My 1st Porsche: 996... faller at the first (motorway) fence

[wibbaboo]

OK - brace yourselves... go put the kettle on...

Back in August I posted a Dear Santa message looking for a nice 996 Cab - (You know... childhood dream etc etc). I even named my first goldfish Porsche when I was 6 ... I'm sure this is no different than most of you on this forum.[]

A bit about me .... I have two jobs - One as a I.T. Quality Manager (A profession with few skills that can be put to good use away from the computer screen) and one job as a Sax player in a damn good quality function/party/wedding band The Riverbrew (Shameless Plug).

So using a whole lot of time and patience I scoured the usual online forums and auction sites, garages and google to create my excel score sheet that I tailored to my dream car...

I assigned points for what was important to me
Clour
optionalextras
wheel type
c4 or c2
heated seats etc etc
60+ criteria in fact -available for download from me if you like!!

eventually after reviewing 54 cars between Aug and Nov (996.1 & 996.2 Cab Tip 9 - 14K) and after viewing one (which was a big disappointment) and nearly being ripped off by a private seller in Scotland (thanks for the heads up gumtree[])
I eventually found the highest rated car on my scale (2041 out of a possible 2400) and quickly put a deposit down whilst I went for the all important PPI - completed by my new found friends at GT-ONE Chertsey.

So after looking over the engine rebuild pictures (completed 20K miles previous) and borescope test and 200 other checks the car came out in the "OK" bracket by GT One - not a disaster but not too bad.

So I travelled to view.... and sure enough my gut feel was..... this was "the one"[]

Just a case of negociating a better price - she needed a new exhaust - so I took GT Ones advice and went for the nice sounding Dansk Sports exhaust (not the loud one btw)

So just a case of waiting for this to be fitted and she would be mine....

Now in hindsight my next move may not have been my best decision -
rather than travel up with a car and someone driving me - or taking a train - I thought.... why not get it delivered !

Now the more perceptive will be ahead of the game here - but "bear with..."

So I research my options - take due care and attention in my due diligence - select the best option and presto 105mile motorway journey for £115.

I wait patiently as the courier loads the car onto his transporter and leaves Chertsey 2pm Thursday - A phone call at 5pm informs me that the driver will be with me in the morning as he is sleeping overnight in a truck stop.... OK I think (I was promised a Thur or Friday delivery) I can wait.....

One more sleep till 911 day (woop woop)

I awake to these tweets...

Oh dear...[]

I cannot go into detail what happened - I wasn't there -

I can say that 2 lanes of the M4 were shut for about an hour whilst the van and trailer which held my Porsche was removed from the fast lane where it had come to rest (facing the wrong direction) The driver taken to hospital - not injured but obviously in shock. No-one else injured (thank goodness)

The trailer had hit the central reservation so I knew there was gonna be some damage - but I had to wait until today to get some more news....

As an aside - this is where my Quality Manager job actually helps in co-ordinating everything that is needed to solve my problem.
I started to keep a full record of every conversation by phone text tweet and email ... when who and what has all been collected in a long timeline currently running at 31 entries ...this I know will help me in the coming days which I know are going to be hectic...!

Out of pure luck I managed to get transferred this morning to recovery guy who was able to take some pictures of the damage

Yes - that is my brand new exhaust []

I actually was thinking it was going to be a lot worse - so this was sort of a relief

Unfortunately - the Insurance company do have hard rules around cost to fix vs market value.

They are ready to write this car off - a valuation of £12K max was offered to me to walk away - if the cost of repair exceeds 7.2K then they will write it off (this may close as I have insisted on using an OPC for repair).


So - what would you guys and girls do - take the money and run ?? .... or keep a classic on the road..



BTW - I may be on Santa's naughty list - trying to get my present early - its funny.. I remember by goldfish died on Christmas morning when I was 7 - was this never meant to be ??[]

Greg

 

[andywill]

Hi Greg.
What a bad start to your Porsche ownership.
I'm no expert in this field, but would not the courier be liable for all losses? I don't see why you
would be claiming off your own insurance.

 

[wibbaboo]

Hi Andy - yes you are right - I will be claiming from his "Goods in Transit" insurance...

But the company that supplies this insurance is not geared up for motor repairs - so all parties (my own insurance and theirs) have suggested that I make the claim through my motor insurance

(including recovery / release fees /repair / incidental costs etc) and this will be onwardly claimed as a lump sum to the Goods in Transit insurance company.

I pay an excess which will be refunded when the goods in transit company admit liability (they are still awaiting the insurance claim to be filled out by the driver of the van). My NCB will not be affected.

Greg

 

[matsleight]

Sorry to hear the news! Just a thought, but OPC route may make it expensive and thus a write off, would you consider one of the independent specialists? At least the Labour cost would be reduced even if paying for new parts from Porsche.

 

[wibbaboo]

Good point, thanks - I'll wait to get a quote then if it is ott I will look at Independent as the next option..

 

[ralphmusic]

ORIGINAL: wibbaboo

But the company that supplies this insurance is not geared up for motor repairs - so all parties (my own insurance and theirs) have suggested that I make the claim through my motor insurance

Pass the parcel time..

Isn't the transit insurance the only relevant insurance policy, most road car policies deny claims where the event is covered by other policies. Why do you need to care what they are geared up for? a claim is a claim. In any event, if the cost of repairs carried out to Porsche standards is not more than the cap on the transit insurance and therefore you do not need to also recover some cost from the transport company, it must be better for you to pursue remedy there.

 

[richardjjs1]

PLease keep us informed we all feel very sorry for you

Must admit no way would I buy a car without seeing it or having the fun of bringing it home - but that's hindsite

 

[majordom]

sue the transit company for ALL your losses including emotional distress !

 

[Richard_Hamilton]

Good grief Greg! What a shocker!

Impossible to see what the extent of the damage is from the photos, but it looks like something has run up the back of the trailer. I would wait until the assessors take a good look, in case it isn't as bad as you think. Either way, as has been said, you'll get more work done for the money at an independent shop, which could easily be the difference between a good repair and a write off.

Just to play devil's advocate, if it is marginal, would you want a damage repaired car? It wouldn't have been one of your 60+ tick boxes, would it? I sincerely hope it isn't as bad as first thought, and you can put this behind you and enjoy Porsche ownership soon. Don't give up, whatever happens.

 

[richardjjs1]

Looks like you will get your New Exhaust FOC!!

If its just PU and Skirt damage maybe get it repaired.

Defiantly get a price from local Porsche Dealer but remember it will go on the Insurance History if you go through your Insurance

May not if the Carrier pays (nearly put carer !!)

What a disaster

Got a similar one but earlier model (966a)

Where are you based

Ive just got insurance from Porsche Insurance with a guaranteed value. Ive got the Spoiler and Skirt pack and a lot of extras. 14k for a 2001 model before yours. You should get what you paid for it WHATEVER


You must write to carrier and say you are going to go for Consequential Losses which is something you should do with ALL accidents. Have you worked out how much it cost to do all this work to find a car at say £15.00 an hour)

 

[Peter_Bull]

What a disaster for you after waiting so long. I really feel for you.

It looks like there are 2 major and 1 minor parts that are damage here:

1. Rear PU
2. Exhaust
3. NS inner wheel arch liner

You could offer to supply a second hand PU and wheel arch liner from the many suppliers of second hand cars - eg. Simon at 9apart.

Maybe you could do the same for the exhaust ?

I would be very concerned about further damage that has been caused when the exhaust was stuffed so badly. Has the accident caused damage the exhaust manifolds or cylinder heads?

My advice would be to not use your own insurance as the claim will always be on your file and you would have to declare it for the next 5 years whoever you choose to go with. No matter what they say you will get loaded.

Best of luck and keep us informed please. And don't let it spoil your Christmas.

 

[Melv]

Ouch!! Be interested to hear the outcome of GIT cover which is based on weight....

And I've just read 'van and trailer in fast lane....' ....tsk! Wonder if it was loaded nose on and just going toooo fast....
Next time use:-

www.flyingbluedog.co.uk

 

[andy watson]

ORIGINAL: wibbaboo

Hi Andy - yes you are right - I will be claiming from his "Goods in Transit" insurance...

But the company that supplies this insurance is not geared up for motor repairs - so all parties (my own insurance and theirs) have suggested that I make the claim through my motor insurance

(including recovery / release fees /repair / incidental costs etc) and this will be onwardly claimed as a lump sum to the Goods in Transit insurance company.

I pay an excess which will be refunded when the goods in transit company admit liability (they are still awaiting the insurance claim to be filled out by the driver of the van). My NCB will not be affected.

Greg

Hi Greg,

Sorry to read this, what a nightmare!
I would not be claiming on your own insurance if I were you, non fault claims cost money on your renewals as they have to be declared the value of that claim will also affect your premiums.

Surely the transport insurance should be geared up for motor repairs? that is what is being transported for income!

Seek legal advise, and good luck hopefully you will be in a Porsche soon.

 

[Ripmax]

I don't think you've said what you paid for the car so it's difficult to judge if £12k is a good offer but it seems like a reasonable one to me. You've clearly put A LOT of work into finding the car and I suspect it won't easily be replaced. However, despite photos and all the evidence you can ever present to a potential future buyer about the nature of the accident and the amount of damage it caused, the accident will forever effect the desirability of the car. It's quite likely a buyer will notice the repairs even if you just stayed quiet. £12k seems like a good offer to me to get rid, learn some lessons (I bet there are things about the car you would change if you could) and have another go.

 

[kasspa]

Nobody has suggested a FULL refund & start looking again considering the OP had not accepted delivery of the car......
As Peter has said who knows what unseen damage may have occurred!

Hope you get a satisfactory result after such a painstaking search

Rgds
Paul

 

[Mark_Bennett]

They are ready to write this car off - a valuation of £12K max was offered to me to walk away - if the cost of repair exceeds 7.2K then they will write it off (this may close as I have insisted on using an OPC for repair).

This is oft quoted by insurance companies, but they are not allowed to do this. If the value of the car exceeds the estimated cost of repair, then the insurance company MUST repair the car if the owner wishes. This is what I was informed by the Insurance Ombudsman when I had cause to complain some years ago.

 

[tex]

What I would do is take 12k find out roughly how much to fix then ask how much they want for car (they usually will sell it to you for cheap as it saves them time) if price is right and cost to fix is ok you could drive away in the car plus a few k to play with. But I would go through transporters insurance not your own

 

[Stuart Mackay]

That looks like a about a grands worth of damage, repainting a PU shouldnt be more than £250, maybe £350 if it has some splits in it....and you then have £750 to spend on a new Dansk exhaust, the other bits will polish out![8D][]
Or am I missing out something obvious that I havent seen??

 

[richardjjs1]

Its all too late now but NO WAY would I have involved my insurance company. You still haven't said what you paid for it.

The carrier have total responsibility for delivering it safely to you

However as soon as you mentioned it to your insurance company there are implications.

As you had not "Taken delivery" you did not HAVE to advise your insurance company.

Strictly speaking if some one scratches your car you should advise your insurance company even if you are not claiming.

I had an attempted break in to my car phoned the insurance company decided not to claim and it is still registered as a claim

LOve to know the latest

REgards and good luck

 

[philippe]

Really sorry to hear this after all this time, even if this car is not going to turn out repairable then don't give up find another one. I also had the dream of a 911 and bought one 10 years ago I still own it and love it.

Maybe a silly question but reading back over other folks posts there was mention about the transport company driving in the fast lane, if it was on a trailer then they should not be in the fast lane (3rd lane?) and I would have thought this is down to them 100%, if this was the case I am sure it has been thought of.

Also I very much agree that a good specialist will do as good repair job if not better than an OPC just my view and this could save the car.

If you have to go for another car let me suggest you collect then you can check it out before handing over the money, I think your a brave man even with a lot of research buying without seeing, I spend hours looking over second hand cars, then get a specialist to look over before doing a deal, the drive home is always so much fun.

Best of luck.

Regards Phil