Hi All,

What follows is a sad tale. I had just bought up my dream car, a midnight blue 1997 993 a few months ago. She's midnight blue and has and only 84,000 miles. I took this picture a week ago with my cel phone in the parking lot at work. I just had it detailed and it looked so sweet I couldn't help myself:

 

Sorry to hear about your loss.

Hard to say without more info.

 

So I'm making a protected left turn (green arrow) a mere three months after purchase when a guy in a new BMW 745i runs the red light and T-bones me in the passenger's side. Good thing my wife wasn't in the car or I'm sure she would have been hurt. As much as I hate red-light cameras, they actually will be of use in this case if I ever have to prove my innocence. The guy admitted to running the red to the cops though. He's a 60 year old doctor and claims never to have been in an accident. I'm 36 and this is my first major one too!

As you can see, the 745 is quite stout...the headlights aren't even broken! Airbags went off in his but not in mine, although the airbag light is on now. I hope State Farm (his insurance) will write this car off as a total as I'd like to possibly buy back the salvage and rebuild it or at least sell off the parts. Does it look totalled to any of you? What parts do you think I'll need to bring it back, and do any of you have them for sale? What is a 84K mile engine and 6-speed trans worth? Thanks for any help.

 

Sorry...broke the story into two parts since I couldn't figure out how to put pictures in the middle of my text.

 

I'll take your CCU (heat A/C unit), the power steering pressure line, driver's door panel-box lid if black...hmm what else.

Glad to hear you are alright. Car doesn't look too bad. Where are you located?

There was another Rennlister who totalled his car, bought it back from the insurance, and sold it off himself, making $$ in the end.

Good luck!

 

Sorry about the accident but glad to hear that you're okay! Best of luck with the insurance.

 

Wow, sorry to hear of this, but glad you're ok. Hope insurance takes care of you!

 

Thanks all...yep I'm feeling great for the most part, just a sore shoulder. I'm located in the LA area. I searched for a thread about the guy who bought back his salvage 993 but couldn't find it. Anyone know where it is?

 

Glad to hear you are ok - having been thru this before, looks like it might be a total loss due to potential for tweaking the underbelly/chassis. My insurance company wanted to sell me back my car for 13K - I did not even dicker. I might have thought about it for 8 - 10K though. Be careful aboutr pulling parts off of it before the wrecker tows it to the salvage yard if it is totalled. A recycling specialty company will buy it and will come after you if a bunch of stuff is oddly missing: manuals, tools, spare, interior parts, etc. You can probably use it as a donor car to swap parts between two 993's, but be careful...

 

See Tim Deshler at his shop. He can repair the car to new. He has the most modern tub racks and is able to take all the factory measurements...He is the go to guy for Collision Repair in Orange County.

Deshler's Collision Repair
1133 W. Taft Ave.,
Orange, CA 92865
(714) 998-9256

 

I let my emotions get the best of me and did a buy-back on a totaled Porsche about 20 years ago. It was the worst mistake I've ever made with a car. The re-build was a nightmare and the car never was quite right.

My advice? Unless you have the know-how, the tools, access to parts at a good price, and a lot of time, spend your time and effort getting a good settlement and then find another 993 that hasn't been wrecked. Doing so will save you every kind of grief.

Good luck...

Terry

 

Ugly! Good luck. Glad to hear no one was hurt.

 

If your Ins.co. decides to total the car, I would opt for the right of first refusal to buy it back, mindful of several issues, some of which follow.

From the pics, it does not appear that either wheel was hit; therefore, there remains a good chance that the suspension is OK ... but a trip to an alignment rack and underneath inspection would tell the story. While the door is shot, the lower sill appears OK as does the roofline. Inspect the door pillars for deformation, and if they pass that may limit repairs to sheetmetal.

The tubs of these cars are remarkably strong - I've had a close up look to appreciate each detail as I had a parts car to tear down: some will advise one to walk from a potential purchase if it has so much as a repainted quarter resulting from a scratch - my instinct would be to investigate the repair option prior to making a decision.

 

I can't tell from the pictures for sure, but if the chassis isn't bent, then its just a door and two fenders. The lower rocker is hard to see, but if that and the door pillars are damaged, then cost adds up pretty quick. It looks like the one rear wheel got mangled and it looks like the front door pillar was hit.

My guess is that the insurance company will want to fix it. I estimate under $15K.

Let me know what the estimate is!

 

Here: https://rennlist.com/forums/993-forum/384163-well-at-least-i-m-alive-the-car-not-so-much-who-needs-parts.html

I would do what the previous posters have suggested. This would be very time consuming to sell off yourself...