Crashed 996 - What to do?
BTW, having lived in Vegas I can tell you that the on ramps when it rains that one time a year are brutal. Especially for a new rear-engine owner. All the oils, etc make it a death trap for the rookie. That's where my wife wrecked her 996CAB. She lost the rear at LOW SPEED and lifted as she had always done in her previous front engine car). Wrong decision. We too thought a few grand in damage but it was well over 10K. It's that ONE time you need insurance that all those years of premiums pay off.
sorry that was just mean
so as other have said, get a couple more estimates - dont cheap out but there seems to be a lot of parts in there I would question because they are suspension parts and an alignment guy would know if those were still OK - IMO
also I saw a car come thru the shop the other day that the owner was ni the same boat with... his bill was $48k on his GT3 that hit something in the front..... out of pocket! - rememeber, could be worse.
best of luck
I never understand why people don't buy insurance. If you want to save money that is NOT the place. I was in the National Guard in Omaha when a tornado came through. Tore up a residential neighborhood really badly. Nearly every home on a 3 block stretch was totaled. It was a mature neighborhood, so nearly everyone had paid off their homes - and then canceled their insurance!!!

So, here they were, sitting on their concrete stoop with nothing - no spare clothing, no personal possessions, no house. The insurance was not for the lender, it was for the owner!!! But some people don't get it!! Not to beat a dead horse, but you obviously missed that lesson.
Liability insurance is for the GUY that you hit. If he's driving a big mercedes, or bentley, or bmw or whatever, your Liability insurance will pay for the repairs to HIS car. If you get into a bad multi car accident, you could easily outspend your 100K in liability coverage. Which is why you want big coverage. How much depends on the value of the other cars in the area you normally drive.
Collision is for YOU. You bump, or wreck your car, it is collision that pays for the repair. If you had a loan on the car, you would have had collision insurance. The bank would have required it. The fact that you don't have a loan doesn't change the requirement. You are now sitting on the stoop with those Omaha homeowners.
My advice? If the frame on your car is bent - as it seems - since they have frame straightening time on their estimate, accept the fact that you messed up, sell the car for scrap, and put the money together to buy another that will be properly insured. Repairs to these cars is not the province of the cheapest body shop. You will regret it. No body shop will welcome you coming in for some repairs with a pick-up truck full of spare parts. "Hey, would you install these on my car?"
And, you don't want to go cheap in getting the car fixed. Maybe for a Chevy Cavalier, but not a Porsche. That is just not a wise investment. Just accept the fact that you learned your lesson, get some new friends who are mature enough to give you sound advice, and start saving for a new Porsche.
Sorry to hear your story, it's a tough problem, and a sad lesson to learn. (Sorry for the lecture - the father in me came out.)
larry
I won't comment on the lapse of judgement on insurance. Sorry to hear this.
I won't comment on the lapse of judgement on insurance. Sorry to hear this.
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I may sound harsh.. I am sorry this has happened.
Last edited by Shark Attack; Dec 24, 2010 at 06:23 PM.
Depending on the bank, they might require collision/comprehensive coverage and he can't do that now because the insurance company won't add such coverage without taking photos of the car.
The other repair estimate that I have lists all the item numbers required so I do have them on hand. Is there a good website that I can enter these numbers into and purchase some parts that I can't find on ebay or other places?
Here are some more pictures:





Thanks again everyone!



