Buying a Salvage Title Porsche - Part 2 of a Buying Journey
- Commander
- 2 hours ago
- 4 min read
The next step in the purchase of a new Air-Cooled Porsche for the Air Brigade fleet was to inspect the Salvage Title Porsche 911 RS coming up for auction at Broad Arrow Auctions during Monterey Car Week.
Who would think a Salvage Title Porsche could command a sale estimate of $150,000 - $200,000 that Broad Arrow was estimating? But a clean title RS sells for $300,000 plus so we are looking at a 50% discount on the car.
The big question is: Do I want to spend $200,000 for a Salvage Title car?
Before committing to looking at the car and seriously considering it, research was needed. What was the story of this car?
The first surprise was that I knew this car as it was a friend’s car here in Western North Carolina who I knew had an unfortunate wreck in the car. It was insured by Hagerty and totaled with Hagerty taking ownership of the wrecked car. The wreck wasn’t that serious but this is a rare car and parts were not available for the repair. Most notable was a damaged Magnesium wheel which is hard to find and expensive.
Hagerty made a sizeable insurance payout so to recoup some of the loss they turned to Porsche Classic in Atlanta, the factory restoration shop to see if the car could be repaired. Porsche Classic’s connections to the factory in Germany provided the missing parts so the car was put back together “by the factory” to factory specifications.
Coincidentally, I was at Porsche Parade during this time and met the Director and Manager of Porsche Classic. They knew the car and gave me background on it including photos, invoices, etc. They endorsed it as being “as good as new” but carrying a salvage title.
At the same time, another Air Brigade member, Don Zink had recently toured Porsche Classic and saw the RS in person. Unbeknownst to Don that I was looking at this RS, he contacted me out of the blue to suggest that I should consider buying this car as he saw it and it was perfect.
Nort Northam, well known in the Porsche world, also contacted me at this same time about this car when he saw it was coming up for auction. Nort suggested strongly that I look at it. If I could get a real RS between $150,000 and $200,000, I should do it.
The stars were aligning saying I need to see this car and seriously look at it.
It didn’t cost anything to look at the car at the Hagerty facility (Hagerty owns Broad Arrow) in Savannah, Georgia except for time and minimal travel money. Broad Arrow Specialist Ray Shaffer encouraged a drive and an inspection especially since I had never driven an RS.
When Air Brigade Charter Member Allen Peerson heard that I was traveling to Savannah to inspect this car, he raised his hand to join me too. Another set of eyes and a dispassionate evaluator is always helpful.
We arrived at the Hagerty facility to find the Polar Silver 1992 Porsche 911 RS gleaming under the harsh fluorescent lights of a storage facility. You could immediately see the tint of blue in the sliver paint that makes Polar Silver special and unique from the other Porsche silvers.
The car started with a roar and a rumble of the exhaust. It was immediately clear that this was not your ordinary Porsche, but something special.
As I let the clutch out the RS lurched forward wanting to unleash the power. Soon enough I was out on the road and understanding the mystique around the RS. The power and handling were unbelievable. Allen could even feel it in the passenger seat as RS pulled and turned as if on rails.
Allen was itching to jump in the driver’s seat to try the car himself and was quickly rewarded with the experience as we traded off positions. The Hagerty/Broad Arrow Team were terrific as the just handed us the keys and said “enjoy.” We were gone at least an hour driving the roads of Savannah in search of a twist or a turn to really experience the car. It gave us a real appreciation for how terrific the roads are around our home base of Asheville.
On the drive back to Asheville, Allen and I couldn’t stop talking about what an experience it was to drive this legend in the Porsche world. The power, handling and roar of the engine was unbelievable. The drive sold me, and it sold Allen. All of sudden, there were two of us wanting a real RS.
The question of course is what is the right price for a car with a salvage title? The internet said it should have a 30-40% discount. At the $150,000 -$200,000 sale estimate the discount was right, but I still had the emotional baggage of paying up to $200,000 for a car with a salvage title. Salvage says a serious wreck; stay away, but the drive and Porsche factory restoration said to bid on it.
My mind was made up; if I can get it for the right price I would live with the
Salvage Title. But what is that right price?
Watch for Part Three "Winning a Porsche RS at Auction. or not..."
If you missed the start of this journey, enjoy Part One by clicking this link: https://www.airbrigade.com/post/two-air-cooled-porsches-into-one-great-air-cooled-porsche-part-1
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