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I have purchased several Jeep Wranglers with Pennsylvania salvage titles. They were stolen, stripped and recovered. I bought them from friends who bought them from insurance companies and rebuilt them. I did alright when I sold them because I paid a lot less than retail for them and it seemed that people looking for wranglers didn't care about the salvage title. I have a 2007 Silverado that was wrecked and has a salvage title. My friend bought it and put a new frame under it. It runs and drives like new and I don't care about resale value since I plan on keeping it until it is virtually worthless anyway. That being said, I would never buy a flood car or water damaged car. My friend (an auto mechanic) bought an Audi A4 convertible that was in a freshwater flood, up to the bottom of the dashboard. He disassembled it, dried it out and replaced all of the water damaged control units, motors and some wiring. By the time he was done with it, he could have bought one without the salvage title for what he had into it. Water damaged components may work one day and not the next. It seems like the corrosion continues long after the car is dried out and electrical gremlins will haunt you forever. If you plan on buying that boxster and driving it a couple of years then moving on to something different, chances are you will lose your shirt on it, if you can sell it at all. You should also keep in mind that a salvage title voids all new car warranties. If it breaks during the warranty period, you are on your own. You asked about why an insurance company would total a car for just some upholstery and a control unit. Chances are the estimate to fix it included a lot more, like carpet, seats, switches, motors, and the control unit. Whoever bought it probably dried out the upholstery and electrical stuff and since it worked, never replaced it.
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