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Just J and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
(No injuries, other driver ticketed for illegal left turn).
So, a lady in a Ford Escape in oncoming traffic turned left in front of me trying to get into a gas station. I couldn't stop in time, and had no escape route (except into oncoming traffic, which I decided not to use).
Car was drivable, albeit with tire rub. No leaking fluids. Passenger's door couldn't be opened without hitting fender; trunk could be opened and closed with minor resistance. Other driver insured with State Farm like me.
So, any rough guesses on repair cost and time? Any thoughts on diminished value and how to collect it? Anything else I should be thinking about?
Thanks in advance...
Last edited by Just J; 04-10-2017 at 11:17 PM.
Reason: Wrong door!
I'm gonna guess $25k (Price-is-Right rules.) Porsche tax will be about 50% of that. There's a lot - and I mean A LOT - of stuff under the bumper cover and in the wheel well. No tellin' what's bent until the wheel, liner, and cover come off. I'd be surprised if the hood and front-corner crush-structure and frunk tub aren't tweaked.
If it was me (and I was still a free man and not in jail) I'd want to see the Turbo with my own eyes once the 'skin' is off and before the 'skin' goes back on to make sure that everything that needed doin' was done. I have seen enough Porsche repairs to know that shops will sometimes bill for new 'under-the-skin' parts that aren't actually ordered (or installed.)
Regarding diminished value, it varies greatly state by state, so you'll need to look up your laws. You may also see if you can deduct the loss from your taxes using for instance IRS Form 4684.
You have a beautiful car, I recall your delivery pictures at the dealership. Find a high quality private body shop recommended by other fussy Porsche (check with the local Porsche Club members) owners in your area. Someone you can trust to evaluate the damage correctly and repair it to make you happy. A great shop will be very happy to show you the damage underneath before they fix it and council you accordingly. I think it can be fixed correctly and have a great paint match by a quality shop and you would be happy. If in the end after it's fixed right and you're not happy or it will always bother you, sell it or trade it.
Thanks, all. Please keep any suggestions coming. I like the idea of a "before you button it up" inspection.
My dealer has a very good paint shop (I had them do a frunk lid rock chip and a rear bumper scratch [parking lot hit and run]) and they did outstanding work. And their service department has impressed me so far. So I think I'll get the car back in pretty good shape. Now I just need to make sure that State Farm (the insurance company for me and the asshat that turned in front of me) makes me whole for at least the rental car, and diminished value if I can make that stick.
Edit: Ha! I just noticed that my profile pic is still how the car looks today, since you can't see the damaged corner.
This sucks beyond all belief. I am so sorry for your predicament.
However, no one hurt and material things can be repaired or replaced.
Fourteen months ago I had an incident driving my C4S. Guy ran a stop sign and i T-boned him. One very reassuring thing was how well protected I was. No one injured and I resumed working like nothing happened. Took 4 months and $40K to repair my vehicle; I suspect his was totaled. I still have it and drove it regularly until my replacement P car arrived. There's always another car.
Poor lighting doesn't show the extent of damage well. My insurance (Cincinnati) was amazing.
Nardo Grey PTS with Espresso Brown and Acid Green stitch makes this very special.
The fact that you were hit on the passenger side, but you can't open the driver's door without something rubbing is pretty disturbing tbh. You may well have more damage under the 'skin' than it appears to the naked eye.
Diminished value is tough on a newer car that's depreciating like a rock as it is, may have to sue the driver later to recover any DV $$. The driver door issue is very concerning and indicative of major frame damage, perhaps they'll just total the car?
Good luck either way, glad you're OK.
One trick: don't let your insurance company suggest a repair facility. They have contracts with certain "preferred" shops which basically means they get a cheap rate and you get a cheap (as-in less than ideal) repair.
You might try looking for repair shops through this site:
Not sure about state law where you are but here in WA you have the right to choose the place that does the work and also to insist on repair to the pre-loss condition. That latter sound bite translates to: if the car was all OEM factory parts before the crash then you can insist that it is repaired with factory parts. The insurance companies hate this...so here you have to keep repeating the "pre-loss condition" phrase a lot and get the repair facility to help you hold your ground for the proper repair protocol in line with what the factory specifies.
There were a couple of good articles that might be of help in the local-to-me PCA chapter's monthly magazine. I think you can get at those without any special credentials:
At the least that might convince anyone who needs a repair on a Porsche to pick their own repair facility...Jeff Butler told some real horror stories (he's the principal at Haury's which is a local shop in Seattle that is Porsche Approved -- they did great work on my car and helping me get the repair I wanted done right).
04-08-2017, 10:42 PM
Just J and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
