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Originally posted by daepp
Yes, please post updates. I have been following this all along - fascinating - and tragic!
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Tragic? I don't think so. Although we were running in fairly heavy traffic, unbelieveably, no one was hurt. All things that happen to me tend to turn out on the bright side.
We actually didn't end up in a ditch. That would have been much worse. We ended up smashing the side of the truck (F-450) and the side of the trailer into a guard rail. When we hit the guard rail the Porsche came loose and slammed into the side wall of the trailer. It broke the wood wall studs but kept the car contained within the trailer.
Every cloud has its silver lining. I had just insured the trailer with Hagerty two days before the accident for $150,000. The independent adjuster immediately recognized the aircraft technology and wrote the repair estimate as if it were an airplane that had belly-landed. He enlisted the aid of an air frame mechanic to build an estimate. Turns out the adjuster is also a pilot.
He also inspected the Porsche and immediately determined that there was severe suspension damage from the front wheel hitting the wheel well in the impact.
The car was flat-bedded to Autometrics Collision in Pontiac, MI. The owner, Larry Smith, and I go back a long ways and he agreed to repair the car to Meadow Brook standards. Since Larry is the new Chairman of the Meadow Brook Concours I feel confident that the car will come back perfect. Also, we're invited to show the car at MB in '07. At least I know it'll be done by then. It went out as a 95-point car but will come back as a 100-point car. That's a positive.
The trailer is actually the best story. As the adjuster was gathering information for the estimate I kept my mouth shut and let him do his thing. I heard from Hagerty that they were sending me a check for $42,490 and wanted to know who I wanted to repair it so they could fill in the two party check. I told them to make the check out soley to me and they balked. I proved that there was no lein on the trailer so they had no choice but to write the check to me.
With some subcontract carpentry labor my total out of pocket will be about $1,100 for aluminum, fabricating subcontract and other materials. Repairs are almost complete at about 40 hours. You do the math.
Talk about a silver lining.
