Crashed 996 - What to do?
#16
He says in post 1 that he is in Las Vegas.
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.
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.
#17
I suggest a set of used wheels, a good alignment and get out to your local track for some one-on-one driver training - THEN think about fixing it
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
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
#18
About 10 years ago, my youngest daughter (who we affectionately called "crash") took my Lexus SC300 out for a ride with her friends. It was lightly raining. She took a corner, and the rear end started to break loose. She turned the wheel the WRONG WAY, and the car did a 360. At the end of the spin, she hit the curb. Bounced over it, breaking both wheels on the right side, and bending the frame of the car. Sounds similar to what you faced.
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 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
#19
Nordschleife Master
Joined: Nov 2008
Posts: 5,815
Likes: 55
From: Mooresville, IN (Life Long Cheesehead)
Pcars are indeed pricey to fix after a accident. My car got just a little love tap while parked at work. The damage is $8200. That happened 11/24/10. The car has been in the shop since 12/01 and I won't have it back for another 2 weeks. New body parts can take a long time to arrive. I also got rearended 2 years ago and the driver who was texting while she plowed into me took off. My insurance (uninsured motorist) foot the $13,000 bill and I had to pay my deductible. That took 2 1/2 months to get my car back. Needless to say this will be a slow process for you to get it fixed. I would contact a parts wholesaler (Oklahoma for one) and sell it and save up for your next car.
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.
#20
Pcars are indeed pricey to fix after a accident. My car got just a little love tap while parked at work. The damage is $8200. That happened 11/24/10. The car has been in the shop since 12/01 and I won't have it back for another 2 weeks. New body parts can take a long time to arrive. I also got rearended 2 years ago and the driver who was texting while she plowed into me took off. My insurance (uninsured motorist) foot the $13,000 bill and I had to pay my deductible. That took 2 1/2 months to get my car back. Needless to say this will be a slow process for you to get it fixed. I would contact a parts wholesaler (Oklahoma for one) and sell it and save up for your next car.
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.
#25
I may sound harsh.. I am sorry this has happened.
Last edited by Shark Attack; 12-24-2010 at 06:23 PM.
#27
Sorry it happened.... As another thought... I have a friend here in Los Angeles who I'll check with who has been restoring wrecked high end cars for years. He has some body guys who do just the labor / paint he wants and he supplies the parts. Los Angeles is a much larger market for these sorts of shops. I spoke with an indie P Car repair shop in Las Vegas last year when I was looking at a car there.... Can't remember the name but he was a real pro and kept me from making a 26k mistake. A mechanic might give you a better perspective on what needs to be done under the skin.....
#28
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.
#30
Thanks for the very helpful advice everyone I will be sorting through what everyone has said in great detail over the next few hours / couple days when I have some time. I do have cash on hand to replace the car because I am currently saving up to buy a house in August-December of this coming year, but it clearly isn't something I'm thrilled about doing. In the future if I get a car like this or repair this one I'll have some $5k deductible insurance coverage so that I'll be OK in these situations.
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!
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!