Problems with AAA insurance

[ian c2]

Desperate …
Does anybody on here work for AAA , or have ever been involved in a claim with them ?
For my sins , I daily drive a 2009 997.2 launch car , Carrera c4s .
When I took out the insurance (around 3 years ago) they insisted I drive to their office whilst they took photographs and examined the car .
Now I have to make a claim , they are saying the genuine gt3 front bumper is a fibreglass aftermarket part , and that is what the shop has ordered to fit and what they are proceeding with .
Due to me not really reading the policy but trusting the insurance guy , I now find out I do not have “everything” and I’m paying for a rental car .
Not a big deal in the grand scheme of things , but kind of annoying that they’ve took my money for years , bundled with household , and now it comes to a claim they’re trying to rip me off .
I just sent an email asking if we should cease work while I get a porsche specialist and Pca member to go to shop and remove bumper , then take to nearest dealership to confirm it is not aftermarket fiberglass (it’s abvious just looking at it ) and I have suggested they pay for this as they are obviously on the wrong .
Any ideas on how I should proceed ?

Edit :
I have been told (but no researched) that in California , I can ask that my car be repaired at any shop .
If this is true , would I now be better taking back the car and taking it to a porsche dealer repair shop or speacialist ?

[ian c2]

Communicating with a pelican member , I am hopefull this can be resolved by moving the car to a different establishment.

[drcoastline]

Originally Posted by ian c2

Desperate …
Does anybody on here work for AAA , or have ever been involved in a claim with them ?
For my sins , I daily drive a 2009 997.2 launch car , Carrera c4s .
When I took out the insurance (around 3 years ago) they insisted I drive to their office whilst they took photographs and examined the car .
Now I have to make a claim , they are saying the genuine gt3 front bumper is a fibreglass aftermarket part , and that is what the shop has ordered to fit and what they are proceeding with .
Due to me not really reading the policy but trusting the insurance guy , I now find out I do not have “everything” and I’m paying for a rental car .
Not a big deal in the grand scheme of things , but kind of annoying that they’ve took my money for years , bundled with household , and now it comes to a claim they’re trying to rip me off .
I just sent an email asking if we should cease work while I get a porsche specialist and Pca member to go to shop and remove bumper , then take to nearest dealership to confirm it is not aftermarket fiberglass (it’s abvious just looking at it ) and I have suggested they pay for this as they are obviously on the wrong .
Any ideas on how I should proceed ?

Edit :
I have been told (but no researched) that in California , I can ask that my car be repaired at any shop .
If this is true , would I now be better taking back the car and taking it to a porsche dealer repair shop or speacialist ?

So from reading your post it sounds as if you have a standard auto policy not a classic policy or stated value policy. They had you take the car to the agent for photos to document the car for comprehensive and collision. This is SOP to add Comp and Coll for a used car. Every standard auto policy I know has in the policy body wording something to the effect that the company at their discretion can opt to repair the damage or replace with a used part or aftermarket parts so long as the part is within the manufacturers specifications.

I don't want to necessarily say you are wrong in your statement the carrier said the part is aftermarket as much as they said they are going to replace the part with an aftermarket part which I am sure is considerably cheaper than the OEM Porsche part and they have every right to do so. You can pay the difference if you want the OEM part.

In New Jersey you have the right to take your vehicle to any licensed repair facility of your choosing. You also have the right to have the carrier send the check to you and you do as you wish. Fix it, don't fix, fix it yourself. Just document so if you need to make a claim again you have documentation the repair was made. I will guarantee if you take the money, they will have you take the car back to the agent for more photos to ensure the repair was made. If the repair wasn't made they will either exclude that damage from coverage or more likely drop the comp and collision coverage.

I can't really comment on the "rental reimbursement" many factors could be at play. Did you have a policy previously with another carrier and that policy didn't have RR the agent matched what you had? When you added the 997 was the price higher than you wanted to pay and the agent removed lesser coverage to bring the price into the range you were comfortable, maybe you have RR from another source credit card or emergency towing company, so he removed the coverage?

Neither AAA or the agent are trying to "rip you off", you said it you didn't read your policy, so you didn't know what you had.

[6Shooter]

I'm in So Cal but NO affiliation or experience with AAA insurance...You should be able to choose any shop to do the repair. Call the shop where your car is at and tell them to stop. Find the best Porsche restoration/body shop that you trust and explain what happened. Flatbed your car there and let the Porsche resto shop hash it out with the AAA Insurance Adjuster. I'm not sure if you needed to declare any special 'modifications' (GT3 bumper) on your policy so AAA could adjust their rate but at least the Porsche resto shop would know the difference between factory and aftermarket. Maybe the 'modification' declaration might not be necessary since the damaged bumper is on your car and what adjuster is going to know what came with your car or not as an ordered option? 😉 (As opposed to your car being stolen and 'claiming' that you had expensive 'modifications'.) I'm sure that you have full coverage (including comp and collision as opposed to the mandatory minimum of only liability) or AAA wouldn't even be involved or worried about paying for damage to your car. As far as transporting your car to the best/$$$ Porsche resto shop of your choice, call AAA and buy or upgrade to their Premium Roadside Service to avoid an expensive flatbed tow (up to 200 miles?!?🤔🙄😆😅🤣&#128521.

[Cairo94507]

Yes, in CA you, the insured, select the repair facility. The only caveat is that often times if you choose a repair facility that is referred by the insurance company, then the insurance company will warranty the repair work for the life of your ownership of the car. Nowadays, most reputable shops, regardless of insurance coverage, will warranty their work for the life of the car.

Your coverage, as stated above, unless you specifically requested OEM parts replacement at the time you obtained the AAA policy, will allow AAA to use non-OEM or used parts to repair the car. As stated above, you of course can pay the difference to get NOS parts from Porsche. The real issue is if the repair shop will be able to source a suitable used or replacement bumper cover that is not OEM. If they can't, they typically will then have to buy the OEM cover as no suitable alternative exists.

I had a '10 997.2 C4S and recall the '09 launch cars quite well. I do not recall them coming with a GT3 front cover. Regardless, if it came from the factory, it should have the factory tag on it with the VIN for the car.

All said, your car is 13 years old and during its first 9-10 years of ownership, it appears you have owned it for 3, it may have had a replacement cover installed during prior ownership. As long as the new cover it an exact replacement and is painted and installed correctly, you should be good. Best wishes.

[ian c2]

Probobly my bad typing last night due to being so annoyed .
But to clarify there was no 997.2 gt3 in 2009 when the .2 was launched , I bought the car cpo from a dealership in 2011 and installed the gt3 front and a bolt-in straight away .
The estimate between Bodyshop and aaa states My policy says replacement parts of a like-for-like quality can be fitted (or words to that effect)
I honestly do not see an aftermarket fibreglass bumper from a company I have never heard of being like-for-like as a genuine part .

Anyway , here is an update .
I spoke to Bodyshop well versed in porsche last night , then sent a mail to aaa claims representative to cease work .
At 9am I contacted the Bodyshop and wrote the same .
A few hours later at 12;30 , they decided to call me and I managed to take a call at work from them , and they told me the loss adjuster had just been on the phone to them and was going there this afternoon to look at the bumper now the car is disassembled .
So a step in right direction , but since then I have heard nothing ….
Not impressed at all .

The Bodyshop I am now talking too (pelican member) says no issues ever with aaa , so it’s either loss-adjuster problem or shop it’s at now problem …

[ian c2]

To add .
I also asked for photos of the part number on the bumper (which never got sent) , as last night a did a little research and if I have the right part number from pet we are talking about $400 more for the genuine part over the fiberglass aftermarket ….
To put that in perspective , I believe the grills and internal hardware to install them cost me more than that many years ago and will be a guaranteed fit …
I planned to look into this more today , but the refinery I work at is entering shutdown mode and I got kinda busy .
Hopefully I can look at this so more tomorrow.

The shop the car is at was recommended by a work colleague that has a highly modified bmw m4 , and they have done pretty much all the work on his car .
I now think the problem is they are an “aftermarket” tuner shop with a Bodyshop attached that deals in “aftermarket” body stuff .
And they have not helped the situation with that mind-set * and their attitude towards customer service .
( I contacted them regarding my concerns of fiberglass parts on 5th January , and never had a reply until after I sent the “cease work” message today . And even then , the reply was 3.5 hours later lol )

* I think as they probobly deal with glass all the time they can buy trade and charge retail/insurance rates , but do not get the same profit margins from porsche dealerships ?


Thanks for the replies and help .

[Cairo94507]

I agree with you that the shop your car is at, where the highly modified M4 was, is likely the biggest issue. I would select an appropriate shop that handles Porsche repair work and is recommended by other Porsche owners. Also, if the difference in price btwn the fiberglass aftermarket part and the Porsche part is only $400, bite the bullet and pay the difference if AAA does not step up and accept it.

[Antonov]

I've been a AAA member for as long as I can remember, never had any issues with them. I'd consider the shop that is doing the work.

[ian c2]

I’ve been a aaa member since I emigrated here , and since I also went with them for insurance 3 years ago I’ve not had a problem either .
not once have I seen an issue with them deducting the premium every month .


Well , in fact I just remembered one issue .
I had aaa install a battery on my boxster , and then moved to a different area .
When the battery failed under warranty , the “battery service franchise” tried to tell me aaa don’t fit batteries to porsches .
As they was telling me this , I was alternatively pointing at the aaa install receipt and the aaa battery
In the end they supplied the replacement and I installed it myself .

I just used lots of smiley happy emoticons , so you might be able to deduce I am now a little less stressed about this .
Happy ? No .
But after today’s lies , excuses , and expert advice from a pelican member , things are now heading in the right direction …
Aaa are collecting car tommorow and delivering to pelican shop , and Oem bumper has been added to estimate from aaa loss adjuster .
(I did have the wrong part number from my quick pet search )

[Dpmulvan]

You should just forget the insurance and give ice t a call over at carshield,

[eastbay]

I had a similar situation in NorCal with an off topic car. In the end I brought the car to "the dealer" and had them fix it with genuine parts.

Even if AAA some how talks the Porsche dealer into using shoddy parts (unlikely IMO), at least you can legitimately say they are dealer installed parts when it is time for sale