Rear ended in my 71 911T

[neiltorda]

Got rear ended a few weeks ago and am still dealing with the insurance company. They are wanting to total her, and are offering me $6,000 plus the car. What do you guys think? Should I fight them for more?
Here are some pics of the damage...

[Danny_Ocean]

Pics not working...must end in .jpg

What insurance company/type of insurance do you have? Agreed Value or Stated Value (Collector's policy or Standard Policy)?

[neiltorda]

Originally Posted by Danny_Ocean

Pics not working...must end in .jpg

What insurance company/type of insurance do you have? Agreed Value or Stated Value (Collector's policy or Standard Policy)?

Hey Danny, Yeah I noticed the images and fixed them... I was linking to the flickr page, not the image itself.

I am dealing with the insurance company of the guy who hit me. He is with Nationwide.

[Peter Zimmermann]

Six grand? Are you kidding me? Tell them $30K or you're going to come calling with a really good lawyer!

Long hood cars, even in "preservation" stage, are worth big bucks these days. Settle for a big payoff, or find a top notch body shop that knows how to fix/paint the car. Do not settle for a half-assed shop or a low payoff.

Do not accept a "total the car" agreement, that will force you to assign a salvage title, after repairs, to the car, which could reduce its value. The insurance company must fix your car, and take responsibility for hidden damage (the car will probably need an engine and trans out chassis pull). You didn't cause this, their client did. Hold fast!

[Flieger]

Originally Posted by Peter Zimmermann

Six grand? Are you kidding me? Tell them $30K or you're going to come calling with a really good lawyer!

Long hood cars, even in "preservation" stage, are worth big bucks these days. Settle for a big payoff, or find a top notch body shop that knows how to fix/paint the car. Do not settle for a half-assed shop or a low payoff.

Do not accept a "total the car" agreement, that will force you to assign a salvage title, after repairs, to the car, which could reduce its value. The insurance company must fix your car, and take responsibility for hidden damage (the car will probably need an engine and trans out chassis pull). You didn't cause this, their client did. Hold fast!

I agree.

[deathpunk dan]

I know this sound awful and like a vulture circling...but I may be interested in the engine if available, depending on condition.

but yeah, I think the ins co needs to multiply the payout by four or five...
Sorry this happened to you.

[GothingNC]

I would fight and get a lawyer if needed.

How is your back?

[KNS]

Gather up all the information you can on the current value of you 911T (compare several other 70-71 Ts in similar condition). Present it to them and argue your case. My insurance company wanted to total my daily Honda after hail damage but I fought to keep it from getting totaled and it worked out in the end.
Don't let them put a salvage title on that car!!

[Larry_Ratcliff]

Damn! well here is what I say... that could be fixed for around 9k for sure! As long as they do not total (salvage title) then I don't see the problem if they would give you 9k. They start off low balling you as this is what they do .. new deck lid, couple of turn signals, maybe some rear frame straightening, couple of bumperette's and some light 1/4 panel work... what I have listed comes up to guestimate of around 1k ish and leaves plenty for the paint work. Granted based on the patina shown on the rear bumpers your not likely to match the color so a total respray would probably be in order. Since this would make glass out and new rubbers necessary then tack on another 2k for new rubbers... so I guess in reality 8-9k and no salvage title and you would be pretty safe and have a better post car restoration... Just my 2 cents ... injuries are a different story.

[Charles Freeborn]

Okay, everybody take a breath. Hard to tell from pics, but looks like an engine lid, bumper, guards, both lenses, maybe some quarter panel repair and paint - maybe alot of paint.
Get quotes from p-car specialty body shops (who know how to do it right) and negotiate from there.
Needless to say get appropriate documentation on value of vehicle and go into the negotiation with a co-operative attitude. Get ready to eat a thou or so (which you've already proved 2x over) and everybody goes home happy without fisticuffs.
PS, when I got rear-ended in a similar fashion I got the rear glass pulled and got some rust repaired at the same time....

[DRACO A5OG]

Originally Posted by GothingNC

I would fight and get a lawyer if needed.

How is your back?

I think you hurt your back, neck, retina, spine, kidney, liver and got ED now too. Fight their stupidity with FIRE.

Hire the worst scumbag ********* Lawyer and sue them Ba$turds! That is all they understand

But seriously, fight them.

[Fritter]

I got rear ended in my '68 last summer, and it was fixed for around $7500, double the original estimate. I had no unibody bending, though....if your tub is tweaked it probably will be north of $10K to fix. PM me if you want more details. The other guy hit you, so you really have a lot of negotiating power here.

[rnln]

umm... let see. If it cost only $6k to repair that car. At the end, you have a car with a total lost title. You should fight.

[john walker's workshop]

without seeing the whole car in person, it's hard to tell if the rest of the body is tweeked. it looks like the engine lid, bumper pads, lights, license panel are the major items damaged, and they are bolt on things. you could find all of those things on the for sale/wanted forum right here. have the good used lid painted to match and voila! find out the limit they will pay without totalling it and take that amount, then do some parts searching. ridiculous to total that.

[JerryL]

Neil sorry to see this, NC would be a problem with the salvage title as you may know. I have a 71 T Targa basically stock looking with fresh paint about 2 yrs ago and am in Black Mountain if you need some comparison to negotiate with the ins co.
Drop me a email in contact info if I can help. As john said most damage looks to be bolt on parts. You need to get rid of the rubber bumperetts anyway :-)

I have a some of the parts you need in the garage, happy to help get what you can but draw the line at the salvage title.

Regards

[Grady Clay]

neiltorda,

Now is the time to hire an attorney.

Demand that the damage be repaired [u]correctly[/i].
I suspect estimates may run well North of $30K.
Then you have muscle to ’settle’ without screwing your title.

Some states have laws requiring insurance companies to act in ‘good faith’.
If they are found otherwise, some states can award ‘treble-damages’. A big stick.

You need a NC attorney who knows his stuff.

Best,
Grady

[Peter Zimmermann]

The reason that I mentioned a possible chassis pull is from personal experience. When I had my shop we participated, with one of the best P-car body shops anywhere, in the repair of many rear-ended 911s. The fragile components of the car are the rear frame rails, which run fore/aft along each side of the engine; they actually form the right and left sides of the engine bay.

If there is any quarter panel buckling there is a very good chance that a frame rail has been damaged as well. We used the term "pooched," when the frame rail gets compressed, and then pooches out. This can be likened to fluffing a pillow; when you push against the ends the middle of the pillow pooches out.

A pooched frame rail will cause the car to be shorter, and in extreme cases the engine shroud will no longer seal against the engine bay rubber. The rear engine mount cross piece, we called it the "spear," will also be affected because the outboard rear motor mount will move forward as the collision/pooch occurs. This will cause pressure against the spear, and during engine removal it will spring back to its original shape when the bolt is removed.

Regarding the car's value, consult Excellence Magazine and Sports Car Market Magazine for information. PCA might also be able to help.

[911FASCINATION]

Hi folks, This is probably a stupid question, so I'll apologize in advance-if Neil already owns the car, free and clear, and physically has the title in hand-would they actually take his title and issue a salvage one? I understand the record of the accident protects the next buyer and all, but why should Neil get punished-the car never changed ownership, and he's likely to bring it back even better than before?

[JerryL]

The insurance co would pass through ownership so to speak, and the state would apply the salvage status to the title without ever touching it

Regards

[techweenie]

Too little information to comment.

Need to show the forward corners of the engine opening to see if they've cracked or bulged. Was the muffler pushed into the engine? Were the heat exchangers bent? Is there any distortion in the engine & trans mounts?

I don't know where you are located, but you need a Porsche-experienced shop to go over that car in detail.