996scott

Sooo sorry to hear but glad you walked away in one piece. Good luck with the insurance co.

OverBoosted28

If the vehicle that hit you is about an 96 or newer you may be able to have the ECU data pulled. Have your insurance rep look into it. I have had it pulled on about a dozen collisions. It will tell you speed before braking (if there was any),speed at time of impact (airbag deployment) and steering inputs. I got them on fatal investigations but you can try and get them if you push hard enough. Again I am sorry this happened to you and your poor car but I am glad you seem to be alright. Don't hesitate to stick it to this guy. These are NOT accidents. Accidents for the most part can be avoided with proper care. Obviously there was no care for others while this guy was driving. I have seen way to much carnage on the road and just about ALL of it could've been avoided. Good luck

NYC993

Sorry to hear about this. This truly sucks and I don't know how I would react if I was in your shoes. But there is no reason to be hating your life. Whatever happened is done, the question is how will you move forward.

We may not always have a choice of what happens to us, but we always have a choice of how we react and deal with whatever situation we are in.

Wishing speedy recovery to you and your 993

P-daddy

Damn, glad you're ok. So sad to see the condition of your 993.

Bonster

I looked at a few of those calculator things, like Edmunds, etc.. They claim my car is only worth $14,924. How is that possible? The engine alone costs more than that. And the hard back Sport seats. The Cup rims. The special-order paint color. What am I gonna do? It feels like my car has been stolen from me.

Bonster

Thanks, Boosted . . . I just wrote that down. Problem is . . . when looking into this guy, we found he is RENTING a property that is only worth $38000. What if there is no money to go after to get compensated for my loss? My policy says "actual cash value", which I think means refer to places like Edmunds, which gave me a price way lower than I can imagine.

Bonster

NYC993 ... don't get me wrong . . . I am not suicidal or going on a bender or something. I just really love cars - always have. I never got to have children so cars have become my babies. So when I say I hate my life right now, that's all it means. It means I wish my life wasn't so crappy. In less than three seconds my dream car was taken from me after all the time I spent working on it, maintaining it, detailing it, enjoying the track in it. All of that is gone. So yeah, my life really is at an all time low.

Cuda911

Bonnie, To settle the claim, they typically look up the actual recent sales prices of similar cars in your area. Don't worry about the Edmunds value. Clearly, no 993s are selling for $15,000. Did the other guy have insurance? What most insurance companies worry about is medical claims, because they can be enormous. If you have a decent insurance company, I imagine you will get a decent settlement. When my daughter wrecked one of my cars a couple years ago, the insurance company (USAA) paid me more than I paid for the car.

Bonster

And I feel better . . . hubby recommended looking at autotrader.com Found a coupe with similiar features in not as good of shape with 144,507 on the clock for $37k. I guess I might have to put my boxing gloves. Frankly, if I were to sell it prior to this accident, with its condition and its goodies, I would not take less than $40k. Does that sound reasonable? Just ask questions as though it's for sale and I will answer. I need to know what it would be worth so I can argue with the insurance people. I know this looks like one of those digging for a way to sell a car in disguise things, but you guys know me better than that. I need ammo. Please help. Thanks!!!

NYC993

Cheer up...the car is repairable or replaceable.

I would be looking for the best accident/insurance lawyer right now and do a good examination of your back and other injuries.

Edit: There is a lot more to this than value of the car, your settlement should buy you several 993s.

Bonster

BTW, I paid $24,500 with 78k on clock. I paid less than the asking because the number five cylinder pressure was low. Cost me $7k to fix (I went ahead and had them just do the works while in there - all new and cleaned everything). Then the AC quit and I paid about $3500 for that. And the tires alone are $1000. I have those coveted hard back Sport seats that my friend Rudy said were easily worth $7k. So yeah . . . I need ammo folks. I will owe you.

Bonster

NYC . . . if the insurance company gives me the d**k dance on the car's value, I am definitely gonna contact an attorney. Thanks for the advice. And I did cheer up once I saw what other folks are asking for these babies. Thanks again.

Spyder_Man

As Cuda911 points out, don't sweat the Edmunds or KBB values estimates. Just know that they are way under market and make it clear to your insurance company that you want the vehicle value assessed by the true, present market value and not the default options like Edmunds and KBB. If they're a decent insurance company that values their customer loyalty they'll have a claim adjuster work with you to set the true market value. Then get it further adjusted upward with the receipts for high ticket improvements like your race seats. Just be persistant. As others have said, the insurance company is more worried about the possible medical bills than the car value.

I had a cherry '67 VW Beetle that was vandalized by some drunk college kids one Halloween night. They climbed on top of the hood and roof. They kicked the door panels in. They did a number on it. As to be expected with an old VW the blue book value was rock bottom, but by providing comparable examples of '67 VW Beetles for sale and recently sold I was able to drive the appraised value up to where it should have been (5x above KBB) and then had the insurance cover the repair costs because the bodywork was now less than the appraised value. Even if your 993 is totalled, you might be able to buy it back well under market value from the insurance company to then part it out or rebuilt it.

Don't sweat it, you have plenty of time to get this worked out. OverBoosted28 is spot on about sticking it to this guy. Get as much as you can from his insurance and take him to court if necessary for reckless driving. I'm no lawyer, but it might be worth consulting one before accepting or hearing any settlement proposals from his insurer.

Good luck! We're all rooting for you and your 993.

NYC993

Not to beat the dead horse, but experienced attorney might know how to beat insurance companies at their game. I would start with that. You may have options that you are simply unaware of. And it usually doesn't cost you anything to get a consultation.

KNS

It may have been mentioned - get as many print-ups of various 993s for sale Autotrader, etc. Have at least a half a dozen different cars to show them. Most of them I'm sure will be around $30,000 or well above.

If they're still offering amounts less than $20,000 just tell them: "Find me another one similar to it" See how that goes.