Total bummer! Have a cherry of a cab w only 31k miles on her, nearly perfect. Hit today by a drunk driver on the front end only, but coulda been a lot worse. Maybe a chance to upgrade bumper covers, headlights and side markers, but they'll all need to be replaced regardless. The roll bars extended and possibly effed up the brand new cab top!!!

Anyway, should i retract the roll bars before taking it in? Will that mess my claim up? What else should i look at replacing while I'm at it? Perhaps collect the money from the driver and do cosmetic/parts "upgrades" so theres no accident report and devaluation? What else will the dealer want to do?

Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

 

I'm in the car business. I assume that the other driver had insurance. Do you have that info? You have to deal directly with their insurance. If you deal with your own insurance to fight their insurance, you pay a deductible. Leave your insurance out of it. Don't do anything with the car. Contact their insurance and get a claim number. An adjuster will come look at it. Take it to Porsche because the price they give you to fix it will be retarded, and fight with them to give you that price after they try to give you a check for less. Force them to write you a check....not Porsche or said body shop. Threaten to sue them if they do not comply. Take your check and do what you wish with it. Your screwed for a minimum of three weeks.

 

Keep in mind that any insurance claim from either side will go on a carfax regardless of who you have fix it.

I just reread your post. If there was a police report, you carfax is already screwed.

 

After having been through 3 accidents (none my fault) in one year -- it was bad bad year -- with 3 different cars, one totaled, my advice is to not file a claim with your insurance company unless you have to. Your agent can advise you.

Do get a letter from the other driver's insurance company admitting fault and accepting responsibility.

Then get the car to a qualified repair shop that works in partnership with a dealer -- consult with your dealer for shop names -- to ensure the car is put back to its pre collision condition. If the car has a warranty insist in a letter to the dealer it and the body shop it recommends can repair the car so the warranty stays in effect. This can be done but it costs to repair the car to this level.

Do not try to upgrade/tart up the car at this time. Focus on getting the car restored to as close as it was before the accident. That is most important now.

Once the car is back the way it was and you are satisfied, and a dealer senior tech is satisfied -- the car should be subjected to a thorough road worthiness inspect/checkout before being put back on the road after an accident repair -- then and only then should you consider any mods. But drive the car a while just to be sure it is ok.

I expect the impact did more damage than you suspect and you will need a very good shop that knows these cars and knows how to properly repair them.

Oh, take lots of high res pics. Document the car's accident damage showing as best you can all that was damaged. Follow the repair and take pics with the damaged body parts removed. Take pics of the factory replacement parts.You want to document the process so when (if) you ever go to sell the car you can show clearly the extent of the damage and how right it was repaired.

This helps to mitigate the effect on the car's valve and its resale/rade in value arising from the accident report in the car's history.

 

I agree to some extent. Just understand that insurance companies play games. They will want to write one check to one repair shop. Secondary damage found becomes difficult to get a check for. Be Smart.

 

As other have eluded to - get the signed letter omitting fault asap. Restore the car as original as possible and bring up diminished value of the vehicle, as by all accounts you should have notified the police if he was DUI.

Good luck.

Most important - sounds like you were not hurt..........

 

Thanks for the quick responses guys! As bad luck has it, the woman who hit me is an attorney, with at least one other dui in the last three yrs that the officer shared w me. She fled the scene yesterday and came back once the officers summoned her. Since she left and returned, no DUI charges can be filed, however she did receive a PI citation. She said over and over that she wanted to take care of damages out of pocket and not involve insurance. More bad news is that we have the same ins co. I doubt she knows how much money this will be.

I want to do everything possible to keep a clean carfax, but one poster mentioned that cats outta the bag if theres a police report, which there definitely is. Is that true? I thought that as long as there is no ins claim that im still in the clear.

Agree that the dealer should be the one to give me the estimate so i know what the $ is going to be. I still havent figured out how to post pics from an iPad yet or i would share.

Thanks again!

 

How much time elapsed between the time she left and the time she returned? That could make a difference in whether a DUI report would be taken. Since she left the scene of a collision she would be guilty of hit-and-run. Once a police report is taken, Texas DMV is aware of it so I would have to assume that it it will show in a Carfax. Were you or anyone else injured in the collision? If yes, and she fled the scene, it's now a felony hit-and-run. So whether you agree to handle it without contacting yours/hers insurance company, this collision should show up in Carfax. Glad you're ok since you're posting this. Your car can be repaired or replaced, you can't. I'm retired LEO in CA so if you need any more general info just ask. One more thing, the damage you see now is cosmetic...there may be more damage once the damaged parts are taken off so get that squared away with the other driver before you accept any money from her.

 

Yes. Police report screws you. I deal with this twice a month on average. Get a lawyer on it ASAP considering the situation. You should have already contacted the insurance company at this point regardless. Even though you share companies, this is on her. Get on the ball man or you will get screwed. I hope you have documentation of all the dirty stuff involved in this.

 

i would contact your insurance, especially since you and the driver are the same company. it is clearly not your fault so deductible doesn't apply and insurance won't increase.

get a few estimates from porsche dealer and body shops. use this detail to back up a compensation package. factor in other things such as rental car and dimished value.

unless you have medical claims, i would not get an attorney involved. it woud only cost you more.

 

I agree with the recommendations to "follow the rules" and get police and insurance involved to try and get the car back to how it was. The insurance may make you go to a certain location for quote, but make sure you take the car to a place that does Porsche quality repairs for the real work. That body shop should handle any extra costs directly with the insurance.

 

Son of a motherless goat! Much like most of you suggested, im getting insurance involved. She wanted to pay out of pocket, but as soon as she saw the estimate of 10k, shes no longer interested. Ive reported the accident, but not opened a claim yet. Now theres no hiding the accident.

Question for you guys...the dealership warrantees the work for life, but most high-end bidy shops have limited warranties for only a couple yrs. Is this something that should concern me? I thought it would just be the headlights and bumper cover, but the d-ship pointed paint spiders in the sheet metal.

Again, total bummer!

 

Exactly. The police report doesn't screw you. It's your proof of what happened to you and by whom. Don't worry about the Carfax. It's a PITA but it's a fact of life. Maybe someone - with educated insight - could do a thread about exactly things get on Carfax. I always assumed it was the body shops but...... Additionally, it's not your concern whether she is charged with a DUI as it doesn't change your damage or loss.

 

Not sure about your state. But in Ohio if a driver is at fault and paying for your cars repair, you have the right to demand eom parts. Just a heads up. Good luck sir, glad you are safe.

Mike