BTW I never hear good things about Progressive (or Geiko) so if you do have a good experience with them please post!

 

I had OK experience with Geico. It can be IF you tow or drive your car right after accident to bodyshop and only after that call Geico and tell them car was not drivable and had to be towed.

Geico adjuster will be furious at you but there is nothing he can do. Just make sure you will push on fact that car was unsafe to drive and had to be towed.

And when he arrives to your good bodyshop - whose sharks will find common language and you will get everything done OK. Otherwise if you call Geico first - insurance will force you to drive your car into their own assessment shop that will give you unrealistically low quote for repairs and will use second hand parts if you will be silly enough to leave car there to get it fixed.

 

thanks for all the tips guys. It seems that the car needs to be totaled. From appearances only, it doesn't look bad, wet interior, carpets soaked and electrical gone. But i know that a lot can happen when its submerged. I definitely don't want to have issues going down the road. Car is only about a year old and was planning on keeping it around 5-6 years (not leased unfortunately).

I know the insurance will press and most likely fix the electrical and clean out the carpets and avoid totaling the vehicle. How should I approach this? I know someone earlier mentioned even hiring a lawyer. Is this a good method, wouldn't the insurance companies have a whole legal team which can lead them to drag out the whole case? My biggest fear is fixing the car and having issues down the road and then going to sell it and getting punished.

Thanks for the help.

 

First see if they can fix it . If it's running ok I still suggest trading it in rather than live with any doubts. Even if they "total" it rain and flooding (natural disaster) may not be covered . Have you contacted your insurance ?

 

working for an insurance company for a while, the opposite tends to be true. Trying to repair a flood car typically causes nothing but headaches, both for the owner, the shop, and the insurance adjuster.

OP, it really depends on how high the water got. Look for a high water mark on the center console. If just the carpet got soaked, it may be possible to pull the interior, replace everything that got wet, and move on. Emphasis on the "may".

Progressive tends to be aggressive towards their direct repair facilities and "concierge" (rofl at that, but that's a different story) repair service, in which case they guarantee repairs for the life of the car as long as you own it. Which tends to lead to total loss floods because no one wants to deal with it.

 

Lawyer consultations are usually free or a few hundred bucks. I'd start asking for referrals now just so you know what you're up against so you don't do something that can hurt you chances of recovery later.

 

good luck with a lawyer, they're typically more interested in the "million dollar" injury claim, not helping you settle a total loss. Total loss comes down to nothing but numbers. Again, flood cars tend to be nightmares to try to fix. Relax about the situation. Worry more about the value of the vehicle. Don't fight with your adjuster over it, as they typically don't have too much leeway from their valuation. If you have a serious problem (say, greater than 10% of the offer) then ask to speak to their supervisor. The easier you make it for your adjuster, the easier the entire process will be.

And as far as an insurance estimate goes, we're not trying to lowball you. I'm usually not even concerned about the bottom line on the estimate, and neither should you. The final cost is simply a negotiation with the body shop doing the work. Porsches typically have very few recycled parts available, simply due to the high value of the cars, and the amount of damage that would be required to cause a total loss. And I think the only aftermarket parts I could ever find for one were bumper clips

 

Robert,
Im sorry to hear about your car. If you need any assistance, don't hesitate to give us a call.

 

My condolences. Keep everyone posted.....my guess is you will not be happy with your car even if it dries out and the minor things are repaired/replaced. Flooded cars have a tendancy to smell in summer...and the electronics (which are now in just about every componenent) will start to give you intermittant faults.

Make sure a certified P- service group does an assessment. Have the technicians identify EVERYTHING that appears endangered or remotely damaged. Document multiple locations the high water marks with measuring tape. Document other cars that have been damaged. See if you can locate other cars/owners that were involved, so you can have that added in as a reference when you make your claim. Take pictures.

Your insurance will want to do minor repairs. You might want the car's title demoted. Hopefully your insurance will cover you enough to buy a replacment 911 if it ends up with a water/salvage title.

 

The rain was very bad here in South Florida . He's not an isolated example and my guess is that the insurance companies must be facing a lot of calls .

Here's the local news for those wanting an idea . http://www.wsvn.com/news/articles/local/MI139177/

 

Speaking of the electrical in the car gone bad...I know a guy that had his seats stolen out of his 2007 C4S and the wire harness to the seats was cut....Insurance totalled the car. It seems that to get a new harness from Porsche and to wire is up is more money that the car is worth....interesting huh?

 

Ironic that you guys in Florida were bragging about the Florida weather 2 weeks ago...
Really sorry to hear about the disaster. Which insurance company was it - Progressive or Geico?
One thing pointed out to focus on is the Factory warranty. If you have an '09 or '08 and the warranty is gone, how will the insurance company compensate you for that?
Unfortunately if the car is not totalled, the best course of action would seem to be to sell the car and move on. Probably easiest to trade it in for another one. Better to take the loss now and move on, than face the grief and aggravation of owning a car that will have issues down the road.

 

OP, sorry to hear about the car. In water damage cases, as many others here have stated, we also typically like to see the cars total as well.

Saying that, if the water level did not rise to the level of the bottom of the seats, it may not total out.

Basically, (without seeing the car anyway), the alarm control module is water soaked. Its a plastic, not well sealed unit in the deepest part of the car under the drivers seat. guaranty that is shot. Once the water level started to rise, it allowed the circuits inside the alarm ecu to short to ground. As that starts to happen, it starts to actuate both door locks, typically both windows but not every time,alarm horn, the gas flap locking motor and on early 996 base cars, trunk/decklid release motors. Sometimes it will actuate front and rear lid locking motors as well.

All of those motor/lock assys are typically only meant to operate once- lock or unlock. When the alarm ECU shorts to ground it will actuate those unit incessantly on-off-on-off untill they are dead or battery is dead. Thats why the battery is now dead and nothing works. Once the alarm module fails and the DME sees a loss of communication the Alarm, it activates anti drive block keeping the car from starting even if the battery is charged up.

Seriously, if the water only rose a couple of inches into the car, the damage while unfortunate, could be fixed with very good success. Again, im not there and can't see but we have done this procedure many times for Boxster/996Cab/997Cab cars where the rear plastic or glass window has been perforated allowing water to drain down the rear bulkhead and into the drivers seat well, resulting in above repair procedure.

If they won't total the car, don't freak out. Make sure they replace all the carpet, the fuse panel in drivers kick well and the Alarm ecu- verify door locks, gas flap lock ect for operation. You'll be ok.

 

If they don't total the car just wait till you get it back, got to a bad neighborhood and leave it there for a few hours....voila!!...problem solved.

lol

 

absolutely! It might be a good Koni car candidate.