the worst thing that could possibly happen when you loan out your boxster
 

Let a good friend/co worker borrowed the porsche for the weekend in exchange for her truck. I received a phone call on late sunday afternoon that my beloved car was involved in an accident. Some guy blinded by the sun was pulling out of a subdivision and clipped her. Everyone is fine. No air bags were deployed. I hope it's considered totaled by the Insurance company. The integrity of the ride will never be the way it was. Only had it for 2mths....nice summer fling that fate decided to break off. Being taken to a local porsche dealership now. Anyone know a good body shop in North Metro Atlanta? If it's not total, I would like to get the litronics, gt3 bumper, etc. Viewer discretion advised.

Man, that is ugly.

My condolences. This is why I never loan my cars to anyone. If it is going to be wrecked, better I am behind the wheel and then, I can blame, well, me.

Best of luck. Hope that is a write off as I would not want to have to fix that baby.

Keep us posted.

:cheers:

fefyfo, try calling the Jim Ellis Porsche dealer (770-234-2100) and see who they recommend for the work. They may have thier own Body Shop or use a 3rd party.

Who's insurance covers your losses...yours...or your ex-friends?

The insurance that would cover the cost is the driver that caused the accident, the one that pulled out carelessly from their subdivision. It's a huge national insurance company too, I hope they will not be a pain to deal with.

That doesn't look TOO bad as far as collisions go. But definitely sell it once you get it repaired. Maybe your next Boxster will be nicer. sometimes there is a silver lining in every misfortune.

Don't hesistate to get your lawyer involved if they don't settle with you for the full amount of replacing the vehicle. What most insurance companies don't know is that a fender bender on a Porsche just totals the car and makes it worthless, even if repaired.

If you got a good deal on the car you might just make a little money.

Oh by the way, replace any mods you've put on the car before they haul it off! All that stuff can be recycled on your next one or sold on Ebay. I'd certainly take the windscreen and rollbar inserts off the car immediately if it's sitting in a storage lot as they'll be swiped.

One more note, there's been some discussion at PPBB about claiming for loss of value, if they fix your car the value is still impacted by the fact that it has an accident in its history. There is apparently a mechanism where you can get an estimate of the difference in value (say from a dealer) and claim in addition to repairs. Do a search on loss of value and insurance and see what shows up.

Sorry for the car but glad nobody was hurt.

Chris.

In the insurance industry, they call it "diminished value". It's the difference between what your car would sell for with no damage vs. what it's worth after someone knows it's been damaged. Like Chris said, get the diminished value from a dealer, not a regular body shop. In Georgia, the insurance company is required to repair it to its' previous condition and pay you the diminished value so you are back in the exact same position you were before the accident.

Sorry to hear about the accident. Check with Hennesey Porsche in Alpharetta to see if they have a recommended body shop. There's one in Cumming, The Master's Touch, that is very good (according to a couple of friends). They did it right on their cars. Just make sure they use all genuine Porsche parts and they use the flex agent in the paint for the bumper all at the body shop of your choice. Also have them pay the body shop directly when the work is finished so they can't cut you a check and run then it turns out to be 20% higher. That needs to be spelled out in writing before you sign anything the insurance company gives you.

man, i feel your pain. lots of good advice here. my two cents? i have had several not-at-fault accidents in my life (rear ended, sideswiped on the freeway, etc.). i have always hated the overly litigious types that sue at the drop of a hat, so i always took what the insurance companies gave me and didn't complain (**************** happens).

well, what that got me was SCREWED. months later when some undiscovered issue appears, try getting them to fix it retroactively. when your car doesn't drive exactly as it should, try getting them to return your calls. when it's supposed to take a week to fix and it takes two months, add up the hours spent on the phone, hours missed from work, pain and agony over having to drive some POS rental, and the bottom line is that if you just take what they hand you, you eat serious crow.

get two estimates on the damage from DEALERS. call the other insurance company for their 'offer'. then, have your attorney call the insurance company. they will get you what really is fair.

as for the atlanta area, there are a lot of good body shops and a lot of crappy ones. if the frame is bent, try as hard as you can to get them to replace the whole front clip; that way, there are no stress / fatigue issues to worry about. as for dealerships, i prefer jim ellis on peachtree industrial over hennesy on mansell; they seem to cater to the enthusist to a higher degree. insist on NEW parts, not parts pulled from a junkyard. aluminum suspension components CRACK and break rather than bend, so you never know what kind of crap they'll put on there unless they magnaflux it, which they will not.

you can put some of the extra insurance cash toward litronics / gt3 bumper, etc. that way, you're only buying the part once rather than twice. no sense having them replace stock parts only to then replace those w/ upgrades. the dealers can give you some great advice, as well as a more accurate assessment of the nature of damage. judging from the pic, it's not too bad. looks to me like your frame is probably okay; you'll likely just need a new fender, light, bumper and door panel (but you never know). best of luck; that really sucks.

look at the bright side, though. you could be bummed because someone hit your beloved primer grey pinto.

Great advices. Thank you everyone. This is my first car that's been in an accident so Im quite new to this. All the info will give me the proper ammo once I start disputing with their insurance company. I'll keep everyone posted.

I would like to hear more about the above statement that a fender bender just totals a Porsche.

What makes them different from other vehicles? If the damage is to things like body panels and parts that are replaceable (genuine), why would the vehicle not be as good as new?

I hate to think that I am driving a vehicle that can't be fixed if someone hits me and I have to get it repaired.

You know, I have no idea why a "fender bender" totals a Porsche, but if you look at all the boxsters on salvage yards I frequent, the damage isn't so bad at first glance. They just look as if they need a new hood, front fenders, bumper, a headlamp, possible sub-frame straighening, etc.

It may be that the cost of these parts is so prohibitive that they just total it and give the owner a check. Lord knows a wrecked car never drives the same as it did beforehand, and in a Porsche, you feel the road and car so much that the difference would be very noticeable.

On the Boxster it might be that the insurance company does not believe the structural integrity of the car is intact considering it's a convertible.

We should get an insurance adjuster to tell us why. I'll call my agent and ask and report back here.

OK! My insurance agent said if the damage is 60% or more of the car's present valuation, it's totaled. Or, if frame damage is present, that's it. It's totalled.

I'm betting that Boxsters can get frame damage quite easily. Mine had subframe damage with whacking a curb good and hard.

Before you go lawyer up, find out from your insurance agent what your company will do for repairs and which garage they want to send it to that will guarantee the repairs. Find out what the other guy’s insurance carrier is willing to do. Then you can make an informed decision as to how to proceed. You can take your car to any place you want, but the insurers will usually stand by their garages and pay what their garages estimate your damage to be. Some will send independent appraisers to try to obtain an agreed price to repair your vehicle from a reputable garage of your choice. Find out from the insurance carriers how they wish to proceed.

Typically insurance companies will “total” a car if the repairs plus the salvage value of the vehicle (bids they get from auto salvage dealers) equal the actual cash value (ACV) of the car, or there is enough damage (frame damage, engine damage) that suggests eventually the repairs plus salvage will equal or exceed ACV. Your state’s insurance regulations (your agent knows these by heart) will tell you which car value guide is acceptable for total losses (NADA, Kelly, etc). But remember, it is only a guide. If your car is totaled out, work on ways to show the carrier its true value. Check newspapers want adds for the values of comparable cars and obviously bring them to the insurer’s attention if they exceed the value of yours. If there is something you have done to enhance the value of the vehicle beyond normal maintenance, now’s the time to bring that to light, too. Hopefully you have kept your receipts.

Sometimes when the figures come close to the ACV the insurance companies will total a car under the theory that they don’t want to marry the car (continue to pay for more hidden damages not apparent at the time of the inspection and have to deal with continued related problems down the line).

No matter what happens, if you feel your insurer or the other guy’s insurer is dealing from the bottom of the deck, call your state insurance department to find out what your rights are and whether they can review the claim to determine if the state insurance regulations have been met. Sometimes the mere suggestion of the insurance department intervention may free several more dollars from the insurance company in order to gain a settlement rather than have to face the scrutiny of an audit. (This lesson the smart adjuster learns fast.)

In the end, if you don’t like it, you can get a lawyer. Remember, however, lawyers cost money, sometimes $200-300 per hour.

Good luck.

I am so glad my girlfriend is a lawyer. Despite all the disagreements we have and how she can never let me win, I totally appreciate what she can do now.

Finally got her back. Took over a mth and a half but the job was done nicely. No allignment issue nor unibody damage. That's a blessing. I found a set of fiberglass side skirts off Ebay for $260. Installation/paint was $445. Glad to have her back. :D
Sorry for the grainy pic, taken from the camera phone.

fefyfo, your car looks great. Congrats! Love the side skirts. What bumper is that?

the aero kit 2 aka gt3 bumper. Looks a lot more aggresive. It's a little low however. I semi bottomed out last night. I would never lower the car after having this kit. Thanks for the compliment. :cheers: