VadGTI

Trying to figure out how claims work with these policies.

My 993 suffered a recent incident involving an errant garage door that decided to close on it. As you can see by the below pics, the damage isn't terrible, but it still sucks. There is a slight dent (circled in green), severe scratches (green), and then not-so-bad scratches (red) that I was able to somewhat buff out.

Hopefully these images work:



It's really visible in very bright lighting conditions.



This is the worst of it, scratch-wise:



After a quick buffing attempt (pay no attention to a friend offering a proposed solution):



Not so bad in indirect light:



I decided to pay for it out of pocket, so I took it to a shop and was told that the options were 1) a "professional" buffing attempt and some PDR to make it look semi-OK but definitely not anywhere near perfect or 2) a respray, which will require doing basically the entire front end, as we're talking meh-ish 25 year old paint with pockmarks and rock chips on the fender/hood area, apparently making it impossible to blend unless the entire front end is done.

Obviously Option 1 kinda sucks. Option 2 is obviously not cheap. This is where the insurance thing comes in. I was thinking of filing a claim on this. I've had collector policies for many years (first Hagerty since 2004 and, since 2018, Grundy) but have never made a claim of any kind. In fact, I have never made an automotive insurance claim of any kind (knock on wood).

How will making this claim affect the following?

1. My collector car premium
2. My collector car renewal
3. My regular auto policy

On the one hand, I'm thinking it shouldn't be too bad. It's a comprehensive claim, not collision. On the other hand, I'm sure Grundy wouldn't be too happy to shell out a few grand on this repair while charging me $450/year in premiums with no deductible. I'd imagine I'd be a candidate for being booted and, at that point, going with insurance vs. paying out of pocket may not make sense, since Hagerty and others are much more expensive and would eat up the cost differential in a couple of years. Also, if this affects my regular car insurance, the financial implications of making a claim would be even worse.

So, how do these collector car insurance companies (Grundy in particular) react to claims like this? How will making this claim affect me?

Jbelt01

You could file a claim against your insurance, but there’s a very good chance they’ll only pony up to fix the damage without taking into consideration the remainder of the car has 25 years of wear. You’d then be paying out of pocket to paint the undamaged panels for cosmetic purposes, which would probably diminish the value of filing a claim. More so if it the damage then appears in Carfax.

Pay out of pocket and there’s virtually zero chance of appearing on Carfax. You also get the work you want without limitation. As a point of reference, last month a detail shop tore off the film protecting the rear fenders, and the paint came off with it. It was $1,200 at the Porsche dealership for a glass out repaint of the rear fender. Looks as if it never happened.

jago

slightly OT but i had mouse damage NOT covered by Hagerty on comprehensive..
PSA- check your policies.

M. Schneider

Jago -
Rodent damage if not covered by comprehensive were you SOL? Or were you covered by homeowner coverage or other? Any details of the outcome?

Twilightblue28A

Not true. Carfax gathers information from multiple sources, including police reports. My Porsche dealers policy, no exceptions, is any car admitted for any service must have a work order. Every work order, regardless of the scope of work, is reported to Carfax! If you bring your car to check a tire, oil change, windshield wiper fluid, a report is submitted to Carfax.
Advice: Check with your shop in advance.

INTMD8

I would try to wet sand the scratches out. Start with 1000 on a foam block. If you can sand them out go progressively finer on sanding then polish. If you break through it needed paint anyway.

Foxman

That sucks, very sorry for your troubles.

I would find another shop. It’s hard to tell from the photos, but a reputable shop with a really good PDR guy should make that all but go away.

if you are contemplating a respray, pay for it out of pocket. I also insure with Grundy, and they’re great. But you can’t expect them to pay for a respray for a color match, and they will drop you like a stone.

I had to do a respray up front with my C2S. It wasn’t by choice. I was trying to repair the fenders where the tires rubbed, but we found bondo from prior owner. The paint cracked up the fender, and there was no looking back. The car came out beautifully. Be sure to fully document the process.

My 3:4 respray, not by choice

fsa

Twilight Blue and others:
Do yourselves great service by watching a recent(5/26 airing) of PCA Tech Tactics video with Vu from PCA and Jack Ford, principal of Euro Pros Collision in MD. It deals in detail with Porsche collision and body repair.
Others here and I have written before that Carfax is not always accurate, either positively or negatively, and that fact is substantiated.
Euro Pros is a major Porsche-certified collision and restoration shop, known nationally, a huge and impressive operation. They deal with all sorts of Porsches, concours level and below
The showstopper: Jack specifically states toward the end that body shops are NOT required to report anything to Carfax, and such reporting is optional. Vu was stunned...
I've mentioned several times on this forum circumstances re: my prior C4 ZR1 that got smashed in its front end by a guy who blew a red light. Major damage, no personal injuries. He admitted fault, Portland Police on scene, full report was filed; we were blocking traffic.
My car was towed to a highly regarded Corvette repair shop here, deals with some real jewels. Car undrivable, took several months to repair, should have been totaled- error by the body shop who did not appreciate the extent and seriousness of damage. It was structural.
Net result-- the incident was documented all over the map, his Safeco, my USAA, full police report, major body shop-.and, no mention on the Carfax when the car was sold .Clean.sheet.

jago

yes sol. needed wire harness and a few other things. i changed to leland west, who does cover it. car was eventually sold.
my regular allstate did cover damage to another vehicle.

Twilightblue28A

I don't disagree.... The owner of the Porsche dealer that services my car also owns nine other high end automobile dealerships throughout the United States. The owners policy requires reports must be submitted to Carfax for any work performed by any of his owned dealerships.
Ironically, the Porsche dealer does not do any body repairs or restorations. They refer you to two Porsche Certified collision/restoration shops in the region. Certificates from Porsche are proudly displayed in frames in their offices. Both shops are audited by Porsche regularly. Both shops do extensive frame off restorations up through and including major body and frame repairs. I asked both owners if they report to Carfax and both owners responded absolutely not!!
I recommended that members check with their respective shops in advance of authorizing repairs whether or not their shops report to Carfax

Twilightblue28A

The above was posted by twilightblue 28A.