Whacked at lunch!!!

Well after only owning my 996 for a month, it's officially christened. I thought it would happen at the track, but no such luck (if that's any kind of luck). I was backed into (driver's door & quarter panel) in a parking lot. No story of how I spun it off the track or bumped trying to take an inside corner...Thankfully, the other driver is insured. Crappy way to start the weekend

OUCH! Man I hate to see that.

Parking lots are probably one of the most dangerous places for both pedestrians and vehicles alike. People seem to want to speed through, completely lack courtesy, and are unaware of their surroundings... I hope you can get it fixed to a point you're happy with the finished results. I had the same thing happen to me a few years ago in my 944. It was frustrating as I'm laying into the horn telling this woman to simply look over her shoulder but nothing. Her claim when she got out, "Oh I didn't see you!"...Well guess what, turning around might help since I notice you don't have eyes in the back of your head.

Hope they can do a paintless dent removal - doesn't look creased from the photo. Is the paint damaged? Bummer - I'll never drive into a Starbucks parking lot with my 911 again!

Sorry to see that. It won't be a paintless dent removal, but it doesn't look like it can't be restored to its original condition. Good Luck.

[QUOTE=AndyK;6738786]Hope they can do a paintless dent removal - doesn't look creased from the photo. Is the paint damaged? Minimal paint damage, but it's creased at the door jamb, so they will need to respray & blend. Porsche body shop said "no problem, it'll look good as new" However, I'm concerned about the color match (GT Silver). The Hyundai had zero damage... I don't think it even scratched the dirt on the bumper.

A top flight shop should be able to match it perfectly. No question this can't be done via paintless dent removal for the reason stated - crease at door jamb. Make sure you find the shop near you that does high end cars - Ferrari, BMW, MB etc. and take it there, and demand the driver's insurance covers you in full. Personally, I wouldn't let the dealer's shop do the work. Sorry to hear your w/e is off to such a crappy start.

GT Silver? Is your car a 40th Anniversary model??

Man, on a Friday ? At least noone was hurt I take it. Good Luck with the repairs; don't rest until you are satisfied.

Now is the time to incorporate any mods that require paint!!! IF not, so be it.

Don't worry she'll be fine!!!!

I feel for ya.. I just painted my new front bumper and drove it back to the shop to show them and as I was pulling out I caught the front and scrapped the bumper and tore off some paint. I feel stupid for not to be more careful.

Is the door still working properly, looks like the crease could have caused the door opening/closing to be a little tight. I'd make sure the alignment of the panels was in sync post-repair as well.

Hang in there man... at least the other party is insured. +1 on alignment of door-to-frame after repair

AWE - Dude, really sorry about your WHACK... son of a &@#$% !! it will take time, but you will recover, still it sucks... good luck on the rest of the weekend, and get it in for repairs...

Sorry to hear that. Nice doorplug though...

Sorry to hear, there was a recent thread talking about the danger of nitwits in parking lots..... How about while your car's in the shop, you get her a little mod to make 'er happy again.

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Ed - Gee, you had such a hard time cussing over your mishap, but when it happens to someone else, it rolls right off your keyboard!!! j/k... Sorry it happened and happened so soon... it actually took me 10 weeks of owning my car before I got my first big owwie... which prompted the facelift... Best wishes on the repair! Rudy

man that sucks for sure. Ya it can be fixed but...people just donot seem to have any respect for other peeps stuff. they think oh well its just a car. well I care it could be a 1979 pinto, just leave my stuff alone...and if you cant park or drive without hitting anything STAY THE F**K HOME. and oh BTW, ya, they are not accidents its someone not paying attention while they drive. man I could rant about folks behaviour... hope it get fixed quick for ya.

Sorry to hear about your car. BTW, those are the type of pics I DON'T like to see!

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Glasurit (BASF) Spies Hecker (Dupont) Standox (Dupont) My 03 Turbo in shop being repaired from encounter with mule deer. Front bumper cover, passenger fender, front trunk lid and passenger door (leading edge of door paint damaged when fender's trailing edge shoved back). And A-pillar panel which runs all way back and is the rear quarter panel also damaged when top edge of fender pushed against A-pillar. Oh, Turbo color is arctic silver. Body shop owner tells me this color depends upon size/shape/alignment of metal particles in paint. Using the right paint gets the first two right. The last, alignment, depends upon many factors: air pressure used to apply paint, temperature, humidity, speed of travel of paint gun across surface being painted, distance gun nozzle away from painted surface and so on. What is done is panel will be straightened, sanded and base coat applied over some of panel away from main damaged area. If shop knows its stuff this results in an undetectable repaint. (That a paint job was done can be detected by other means.) Once base coat on and blending satisfactory clear coat applied over the entire panel. In CA body shop work guaranteed for as long as you own car so if paint goes bad you can expect to have this taken care of at insurance company/body shop expense. But if you select a body shop that uses one or some or all of 3 paint and paint systems -- which it must use to be approved by Porsche to repair these cars -- you should have no worries. If you want to be extra careful, verify shop has and uses Celette Bench for checking Porsche chassis/tub alignment and hard point positioning. Ask to see bench. If old, dirty, covered with junk... walk away. This not shop to repair your car. Sincerely, Macster.

Saw the other party's claim rep this morning. Pretty decent guy. An actual guy that knew what he was looking at & even commented that is was a 40th anniv edition. So next week its off to the body shops. Door does pinch a little so there will be very little driving until it properly fixed. Open for mod suggestions while its off the road....

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be removed, the damaged area sanded down and the door panel sprayed with base coat about half way across door. The whole door then will have to be sprayed with clear coat. Be careful. Adjuster not your friend. He works for insurance company. Not saying he's up to no good, not saying he's dishonest, but he works for insurance company you want money from. He does not work for you. His first loyalty is to his employer, not to you. Adjusters move up in status by saving company money. They get to handle bigger claims and with bigger claims comes more money. What do you think he's gonna do... Body shop has tight rope to walk. It depends upon this insurance company for much of its work. It wants to avoid pissing off this company but of course wants to do a quality repair and satisfy you. Also, body shop on hook to warranty work for as long as you own car (at least in CA) so it doesn't want you coming back again and again. If impact enough to cause door to bind chassis alignment might be out. At least car should be put on alignment rack at dealer and and alignment checked. If tech has to use too much adjustment to bring alignment settings car has to have running gear removed and placed on Celette Bench with Porsche jigs/fixtures (rented from Celette) and checked for straightness. If out it must be made right and then running gear replaced and alignment checked again. Porsche has a pretty detailed list of steps a qualified shop has to follow in order to ensure a damaged car repaired to the standards Porsche requires. This important to you cause you want the car repaired as good as humanly possible. You also want it repaired and the repair documented in such a way any warranty on car and its components and body corrosion not affected. If car not repaired to standards set forth by Porsche any warranty can be voided. Keep your guard up. Save mods for later when all you have to think about is mods. Focus on ensuring car repaired properly. It ain't over til its over. Sincerely, Macster.

I too was 'whacked' yeseterday while driving to Lime Rock for ALMS race. Was driving on RT 7 in Litchfield behind a line of cars when I see a white Dodge Neon coming out to the edge of the road from a bank driveway. Mentally registered he was there and good thing because instead of waiting he decides to pull out in front of me and my 01 C2. I cut the car left but only to the double yellow as the where cars coming the other direction and tried to accelerate, when we felt and heard a thump on the right rear. Very light but it slid the tail out slightly. Anyway after cursing up a blue streak I pull over and see that the impact was on my rear wheel and on the bumper cover at the wheel arch. Scuffed the paint on my wheel and bumper but no metal damage at all. I made the guy give me $100 and called it quits but now I have to refinish my wheel (just did the set 3 months ago) and change the rear bumper cover to the 04 GT3 bumperette less version I have on order. Luckily no injuries and my girls and I had a great day at LR watching the battle between Flying Lizard and Risi Competizione. BTW we parked in the Porsche Corral and there were some great early and late model Porsches there. Steve

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man, this exact thing almost happened to me Friday...a gal drove thru a stop sign on a side street. she turned right but there was a big truck turning left and she "popped" out in the street having never even looked...then after she got in front of me and I blew the horn...slamming the brakes and narrowly missing her.... she never even looked in the mirror.... the road then opens up to a 2 lane and I was making a right, and her a left.... she stops behind traffic and I am stopped until my lane opens (there is a curb) and slowly pull along side of her when she darted into my lane and almost hit me a second time right in the side... WTF - I swear, there was NEVER a head check, I was watching because I was going to give her a dirty look for the first "stunt" she drives thru the next stop sign and barrels down a residential street at 45 plus.... some drivers Sorry about your new "mod" - GL with the repairs

I'm almost tempted to walk to the store. hahahahah So paranoid that I park it as far as possible.

awe, they run over pedestrians... keep in the car, you are safer -

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I understand what you are saying, but you are a bit out of line. I can honestly admit that I was an insurance adjuster for Progressive Insurance in a past life. Saving my company money had nothing to do with my personal success nor the success of my bosses. Our success was determined by how many claims we could close per month along with the grading of our files. A perfect grade meant that all documentation was in order, in the proper place, etc. This included a properly written estimate where all repairs on the estimate were backed up with photos. It was not uncommon for me to have one accident with 20-30 photos. If there was damage that I did not write, or if I did not allocate enough time for a repair, then points were deducted. Our jobs were to make sure that cars were repaired properly. Being a car person I understood what was the right thing to do. It was my job to make sure that people were made as whole as possible. I can honestly say that most people I worked with were great. The ones that were jerks were obviously the "picked" on kids when younger. You could tell that they actually enjoyed jerking people around because of the power trip they were on. Just like any business, it comes down to the people. Few words of advice: - Always use a large insurance carrier - Allstate, Progressive, StateFarm, etc. - Always start a claim with your insurance immediately even if you are not at fault. You can always close the claim if the other carriers accept liability. - If you think you are getting screwed, talk with your insurance company. It may be best for you to file with your insurance and have them fight on your behalf.

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Cool advice - we got some great folks here or what!!!

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My sources -- and experience -- tell me that things have gotten worse over the last couple of years. I spoke at length with my dad who was in the insurance business for years and he was amazed at how things have changed. I have had to file 3 claims since Feb. this year. Two were against the other driver's insurance company. The Boxster incident was relatively minor and I honestly can't remember any discussions with other insurance company's aduster. I dropped car off at body shop and picked it up when it was done. $5000 repair bill, roughly. The Cayman was more complicated. Car just 25 days old when hit and hit was severe. There was a limit problem with the other driver's insurance coverage and I wasn't sure what was going to happen. I was constantly told to file a claim against my policy and this is illegal for an insurance company that has accepted responsibilty for a claim to do. However I'm told all companies do this. I strove to find arguments against having the Cayman repaired and instead declared a total loss. It was declared a total loss though not sure my efforts in this direction played a role. (Damage est. was up to $41K for car I paid $56K out the door for.) This last claim is against my carrier, against the comprehensive coverage I carry on the car. I called late Friday evening after the accident to put in a claim and get the ball rolling. I was informed come Monday the body shop in Livermore where I wanted the car repaired would be informed and could make arrangements to get the car back to its facility. Saturday was spent getting out of Ely and to Denver and into a rental car. Sunday I spent driving on to KC from Denver. Monday I called the body shop to check on things and was told it had not been informed of the accident and claim and had made no arrangements to get the car. A call to the storage yard found the car had accumulated over $425 of storage charges and cost was going up. Thus spent most of Monday on phone, both my cell phone and my parent's land line phone speaking with the insurance company -- several times -- and went around and around with the adjuster, several adjusters cause you never get same one twice. Called various body shops in LV, Reno, Livermore, called Porsche Cars North America, and several Porsche dealerships in CA and Nevada. Eventually I was told insurance company only responsible for towing car to nearest Pro Shop and the shop where the car ended up after the accident was a Pro Shop and the car could be repaired there, either fully repaired or partially repaired and I could drive the car home for more permanent repairs. The shop where the car was didn't want to touch the car. I was then told I could have the car towed to LV at any of 5 Pro shops. However, I checked and none are qualified to repair Porsches. The only shop -- Exotic Cars -- in LV that is was not on the insurance company's list of Pro shops. If car not repaired at a qualified shop and done according to Porsche requirements the car loses its CPO warranty. As I spoke with various people other than my insurance company's adjusters, I was set straight on some things my insurance company told me, things that were just out and out wrong and misleading. Do not want to post too much on this cause I'm still dealing with my insurance provider to get my car fixed and fixed right, with OEM parts. Aftermarket parts are not covered under CPO warranty and their presence can void any warranty on any directly or closely related systems. Example: If aftermarket A/C condensor used this invalidates warranty on heating/cooling system and if engine overheats it could affect the warranty on the cooling system. If one pulls into a Porsche dealership and it is discovered the car has not been properly repaired this entered into computer system, PCNA informed and car no longer warrantied. The 2 year, 100K mile CPO warranty on my 03 car represents considerable value and provides me with considerable peace of mind owning such an expensive and complicated car. I'm also in talks to get reimbursed for the considerable amount of money I spent to get car towed to a shop that I selected to repair the car, a choice by CA insurance rules/regulations/law I'm entitled to make. Based on my experience, things are quite different if one's filing a claim against another driver's insurance company or his own company. I do know that in dealing with insurance company and my Cayman the adjusters I spoke with the interaction was rather pleasant. We did disagree on some sums of money and the like but I never felt I was being lied too, mislead, or decieved. Unfortunately, I can't make that statement after my dealings with my own insurance company. I am in a crash course of familiarizing myself with insurance rules/regulations and such from public sources on the web mainly at the CA Department of Insurance. Have also retained an attorney on an hourly consulting basis so I can speak with him about some of the finer legal issues and my legal rights. As I covered in an earlier post insurance companies are going with a pool of adjusters. One doesn't get an assigned adjuster but instead gets the luck of the draw. And the draw is not good based on my experience. Sincerely, Macster.

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On the contrary, I've nothing but good luck with my auto insurance company: USAA. Can't say enough about them. All in all, it sucks to crash a car - whether or not you are at fault. Pay your money and take your chances & buy as much insurance as you can afford, them buy some more and hope you never have to use it.

that sucks....glad the other guy was insured....you must not be living in Miami (where most people are NOT insured)

Wow, Macster I'm glad I'm not having your kind of troubles. Other than losing the car for a week or so, it's not too bad. I have an assigned claim rep & was told to take the car & have it repaired where ever I want. In NY they can't recommend a shop or deny your choice of repair shop.