Things to look out for when being rear ended?

Wasn't a big crash but still I feel mad as hell. 8:50 this morning, sitting at a red light and an idiot in a tow truck drives into the back of me. Badly scratched the bumper and put the engine cover and right rear light assembly out of alignment. I won't have a full assessment of the damage until the bumper comes off and they can see what's happened underneath. Using a Porsche certified body shop. Their preliminary estimate is very little...$1200...and that is twice as much as the body shop my insurance company sent me to estimated. Some of that is a labor difference of $7 an hour...more important is the time devoted to doing the work. Example, the non-Porsche shop estimated 1/2 hour to align the engine compartment lid/spoiler, the Porsche shop rated the work at 1 hour. The bottom line is that it will become part of the car's CarFax and I'm guessing that could hurt the resale/trade-in value of the car by up to $5000. I'm paying for repairs out of pocket and letting my insurance get the money back from the tow truck's insurance company. I don't want to jerk around with adjusters, etc. I just want the car back on the road asap. Any input on mechanical things I should be looking at as possible hidden damages to the rear end would be appreciated.

That sucks! Sorry to hear it. I had my rear bumper cover replaced on my 996 C4S because somebody hit it while it was parked at the airport. The plastic bumper covers on modern cars are damaged quite easily and they are difficult to repair. Fortunately, there isn't too much behind the cover to damage, especially in a low speed impact as you described. My guess is that it will be fixed quickly and you'll be back on the road soon. My C4S looked great when it was returned to me. Good luck!

Bummer! That being said, it looks like you got away fairly easy. Good luck with the repairs!

Ours has been rear ended a few times so I can confidently say that estimate is way low. Expect $4-6k when all is said and done. Just the cover alone is $2200 and the chances it can be repaired correctly based on your brief description is pretty slim. I think a new tail light was a couple hundred, but you need to beat them up to replace both even if the other wasn't damaged. I didn't on the last hit and now have two different colored lights due to aging. That the light is misaligned means there is some metal work that needs to be done too. With the misaligned light, I'd bet that rear fender is damaged a bit too. Structurally these things are built like tanks back there, so if your air bags didn't deploy you probably don't have much to worry about. Maybe some dented heat shields. Make sure to check the alignment of the tail pipes too as they can get knocked out of whack. At this point an accident will make it harder to sell and it will sell for less, but I doubt $5k. Look into your state's laws about diminished value claims. If they allow them, get it appraised after the work to determine the loss in value and then submit a claim to the other driver's insurance. Sorry you got hit. Glad you're OK.

A paint gun doesn't usually come out for less than $1200, never mind parts. I would be worried about spoiler actuators if the engine cover is tweaked, the shocks to the lid if they took any lateral load, I would demand it go on a frame machine, I was rear ended once in a 325i and it was a light "bump" frame was tweaked slightly apparently causing tracking issues. They ended up having to pull it a bit..

Check they wore protection.....sorry!!

As mentioned, be careful of initial estimates to repair. Often there are hidden surprises that may increase the repair estimate. I think you did the mart thing by taking your Porsche to a Porsche repair shop, they should be more familiar with potential hidden damage if there actually is any.

The tow truck is a tank, your 996 is an eggshell. Unless it was a very minor collision, there may be more damage revealed after bumper cover is off. Hopefully the Porsche "certified" shop knows. Sorry for your accident. Any pics?

Now would be a good time to switch to the Euro Bumper cover if you like it. I know that a lot of people dislike the bumperettes on our stock bumpers, but as long as they are color matched, I kind of like them.

Sorry to hear your incident but glad you're ok. I'm in SoCA. A simple respray of a camry bumper will cost $1k. Like others, I'm also highly skeptical about your 1.2k quote especially when the rear lid (metal and spoiler mechanisms) is involved.

Have body shop check your entire exhaust system, truck could've pushed the tips into the cats and warped headers and cats. You wont know until you pull the bumper cover. Even then it will be difficult to prove that all pipes remained undamaged. Good luck with the repairs.

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Good point and cats are $1,300 EACH.

Ask them to total it or at least claim the IMSB is now damaged.

Hardback has the right suggestion in my experience. If the force has cracked/distorted the exhaust system, it may function normally for a while and then the problems start. The rubber engine/trans mount do not move much before they transmit the abnormal load into weaker structures. The smart move may be to do minimal cosmetic only work and trade it for a newer car before the accident shows upon the CarFax and before the repercussions of the impact work through?.

Man sorry for the incident, a minor collision won't do much damage to your car, the carfax report with an accident will hurt the resale value for sure, as others state, until the bumper is removed you will be able to discover any hidden damages. Now the question, if you're planning to sell it in a year or less, fix it out of your pocket to avoid dramatic depreciation but if you're planning to have it for years to come, let the insurance take care of everything (get the IMS replace at the Porsche dealer because of misalignment of the engine and transmission as well )

Always sorry to hear about these things. For reference: I have my 2004 C2 at the Porsche body shop right now to replace a front fender from a recent parking lot hit. The initial estimate tops $2k. While there I asked about repairing a few stress cracks in the front bumper and respraying and the ballpark was $700 minimum to $900. maximum and that is with the bumper already R&R from the accident claim. I understand all too well the hassle of working with insurance companies directly, but one benefit is the ability for the shop to work out coverage for supplemental damage that is discovered during the repair process. This has worked very well for me a couple of times. I hear a lot about the diminished value concern and initially I had the same concern. After talking to the painter today I am not so stressed. These are aged cars, not sought after rarities, the 996 by nature has already taken a diminished value hit. The painters suggestion, should I ever decide to sell the car was to show the photos and the paper work for a qualified repair. If a buyer is looking for an excuse to drive a bargain I can just let him walk away, or not. Best of luck - and remember that time flys right by at our age and you'll be on the road in short order.

On my old C4 Aero someone at work backed into my rear bumper and scraped the deck lid. He wanted me to take it to his "guy" and figured some bondo and paint would run $800. I took it my "guy". The bill was $8500 for a new deck lid oem. You did the proper thing. Sorry for the hassle you are in for.

How minor of a hit was it? Any pics?

Thanks to all for the kind words and excellent advice. I was so freaked yesterday that when I was getting two repair estimates I didn't even try the spoiler to see how it was effected. Did that first thing this morning and it groaned and moaned worse than a hooker with a cheap client. I immediately went back to both body shops and then took it to my Porsche dealer and discussed replair and replacement of the spoiler system if necessary. Ballpark atleast $3500 plus labor and tax if they have to replace it. I also had heated words with both the tow trucks insurer and my own about how slow they are moving. The guy who hit me is desperate to keep it off his business record. I was considering working directly with the guy though I also considered it risky. Then as I was driving from one place to another (this has consumed the last two days of my life) a very nice rep from my own insurance carrier called and apologized for the hassle I had with the other person earlier. This new person, a woman, understands how I want my car fixed asap. I explained that I'm dropping it at the shop first thing tomorrow. She said that is fine...she is having someone go out to the shop the following day and review the damage estimate once they have the bumper off and can look at things more closely. She said that all I am responsible for is the thousand dollar deductible and that they will pay for everything else and then go after the other's guy's policey for all money including my deductible. And my rent-a-car. So tonight I'm sitting back with a bottle of Pilsner Urquell and starting to take deep breaths. In the middle of being crazy I thought about trying to just trade it in on another Porsche and pay whatever it cost. But then, with all due respect to the 997 and 991, I realized that I really really like my 996 and I don't want another car. I want this car. I really like the interior...the dash is perfect for old analog guys like me. I am more than happy with how it handles, the horse power is more than enough for me. The headlights are perfect. Blah blah blah...I love this car. And once it is back in my garage it is time to do some more money love on it. New motormounts, transmission mount, suspension bushings...all the stuff that has gotten old and tired since 2003. I guess you know you love a car when you look forward to spending money on it. I'll try to take some pictures but I'm not sure how well the damage will show on camera. You can't really see some of the tweeking as much as feel it. kI'm aware I could claim "diminished value" but I don't want to turn this into a "legal career"...the idea is to keep the car at least five or six years. It would even be fun in twenty years to still have it and be using it as a daily driver.

Just for reference, here is a pic from the last time I got rear ended. You could see this and the pointy corner of the taillight was broken. All said and done with the supplements was $6200. Her insurance freaked out at the final bill, but mine told them where to stick it since they declined to go out and inspect it at all. And she wanted to fix hers and I'd fix mine. My ***! I hope the gecko dropped her has hard after that one.

John, I got rear ended in my Prius commuter twice in 12 months. Real bad too. The way it works with these body shops is even after they take off the bumper to see the damage with the adjuster, they still end up having to amend the original estimate for other things they find. For example, on my car the original amount agreed with the adjuster was $7K and ended up well over $10K at the end. Also, never take it to the insurance "preferred" shops because: 1) they are usually jack of all, and expert of none, and 2) there are many ways to skim off the top. Good luck with the repair. Also, it's a good time to do some things while the bumper is off like Fister D?

John, you may be able to get the mounts and more fixed under the insurance. I would try to get all you can if they won't pay for diminished value. I owned a small trucking company for 35 years and payed plenty for insurance, so does the tow truck guy. His insurance will be glad you aren't claiming back or neck pain as thats usually the case in that type of accident when it involves a commercial vehicle. I think they will be happy to close the case before that happens no matter how much the repairs. You could always mention to their agent that your back is starting to hurt and you are thinking of going to an attorney if they are going to drag this out.

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John, sorry you car got smacked. Sucks. I agree with JD. I worked for an insurance company for 15 years. What they really worry about is bodily injury claims. Especially if you don't die, since the costs can be never-ending. This collision is minor, and it's hard to believe that any marginal or better insurance company won't take care of whatever needs taking care of.

So this morning it went into the shop. The gods of fate sent me a sign that it could be worse and I should be thankful. Sitting in the yard when I arrived was a 997 C4S that had survived a brush with something...tree...fence...wall (didn't look like another car) that had creamed the right side from headlight to taillight. Thankfully the owner was able to drive it to the shop. My car looked like a virgin next to it. My rental car is a KIA something or other...about the size of a Camery...and it is so quiet inside. I can't hear the bumps and seams in the road. I can't hear the engine. I can't feel the steering I can't tell what the tires are doing...it is like being in a big bubble and floating along. In fact I don't think it is really a car but rather some form of automotive condom.

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Yep, amazing how comparison helps to put things in perspective. Yesterday I visited the body shop and the phone was ringing off the hook, they actually had extra staff to try to handle all of the calls. We had a pretty bad ice event here, news says thousands of cars involved in accidents. One accident with over 100 cars and two fatalities. At the shop I saw two really brutal hits, both on Mercedes, made the dent in my fender look totally insignificant. Then tonight on the local news I hear of hit and run less than two miles from my home. The wake up call for me was that it was a person who took the hit and she is hospitalized in critical condition. Driver has yet to be found. And the convertible Mustang is now parked off to the side of my driveway, decent snowfall here tonight and I'd feel safer in a Kia. So the C4S will be tomorrows transportation. I So I finally stopped bitchin'.............for now.

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I would not pay for repairs out of pocket. Let the other driver's insurance company pay. You have more leverage this way. And you are entitled to $50/day for loss of use of your car up to 30 days' worth. A rear-end (or front end) collision should have the car partially torn down -- in the case of a rear end collision the rear bumper cover removed along with the wheels/tires and the car placed on a Celette Bench to ensure all the body/chassis/suspension/etc. hard points are are still where they should be. IOWs, nothing underneath the bumper cover is bent or knocked out of position. The exhaust system should be checked for any damage or alignment issues. The $1200 estimate is probably quite low. I expect the actual repair cost to come close to 2 maybe 3 times that amount. Be sure you take plenty of before and during pics to document the extent of the damage and to document factory parts were used in the repair.