Lord_Galva

Are there any pictures of the damage yet?

928SS

so did you get charged for the oil change?


just kidding.

that's just all wrong, sorry to hear about it. chin up - at least you are ok and he didn't steal your wife and leave her w/a big dent in the hatch..

MGW-Fla

That just sounds like a horribly bad dream that you never quite get over to me. Its gonna cost you more in time & money than anyone will ever believe & in the end that SOB will never suffer as much as you for his stupidity. The billboards, picketing, & blow torch all sound like potentially promising ideas to me!

Gretch

Your point would be clearer to folks here if you differentiated between the criminal issues and the civil issues. The DA prosecutes infractions of the law.........The car owner's personal losses are a civil issue, no DA involvement.

Courtshark

Yes and no... one of the above posts described using the threat of criminal prosecution to facilitate a civil recovery, i.e. more than just what insurance will cover. A means to an end to resolve an otherwise victimless crime. I have no idea if it could work, but it might if the DA is a car nut. Doubtful, but possible.

Stan.Shaw@Excell.Net

Well, it seems completely acceptable for the prosecution to selective enforce laws when there is a benefit. We hear of this almost daily.

Other than ensuring that society is protected from possible future illegal acts, what greater benefit could there be then ensuring the victim's loss is minimized?

I don't claim to be knowledgible about the law or terms. However, I do consider myself well schooled in what was known as "common sense" in times of yore

atb

The court can order restitution as part of any jcriminal udgement/sentence. Restitution isn't going to necessarily going to be a fair market value for something as difficult to get a market value on as a 928. The good thing is that restitution isn't bankruptable.

But, this isn't really about just getting compensated for the car's value is it? Restittution is fine and good, but there is a point where retribution has a place. This is a prime example. This joker deserves to be publicly outed. Get your signs together man. Believe me, there is nothing more frustrating then having people picketing your business and not being able to do anything about it because they aren't on the business property. As long as you are peacefully picketing, and your signs are only stating the facts, you are really going to be a thorn in this guys side. I'd let the local police know what you're going to do ahead of time, so when they are called (and they will be called), you get to enjoy watching the officer come out and explain to the irrate business owner that your are exercising your rights and there is nothing the officer can do. Go for it!

Oldtee

Ahhh... He might say, "I always test drive the car after the service is performed. I had to do it then because the customer wanted the car early the next day. It is not my fault the Porsche is a very hard car to drive. My Toyota would have taken that turn at that speed without a problem. It's the cars design that is the reason, not me. It's the customers fault."

Be prepared.

linderpat

I would be very reluctant to use the criminal court system to extract a settlement in what is essentially a civil negligence/tresspass case. If you press criminal charges and the shop owner prevails, he may counter sue for malicious prosecution, which is a civil suit as well, and if he prevails on that, he could get punitive damages and his attorneys fees against you! Talk about turing the tables! It's a negligence case and/or an intentional tresspass case.
Assumming his insurance doesn't satisfy your full claim, sue him for your actual damages as well as anything else you can get by supporting documentation, and hope that he isn't judgment proof when it comes time to execute (collect). This is a dunk shot case. Good luck!

Tom R.

Tom,
PM me your email. I will be happy to work with you and the insurance company. I had to battle my insurance company when my 944S2 was stolen.

Ignore the "hang em" posts. What you want is $$ and as much as you can get. I will tell you what Jim Shrager told me about valuing Porsches, and what I did to get the maximum for my car.

screw the owner, he is in enough deep dodo if he admitted to driving drunk. You want his insurance company to pay exactly what it will cost you to exactly duplicate your car. and i mean exactly duplicate our car. not get you a car you have to do something to. in other words you want the money to buy a car in identictal to your cars condition delivered to your door - after someone else did all the work you did! That is your battle, and you can win it without a lawyer if you put a bit of time into it. unfortunately you wont get paid for that time, but neither did I, and neither will I when I help you get back what you had.

Rick Lee

I thought insurance companies deny any kind of theft coverage when the owner has willingly given up the keys. At least, I saw that on Seinfeld, when Jerry's mechanic ran off with his SAAB.

Tom R.

what about collision? what about the shop owners insurance? if any that is.

Bearwme

It sounds like this shop owner needs the AA 12 step program. Hopefully, he will make it to the 9th step and make amends for harming you. We are all assuming that he is the lowest scum on earth, but he may turn out to be a stand up guy and take responsibility for his actions.

We are all feeling your pain. Donald Howanitz made a huge mistake. And he is going to pay for it.

You should be able to pick any car you want as a replacement.

H2

Having been through an obviously guilty person (ticketed for running a stop light) totalling my vehicle, and me with $12,000 worth of receipts in hand for recent improvements...and an offer of $1500...and an 8 month battle with a hired gun lawyer I only got a so-so settlement that covered only about half what I valued the car at....I doubt this will be a slam dunk and I would be surprised if you are happy with the outcome. However, if anyone has a good case, it would seem that you have the best possible. But don't take that for granted. He'd be crazy to not get the best lawyer he could find...and probably will....but will your lawyer be as good? I have lawyer friends and they freely admit that some lawyers are very, very good and some are klutzes. They've won almost unbeatable cases against bad lawyers. Get a Wal-Mart lawyer and you may get a Made in China settlement.

Harvey
Insurance companies stack the deck against 928 owners

atb

Garage keepers insurance will cover a car damaged in a "test drive".
If Tom B. has comprehensive coverage, he'll just need to settle with his own company and let the shop owner be their headache.