Ninetynine996

I was having my '82 Targa SC trailered to my long time mechanic because it was stalling. A towing company that I never used but was recomended to me by my mechanic sent a flatbed and driver to my home at 11a this morning. The windows in the car were open so the tow truck guy goy in the car....left the door open and turned the key so he could close the windows.....the only problem is the dumb f&ck turned the key too far causing the car to start....lurch backward...taking off my door and bending the the hell out of front quarter panel. In the process he also damaged a significant portion of drywall in my garage.
The car was all original. Paint, interior....everything. Only 65k miles. I'm really devastated about this....what should I do next? All Ideas/suggestions are welcome.

NYNick

Call the cops, get an accident report, call your insurance company. I failed to call the cops for a minor accident, the guy lied and I ended up having to take him to court.
I see this as no different than being rear ended.
Sorry about your car btw.

Reiver

Sorry to hear that, the above sounds like good advice.

Lapkritis

Tow company should be insured. Sorry for the tough break... it sounds a bit overprotective but I never leave my keys in the car. I've only used a tow company once in the last decade and it was due to a flat and came to find out my spare wouldn't fit over a big brake kit. I was present for the whole show of loading the car onto the flatbed which was no small chore given the car was lower than most SUV's and modern cars they load up. They took extra care, likely due to my presence, to call another truck to provide additional wooden blocks so the bumper didn't drag when loading.

theiceman

tow truck driver sounds like a ral tool ... bet he didnt even realize it was manual after hauling so many autos .. rule ONE ...

..never turn key without foot on clutch ...

Ed Hughes

Damn, this is terrible. My condolences.

I'd start documenting what 911's of this caliber go for now. You don't want some insurance company trying to total it. I'd be on the phone with the owner of the towing company ASAP, and explain the gravity of what happened. This aint a fender bender on a Buick. Some kind of written documentation is required, or advised. You do want them to acknowledge they screwed up, so they don't recant when they find out what is at stake. Keep us posted.

Ninetynine996

What about diminished value. Our cars continue to increase in value every year. Now my car may not have the same value because my door will not be repaired and repainted. I resented got my car appraised for $26.3k....can I assume a loss of $5k

Amber Gramps

You have lost more than $5K. Even if fixed to the naked eye, you will never regain a clean carfax.

Ed Hughes

I think you will most likely need an attorney to get diminished value. But, you can go after it. You need to recognize, they will want to settle for minimal and final $. It sucks, for sure. I literally do not trust anyone to do anything unsupervised on my cars, this is why. All it takes is a few seconds....

Peter Zimmermann

Use the best damn body shop in your area, doesn't matter what the insurance company says. I have a friend who owns a body shop who's work is so good that diminished value might not be an issue. You're playing with a $30,000 car, you don't want any mistakes. Be sure that your mechanic is on board, and you can talk about diminished value, but only a potential buyer somewhere down the road will/might care. Document everything with quality photos. Yes, a top body shop should be co-operative regarding photographing the repair process. If you don't have a reputable body shop who can appreciate, and understand, your specific car, near you, contact your local PCA people for a referral. If you have to have the car towed 500 miles to the best shop, so be it. Keep the pressure on, and contact your insurance company as well.

Silvertarga

" I literally do not trust anyone to do anything unsupervised on my cars, this is why. All it takes is a few seconds.... "

Amen to that, I have come close to being arrested at the old emissions stations here as the morons had no idea how to open (and close) the frunk...where they thought the engine was..

Cops were called as I was beyond the "do not cross" line..they looked at car, talked to me and said "I dont blame you a bit"

Diminished value sounds reasonable but will take expert testimony..no insurance company will pay it voluntarily (well maybe Hagerty or Leland West but definitely not Allstain or Flos bunch..

K964

This X 911.

You need to call John Paterek who is in Chatham, NJ.

Or, Jim Newton at Automobile Associates in CT. 860-693-0278

Don't delay. Don't mess around.






.

The Brewmeister

Great advice here. I believe your local PCA Region is Schattenbaum. Being in NJ there are many good bodyshops that specialize in Porsche and other high end brands. Hang in there.

froggert

a bunch of good advice here. i'm in the town just north of you. let me know if i can help in any way.

Ninetynine996

I knew I could count on you guys for some excellent advice. Thank you all. I spoke to Hagerty Ins this morning as well as John Paterek....and they both gave me some great advise as to next steps. I will have have John give me an estimate next week and Hagerty said they will back me up. Thanks again everyone. I'll keep you posted.