rdshon

Well, first flesh out the assessment. Have the car checked by a chassis shop to see if the suspension points have moved (hopefully not). Then take the bumpers off and see how much internal sheetmetal damage and/or internal parts (radiators, brackets, etc.) will need rework and/or replacement.

Clearly you will have to have a body shop do the right rear clip, and probably straighten some of the inner front and rear trunks.

Start to build up your own estimate for the labor you know will be needed.

Then take a deep breath and be frank about how bad it is (or isn't). (A used 1st gen Boxster can be had for as little as $10k, an S for ~$20k?).

If you're still in, I've found that a salvage/wrecking yard that specializes in Porsches can be your best friend. If you come in knowing what you need, the right guys can set you up with as little as a bracket or as much as a relatively straight donor car (they are often happy to sell you a dead car, so you can remove the parts yourself later). Scope it out. You might be able to save a lot of money by installing the used replacement parts yourself. A lot of the exterior stuff also appears on eBay (guys building spec racers and getting rid of everything except the radiators...).

p.s. 90% of the parts off a regular Boxster will go on your S. Only the engine, brakes, and a few rear suspension parts are different. So your donor could be any Boxster from '97 to '03.

seafeye

I would think about parting it out.
$5k for the engine and transmission
$500 for the top assembly
$250 seats
$500 wheels and tires
$500 brakes
$500 suspension
$1000 chassis
$250 interior bits
$100 exhaust
$500 misc stuff.

$9000k for as it sits. Even if you can fix it for $5k is it really worth it?
I don't do body work in my garage but if you need a hand doing stuff i am exit 25 off I77 in Huntersville.

Clifton

Total the car and start with a newer one. Sell the other for a lump sum or if you have the space, part the car out to reclaim money spent on the replacement.

Not sure how long you have been self-insuring, but to some degree, you've been saving upward of $1k/year by carrying minimum coverage. Add that to the bigger picture (newer replacement, sale of totaled, premium savings & company loss expense) and your total loss isn't as bad as it seems.

Good luck!!

Clifton

Second that - I'm near by as well

blinkwatt

Not worth repairing. Too old,too high mileage. Part it out on the forums.

Sorry about your situation.

To the dude who said $9k for parting it out?! Dude your nuts! Who is going to pay $5k for an outdated(and I bet not retrofitted) 3.2L with that type of mileage? I bet he can sell the engine for $1-1.5k to a racing shop that would rebuild it. Same for the tranny.

The suspension isn't worth over $200 used,especially with that mileage.

Everything else seems about right. I'd suggest taking a picture of the interoir and listing it here,seeing what type of (fair) market you should expect for the parts. What options did the car have?

sonny2

Sorry to hear about & see those fotos of your baby!

I agree with others who advise you to part it out. Don't just sell it as a unit as you'll get far more if you part it out. (The some of the parts are greater then the whole...)

If you need help taking stuff apart, let me know. I'm in Lake Wylie. I'm pretty handy with tools. While it's no Porsche, I race & maintain a turbo Miata -- including replacing the motor twice & all suspension work.

TIM COSTA

Really sorry to hear about your situation but I have to agree with those that are saying sell it and start over. The early cars aren't worth fixing, trust me I know since I own an '00 S. The problem is that they aren't worth much in good running condition eather.
I would be willing to offer you about $3500 for the whole thing as is. I just bought one a few months ago in better shape with a blown motor for $3000.

Tierce

i'm considering selling the car, just haven't made the decision yet.

mikefocke

Post what you decide to do.

My first Boxster was totaled with lots less visible damage. They stopped adding up the costs to repair when it got about $26k. Before going any further with a repair estimate or plan, get the frame put on a "jig" designed to measure frame straightness. If is is OK..then proceed. If not scrap it for what you can get (the engine is worth a bunch, the top, the tires, etc etc.)

I know the emotion of hurting a Porsche...but keep the financial sanity in mind too. 145k mile Boxsters aren't worth much and are lots cheaper than repairing yours no matter how you do it.

Werkstatt

Tierce,
Any idea what you are going to do, I would like to find a donor car in the next few weeks.
Thanks
Scott

Tierce

I still haven't decided. My dad told me there might be some money toward repairs if he sold his 356. Also, IF (and that's still a big if) we decide to fix it, we'll be doing a lot of the work ourselves, and shopping around for deals on parts. I could use the cash from selling it, but I haven't decided that it's worth letting go for 4 or 5k.

Macster

If you are prepared to do the work yourself the car might be worthwhile fixing.

Before you go too far on this project search out body shop that is qualified to repair these cars and has a Celette bench. Arrange to have car put on one and checked for correct position of all hard points. If any found out have them pulled back into positon. Chances are -- but I'll offer no odds -- that things are not too bad. Might be only body panel hard points out of place. If body shop finds serious collision damage it might advise you car's not worth continuing to work on.

Car will have to be torn down some. Bumpers removed. Damaged fenders removed. Running gear -- wheels/tires -- removed. Body shop should advise you -- if you ask nice and explain the situation -- what's required in this regard and you can do most of the tear down yourself.

There is the shop's time to put the car on the bench and check it for straightness. Also, most shops do not own the Celette bench jigs/fixtures but rent these from Celette (which is responsible for their upkeep/accuracy which ensures they are kept up and accurate). This is around $500 for the rental.

You might not be looking at much change from a $1000 bill in doing the above, but it might be worth it to know the basic platform straight and unbent and ready to accept new parts and repairs.

Or maybe the there's a shortcut. Remove all damaged panels and body parts. Next remove the undamaged body parts, at least the fenders.

This way you have an undamaged side to use to judge the damaged side's damage.

If for instance you see the shelf on the side of damaged front fender out of position then figure out way to straighten it.

Buy new body parts, or good condition parts off wrecked car. Avoid aftermarket or reconditioned parts. These are almost always crap.

Before you paint make trial test fits of all replacement parts to ensure they fit ok. If not you'll have to figure out why not -- something on car chassis/tub is out of position most likely -- and fix it.

If something you can't fix then you take car to body shop and have it placed on Celette bench and fixed there.

This takes more time, but it is your time and "free".

Same for the running gear. Replace damaged running gear, then arrange to take car to shop for an alignment. I'd use Porsche shop for this. Have tech advise you regarding how much adjustment he is having to use to bring car into alignment. He can tell if car is "bent" or straight by this if he's any good.

If he finds car bent then you need to take the car to a body shop and have it placed on Celette bench and the bent areas straightened. Then back to the alignment rack and have tech offer his opinion.

Once you're sure car is straight and you are happy with the body panel alignment and fit, then you get to paint and finish car.

Cooling system will need to refilled with coolant. Probably A/C system compromised so this will need once you have system buttoned up again evacuated then recharged with refrigerant and oil. I'd use Porsche dealer for this, along with final alignment and even cooling system refiller. (Dealer service has nice tool that ensures air pocket free refills of cooling system.)

Headlight mounting plates will have to be adjusted -- time consuming -- and then head lights adjusted.

If brake system compromised then after this fixed brakes flushed and bled.

And so on...

No matter which way you go you're going to spend some money. And you're going to put in some serious hours.

Sincerely,

Macster.