Hello all,
New member and new Porsche owner here. Just recently bought a 2007 Cayman 2.7 guards red from a local European specialty shop. I've had the car for about 2 months now and just started noticing a couple of weird things which suggest the car has had some body work done. Can anyone confirm this based on the information below, or share some tips on how I might be able to confirm it?
- driver side fender/hood gap is 1.5mm wider than passenger hood/fender gap
- gap between front bumper and hood is 1.5mm wider on driver side than passenger side
- inside of both fenders, where fender meets a-pillar, there is a small primer-colored spot that looks like it didn't get painted. The primer-spray-spot is not a masking tape mark, and it's identical in length/width on both fenders (picture attached, please excuse my crotch...only way I could get the photo)
- a few of the hood bolts have the same primer-colored spray, but don't appear to have ever been turned/removed
- the edges of black plastic around the hood latch stick out of the corners of the hood juuuust slightly
There is no evidence of any fender bolts being turned. No tool marks, no nothing. There is no overspray on any rubber or black plastic parts. Carfax and AutoCheck both said the car was clean. The Carfax vehicle history is quite detailed except for the last 10k miles or so (about 2 years, which is a lot of time). Two owners (out-of-state), car was bought at Manheim auction by the local dealer that sold it to me.This is the most expensive thing I've ever purchased and it's driving me nuts that I might have bought a car with undocumented accident/fender-bender history. Please help!
Sounds like it might have seen a small wreck. I've personally detailed my car many times and I have never noticed anything other than super great fit and finish. Although I've only owned mine for a year so some of other owners might have something more poignant to say.
Carfax and AutoCheck are not 100% accurate. If you are concerned, you should take it to a reputable body shop and have then take a look and put a paint gauge on it. It sounds like it was probably involved in some mishap but I'm not sure what your recourse might be since the reports were clean.
Agree Carfax not always complete. My 04 Boxster had 2 insurance claims not reported on carfax. I found out when making a claim against a driver that rear ended me. The claims were recorded in a insurance industry database. So, one thought would be check with your insurance agent and see if they can find any records of claims. Also agree with above that a good body shop or indy mechanic could identify past body work/ paint. Did you have a PPI? Also consider what action you plan to take if it turns out it has prior damage? Check the paper work from the purchase but you may not have much recourse. Best of luck.
Thanks for all of the suggestions. Yes, I did have a PPI done at a Porsche dealership (I figured it couldn't get much more legitimate than the dealer). The mechanic found a small oil leak (which was promptly repaired), but otherwise gave the car a clean bill of health. I specifically asked him if he thought any panels were replaced or if it was in an accident, and he said no. This was before I started noticing these small discrepancies.
What's so strange is that BOTH sides of the vehicle exhibit the exact same missing paint/primer under the fenders. Both fenders have all of the signs of normal wear and tear (rock chips inside the wheel well area, etc), and no evidence of repaint. No paint lines, nothing that looks "too new". It's like it just got a lousy spray at the factory... Which I realize doesn't make a whole lot of sense but I do believe these cars were hand-painted. So maybe the painter was having an off day and just did a subpar job?
Maybe thats why your dealer got the bid on this car....everyone even the Russians at Manheim and especially the Porsche line has a paint gauge. If youve found primer it wasn't OEM.
I have an '06 Guards Red Cayman that also has some missing paint and primer showing on the edges of the fenders. I know there was never an accident/paint work involving the fenders. Could have been a manufacturing issue. It is strange but it isn't noticeable with the front trunk lid closed.
that's my thought too. i've taken it to a few body guys around town and all are confident that it's never had any work done. i'm still annoyed that the gap between the hood and bumper is slightly uneven (and it's a bit of a red flag) but that could be caused by a number of things. i'm going to stop worrying and just enjoy the car like it was meant to be enjoyed.
1.5 mm is just shy of 1/16th of an inch. Not many folks can visually spot that small of an offset.
I also believe that, even as tight as the tolerances are for Porsche body panels, there is still some allowable variance +/- 1/16".
Also, car manufacturers routinely dip body panels to inhibit rusting. they typically dip a much larger portion of a panel than they paint. Many unexposed surfaces may appear this way. This is probably what you are seeing as "primer".
I think all Porsches used to be painted the same color on the insides of the fenders. If your wheel wells were painted black, that wasn't how it came from the factory and was a tip off to check other places.
