This is the part that I'm worried about. I fear getting victimized 3 times. First by the moron that hit me, second by the insurance company not giving me fair value for the stock car, and third when they don't take into account the extra items I added and don't let me keep them. This just sucks all around.

Tony

BS. You own that car, and just because it was hit and MAY be totaled, does not mean anyone else has some magic claim to your property. You bought the mods. You have no duty to make any claim at all if you chose not to. You can set it on fire right now if you wanted. It's still your car.

The problem is that it was immediately towed to the shop where it now sits.

Tony

For a quote or an estimate? You can still insist they don't touch your car. You can get as many estimates as you want.

RE: Add-ons
 

I would think it's still entirely your vehicle up until the time as it is deemed a loss by an insurance company.
If it hasn't been written off yet, and it's not sitting in an impound yard, F-'em.
I'd go and get my personal belongings out of or off of the car.

You are aloud to remove personal belongings from the car, this traditionally means your sunglasses, but In no way are aftermarket parts an exception.

It is his car until the insurance company settles the claim. I owned a Saab a few years back, that was hit and written off. I went and took out my HU, aftermarket amp, and my speakers, on the day the adjuster was there! He told me that if I still had the stock radio, it should be with the car, so I put it in the front seat. No issues.

This is what I'm hoping for. I still have most of the stock stuff that I can put back on the car. What would be a good price to buy the car back for?


Tony

Yes, make sure you put all the stock back on, or in the car. When the insurance company writes off your car and pays you, they are paying for a "complete" car - ie. it has a radio and muffler and all that. If it's missing pieces, they can deduct from what they pay you. Only things that should be missing are those pieces damaged in the accident.
As for what you should get, differs from company to company and policy to policy, but I would start by finding out what it would cost you to replace your car and work from there. Any mods done to the car, you are unlikely to get credit for.

In my situation, I still had all the stock parts for my car. Insurance allowed me to take off my after market exhaust and I placed the old factory exhaust in the frunk. If they won't give you the added money for it, because it wasn't declared, take it off and give them the stock parts.

If I'm given the option to buy the car back, what would be a good price to pay?

I'll take a shot, but I bet Itsnotanova can give you a more accurate estimate. I have seen 98-00 base models that are totaled going for $3k-$3.5k. Consider that yours is a 2004 S its probably worth $2k - 2.5k more. Also consider that you are saving them the cost and time of disposing of your car (-$1,200 ?).

When my Volvo was totaled by my (then) 16 year old daughter the insurance company did not offer me the option to buy it back. When they presented me with a low settlement offer I told them I wouldn't accept it unless I got to keep the car. The adjuster ended up crunching some numbers and came up with an agreeable deal. You may do best to just approach them early and tell them if that is your intention.

Value of car.
Call a local Porsche dealership and ask for the price of a replacement engine for your car, 2003-04 S.
Call a few porsche salvage yards and if you can find a 2003-04 S (3.2L) engine ask the price.

The engine alone, as long as its still running properly, has good value.

I recently spoke to an auto-recycler about the value of a 2000 2.7. He said he'd give me between $3K and $3.5K CDN on the car. The engine was/is still good but the tip transmission was grenaded. They stated the engine and lights were the most desirable features .... all the other plastic parts were pocket change.

Looks like the insurance is going to offer me $19600 - $500 deductible. Should I take the $19100 or look for more. I'm not looking to game the system. I just want what's fair.

Tony

What are the options and mileage, etc

I would push a little for loss of use, rental car, etc as well. It certainly wont hurt to try.

Why are you paying a deductible when it was not your fault? The other drivers insurance cant charge you a deductible,. Even if you both have the same company, a deductible is only when the claim is for you at fault

all in all, that sounds pretty good, you should be able to find a nice replacement with that cash

I know for a fact that here in CO a totalled '03 S with 47k was given a salvage value from the insurance company of $2700. The owner was given the difference between the agreed value of the car and salvage value. If you have the room to keep it, I would recommend it.

I would work hard to find comparable vehicle sales ('04 S with similar options and miles) and do NOT settle until you are satisfied. Do your own homework and document what you find. If you find that that is a fair price for your car, then take it.

My wife was an insurance adjuster years ago, and knew that if you do the work, you will get results. Insurance adjusters want to settle quickly to clear their backlog of claims. If you can give them convincing data that your car is worth X amount, chances are they will take it, especially if you know your stuff and document it. That makes it easy for them to justify settlements to their boss. When we had a driver run a light and total a Blazer we had years ago, she documented comparables and we ended up with over $2500 more than they originally offered by finding actual comparable vehicles to ours, which had some rare options and very low miles.

In the end, you should be in a position to have a car just as nice as yours was at the time of the loss. If you do keep the car, remember that does make it easier for the insurance company as well. They don't have to go to the trouble of auctioning it off to get their money back out of it, etc. That engine is likely worth more than the salvage value of the car alone, so it would be very hard to lose if you keep it.

Well, I settled for the $19,800 the ins company offered, but they let me keep everything that I wanted from the car. They even let me pull the 18" carreras that were on it (I replaced them with inexpensive 17" set that I found). In the end, I think the company was fair with me as they paid me more than I paid for the car. It sucks that I only had it for 9 months. Hopefully, I'll find a replacement soon. Anyone selling a Lapis Blue 03~04 S?

sounds like you were made whole

I cracked one of those Carrera wheels 2 years ago. The best I could find for a replacement was $500 for a used wheel from Wheel Enhancement and they told me up front that the wheel needed to be refinished. So $620 to replace that one wheel.
Those wheels are valuable. Even the replicas are going for double what they used to cost.

If I lived in SoCal, I'd put the $20K towards a Boxster Spyder.
Best used Porsche for the money if you need mid-engine.
Granted.. nearly double the price...but hey you only live once.

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^ for reference, 991 Carrera S (395BHP/326 lb-ft) went 1:39... and that was by Rand Pobst no less.