It'll be hard for you to proof to anyone that the water was "1 inch" and "clean" and not affected by Harvey or flood.
Some people have no problem with salvage cars if they are brought on the specs due to a frame damage etc but flood is a huge problem as it could turn into a money pit to even find an electrical issue.
If it's as clean as you say it's probably worth more for you to enjoy than to even think how much is worth.

 

^This.

Especially this comment:

“ If it's as clean as you say it's probably worth more for you to enjoy than to even think how much is worth.”

Drive it enjoy.......these cars are about smiles per miles - nothing more / nothing less IMO.

 

In Ohio, you can't get license plates until the title is converted from salvage to rebuilt. This entailed a State police inspection. As such, a salvage titled car has much less value. A rebuilt titled car is worth more.

V6

 

Salvage title is tricky since many prospective buyers will dismiss the car without looking further. Serious buyers will hold up the salvage title as negotiating leverage. The 05 Boxster S has the 3.2l (M96 I think) so less desirable than the later 987.1s and 987.2. I would guess with a clean title the car could bring low to mid 20s. With the salvage title I'd say below 20. Maybe 15k is the floor since that's the range of 03/04 986S. Just opinion, I'm not an expert.

 

Salvage title is tricky since many prospective buyers will dismiss the car without looking further.

I couldn't agree more. Many prospective buyers, perhaps even the majority of them, will look no further once they see the word "salvage". I completely agree. The car would need to be priced competitively enough to get their attention and to motivate them to read further. I'm 100% with you on that.

Serious buyers will hold up the salvage title as negotiating leverage. The 05 Boxster S has the 3.2l (M96 I think) so less desirable than the later 987.1s and 987.2. I would guess with a clean title the car could bring low to mid 20s. With the salvage title I'd say below 20. Maybe 15k is the floor since that's the range of 03/04 986S. Just opinion, I'm not an expert.

Again I agree, except with the value you state. I think your estimate of low to mid 20's may be optimistic. I'm no Porsche market expert but I don't recall seeing many 987.1 Boxster S's, especially 2005's, going for that much. Again, I'm no expert and I could be off base on that.

I looked up clean title (again mine is salvage) values on this car but with a clean instead of salvage title. KBB and NADA both put it at $17,600 to $18,000 private sale. I don't now how NADA and KBB values stack up against real world private sale value. Of course once clean title sale value is somewhat established, then the guesstimates on the value hit it takes from the salvage tile can begin.

Again, all this is just for entertainment/curiosity value. I have absolutely no interest nor intention of selling this car now, trying to turn a profit, etc. I am simply genuinely curious here on a night at home with nothing better to do.

 

A few years after the salvage incident, provided the vehicle hasn't been problematic, potential buyers maybe a little more willing. But most folks will opt for a vehicle with a clean title. The sad truth of it is that salvaged vehicles are not going to be easy to sell to most consumers. Your most likely market is going to be bargain hunters, and folks looking for a shell to turn into a track car.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

 

I watch the mkt for pricing as I'm a Wheeler Dealer hobbyist. My est for a clean title car matching your description would be $17 max, realistically more like $16. With a salvage title, I would say $12. You'd have to really drop the price if you bought it, fixed it, and immediately put it up for sale as the potential next owner knows they would have to fix all the inevitable problems that would appear. Essentially they'd be buying a cat in the sack so you'd have to price it low enough for someone to take a chance. I know you're not planning to sell now, but your question is what's it worth now? Driving it for a couple yrs and putting plenty of miles on it will ease the concern of the next owner.

There's an 07 base Box with a salvage title for sale in the LA area that's been for sale for 6 mo. The seller has now lowered the price to around $10-11. It doesn't look as nice as yours and it's a base, but it's close enough to an apples to apples comparison. I found the ad:
https://losangeles.craigslist.org/lac/cto/d/los-angeles-2007-porsche-boxster/6775020353.html

Yours is a nice looking car. Enjoy it.

 

Quick question for OP - which IMS do you have? Some of the '05s have the smaller, serviceable IMS bearing. My 3.2 came with the larger bearing. I paid $18k about 5 years ago for a high mileage model with a questionable history. I would think that the smaller bearing engine where you have replaced the IMS would bring slightly more value. Probably not enough to offset the salvage title though.

 

That's a good question - I haven't opened up the back of the engine by dropping the trans - there's been no need to do that. I'm not aware of any way to determine that without actually looking at the IMS bearing cover to find out. I did drop the oil and filter, it was clean and absolutely noting at all in either the oil or filter despite very close examination by eye and with a magnet. No particles of any type were present. I think the IMS, whatever type it is, is fine for now. If and when I have to do the clutch, I'll change the IMS if it's a small one, or perhaps run a oil feed to it if it's a large one. That's another decision for another day, probably a ways off since the clutch works perfectly.

 

When it comes to salvage titles there are two kinds of buyers. Those that will consider buying and those that would not. Myself I am of the latter group. When you buy a salvage car you buy it for yourself to enjoy the car at a considerable savings. If you have any thoughts about resale value then perhaps you should not have bought a salvage car. Keep you your original plan and drive the car. As the milage and years build up then the fact that the car was salvaged becomes less and less important.

 

I agree with $12k, what did you pay for the car?

 

I paid $4,600 for it. No matter what it's worth, I'll be OK when the inevitable time to sell comes. Each and every one of us will one day sell our cars for a dozen different reasons - age, health, change in economic situation, desire for something different, etc. This is all entertaining talk with a useful purpose for all of us somewhere down the road when the inevitable sale is needed or desired. For now and the foreseeable future my plan is to drive the car and enjoy it very much. After doing a bunch of reading on line last night, and comments made here, I'm thinking that clean title resale value is about $17K - $18K, and this car in it's current condition, with a salvage title, some more trouble free miles on it to prove it's a good car, and all the photo documentation showing that there was zilch damage to it beyond the module, would probably fetch about $12K - $13K or so. Maybe more, maybe less depending on the market and buyer at hand at the time.

 

I use to be a track junkie and met many track guys over the years who would search out salvaged cars for one purpose: parts. And that's the reason you got a $20K car for less than $5K. In your case your primary challenge is finding a buyer. I live in MD and there's no dealer in MD who would buy your car. So you would be limited to a private sale. You got the car at a great price, so if you can find a buyer in a couple of years who'll pay you $5K, you are way ahead.

Did you have a problem getting your car insured? In MD they put a huge insurance premium on cars with salvaged titles. Hence, my friends bought them for parts.

 

Doug, don't worry about what it's worth, you made a great buy. I'm on Porsche #8 and have owned/restored 50+ cars and MC's. Enjoy what you've got and if and when it's time to find something else, there will be a buyer for the Boxster.

 

Sounds like an outstanding deal. Drive and enjoy. And when you're finally ready to get rid of it, worse case, you could always part it out and without a doubt, would get your money back and lots more.:drivingskid:

 

I would think you would get much more value selling locally in person. Having someone stopping to look at the vehicle in person, test driving it and falling in love with it will make them emotional buyers and not speculative buyers like most internet purchasers. Seeing Salvage first is a turn off; but seeing the car in person first is a TURN ON!