[syswizard]

Can anyone chime in on the risk or cost of repairing this car ?
I take it that only a Porsche dealer could possibly repair this ?

I put this post here because obviously most of the damage is done to the electronics.

 

[Goofnik]

Is this your car, or a purchase you are potentially considering?

If the former, best of luck. Dealer and highly-recommended independents are your only options.

If the latter, the only way a flood damaged car is ever a good deal is if you are willing to do the vast majority of the labor yourself. You are never going to save money long-term paying someone else, even if you use a skilled Porsche independent. It's simply a tremendous amount of labor on any car to ensure everything is as it should be, often with lots of parts being replaced with it. If you have the tooling, lifts, etc. it can be an interesting way to spend 12 to 18 months of your free time, ultimately learn a car inside-and-out (and know it like the back of your hand), and end up with something in perfect working order (assuming you do all the due diligence). Though unless you have the lifts, experience, time and money to buy the car and the replacement parts... move along. It will never be a good deal unless you meet every one of those criteria.

TL;DR: Flood cars are for people willing to do at least 90-95% of all the work themselves.

 

[RickH]

It's not just electronics. Water gets in the engine and that water carries fine silt. That silt eats engines!

 

[RSchwerer]

And keep in mind that even if you skillfully restored it to its beautiful former self inside & out (as Goofnik described), it will always have that Salvage tag on it's title and Carfax - so you won't get much for it on resale.

 

[syswizard]

And keep in mind that even if you skillfully restored it to its beautiful former self inside & out (as Goofnik described), it will always have that Salvage tag on it's title and Carfax - so you won't get much for it on resale.

Thanks for all of the responses. The car starts and runs...so the engine wasn't affected.
I've budgeted 100 hours @ $100 per hour at a local independent shop with great Porsche expertise....plus $5,000 in parts.
The car will never be re-sold...I'll be giving it to my daughters as I won't be on this earth very much longer...CAD, prostate cancer, and more....
I just want to "go-out in style" with this beauty.

It's a beautiful burgandy metallic with only 9k miles and all of the options. Original retail price was $55,000.
I'm going to bid up to $12,000...this Friday.

 

[T-Design]

If you are giving it - I don't think they'll mind much either way!

 

[Westcoaster]

Thanks for all of the responses. The car starts and runs...so the engine wasn't affected.
I've budgeted 100 hours @ $100 per hour at a local independent shop with great Porsche expertise....plus $5,000 in parts.
The car will never be re-sold...I'll be giving it to my daughters as I won't be on this earth very much longer...CAD, prostate cancer, and more....
I just want to "go-out in style" with this beauty.

It's a beautiful burgandy metallic with only 9k miles and all of the options. Original retail price was $55,000.
I'm going to bid up to $12,000...this Friday.

Good luck in the most sincere way!

 

[black987]

Syswizard,

So sorry to hear you are having health problems. Having daughters of my own, I think your gesture is beautiful.

That being said, all I know about flood damaged cars is DON"T BUY THEM! I have NEVER heard or read someone say they were pleased with a flood-damaged car purchase, Porsche or otherwise. While it may seem like a good deal even after estimating repairs, I would worry there are hidden, expensive issues down the road that will likely occur. I don't think you want to saddle your daughters with expensive repairs and put them in a position of having to sell this wonderful gesture of yours.

For $27-$30K you can get a nice, clean, well maintained (maybe certified) 987.2 (2009-2012) Cayman and/or Boxster Base.

Best of luck in whatever decision you make.

 

[T-Design]

Isn't our cars mostly aluminum? I can see where it might be a time bomb for a steel frame, but I would think aluminum car will fare better. If they change the harness and check all the important components.

 

[Goofnik]

Isn't our cars mostly aluminum? I can see where it might be a time bomb for a steel frame, but I would think aluminum car will fare better. If they change the harness and check all the important components.

The main crash structure is three different kinds of steel. Most of the body panels (and the floor pan) are aluminum.

It really depends on the damage. I know of two restored flooded cars, but both were bought and restored by full-time mechanics -- and as a result, both ended up being insane deals after they put a year's worth of weekends into them. Inspection prior to bidding and claim documentation are the most important things. Thing is, even if the engine runs doesn't mean there aren't residual issues. However, the main issue is if damage isn't bad (keep in mind, this was presumably an insurance write off) it'll get bid past $12K pretty quick, as that's about a third of what most low mileage base 981 Boxsters would be trying to get at retail.

For an experienced mechanic looking for something to do for a year, flood cars can be screamin' deals on something you've always wanted. Though when you're paying someone else to do the work, it can be dice roll to see if you'll come ahead of buying a clean one, particularly if you aren't experienced at looking at damaged cars or don't bring someone who is with you.

 

[Voyager6]

Thanks for all of the responses. The car starts and runs...so the engine wasn't affected.
I've budgeted 100 hours @ $100 per hour at a local independent shop with great Porsche expertise....plus $5,000 in parts.
The car will never be re-sold...I'll be giving it to my daughters as I won't be on this earth very much longer...CAD, prostate cancer, and more....
I just want to "go-out in style" with this beauty.

It's a beautiful burgandy metallic with only 9k miles and all of the options. Original retail price was $55,000.
I'm going to bid up to $12,000...this Friday.

I am glad to hear your car runs. That means a lot of the more difficult to replace electronics are OK at least for now. things like the DME are generally only allowed to be coded once or at most twice, so used aftermarket parts are not viable. Many items are coded by the factory to your car's VIN. To replace them requires a dealer to get a new part and reprogram it to the car.

If the car is mostly working and you have an indie (or friendly dealer (Rare))with a PIWIZ II, then you can download from the car the list of codes and use that to reprogram new modules without having to connect to mother Porsche.

Sometime next year I am looking for a flood Cayman to turn into a dedicated track car.

V6

 

[black987]

Did you get the car? If so, is it in the shop now getting checked out/repaired?

If you did get the car, I'm curious to hear how it turns out once all fixed up.