What if it is totalled?
 

This past weekend I had an accident in my '92 C2. Aside from the hurt pride and the loss of a great ride, I am facing a decision on the disposition of the car. There is a possibility that it will be "totalled" by the insurance adjuster. In that event I want to be able to supply information to counter if I see the offer is based on Kelly Blue Book or Edmonds. My car has 94K miles, new Walrod urethane front-end bushings, purged distributors and a premium (CD and amp) sound system. Black exterior/linen interior and tires have less than 17K miles. It has been garaged for its 18 years. Any idea what my car was worth prior to accident? Thanks for any help you can offer.

You can check back issues of Excellence; I believe they just recently did 964s.

As an option with the insurance company, you can always ask to "buy back" the totaled car, and then either fix it (track car?) yourself, or part it out. When you buy your next Porsche, discuss "agreed on value" with your insurance agent.

Not a good situation.
 

I worked for an insurance company and there is a STRONG incentive for them to total older cars. KBB and Edmunds are in on the racket. For instance KBB says you can buy a mint 1994 RSA with 30K miles for $13K. Not kidding.

You are in for a fight. Forget about the mods and upgrades, they will probably not care. They are going to offer you something stupidly low like $8k. You have to turn the pressure up to 11 and make them find a comparable vehicle for sale for $8K.

I personally played this game with another insurance company (they are all about the same) when an SUV helped me total my motorcycle, a 2001 1000cc Yamaha. The insurance company responded with quotes from 1992 600cc Hondas, completely different vehicles. It took 7 months of fighting to get everything settled. I made out ok other than a broken neck and immediately dumped that insurance company. Nationwide if you were wondering.

Either make enough fuss to get the car fixed or get a check that can replace your car. The value of 964s is not falling.

absolutely correct.
forget about upgrades, mods, and the like (unless you had an agreed upon value insurance arrangement for collector/vintage/custom car).
focus on underlying general value of the 964 series (craigslook listings -nationwide, excellence mag price reviews, and consider joining porsche club n.a. and immediately requesting (valuation opinion for insurance purposes) of your edition - 1 of the services they provide.

imo, hard to know whether prices of 964's are stable or falling as they are subject to whim, condition, model involved.

I got smacked (to a lesser degree) last Friday so I feel for you. From what I've seen, it's a pure numbers game for the insurance company. Never mind the fact that a 20-year-old 964 is most likely a lot tighter and cleaner than a 5-year-old whatever. (Let alone, better looking and performing).

The one good thing is, the parts are probably worth more than what the insurance adjuster is dealing with. So if they total the car, and the tub & drivetrain (along with other misc. parts) are still OK, you can probably come out ok - maybe not even or ahead, but OK.

Take in ads for the cars you want them to buy for you to replace the totaled car .

All great comments - thanks. I will collect the data you suggest and be ready!

There is an astounding thread along these lines in the 944 forum from a few years ago. Search Rennlist - this is a problem others have solved with amazing results - but never without huge effort. As noted - you're in for a fight - but it'll be worth it.

RK

I would stay away from Excellence as Bruce Anderson thinks the 964 is worth as much a Pinto. Get a PCA valuation if you're a member, that should help.

Put your D90's back on the car... or better yet, let me give you all my broken parts....

My Mercedes was totaled in New Orleans... the only thing good that came of it was the driver that hit me was delivering shrimp... so we got 40 lbs for my troubles....

tom

Then again, you never know. The the tires have only 17,000 miles on them...

:)

Seriously, all the best as you sort this out.

Matt

I've been through this several times with both my own and my kids' cars, dealing with both my own insurance (State Farm), and a variety of other companies from the other party. It really seems to depend on the company, I've had good experiences and bad ones. Most ins. co.'s sub the whole valuation exercise out to a third-party company these days. Your best weapon is a thorough compilation of "comparables" for sale in your area, from as many different sources as you can find. And really put the arm on them for every penny you've put into it, whether it's mods, repairs or maintenance. Obviously they won't give you dollar-for-dollar, but every company I've ever dealt with gave me at least some compensation for that stuff (as long as there were receipts) and every dollar counts. It also helps reinforce that it was in very good condition and that you cared about it. When they know you had an emotional attachment and it wasn't just another car, it makes a difference.
They'd rather avoid pissing you off so much that your neck starts hurting... :)

Sorry it happened, but sometimes a total is best. They're never quite right again after a big crunch.

Go get 'em!

I had to deal with the insurance company when my car was stolen. What a PITA. I had lots of documentation to support the claim and upgrades to the car. Basically, I sent about an inch of paper work to the insurance company with all sorts of recirds and receipts. I think it was a big help.

As mentioned by ilko, use the free PCA service to get a valuation, and collect as much pricing info from Autotrader, Cars.com, and the PCA ads to help with your valuation. Excellence values the cars very low, especially if you have records and supporting documentation of upgrades.

Last comment is to not necessarily accept the first settlement offer on the car. I heard this from many others and it helped my cause. I was able to get another $2500 by negotiating with them and assitance from my agent (Allstate). With all of my documentation, I had plenty to support my claim for additional dollars.

Best of luck in your car.

Very good point, a BIG +1 on that. I never accepted the opening offer in any of my experiences, even if it seems generous. They always allow themselves room to sweeten the pot.

Hey guys....first post. Just waiting on my 964 to arrive from transit so that may solidify my membership.
Any who, on the topic of insurance, I have found that after a wreck, send the car to a junk yard/repair shop of your choosing (not the agent) and ask what their daily storage rate is. This has been a help for me because I will not move or act on the car until the numbers are right. All the time the insurance company has to pay the storage, so they have a little fire lit under them.

Kevin