Are you the first/only owner? I hardly doubt they will offer or settle with a brand new P but I would be happy if they gave me the retail value. If you have the car fixed it will not be the same and it will be recorded with carfax etc and lowering the value of your car.

I haven't read through all posts. My guess is that they will not buy it. Legally, they don't have too. All they have to do is fix the damage they caused. Once they fix it. YOU will have to list it.

Then, when you sell it for $10k UNDER blue-book (or however much), you can then sue them for damages.

You will have to prove, by a preponderance (more evidance than not, or at least 51% to 49%) that they caused your car to be however much UNDER-valued because of the accident. These are your damages that THEY Caused. THAT will be ez to prove -- open and shut.

I think the car will also be easy to sell. Just show the buyer what happened.

Depending on the state you're in, you should be able to collect lawyers-fee's from them, as well. Do consult a lawyer.

Good luck!!

Thats 10-15k EASY in damage. I just had an accident where I rear ended someone a few months back and it was like $15k not to mention the 2k in rental car i had to use.

Life throws crap from time to time, sorry, you have stepped in crap and will be the one to deal with it. Maybe they'll help you towards a new car in the future if they trade and ignore the damage they caused.................... Good luck.

Step 1) Get them to loan you an equivalent P-car whilst this is all sorted out. No reason you should be off the road.
Step 2) Get a laywer. At least you want (a) the car fixed as good as new. (b) CPO or similar for the car. (c) dimished value recompensed. Ideally you want a straight swap for an equivalent vehicle (with them paying the vehicle tax, don't forget)

If the dealer agrees to this without too much hassle, you've got a good one - stick with him, and tell us.

if I were in your shoes...
under absolutely no circumstances would I accept a repair. Regardless of whether or not it was the tech's fault.
These sorts of things don't happen every day and the fact that you have alerted the Rennlist community that handing over the keys to this dealership comes with concern, should be enough to get these guys into "damage control" mode. They can afford to deal with a rare and unfortunate circumstance.

Whatever you are offered sleep on it. Don't make a decision right there on the spot. The same sales tactics that are use to sell cars will be used to minimize their loss here. You are in the driver's seat.

Just my general comments as a lawyer who happens to represent several car dealers:

1) In most states you are entitled to be put back whole, which means the vehicle repaired and compensated for the diminished value. The dealer knows this, you know this.

2) At this point retaining an attorney is pointless and in fact likely counterproductive. If you retain an attorney two things will happen. First, you will be spending money out of pocket because you cannot recover the costs you pay the attorney. Second, the dealer will likely punt the entire matter their counsel at that point because they will get defense and will believe at that point you are going to be unreasonable not matter what happens. What will quickly happen is the money that would go to making you happy will go to the attorneys.

3) Most high end car dealers want to make you happy. They want to sell you cars in the future and service them. Your Porsche dealer knows that guys that buy new Porsche's don't jump brands the next time they buy a new car. Talk to the dealer, explain what you feel, explain your concerns, tell them you understand that accidents happen, but you have concerns about the vehicle being properly fixed and you know that Porsche's especially take a big hit in value when they have had an accident. You would be surprised what a frank discussion can accomplish. I doubt the dealer will trade you for a new 997, but you would be surprised, they might have a 2006 997 with 5,000 miles that they would trade you for.

I have two sugggestions, FWIW:

1) Get PCNA involved. They have the clout to make the dealer take care of you.

2) Consider making a call your local TV stations adn newspapers with "Help Me Howard" type reporters who assist in sticky situations such as yours. They'll eat up the Porsche angle.

I respectfully disagree that getting an attorney is pointless, and suggest you confer with an attorney, if only for your piece of mind. Initially, I am leery of attorney advice instructing you not to get seek counsel. In fact, it may be on the verge of malpractice - as any rights you lose will be at the advice of counsel. As I see it, without knowing the law in your state, any attorney telling you it is counterproductive and pointless for you to inquire as to your rights is not sound advice.

I think you should consider the following:
1) Getting an attorney will ensure that you get what the law entitles you to - not what everyone "knows" or "thinks" you are entitled to. There are different statutory requirements by state, and without knowing what those are for your state, you cannot be sure you are being justly compensated.
Also, there are different "layers" of representation, from working in the background to "check" all offers from the dealer- to full fledged representation taking you out of the loop completely. There is no need to be confrontational, however, you should be concerned that the dealer is not going to go above what he thinks he can get away with.

2) There is no guarantee that the entire thing will not get punted to the dealer's attorney entirely anyway. Additionally, it is highly likely that the dealer's attorney already knows what has happened and is advising the dealer. If you don't have counsel (at least working behind the scenes) you are taking a knife to a gun fight.

3) It is too simple to say that you have funds "out of pocket" if you retain an attorney. True, your attorney's fees paid may not be recoverable. But, getting the solution you want, rather than a compromise solution has value. When talking about 5 figure repairs jobs, loss of resale value, negligence issues, rental cars (replacement cars) etc., paying a thousand to an attorney is justifiable in my mind.

You only get one shot at getting the right solution. I think you should at least get an initial consultation with an attorney (which should be free) to make sure what you think is "right" is what you are entitled to under the law.

Just my $.02.

-td <- just more hot air

I think its too early to get counsel on it. At least give them the chance to make it right. If they refuse, then go to the BBB. If that doesnt work, file a complaint with the state dealer licensing commision. If THAT doenst work, get counsel.

I find it really hard to belive they wont try and make it right. Hell, if they gave you a comporable car, they will jet send the wrecked on to auction anyhow.

What a mess! Sorry about that. Hopefully, as everyone else stated, the dealer will do the right thing. Giving you back the same car, repaired, should be your last choice. I would not want a car with that front end damage. You shouldn't be stuck with that either.

Good luck!

What damage?
That'll buff right out!









J/K Hope the GM will do the right thing and take care of you.

I love it. When you are an attorney and you tell someone to consult with counsel, you are a greedy shark. When you tell them to hold off and talk first, you are accused of potentially committing malpractice. :banghead: :banghead:

Running to counsel before even hearing what the dealer is willing to do is premature and a waste of time and resources. He is not bound to accept the dealers offer.

Tort law is virtually identical in all states, the victim is entitled to be put whole (or as close as possible) by the tortfeaser, nothing more, nothing less. If you can show me a state that provides otherwise, I would love to see it.

The dealer knows what their legal obligations are, they will most likely exceed them. Do you understand why? This isn't about the law, this is a business decision for the dealer and they know that they want the customer to be happy because, if he is, he will buy more cars in the future, and there is a good chance his friends will also. (was that enough of a run-on sentence). Strange as it sounds, well off guys that drive Porsche's, tend to hang out well with other well off guys that may or will buy a Porsche. In the high end dealer business, a lot of sales come from customer referrals, so they value their customers much more than say a Honda dealer, who knows their customer will buy from whatever dealer gives them the best price.

BTW, I represent several different levels of dealers, but all are large California dealers and range from those selling Korean Cars to high end German manufactures so I am pretty familiar with their dynamics.

I respectfully disagree with the disagreement - sort of. It's not that getting an attorney is pointless. It's "AT THIS POINT retaining an attorney is pointless." (emphasis added). Before all the facts are gathered, estimates made, and a preliminary offer on the table, there isn't much "meat" to discuss with an attorney. Even a free consultation will be wasted discussing "what if". I don't know the specifics but I'll wager neither the dealer nor the insurance company has counsel involved yet. They're not in the business of spending unnecessary legal fees. The dealer will file a claim, the insurer will assign an adjuster who will investigate and make a recommendation. Because the OP wasn't even involved in the accident, he doesn't even need to worry about if he was at fault. My $0.02 is not to rush to accept any deal or make confrontational demands. Wait for the hand to be dealt and then once an offer is on the table, run it by an attorney before agreeing to anything. I would also suggest not to make a lot of publicity yet. The dealer's motivation to "make it right" is to keep it quiet and not lose business. By playing the hole card too early, it pisses away the advantage.

Again, this is just my $0.02

If for some reason what you believe will happen starts to go wrong, at what point should the poster get an attorney? Are you saying that we should "trust" the car dealers because you represent them? Sounds a little biased...

IMO, "well off guys that drive Porsche's" shouldn't have a problem shelling out a few hundred to get a second pair of eyes on this - even if it's during the "I need to sleep on this" period.

-td