Kahdmus

Hmmm....well obviously these cars are write-offs. But without the background its hard to compare. I am sure my insurance company would say its too much but as I was not at fault and I want MY car repaired surely his insurance must pay my repair bills?

Bearclaw

Between my experiences and my kids', I've been through this a few times. His insurance will pay regardless of the circumstances, and you're going to be dealing with them. Your company will back you up if things go too far sideways, but they don't really want to get involved unless they have to. You've just got to hope that he has a reputable insurance company, and a good policy at that. The DUI aspect may work in your favor, as the his ins. co. may figure that the trauma of the whole ordeal makes you more likely to sue. This gives you some added leverage.

Curiously, when people have collided with my kids' cars, the internet insurance companies were the easiest to deal with and the most generous. The 'standard' companies were the worst (the cars were write-offs, and Geico and Pemco were the pits to deal with on valuation).

FWIW, in my state when the damage reaches 70%, it's a total. Based on what I see in those pics and the experience of others I've read on Rennlist, I'd be prepared for that. I agree that the whole car needs to be repainted to be correct. When you factor that in, I'd bet they're going to counter with an offer to write it off. The 'diminished value' notion is a great idea, but that is subject to state insurance regs and I don't know whether Cali law allows for that. But if you push for that, I'm virtually certain they'll push back for a write-off.

Personally, I'd push 'em until they have to write it off, and then squeeze a good valuation out of them. Once they start to Frankenstein the car, do you really want it back?

TR6

I agree with the above. If the damage is very costly and they are prepared to write it off, I'd take the money and find another 964 with no accident history. This car will now always have a story (and not a good one). The catch is that they will first set the value of the car too low and you will have to negotiate with them to get them to raise the value. That may end up affecting whether or not it is written off. For example, lets say they initially say the car's value is $15K and the repairs are estimated at $11K. They will immediately offer to write it off. But the car is worth much more than $15K. You haggle with them and get the value up to, say $21K. Now that you are comparing repairs of $11K with a value of $21K, they will no longer want to write it off. And diminished value (if your state allows it) may then become a factor.

Also be sure to look into buying back the car for salvage value. And remember that the salvage value can be negotiated too.

I feel very badly for you. I dread ever facing the same thing. I've been there before (not with a Porsche) and it is very stressful. Remember that the insurance company will try to wear you down and wait you out on the valuation negotions. Time is on their side.

A personal story: years ago, I owned a Triumph TR6 that was hit hard by another driver who was clearly at fault. The car was damaged badly enough that the insurance company wanted to total it out. I fought them on it because I was emotionally attached to the car. Finally, a good friend talked me into letting it go and moving on. At the time, it was difficult to do. But in hindsight, it was the best decision I could have made. I immediately found another TR6 for sale (same color) 10 miles away and it was much nicer than my old one for about the same money (I may have kicked in a little extra). That is the one I still have today. I'm so glad I did that rather than try to fix the old one.

Kahdmus

Great replies thank you. this is exactly the type of info I was looking for.

The family is stupidly attached to this car. The first thing the kids asked me was if the car would be ok. they have begged me in tears not to consider selling...makes it really hard as I am already stupidly sentimental without any help from them!

hawk911

really too bad all this happened to you and the car. I hope all is made right, but if the damage is as severe as the pictures show, I'm not so sure I'd want to keep the car regardless of how well it's cosmetically repaired.

Kahdmus

If the panels are replaced and the car is resprayed I don't care, I want to keep her. I want to avoid a write-off, salvage title etc and have the car bought back to full health.

hawk911

no frame damage, I hope. That would bother me more than panels.

Kahdmus

I seriously doubt it, that definitely would alter things. It wasn't much impact as the sides of the vehicles just came together. These big truck wheels mangled the metal along the edge. I really believe its just the panels. Maybe you could buff it out for me hawk?

Has anyone replaced the passenger door and rear panel and repainted? Or had a similiar type of accident/damage ?

EDIT: Another really useful thing would be an idea of cost to replace the passenger door, rear right panel and respray. A rough guesstimate and I'm thinking around $10-15k. Too high, too low? My thinking is that closer to $10k for the repairs and if I can convince on a value closer to $20k that they may not opt for a write-off.

User 040621

These are unibody cars with no frames. From the pics - it appears that minimally the rear quarter panel is deformed enough to: 1) alter the unibody geometry, and 2) require significant body work and filler or complete replacement - (the seam sealer and welds will be different than factory, and this will always be an issue when selling the car). It also looks like the door was pushed into the door frame (also part of the unibody - and will cause the geometry to be altered.

I'm betting the repair costs are closer th $15K, with diminished value of approx $10K.

Regardless of the emotional attachment, from what I see - I'd recommend getting the most $$ possible from the insurance company, and replace it with the best, un-damaged 964 you can find. Remember how great the old car was, and make new memories in a new car.

Good luck,

Mitch

Bull

Regarding diminished value, remember that most insurance companies and States report to CarFax, etc. Most people run a CarFax report on a purchase of these kinds of cars, and the report will be there for the long term.

I know of a case where a valet attendant at a restaurant dinged up a guys front bumper cover (required new cover and paint) and the guy put in an insurance claim so that his insurance company would fight the battle to collect from the restaurant. He now has a CarFax that shows "front end accident damage", and is having a difficult time selling the car.

TR6

Carfax is such a crapshoot. I had a suburban that was badly damaged in a crash and it was borderline whether or not it would be totalled. We ended up fixing the car. A year or two later when I was selling it, I pulled a carfax on it myself to provide and was surprised that the accident didn't show up at all on the report. Being the honest soul that I am, I contacted carfax and sent them the date of the accident and asked them to add it to the car's history. They never responded and the report was never changed. I still told the buyer about the accident and provided him with the receipts to show how it was repaired and what panels were replaced. I encouraged him to contact the body shop. He bought the car. But my point is that carfax is not infallible. It is just one more resource to use to investigate a car.

Bull

Absolutely! In fact, it seems to me that all too often the little things (like a bumper cover) are on reports while the big hits are not. We also use AutoCheck, which we find more accurate than CarFax, but not perfect.

Bearclaw

+1
I've gotten in the habit of checking Carfax AND Autocheck if I'm serious about a car. I've seen many cases where one picked up something that the other did not. The relative accuracy seems to be about even. And you're right, depending on the state, the circumstances, who did the reporting, etc., incidents sometimes just don't show up. It's just one more tool, but no substitute for a thorough inspection (and an honest previous owner).

There was a thread a few months ago, I believe the car was a 993. I don't recall all the details, but the gist of it was this: the current owner had purchased the car long-distance a couple years earlier. The PO had shown him a clean Autocheck report. He didn't pull a Carfax; he figured, why did he need to? Now he was trying to sell the car, and a prospective buyer had pulled a Carfax, and guess what? The car had a salvage title in its history. The car had been through a couple states, and it looked like the current title had been washed. The current owner was dumbfounded. He was attempting to make Autocheck honor their buyback guarantee. I don't know how it ended up, but it was sounding like an uphill battle. This is the sort of thing that should also have been spotted in a PPI, but apparently wasn't. Many mechanical shops give body & paint concerns short shrift because it's not their field. It was the perfect storm of factors, and it really came back to bite this guy.

Kahdmus

I expect the value to be completely diminished. Future Carfax/Autocheck not a consideration at this point whatsoever. IF I keep her it will be for the foreseeable future. I never intended to sell this car even when I bought another one.

Really I am interested whats involved in a possible repair and how the insurance companies will play it.

Bearclaw

You have to realize, the state also has an interest in this. The reason these laws exist is so that somebody can't take a vehicle that has an unsafe amount of damage and simply fix it up enough to put it back in service, or sell it to someone unsuspecting. That's why salvage titles exist, so that the history is on record and the car is reinspected before it's allowed to be back on the road. This is obviously is not as relevant in your case because the damage is not that extensive, but you may have to go through the same process: you may have to accept the write-off and then buy back the car, and use the rest of the money to fix it. It will still have a salvage title, but as you say, you don't care.