salvage question?

[kriss]

there is a dealer who sells slight flood damaged cars(not above the sill) that have been inspected and apparently look and run great. for example he has a '07 boxster,31k miles,for $23,900. would a pre purchase inspection be sufficent to give you 'peace of mind' on a car like that? how badly do you think it would affect future resale? thanks.

[stephen wilson]

I'd say it's a roll of the dice, which would certainly affect resale. Is there any warranty? The price seems to be only $6k (or less) below that of a non-flood damaged car.

[jbs986]

The answer to your question is about 50% of blue book/Retail. I have owned many Salvage/Rebuilt title cars and I would not pay more then that for one.

I would also NEVER,NEVER,NEVER buy a car that has Flood/Water damage you will always have problems with them and the Boxster's ECU is under the drivers seat.water damage on a Boxster is a death sentence. If I were you I would run,not walk away from this one.

Good luck

[AndyA6]

I agree with the pricing and water damage comments. Even if the car runs today down the road there will be problems. Just ask yourself, salvaged because of water/flooding??? Not above the sill???? Doesn't make sense!

[JFP in PA]

As the result of less than scrupulous dealers, in many states, any car that is recovered after a flood (regardless of the water depth) must get a special flood salvage title, which brands the car for the rest of its existence and permanently lowers its value either at sale or trade in. I’d also have to agree that the resale value should be way lower as you are assuming all the risk going forward…………….

[dallison]

run far away.

[mikefocke]

buying a track only car where I would strip lots of stuff off and not care if the a/c controls worked or the doors or the electric hood latches, etc. But the chance of corrosion between all the little wires and their connections that are in a modern car is the classic problem with a flood car. And proving that the water didn't get into the doors, as an example, or under the carpet is going to take lots more than the standard PPI.

If this were an older car with mechanical stuff instead of all the modern electronics you'd have a better chance of fewer and less expensive problems in the future.

There are thousands of Boxsters for sale right now ....