Last September, my turbo was extensively damaged when some jerk in a Honda CRV ran a red light at a busy 4 way intersection with 2 travel lanes in both directions, crashing into my front quarter panel on the passenger side, and plowing me into the car travelling alongside me in the next lane over on my right side. After 8 months, and about $40,000 worth of bodywork (fortunately, only bodywork was required), I have my car back. Fortunately an outraged witness wrote a letter describing the crash and how the CRV driver had recklessly violated the red light. My insurance company paid the entire repair bill, and is now trying to recover the cost from the CRV driver's insurance company. However, the CRV driver lied to his insurance company and said I was the one who violated the light, and the state police who arrived on the scene never filed a report, so the CRV driver's insurance company is claiming that it is just my word against his, despite the witness report, and is resisting payment to my insurance company. The two companies are now in binding arbitration to settle the issue.

Now ordinarily I would have just let things go at that, since my insurance company has already paid for all the repairs, but when I heard from his insurance company how this weasel lied about what happened, I became inclined to sue him for lost value of my 996TT (fully loaded X50, Aerokit). Should I go throught the trouble of doing this, and if so, how do I go about it? How much value lost should I estimate (perhaps I should ask my local Porsche salesman?)? I am assuming that the arbitration will be in favor of my insurance company's claim.

Thanks in advance for your advice!

 

probably after all said and done with with lawyer costs and all , it will cost you more so i would just leave it alone.

 

You should ask your own insurance company to pay lost value and have them do what they want to the other insurance carrier and guy. Sounds backwards, but they are the company who insure you.

Keep in mind that insurance companies have no emotions, for them it's all about reducing attorney fees and moving on...

 

My wife got hit in our Lexus on the highway my insurance company paid to fix the car but I did not want the car anymore. So I told my insurance company that I wanted to be compensated for the diminished value of the car (I guess most people don't ask for this since the adjuster did not know what I was talking about). I went to 3 local Lexus dealers and got appraisals on how much the car was worth as a clean carfax one owner car VS a car with a $7000 accident. I then went to a dealer who was able to pull values at auctions with and without accidents. I presented this info to the insurance company and after a week of fighting I won and they paid me 80% of what I was asking for. The regional manager said this was the first time that they ever paid a diminished value claim. My wife did have to sign a release saying she would not sue for injuries etc. I did learn that you are not entitled to diminished value if you were at fault but if you are found not at fault you should defiantly go for it. I did not use a lawyer or any of these companies that handle diminished value I did all the work myself and won.

Why should you lose thousands of dollars for something not your fault. That was my argument.

 

Yes, google a diminished value automobile estimator in your area. He will do all the leg work for you (approx $500-600) . He will come up with an estimated value report of your vehicle as it sits after being fixed. Present that report to the insurance company. They will settle with you for a lower mount, but it's totally worth it. I've done it and got a pretty nice check as well.

 

Carfax is a killer I took a rock to the radiator and did not turn it in to my Insurance company for fear it would show up as an accident.

 

the people that you need to put pressure on is not the weasel that lied but his insurance company ... thrust me, his insurance company with a wink and a nod were complicit with the story. call his insurance company and tell them you're having neck and back pain and that you're in the process of getting an mri.

 

You may have already given your insurance the right to settle the claim on your behalf!

For sure you WILL suffer a DV loss when you sell- the other driver is liable for the DV- the insurance companies are total bastards- BOTH will not want to help you as they are BOTH against DV as a matter of policy.

I'd have pressed the case with his insurance from the get go, AND included a DV claim. Agree to google a DV adjuster to do the leg work

A

 

Honestly not worth it. Your only going to make your attorney rich.

 

Suing is not worth it. I have rarely seen a situation get better because lawyers got involved. Buy me a beer somday and let me tell you about how lawyers rendered a company we were acquiring nearly worthless after we had already agreed to the aquisition (in writing). And these were MY LAWYERS!

But a DV claim should not be any more costly or complicated than calling the insurance adjuster and telling him you want to file it.

Oh - And of course - my apologies to you GOOD lawyers out there. I know there have to be some somewhere. I do know of one good lawyer who has on more than one occasion talked me out of suing by asking me, "How much money do you want to pay me before you'll feel better about..."

 

I always thought if the cost of repair is over a certain percentage of the value of the vehicle, the insurance company would simply total the car. I am surprised that the insurance co. forked over $40k to repair the car.

I also don't think hiring a lawyer in your situation would be cost effective. Perhaps getting a DV adjuster as others have mentioned would work out better.

 

Not to salt the wound, but maybe you should have asked for the car to be totalled before it was repaired.