Headlights STOLEN

[yurkope]

CJ,
Make sure that Progressive sends your car to a good shop for the paint work to get the scratch fixed. I had Progressive insurance until I got hail damage last year. They had a list of approved shops I could send the car to, most of them I had never heard of. They would not let me go to a shop of my choice, no option of paying the difference for choosing my own shop. The shop I picked is owned by a Porsche driver and PCA member so I thought I would be in good shape. These guys were horrible, missed hail damage and had other things go wrong that I won't go into.

The remedy Progressive had was to send the car back to the same shop to fix, after 3 trips back and forth to fix the fixes I had enough, took the car to a stealership bodyshop and paid out of pocket, dropped Progressive and got premium insurance through Fireman's.

Laws in Cally might be different for insurance, just another thing to think of.

[ichiro75]

CJ, sorry to hear what happened to your car. I also park my car on the streets and have been thinking about installing 2 way viper alarm in case something like this happens to me. If you want to buy a set of used headlights(Amber). I am selling mine.

[Dr. Kill]

Sorry to hear about your loss. That is a financial and logistical burden. I would suggest you follow the advice previously posted and take advantage of the situation to upgrade - that way something positive can come of it.

[Chills]

Damn CJ I'm sorry to hear about that. Your poor Boxster.

I hope the ins. co. doesn't hassle you at all.

[Perfectlap]

I would be verrrrry leary about replacing those headlights with Litronics or anything that is going to cost you more $$$.
1- the dude that stole your lights didn't just stumble upon your car. He noticed your car parked outside and made an appointment to visit your car at 4am when everyone was sleeping. I'm betting he used a van to block the view of passing cars.
2-this person is probably roaming the area and he will be back to pump that well again. Or he will tell one of his Porsche-familiar parts theives about his score.

You need to move out to a different area or find garaged parking.

This is why I never leave my car with the top down when I'm running errands.
These guys know how to get in and out quick. I'd say you are lucky they weren't Litronics that required disconnecting wires, these idiots have known to do big $$$ damage to the electrics.

[AUDIOGUY]

Here is the deal with Progressive. I worked for them for 7 years as a claims manager and trainer. They will try to force you to bring the car to one of their shops. You can choose this or a shop of your choice. I would definately take it to the highest quality shop you can. You dont have to take it to their shop. The shop you choose will negotiate the price with the Progressive claims rep. Progressive will most likely choose used or aftermarket headlamps. You dont have much choice there unless they are unable to find "like kind and quality" meaning as good as new or the ones you had on the car at the time of the loss. Any great bodyshop will be able to negotiate a settlement with the claims department. You should only have to pay your comprehensive deductible.

Best of luck and remember that it is your car and your choice.

[TriGem2k]

Nuf with the bumper talk. What I want to know is how did you pick up a set of Litronics for $1300?!?!?!

You hear that Blink........$1300.

[blinkwatt]

Originally Posted by TriGem2k

Nuf with the bumper talk. What I want to know is how did you pick up a set of Litronics for $1300?!?!?!

You hear that Blink........$1300.

Yeah.......CJ don't kill me but I just paid $650 for used litronic headlight assemblies and +$48 for the new clear corners from Sunset.

[Perfectlap]

$1300 is a good deal for Litronics nowadays? ouch...
I got me set for $1100 in a Brandywine group buy back in 2005.
Still ranks as the lowest bang for the buck mod to date, car looks the same to 99.5% of the world, if you mostly drive in urban areas there's little difference between the halogens and HID and you have to worry about theft...dem things are waaaaay to easy to remove. snap crackle pop.
But yeah they do look neat, although I would spend the $1300 on skirting, wheels, and interior bits first.

[blinkwatt]

Originally Posted by Perfectlap

$1300 is a good deal for Litronics nowadays? ouch...
I got me set for $1100 in a Brandywine group buy back in 2005.

The price has skyrocketed recently,the lowest price new is Sunset Imports.......$2.4k.....

Why did they jump from $1.5k new to $2.4k? Nothing changed.

[Kirk]

CJ, I agree 100% that someone probably pried the lights out with a screw driver rather than popping the hood. There's only one metal piece that holds them in, so all they would have to do is pry hard enough with a screw driver to break either the mount or the light.

Before you settle with the insurance company make sure you have the car checked out carefully by a professional. I don't know how they could pry out the lights without bending some sheetmetal. I know you see scratches, but the metal also may not be straight. As you mentioned, the headlight mount may be broken too (which may require removing the fender to replace). What about the wiring harness, did they cut that?

Again, I'd check everything out carefully so that you make sure you're not shorted on what repairs are required.

Also, you said they stole the yellow egg yolk lights. I could have sworn you hard clear halogens in there though.... right? Wink, wink, nudge, nudge

Kirk

[Dr. Kill]

Originally Posted by Kirk

CJ, I agree 100% that someone probably pried the lights out with a screw driver rather than popping the hood. There's only one metal piece that holds them in, so all they would have to do is pry hard enough with a screw driver to break either the mount or the light.

Before you settle with the insurance company make sure you have the car checked out carefully by a professional. I don't know how they could pry out the lights without bending some sheetmetal. I know you see scratches, but the metal also may not be straight. As you mentioned, the headlight mount may be broken too (which may require removing the fender to replace). What about the wiring harness, did they cut that?

Again, I'd check everything out carefully so that you make sure you're not shorted on what repairs are required.

Also, you said they stole the yellow egg yolk lights. I could have sworn you hard clear halogens in there though.... right? Wink, wink, nudge, nudge

Kirk

I think everything in this post except for the insurance fraud is good advice.

[CJ_Boxster]

llol yeah, i dont think i would need to lie about what i had cause the stock ambers at the dealer are $1745 a set and that is more than enough for new ebay litronics

Originally Posted by CJ_Boxster

llol yeah, i dont think i would need to lie about what i had cause the stock ambers at the dealer are $1745 a set and that is more than enough for new ebay litronics

That's brilliant, CJ, you are going to buy lights on eBay, that may have been stolen from another Porsche car owner.

[CJ_Boxster]

Originally Posted by bmussatti

That's brilliant, CJ, you are going to buy lights on eBay, that may have been stolen from another Porsche car owner.

THE CIRCLE OF LIIIIIIIIIFFFFFEEEEEE

[FrayAdjacent]

Originally Posted by CJ_Boxster

llol yeah, i dont think i would need to lie about what i had cause the stock ambers at the dealer are $1745 a set and that is more than enough for new ebay litronics

Dude, I'd say get a quote for the regular set from your dealer, and get the insurance to pay you for it, then get a set of Litronics! win/win!

[porsche986spyder]

I'm surprised the alarm did not go off?