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I custom ordered my 911S, delivery Feb 2022.
Fast forward DEC 27th, a gal pulls out in front of me, making a left turn, and I T-Bone her passenger side. Cut and dry, her fault.
Good news, i staggered away, nothing broken or bloodied. The car had 4 airbags deployed and has front-end damage. (Porsche makes an amazingly safe car!!)
Now, I'm dealing with the insurance company. Of course, I want the car totaled, but it doesn't look like that is going to happen. The insurance company's quick estimate was
$20k in damage, which i think is substantially low. The car is being moved to the licensed Porsche repair shop in my city for a more accurate assessment of the repair amount.
I've already decided in my mind that i don't want to keep the car.
The questions to the forum are-
How much is a damaged car , that has been professionally repaired worth? I"m not trying to hose anyone, and will be sharing all repair documents. Is there a ball park % that you would say an accident
repaired 911 is worth? Would it be 70-80% of it's KBB excellent value?
I will try to file a "diminished value claim" against the at fault driver's company. Any thoughts or recommendations on this process?
I welcome your thoughts and opinions.
cheers,
NAV
Nav, I see in the above photo your car is going thru SF. And though it's been a few weeks, I bet they have yet to get an agreed price with the shop. Let me answer the questions you asked and even a couple you didn't ask...
First and foremost, your car MUST be at a PACC (sounds like it is). a Non-PACC will not be able to some parts and will even ignore damages because they know they can't fix certain things. Another risk is they may try to "pull" the panels, which is fine on 99% of cars, but a major NO-NO to this cars unique design. (Just sharing for the benefit of others reading this)
Secondly, (I'm assuming you have Allstate and the other party's insurance is SF), SF will not pay for proper repairs. You're either wasting your time trying to get them to, or the shop may make concessions that they shouldn't. Allstate isn't much better, but you MAY have an appraisal clause in your policy with Allstate. If so, ASAP, hire an appraiser who can negotiate the repair estimate for you, as well as negotiate the DV claim.
This car is not a total. So brace yourself for a lengthy repair. If the other party has good insurance, they'll pay for you to drive a porsche (or at least a Mercedes or BMW) for the duration of the repairs. I've had many clients go thru this.
With a fair DV settlement (maybe 10%-15% of value), and repairs performed at a PACC in accordance to Porsche standards, you'll have no problem enjoying this car.
Best of luck to you and thank you for your military service! If you have any further questions, feel free to reach out. And if you need a referral for a licensed appraiser, ask me. I know a few.
Nav, I see in the above photo your car is going thru SF. And though it's been a few weeks, I bet they have yet to get an agreed price with the shop. Let me answer the questions you asked and even a couple you didn't ask...
First and foremost, your car MUST be at a PACC (sounds like it is). a Non-PACC will not be able to some parts and will even ignore damages because they know they can't fix certain things. Another risk is they may try to "pull" the panels, which is fine on 99% of cars, but a major NO-NO to this cars unique design. (Just sharing for the benefit of others reading this)
Secondly, (I'm assuming you have Allstate and the other party's insurance is SF), SF will not pay for proper repairs. You're either wasting your time trying to get them to, or the shop may make concessions that they shouldn't. Allstate isn't much better, but you MAY have an appraisal clause in your policy with Allstate. If so, ASAP, hire an appraiser who can negotiate the repair estimate for you, as well as negotiate the DV claim.
This car is not a total. So brace yourself for a lengthy repair. If the other party has good insurance, they'll pay for you to drive a porsche (or at least a Mercedes or BMW) for the duration of the repairs. I've had many clients go thru this.
With a fair DV settlement (maybe 10%-15% of value), and repairs performed at a PACC in accordance to Porsche standards, you'll have no problem enjoying this car.
Best of luck to you and thank you for your military service! If you have any further questions, feel free to reach out. And if you need a referral for a licensed appraiser, ask me. I know a few.
Thank you sam. Your information is very helpful. I’m sure OP will appreciate that.
I have SF for years and gladly I didn’t have to use it. However back in 2018 my Macan turbo was hit by someone with AS (at fault party) and Allstate was horrible to deal with. They objected at every aspect of repair and refused to pay for rental car for my use beyond 30 days which was a Toyota Camry. Since my Macan took nearly 2.5 months to get fixed, parts delay from Germany.
I think at the end if the day all insurance providers are the same, depends upon how much patience you have to argue with them. I gave up after few weeks. Retrospectively it was wrong, I should have fought harder.
Latest update--
Car is at the only Porsche certified/authorized repair facility in Vegas. I have the utmost confidence in them.
The claims adjuster number does seem very low to me. The repair facility is disassembling the car now, and will give me their adjusted quote soon.
Thanks to everyone for the kind and intelligent suggestions. I will go for a diminished value claim. From what i understand, it's doable, but not a quick process.
More info to follow when i get it.
Latest update--
Car is at the only Porsche certified/authorized repair facility in Vegas. I have the utmost confidence in them.
The claims adjuster number does seem very low to me. The repair facility is disassembling the car now, and will give me their adjusted quote soon.
Thanks to everyone for the kind and intelligent suggestions. I will go for a diminished value claim. From what i understand, it's doable, but not a quick process.
More info to follow when i get it.
cheers,
NAV
I’m having PTSD just reading your thread. I went through a similar experience. It took 4 months and many hours of calls an emails to get mine to totaled. Look up the thread I wrote about my account experience.
These are the approximate diminished value amounts that a late-model Porsche will experience after collision repairs. BIG NOTE: Most of you do not consider that driving a previously-repaired car - even one that had light damage - places you in a position of financial uncertainty. Should someone strike your car again, the chances of an insurance company paying out for DV on a previously wrecked car are very slim. Losing 40% of trade-in value is no small matter.
Regarding your car, airbag deployment guarantees a loss of 30% from the pre-accident trade-in value.
Here's the rest of the list which is on somewhat of a sliding scale as newer cars tend to lose a bit more than older ones.
Minor damage = 10%-15% DV.
Moderate damage = 10%-15% DV
Airbag deployment = 30%-40% DV
Structural damage = 30%-50% DV.
Disabled & Towed = Add 5% DV
These numbers are literally based on thousands of diminished value appraisals on all types of cars in all areas of the country.
Regarding the car, it doesn't look serious. If the frame is straight, it can be easily repaired. Provided you take it to the right shop, it will look like new. As for value, it won't be worth the same as a car without stories but if you document it properly. $20k damage on a $100k+ car is not a big deal.
repair at Porsche body shop only to help with any resale
Latest update--
Car is at the only Porsche certified/authorized repair facility in Vegas. I have the utmost confidence in them.
The claims adjuster number does seem very low to me. The repair facility is disassembling the car now, and will give me their adjusted quote soon.
Thanks to everyone for the kind and intelligent suggestions. I will go for a diminished value claim. From what i understand, it's doable, but not a quick process.
More info to follow when i get it.
cheers,
NAV
I think that your best course of action would be to hire an attorney experienced in high value DV claims. His fee would be a portion of the recovery and he would likely get a higher value for you than if you did it yourself. Insurance companies know most of us are not skilled in this kind of thing and will use that to their advantage. Plus, you get rid of the hassle factor that way.
The Porsche-approved body shop went over the car and found a few more required fixes.
The updated repair cost now is about $23k. The latest estimate is parts (arrival) plus 1 month.
If things couldn't get any worse, I found out the at-fault driver did not have any insurance. The insurance she presented at the accident scene was bogus.
I have a meeting with a lawyer, but I'm not sure if it will be worth going after the at-fault driver. A diminished value claim may not be an option.
The Porsche-approved body shop went over the car and found a few more required fixes.
The updated repair cost now is about $23k. The latest estimate is parts (arrival) plus 1 month.
If things couldn't get any worse, I found out the at-fault driver did not have any insurance. The insurance she presented at the accident scene was bogus.
I have a meeting with a lawyer, but I'm not sure if it will be worth going after the at-fault driver. A diminished value claim may not be an option.
The hits just keep coming.
cheers
NAV
That sucks. But at least you can just move forward and have your own car repaired through your own insurance company. They should cover your deductible under uninsured motorist property damage coverage. Diminished value will be very difficult to collect because the at fault person is uninsured and even if you get a judgment against her, you wouldn't be able to collect if she has no money. But, you should consider pursuing an uninsured motorist bodily injury claim for any injuries you sustained from the accident.
I’ve had a couple of accidents with nicer vehicles, my first was a brand new Ducati. I bought it back from the insurance co and ended up paying it off and fixing it up with all the good parts that it needed. I still own the bike. I don’t feel bad about spending the money for race engine build, Ohlins suspension, and a bunch of other parts.
My wife’s older RS6 got backed into and the accident devalued the car and USAA was able to get extra money out of the other owners insurance to cover the fact. We sold it and I was able to let it go cheap or I could have kept it, but I sold it and the owner knows it was in an accident.
I wonder if Porsche would sell you a GTS or next level bumper? The accident doesn’t look bad to me, but I’d feel better if I walked with a sweet turboS bumper on her afterwards plus a wad of money because it’s been devalued.
Get the car fixed and enjoy it. The longer you have it and the more miles you put on it, the less relevant this early damage history becomes.
I cannot think of a greater waste of resources than engaging an attorney to try to get something out of someone who couldn’t afford car insurance in the first place. You will do nothing more than add to your negative column.
$23k of damage to a Porsche 911 isn’t that bad. These cars can be fixed and repaired. You now have the liberty of no longer worrying about keeping the car perfect.
I fully appreciate the bummer of the moment, but it sounds like you’ll be back in action within the month.
Don't be so sure that the responsible party "could not afford insurance" because many of these people are simply penny-pinchers who are gambling that nothing will happen. I can't count the number of clients who sued and discovered that the responsible party found the resources to pay the claims vs. having their paychecks attached.
The last two accidents I have been involved in I was hit by underinsured drivers, and my insurance company had to kick in. Plus, the underinsured drivers I have been involved with lie, and try to shift blame. They usually have sub-par insurance and are recent immigrants in my area. Part of the problem too, is Virginia needs to up the coverage requirements. It was raised to $ 25,000 recently but before that was $20,000. For the cost of repairs today, that’s not enough even on mainstream vehicles when an F-150 is $60,000.
I look at insurance as not making you 100% whole again, but there to prevent you from having a catastrophic loss. If the vehicle is properly repaired with minimal out of pocket then insurance has done its job. If you can’t live with the results sell the vehicle and move on. It’s a money thing at the end of the day and as you get older you realize health matters far more than money things.
The last two accidents I have been involved in I was hit by underinsured drivers, and my insurance company had to kick in. Plus, the underinsured drivers I have been involved with lie, and try to shift blame. They usually have sub-par insurance and are recent immigrants in my area. Part of the problem too, is Virginia needs to up the coverage requirements. It was raised to $ 25,000 recently but before that was $20,000. For the cost of repairs today, that’s not enough even on mainstream vehicles when an F-150 is $60,000.
I look at insurance as not making you 100% whole again, but there to prevent you from having a catastrophic loss. If the vehicle is properly repaired with minimal out of pocket then insurance has done its job. If you can’t live with the results sell the vehicle and move on. It’s a money thing at the end of the day and as you get older you realize health matters far more than money things.
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