyway. This is VERY minor damage though.

If you pass on it, please PM me and I will take it off your Dad's friends hands for 20 tax in.

 

It appears the damage is minor but if the title is not clean, then it will be a hard sell. If you were to buy it for your own personal use then go for it but other wise I would stay clear

 

There has to be something more wrong with that car than just the front end if it has a salvage title. Whatever happened to it, the car likely has $15k+ in damage if the insurance company gave it a salvage title.

Stay away from it because there's no way you're going to make any money at a $20k purchase price.

 

Salvage title... not worth the effort unless you just want to track it and expect it to bang it up some more :-)

 

As, clearly, stated above. If there is a salvage title, it's not from this accident. I would never buy anything, but a farm vehicle, without a clean title.

 

Very good observations from everyone, and I really appreciate it -
Let me double check on the title part... I was told (by my dad) that it was a "salvaged car", so I took that to mean that it wasn't a clean title, but it could be.

Do you really think the amount of damage that the car has would in no way render it salvaged by insurance?

If it IS a clean title, would THAT make it worth getting (for resale value)?

 

Assuming everything else is mint, yes.

 

Yes - IF you are able to do the work AND make a bunch of pictures during the process . Farming out repairs is ALWAYS way more expensive then what has been quoted. Good luck !