My Porsche Got T-Boned today

[Seeeu911]

On my way into the office, an ******* runs a RED Light and T-Bones my 87 911 carrera on passenger side A Pillar. Extensive damage. Door, Fender perhaps frame twist.
After his Insurance repairs the damage how do I recover the 10-20% lost Value of my car ? Has anyone here done this succesfully ?

The nightmare of any Porsche owner

Sorry to hear about your accident. Hopefully no people were hurt?

To keep the car attractive after an accident I think it comes down to doing the repairs properly and maybe get a well reputed workshop/official Porsche dealer to carry them out. Since the other part's insurance company is going to pay why not pick an official Porsche dealer for the job?

[Seeeu911]

Mikkel a great idea ! Thanks.

Thanks for asking about the people. I'm sore and a little bruised, other tham me no one hurt visibly.. but I did have to exercise great restraint after the idiot had a really ****ty attitude with me.

[juan ruiz]

Sorry to hear that i was in your shoes 5 months ago when my 88 got t bone by a drunk driver my car insurance did pay all the repairs up to date the bill is $17,235 dollars and 5 months with out a porsche worst part i had to paint the other side at another $4500 OUT OF MY POCKET must times they will give you only part of the up grades done but must you be aware they will try to put use parts on your car so demand new parts!! i did hope this helps i walk away from my with nothing more than a broken heart.

[djZuvuya]

some states the insurance co. has to pay the depresation value of the vehical from before damaged and what you would get if never damaged. stick it to hes insurance co. he was at fault for running the light and there is no denying that. I had the same thing hapen to me 4 months ago.
glad to hear that no one was hurt.

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Zuvuya
85 carrera targa

[pwd72s]

A lesson learned from a tragedy. Several years ago, a friend, returning from a trip to Southern Cal, warned me that when down there, never instantly go on a green light, but to wait a bit because some fool will almost certainly be running the red. Since then, I've learned that advice works as well in Oregon. Probably everywhere now. Red light running seems to be a national epedemic. Be careful out there, guys....

[Greg-slant/cab]

Take it to a high dollar body shop. Talk it over with the estimator and work your butt off to get it declared a total loss. Collect your money and walk away. Find another one and start over. Im sure you like your car alot and Im sure it pains you to think of losing it, but consider what you would think of buying a wrecked Porsche. It probably wont be the same car anyway. The damage you describe sounds pretty bad with a potential of problems down the road.

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Greg-slant/cab
http://www.geocities.com/gregslantcab/

[don911]

Sorry to hear about the accident. My 87 was rear ended last year. I had minor damage so I didn't figure the value of my car would be affected as I have a high mileage car anyway. I did think about that though. A guy I work with had a Ferrari keyed and had to have the thing repainted. He told me he did manage to get the insurance company to compensate him for the lost value of his car. It was his insurance company and he said he had to fight with them to get it. For major damage, I would sure tell the insurance company you want compensation for the lost value. If they say no way, you might talk to your insurance company and see if it's worth filing a claim with your company for the lost value and let the two insurance companies fight it out. Tho, this option would put an accident claim on your record that you may not want.
Also, as far as new and used parts...The person who fixed my car told me that the new parts porsche sells for these cars are really factory seconds that could not be installed in production. He told me the new parts sometimes don't fit very well and he prefers to find good used parts to put on. This person has a rep. to be the best in my area so I assume he wasn't blowing smoke. Used parts may be a good option, especially if your estimate is for new parts. You could make a deal with the shop to put on good used parts that are less expensive and apply the difference to any extras yo want done. I would inspect the used parts before installatin to make sure they are in good shape.
One more thing. Don't take it to the insurance companies one stop estimating shop. Find the best person in your area and take the car to his shop. Have the insurance companies adjuster go to that shop so both can go over the damage. You may also want to be present.

Good luck!

Don
87 coupe

[Mike Feinstein]

If that doesn't work and you end up fixing it, you may want to try suing his insurance company for the depreciated value of your car after the repairs are complete, because the value will certainly be depreciated. I heard of someone else doing this successfully.

Any lawyers out there?

Mike 94 C2 cab

[Wayne 962]

Make sure that you insist that they replace the seat belt in your car - these stretch under accidents, and become useless after that...

-Wayne

[Seeeu911]

Thanks all for the great advice. I am much better armed now to deal with the ins co's !

[Panic Attack]

Just to beat the subject a bit more into the ground; you do have only two choices. The first, as mentioned above, take it to the best shop in town and leave it there. Let the insurance company come to you and the shop. Any reputable shop will take off the door, fender, seat, lift the carpet, get the car on a lift, etc... just to write a good estimate, so they don't run into complications later. If it's Allsnake or Gecko, you'd better just take the KY with you so it doesn't hurt so much, and hope that it totals and you can walk away (otherwise, it's a fight through the courts, a painfull frustrating road for a Porsche owner vs. insurance co.)

The second option is leaving the car at the best shop in town, making frequent visits un-announced and make sure they see everything. When they replace the hinge pillar, ask them what they will use for corrossion protection - if their reply is "rubberised undercoating" your at the wrong shop. If the P car does end up getting fixed with this pillar replaced, the windshield, dash, carpeting, seat, oil lines should all be removed, no shortcuts. If you are comfortable with the way the repairs seem to be proceeding, I think you will be quite happy with the end result and there will be no need for sueing (spelling?). The end result should look like you just dropped off your car for a wash, no matter how long the repairs took or how much damage was done. If a good shop does the repairs you or your friends will not be able to find where the damage occured.

Push for new Porsche parts and total it, get another, avoid the time and hassle all together...

[roger911s]

Really sorry to hear about your accident. Glad you're not badly injured. Not that it matters, but I'm curious: what was the offending vehicle?

[This message has been edited by roger911s (edited 07-06-2001).]

[Seeeu911]

Thanks Panic Attack for the added beat off material. ha !

It was a 90 mazda coupe.

The accident was strange, I was cruising through the grenn which was in mid cycle, not just starting or going yellow. He was just a stupid idiot. He drove off after the reports, Leaking fluid, both headlights busted, grille smashed and hood buckled up. Now I'm hearing from his ins co that he might not be on the policy he gave, only the car owner. I've already engaged an attny and will begin the good fight on Monday.
I do plan to go to the best porsche repair shop in Orlando Fl. Dayaz in Longwood.

I'll keep you posted

[Mark 69 911]

Have your car repaired by a shop, presumably a Porsche dealer that will use a CELETTE jig.
Its the ONLY way to make sure your car is repaired to Porsches structural tolerances.

[Jim Smolka]

After working in the body shop where they manufacture the BMW X5, I am very skeptical about anyone repairing a car correctly after it has been involved in a major accident. The build process of a unitized structure is very precise. Once the spot welds are stressed, the car is not as structurally solid. Cars are designed to absorb the energy from an impact. They are not designed to be "pulled" back into shape!
I look at the whole process as a piece of paper. If you take a sheet and crumble it in your hands, then open it back up, it is not the same as when it was "new". The paper has been stressed, it is not as strong, its dimensions are not the same, etc. When my Mom's car was stolen and then wrecked, I had her to do perform this analogy in front of the adjuster. He totaled the car.


[This message has been edited by Jim Smolka (edited 07-07-2001).]

[rboylan]

Sorry to hear about the collision. I am located in Jupiter, FL would like to offer this:

Take the check from the insurance company and keep the car. I'll give you the difference and purchase the car as is. You determine the value gauge. Just a thought.

Best of luck with it.

Rich

[DAVIDM]

Being involved in the collision idustry, I can tell that diminished value is a big, REALLY BIG topic. Lots of stuff in the industry press about the number of class action law suits regarding diminished value. There are different aspects of this since you are the party being paid by someone else's company. This varies from state to state and with the policy language. Very thin ice here. Most states and recent court decisions are saying there is no diminished value since the car was repaired. You will have a fight on your hands unless the policy addresses diminished value in a positive way.
Talk to you state insurance commissioner about your state's laws.
Heavy hits of this kind will probably result in totalling the car. Particularly with high mileage. This is not a bad thing. It is easier to make a case for market value of your car. There is lots of information about the market value of your totalled car and very little about the dimished value of your repaired car.
You can always talk about the low value of your old car when talking to the adjuster in hopes of getting it totalled. Then you can talk about the incredibly high value of your fabulous exotic car when talking to the settlement people. They are different people with different formulas.
Good shops can make very good repairs, but even the very best repairs on serious damage leaves questions in my mind. And we do it every day. I have refused to repair cars that were within a few hundred dollars of being totalled, because I was concerned with my own liability. I have also repaired, with total confidence, cars that have been totalled and bought back by the owners. Heavy t-bone hits do not fit in the latter category.
Fight to get it totalled. Your odds are better.
David

[tommywar]

Daya does a pretty good job. He did the repairs on my 928 when I was rearended at a stoplight in Orlando (SR 436) near the airport. You need to stay on his backside though. He talks a "good game," but it seems as though I was dealing with his wife more than with him. Frequent visits among other things to know that you will not tolerate anything less than perfection. There is another place on Old Winter Garden Road off of 50 which does a good job. I can't remember the name (Stasu's ?, maybe), but they did the repairs on a friend's 1969 911S and he was very satisfied. The body guy there has over 30 years experience. As an aside, the guy that hit me fled. I chased him down and called the cops. He was eventually arrested for DUI and leaving the scene of an accident. The cop was pretty cool. He told the guy that my 928 was not just a car but a piece of art.