Rock chips on paintwork, windshield, and headlamp covers

I don't mean to bombard this great forum with questions, but this is the first board I've found and I have some pent up problems I need help with. Some redneck spun gravel on my '99 996 cab. Paint chips are all minor and number 2 or 3 on hood and each panel of body. Insurance co. wants to lowball me and do touch-up paintwork and not a total repaint. Dealer does not do bodywork and referred me to 3rd party who recommended total repaint of each damaged panel. Others have told me not to do total repaint, but keep factory paint if possible. Still others have recommended against touch-up since it is rarely done well. Please help!

Phil, I hear you but i dont know if it is a redneck or whoever else. These people seem to have the need to deface other people's property. I dont have an answer to your problems but I have a few KEY scratches on my car also. What a bunch of NEVER MIND. Just Venting like yourself

Bloke, sorry about your keying. That is more disturbing to me bcuz it is a cowardly act performed most likely by a punk. My case was indeed a redneck as I saw him do it. Fortunately my neighbor saw it as well and is brave enough to witness in the court case coming up next month. What, if any, type of repair did you do to the keying?

Have a close look at your windshield too. I had this happen on my other car and went to my body shop and they took photos of the windshield and hood and both front fenders. They helped me get the insurance company to paint the hood and both fenders, and also replaced the windshield -- all under the $100 deductable road hazard coverage. The shop I used did an outstanding job and the car looked like new. So, I would press your insurance company and/or find a really good shop to back you up in your claim. Loren (99 996)

If you can find a good shop, repaint is the only way to go. Its the only way to restore the finish to like new condition. You may lose minor value due to the repaint, but you would lose at least that if not more with a bunch of chips or touch up. I just had the hood of my 00' CLK430 repainted for the same reason. Its black and it show everything! The shop repainted it 3 times to do it right, but the aggravation is well worth the result. It turned out perfect. Good Luck. By the way, keep your court records to document the reason for re-painting. It will be helpful to prove that your car was not in an accident.

Sorry to hear about the chips Phil....I can relate to the redneck comment (see location). If you are a perfectionist, then painting the panels is the only way to go, however, be prepared to get screwed by your insurance company many ways since they will consider this a claim against your policy and you know how that goes and then get screwed yet again during the resale since most private buyers balk at a painted car. Another option is less perfect, but requires many hours to do properly and that is fixing each chip individually with touchpaint, wet sanding, touch up, wet sand ad nauseum and then a good airbrushing of clear...you can do it yourself, but like I said it will take a good bit of time. You can pay someone else to do it but the amount of time will run up the labor bill. The third and cheapest option is to just hit the chips with some touchup paint and not worry about it until you have enough chips, scratches and whatnot to justify a repaint....this is the hardest psychologically as we all want our Porsches to be perfect, but the reality is that there is some jerkoff truck driver with a load of rock running down the interstate with his load uncovered and the rocks that fall out seem to be magnetically attracted to Porsche front ends. Enjoy the car! Mike '02 C4S

"Its the only way to restore the finish to like new condition. You may lose minor value due to the repaint, but you would lose at least that if not more with a bunch of chips or touch up." There is no such thing as "finish to like new condition". I can ALWAYS tell paintwork - no matter how good. The future buyers may not be able to, but I guarantee you that if they are buying this kind of car, they'll sure the heck find someone who can during the PPI. DO NOT paint ANYTHING on a 996 you do not have to. "Minor" drop in value is a MAJOR understatement. You go ask a wholesaler in town or the guys who handle the trades at high-end dealers what the repercussions are for repainting ANY panels, much less a few! I had at least a dozen chips on my front fenders, bumper, and hood. The Porsche dealer has an independent contractor who comes in once a week and he did it for $70! And my car is black so you know it will show EVERY imperfection! Paintwork on a Porsche, BMW, MB, or any car for that matter is a big no no. Like many others, I WILL NOT EVER buy a car with even one panel repainted - period. Dealers know when they have to retail your car, buyers aren't going to buy the "it was painted for some minor rock chips" story cause that's what dealers ALWAYS say. Dealers also know that if they have to wholesale your car, they're going to get HAMMERED when any paintwork is present - no matter how good. Also, did you know that many manufactures WILL NOT put the car into "certified" status for extended warranty consideration if there is ANY paintwork? You KNOW THAT has to hurt the value the dealer is going to give you.

Ben, If that is true, then you have composed one of the most useful posts I have ever read. I am going to sell my black Boxster this summer. I bought it in October '97 and it now has 63k miles. You can imagine the finish condition is not Pebble Beach Concourse material. I was considering touch-ups and a dent wizard but perhaps not now. Tangentially, when I bought my used Ferrari, my inspector-mechanic was able to tell the slightest paint touch ups. I would not have cared because he was also able to tell if the refinished part was replaced, fabricated, or repaired. However, he is unique and reknown throught the U.S. in the world of Ferrari repairs.

Granted its a shame that chips happen but I wouldn't repaint the whole panel to make it look new again. I have chips on my front bumper and side mirrors and I just put touch up paint to prevent oxidation and rust. I think majority of people like cars to be as original as possible even with chips and all unless it was totally bashed in then different story altogether. Sad to here what happen to you BLOKE with the key thing which if that happened I would repaint that but not small chips. Regards. Mike

"I was considering touch-ups and a dent wizard but perhaps not now." Touch ups, if done properly, are much better than naked chips. Some guys are just fantastic at it. My car looks considerably better after chip touch up than it did before with the chips (again though - it's black and Porsche uses a light colored primer so they were very visable). Mine was a mediocre to decent job (not the best I'm sure). Also, the dealer or buyer (whichever the case may be) can tell that's all it was was a chip vs. not knowing for sure why the entire panel(s) were painted. Lastly, non-factory paint will never wear the same as factory paint over time. Dent wizard is always a good idea since it's paintless.

Wow. Thank you all for some WONDERFUL posts.

phil996cab99, I am new to this message board and new to Porsche ownership (i.e., I'm no expert). I too have a '99 Cab (Ocean Blue w/Gray Int., 11K miles). I got it in Dec-01 and have been waiting anxiously for the weather to get better. My car had several VERY MINOR chips/dents when I got it. My local dealer (Walnut Creek, CA) recommended a body shop that they use and the shop did a great job, though it wasn't cheap. The car, literally, looks brand new. The only remaining issue I have is the peeling buttons on the radio and I have a new one coming in to replace that (warranty item). I understand the very good points about resale and I am a bit disappointed that my dealer was not as open with this issue when recommending that I get the work done. However, for me, I have no intention of selling my car for a very long time (unless, of course, enough money falls from the sky to get a Carrera GT some day) and driving it with dents and chips was not acceptable to me. I'm not sure this is helpful, but I wanted to give you another perspective. Best of luck!

Anybody that keys a car or kicks gravel on it is cowardly and should be hung. Just my 2 cents. Have a nice day!!!

And I thought it was only the vandals in the UK who did kind of thing..... <img src="graemlins/cussing.gif" border="0" alt="[grrrrrrr]" />