cbwayo

Yes, definitely will look better. Now how to work a new set of wheels, tires, refinished driver's seat, RS decklid, and lowered suspension into the estimate.

joking, of course.

Jonnygo1

This thread has been intriguing. I'm a new owner and have been wondering what insurance companies all the 'veterans' here have been using. I've only had the car for a month and use my existing carrier (allstate), but am concerned given the nature of the car....

cbwayo

Yea, we'll see how they treat the situation. This is Commerce Ins. Co., by the way. I think they may only be operating in MA, NH. So far, the adjustor and her assistants have been very nice.

While we're on the subject though, I've been seriously screwed before by One Beacon. (on a jeep)

Bearclaw

I have State Farm for everything, but I was going to ditch them on the Porsche in favor of one of the specialty companies. But earlier this year they started doing 'stated value' policies on collector and specialty cars. They rewrote my policy and my premiums dropped dramatically, almost to the level of the 'mail-order' guys. All thing being equal, I like being with a bigger company, especially these days.

ps
Love your avatar. I have 3 of those guys.

Jonnygo1

ps
Love your avatar. I have 3 of those guys.[/QUOTE]

Thanks, they are the best.

[QUOTE=Bearclaw;5929434]I have State Farm for everything, but I was going to ditch them on the Porsche in favor of one of the specialty companies. But earlier this year they started doing 'stated value' policies on collector and specialty cars. They rewrote my policy and my premiums dropped dramatically, almost to the level of the 'mail-order' guys. All thing being equal, I like being with a bigger company, especially these days.

Interesting, I'll have to call my company and see if they have similar provisions.

JasonAndreas

You can only do a third-party DV claim in Massachusetts.

Kahdmus

Out of interest, how does that work Jason? Cheers, --H

JasonAndreas

Give me a few weeks and hopefully I'll have an answer.

cbwayo

excerpts from a court ruling in Massachusetts, coincidentally, with my insurance company:

"the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled exactly the same on the same issue in Given v Commerce Ins., 796 NE2d 1275 (Mass 2003). Commerce issued Given a standard Massachusetts automobile insurance policy. Part seven of the standard policy provides in pertinent part that:
We [the insurer] will pay for any direct and accidental damage to your [the insured's] auto caused by a collision.... We will pay for each loss up to the actual cash value of the auto or any of its parts at the time of the collision. If the repair of a damaged part will impair the operational safety of the auto, we will replace the part.....payment of repair costs either to the insured or directly to a repair shop, and reinspection following repair. The insured may elect not to have the vehicle repaired, in which case the insurer "will determine the amount of decrease in the actual cash value of [the insured's] auto and pay [the insured] that amount less [the] deductible." Paragraph eleven then specifies the following cap on payments for collision damage: "In any event, we will never pay more than what it would cost to repair or replace the damaged property."

At issue was whether "inherent diminished value" is included within the term "direct and accidental damage to [an] auto caused by a collision," as that is the "damage" compensable under part seven of the standard policy. The court interpreted the words of the policy in light of their plain meaning and according to the reasonable expectations of the insured. The court held that under the express terms of the standard policy, Given was entitled to compensation either for diminution in value caused by the collision (if she chose not to repair her vehicle) or for the cost of repair (if she chose to have repairs performed). The court held that Given was not entitled to both under the policy. ..."In any event, we [the insurer] will never pay more than what it would cost to repair or replace the damaged property."
....The Massachusetts court then scoured the statutes regulating automobile insurance coverage and found nothing referencing coverage for inherent diminished value. The court held that the absence of such reference makes apparent that the Commissioner of Insurance does not interpret the standard policy's collision coverage to encompass compensation for inherent diminished value in addition to compensation for the cost of repairs.

Kahdmus

Well what a bummer! Any update from the body shop?

George S

Just came across this thread. Very sorry about your 964 Cbwayo and I hope things work out to your satisfaction. (guess the ultimate satisfaction would have been to just not get hit)

Reading the posts now has me worried about what happens if my RS America should get hit. (insert furious knocking on wood here). The prospect of having to fight my insurance company (Commerce for me also) for OEM parts is not something I'd look forward to. Even worse, should the car be deemed a write off I am now concerned at how much the company would settle for. If the unthinkable happened I'd want to replace my RSA with another RSA. Should I look into a "speciality" carrier? The car is in terrific mechanical shape, but it is not a concurs garage queen, as it has seen plenty of days on track.

A bit OT, but now I'm concerned.

cbwayo

Well I'll be the Massachusetts guinea pig, I suppose. I've never run into a situation where my car has been crashed and not been totaled. (when I go, I go all out)

No update from the shop yet. I did receive an itemized estimate from the adjustor in the mail, which was mildly interesting. Anyone know what this might mean: "RT Qtr trim panel Coupe leather"?? They allocated 0.8 hours of labor for it, and I can't figure out what leather damage there might have been.

Just playing the waiting game though. I'd love to hear any suggestions of upgrades I could make that would be subsidized by the insurance estimate... already have (had) clear lenses. I dont have much extra money, so I can't do anything fancy, I'm just thinking of parts that they'll be replacing anyway (different bumper kit? brake ducts?)

cbwayo

update:

I haven't posted lately, because I hadn't heard anything from the insurance company nor the shop. Apparently after the company provided their estimate to the shop, the shop wasn't able to give an accurate estimate of their own until the new parts were located (they didn't know whether they would be able to get them domestically from a supplier, or if they were going to need to go to direct to Germany for everything.)

So, naturally they are going direct to Germany, and most of the parts are supposed to be delivered today. Obviously, it seems like they're going to be fixing the car. I guess there was originally a 3 week turnaround time for the parts to arrive by freighter, so they had them expedited.

The car is torn down right now, and the shop said they didn't see any more major damage that the adjustor missed. They estimate 65-70 hours of labor, so we'll see how quickly things can get done, taking into account the potential for incorrect / missing parts once the shipment is received, and for any backordered parts that they're going to have wait additional time for.

So good news and bad news. Bad news being that I'll be driving a car thats been in an accident (and after the recent air-bag related posts, I'm going to have to ensure the shop is taking the necessary steps regarding the crash sensors and such), but good news is that it will look better that it did pre-accident when all is said and done.

Guards964

What a bummer about the car, I love that Amazon Green. But it looks like we had almost the same damage. See my Before, and after pics attached here.[ATTACH][ATTACH][ATTACH][/ATTACH][/ATTACH][/ATTACH] Not a close up shot of the car after it is done, but it did come out better than before, and I did make some subtle changes. Just remember to look forward to being able to drive the old girl again

Scott
'92 Guards Red C2

cbwayo

Yikes, looks pretty similar. Did you have any injury, did the air bags deploy? I'm still recovering from what was probably a concussion.