Insurance-paid rental car while Taycan is in the shop

submatrix

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Hi all,

My question might be more of a California specific thing, but maybe it can be generalized to the rest of the US.

I need to bring my Taycan into a body shop for repairs due to an accident where the other party is at fault. They have accepted liability, so there's no issues there. My issue is getting a "comparable" rental vehicle, which apparently I am entitled to by California law.

I admit I was a bit shocked that I could rent a "comparable" vehicle (which to me means another Porsche or something at least in the same ballpark) but when it came time to make the booking, turns out the insurance (State Farm) is only covering $45/day which is for their "luxury sedan" class. They claim this is the highest class of rental vehicle they pay out for. $45/day is their negotiated rate with their rental partners (Enterprise/Hertz). However, it sounds like a "luxury sedan" is actually a pretty mediocre car, not even close to the same class as a Porsche (think Chrysler 300).

Does anyone have experience with this kind of thing? Do I have any leverage to get something better, or am I at the whim of the negotiated rates/class between State Farm and Enterprise/Hertz? Bit of a first-world problem, I know, but I would have at least liked something better than a Chrysler 300 ($33k MSRP apparently). I'd even take a budget EV over that.
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Archimedes

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First I’ve heard of comparable vehicle rule, and I’ve been in this situation multiple times. No way you’re getting a rental Porsche. Typically it’s just a mid size sedan.
 

EvFamily

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I was rear ended in my previous ev and the responsible party had State Farm. They would not cover an ev or gas. They basically said I could only rent a comparable sized car and nothing larger. So I had a mache gt and ended up with a Nissan rogue. Didn’t feel comparable and they were jerks when ford didn’t have the parts for the mache since it had just been released. So every week they played this game that I had to return the car even though my car wasn’t done. They even tried telling ford that I should drive my car with no bumper on it. Enterprise didn’t even have any nice cars, not sure if it was the location but they were high mileage junk.
I believe Porsche has rental cars in California now, I would demand that they cover the rental from Porsches offerings. Otherwise tell them you’re contacting an attorney, and don’t accept anything from them. I was told once you accept any payment that you are agreeing. Sorry about the car and headache.
 

Archimedes

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I believe Porsche has rental cars in California now, I would demand that they cover the rental from Porsches offerings. Otherwise tell them you’re contacting an attorney, and don’t accept anything from them.
Yeah, there’s zero chance the insurance company is going to rent a Porsche. Not sure you understand how insurance works. The other party’s insurance company covers them based on the terms of the policy, not you. If you sue, you’ll be suing the individual, not the insurance company. Good luck getting an attorney to take that case. Over a rental car.

OP, shit happens. That’s life. If the worst thing to happen to you this week is a boring rent car, I would just live with it.

BTW, the law is ‘similar’, ie if it was a sedan, then a sedan. If it was an SUV, then an SUV.
 

Jayyvr890

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Given that I've had a corolla last two times, I'd be happy with a Chrysler 300 lol
 


OP
OP

submatrix

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Just wanted to followup. After a few attempts talking to insurance myself and failing to get anything beyond their "maximum" $45/day, my contact at Enterprise called State Farm on my behalf and got me approved for $120/day, which gets me into a Model S. Since I drove a Model S before my Taycan, I decided to "downgrade" to the cheaper Polestar 2 ($~95/day I believe) so I can check out a new EV. My contact also confirmed that insurance has paid for customers to get 911's as insurance rentals for Porsche owners before, and that if I really wanted to, they could call and fight me for me to get into the 911 ($300/day). Given the hassle so far, and the fact that my contact had already fought for me to even get approved for $120/day, I decided I was happy enough with the Polestar.

First impressions of the Polestar are pretty positive. It feels solidly built, and has good cabin noise isolation. This one is also fitted with the Performance Pack so apparently it has 4.2 0-60, which is faster than my Taycan RWD :)

I'll write up a more comprehensive review/impressions of the car once I've had more time with it. In any case, I'm pleased to get an EV rental while my car is in the shop.

Porsche Taycan Insurance-paid rental car while Taycan is in the shop IMG_7224
Porsche Taycan Insurance-paid rental car while Taycan is in the shop IMG_7221
 

whitex

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If you sue, you’ll be suing the individual, not the insurance company. Good luck getting an attorney to take that case. Over a rental car.
Small claims court, individually for every week of rental that the liable party doesn't pay (either through their insurance or out of pocket)?

Or wait till all is done sue for total rental, loss of use (if the rental didn't fit all your stuff, or fuel costs and time to drive to gas station to fill up, if you had to use gas vs. EV), diminished value, etc.
 

whitex

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Just wanted to followup. After a few attempts talking to insurance myself and failing to get anything beyond their "maximum" $45/day, my contact at Enterprise called State Farm on my behalf and got me approved for $120/day, which gets me into a Model S. Since I drove a Model S before my Taycan, I decided to "downgrade" to the cheaper Polestar 2 ($~95/day I believe) so I can check out a new EV. My contact also confirmed that insurance has paid for customers to get 911's as insurance rentals for Porsche owners before, and that if I really wanted to, they could call and fight me for me to get into the 911 ($300/day). Given the hassle so far, and the fact that my contact had already fought for me to even get approved for $120/day, I decided I was happy enough with the Polestar.

First impressions of the Polestar are pretty positive. It feels solidly built, and has good cabin noise isolation. This one is also fitted with the Performance Pack so apparently it has 4.2 0-60, which is faster than my Taycan RWD :)

I'll write up a more comprehensive review/impressions of the car once I've had more time with it. In any case, I'm pleased to get an EV rental while my car is in the shop.

IMG_7224.jpg
IMG_7221.jpg
Welcome to the real world, everything is negotiable, especially in the world of claims. Most people don't know that they don't have to accept insurance payout offers. When my wife had her car totaled by a DUI driver, we rejected the initial offer, negotiated a higher payout. It was actually pretty quick, just had to come armed with some research for an equivalent replacement car.

Have fun checking out the Polestar. Just please don't come back to tell us you decided to keep the Polestar instead of the Taycan. ;)
 
 




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