Its been a (REALLY!) bad day....

[P4GMan]

Hi all, hoping for a bit of advice....

So after advice here I went ahead with a deal on an S2, loved the car (was the one with the ventiler trim I previously posted about), spent a bit of cash on it (belts needed done) an have been loving having her until.......we had a disagreement today, damp conditions, coming around a country road bend and lost the back end, nearly saved it but....ended up in a field. Tow garage briefly stuck it up on a ramp, damage that I know of-

- Drivers side sill basically crushed, pushed up so that can only open/close door with a slam.
- both front wing panels damaged
- drivers door banged in
- passenger side front wheel arch damaged at the back
- offside rear panel damaged
- the landing in the field has pushed the radiator back towards the engine an inch or two (fittings broken), not sure of the damage behind, engine still does run (able to drive 1 mile to garage once pulled out of effing field)

Lots of words describe my feelings but think they are all banned on the forum! My feeling was that looking at all of this the insurance company are likely to call it a write off. Im just looking for advice on what to do. Is it potentially financially vaible to fix?? What are the implications for insurance if I do claim? obviously I know the gist is that itll be going up but does anyone have any experience of this, and of how much by? (if it makes a difference at the minute its not insured classic (full comp obviously!), but I dont commute in it so maybe could change it/a new one to classic.) My attempt to check what it would be on directline was met by a swift no thank you! Im 27 which doesnt help, but never previously had a crash!

Sorry..bit of a long post!

I really loved that car........

Any advice really really appreciated

Gareth
(off tomorrow to fix the flat tyre on the old 924...)

 

[pauljmcnulty]

Hi Gareth,

Glad to hear you're ok, they are strong cars. From the sound of it the insurers will write it off as a matter of course, then you have the fight to get a reasonable value unless you agreed a valuation with them? Whether you claim or not, you are obliged to disclose the incident to them, and in any future insurance application. [&o]

With that amount of panels needing attention, it's going to be an expensive fix even if you buy the car back and do it yourself. Only worth it if the car has sentimental value IMO, better to sell the bits or let the insurers deal with it.

 

[dann944]

Here is some bits of info from Parkers:

Porsche 944 Coupé (82-92)
1. Lux FH 2d
2. 1988/E
3. Mileage: 170,000 miles
4. Adjust for mileage and options Change
No options selected

Original Priced £25,800
Independent Dealer £3,610
Private Good £2,975
Private Poor £695
Part Exchange £1,195

I know its not a given, but i used to work for norwich union we used this guide as a basis for payouts, however when a customer wants to buy a car back its negotiable
[]

Whether a car is financially viable to fix is up to you at the end of the day and how much you love it?, I paid £300 for my car but have spent over £3000 on mechanics alone i haven't even looked at the bodywork or interior yet....

dann

 

[Paul Fraser]

Option 1: don't claim off insurance (unless you have protected NCB) because of the knock on and try and recoup some of the money spent on selling the parts. However, you need to do some more research on what the insurance implications of a no-claim crash are (Dann?) and how much you would be likely to recoup on parts. Do you have the space/time/ability to break the car or know someone who will?
Option 2: if the insurance knock on isn't so much of a problem and, depending on the price, buy the car back from the insurers and break.
Option 3: let the insurance sort it out.
Option 4: sort the car after you buy it back. This would cost thousands and you would end up with a CAT C car probably.

I ended up in a field on one Xmas eve (black ice) and it isn't pleasant: I'm glad you are in one piece.

PS I've had a number of classic policies with Carole Nash but I think you need to be 30: maybe someone else can comment.

 

[PSH]

Hi Gareth

Sorry to hear this sad news it's something that we all dread I'm sure , as already stated by others the insurance company will most certainly write it off. Body work for one of these cars is very very expensive. As to what you do now well only you can answer that , Paul is correct when he says it should be reported to your insurance company.
No matter what you decide I wonder what others here would do if it was them especially when it's not a given that you will be able to buy it back. I have invested some 40k in my car since buying it not to mention the 9k that I paid for the car originally so I would find it very difficult to risk loosing that money in the parts if I couldn't buy the car back , it does happen mate.
I think the first thing to do is get a valuation on the damage done then you'll have some idea of what lies ahead and don't forget that the damage does not have to cost more than the value of the car to be written off, probably somewhere around 75% I believe. Talk to someone like Chris at 911 Bodyshop 020 8900 0572 (London) or someone closer to you not knowing what part of the country your in , I know that Chris is very honest and can deal with any body repair , plus he has the jigs to do the job too.

To finsih with I'm glad that you got out ok , that's what's really important even if it won't seem so right now.

Pete

 

[sawood12]

Bad luck, I can sympathise with you as I had a similar situation during the first few months or so of ownership but luckily I was able to recover the situation - through luck more than driver skill I hasten to add, with no consequences other ruining a pair of perfectly good underpants!

The first think i'd be concerned with is how repairable is the car, in that has the car suffered anything other than cosmetic damage? Sounds like the damage to your sill is pretty severe on the basis the door doesn't shut properly. You'll need to check this out as a priority as if the main structure of the car has been damaged then you're looking at a different picture altogether. Hopefully it will all be cosmetic damage and repairable.

If not then it may still be worth you buying the car back and breaking it. A bit of a hassle I know, but if the engine and transmission are good you could probably sell these for as much as the insurance company would offer you. Or alternately if you want a project keep the engine and transmission and look to re-shell the car- maybe with a 924 shell with 944 wings and rear flared wheelarches to make the ultimate trackday toy!!

Anywhay however this ends for you good luck, I hope you come out of it no worse off from a financial persepective at least.

 

[mr brightside]

You learn quickly with cars that are weighty at the rear, unfortunately you have learned the hard way like i did with my first Skoda 130 which has everything at the back. I hit a random wet patch following days of summer sunshine and demolished 20 feet of wall on the inside of the bend, the Skoda only cost 170 quid but the guy didn't know what he was selling and it was in spectacular timewarp condition. Still miss that car today.

 

[Neil Haughey]

If the mechanics of the car are sound and in top condition, strip the body shell and build her into a race car.

OK you might not want to go racing or have a track special (some ppl on here apparently only like standard pork), but in many ways your car sounds like an ideal race car donor.

As an example the deal I did with EMC for a motorsport shell still ended up with the perfect looking donor shell requiring 2 new sills and a few other bits and pieces that ended up requiring significant welding. Its rare to find a series 2 shell these days that *really* is rust free, they may look fine but look like a swiss cheese once the acid dip has done its stuff. You wouldn't even worry about the wings as they would be replaced with FG anyway.

 

[P4GMan]

Thanks for the advice guys,

Like all said at least noone was hurt!

Unfortunately I have neither the time nor any space to think about trying to break it. Really unfortunately I have nowhere near the expertise to think about trying to turn her into a track car (though when I do have another one I will definitely be looking into finding out what the track days are about, sound fun!!). It looks like the insuramce company are likely to scrap it, so now I guess I brace myself for a fight over the value! Really wish I hadnt just paid out for full belt service!!

Still, on the plus side just turned the key of the 924 and she started straight away after 3 weeks of sitting, so at least I still have a car. So looks like Ill be looking for an S2/turbo in the not too near future....again....!

Gareth

 

[jasonp]

hi gareth, so sorry to hear of your bad luck, main thing is your ok and you will be able to find another "good un",onwards and upwards regards jason p

 

[amrbose14]

Bad luck. I've been in a field, but never written off a car in the process.

Sounds like you are making the right decisions. Beware of thinking there is a (financial) clever way out of this. There probably isn't. Cut your losses.

Chris
-------
1987 220T.

 

[Andrew M Bonner]

Gareth

Really sorry to hear of your RTI what a shame. When I say I know just how you feel, trust me I really do.

I hope you resolve your immediate issues with the least amount of hassle and find that things work out for the best.

Chin up mate, A