Dent in rear panel

Hello all, I'm a relatively new 996 owner, bought a 98 C2 in January and am loving every mile I drive in it. Last week I noticed a small dent in the rear panel next to the centre brake light, it's actually right on the curve of the panel and looks bad from certain angles. It looks as if something heavy has landed on it like a cricket ball, there were no marks or scratches so I really don't know what caused it. I took it in to OPC Chiswick this monday to see what they could do, the body shop bloke said he'd get in touch with a quote to fix it. The quote arrived this morning, apparantly it's going to cost £860 to sort out the tiny dent. Whilst looking at the car he said that they'd have to strip the paint off, pull out the dent and then prime and re-spray it. The labour costs in the quote come to £660. I understand the fact that the dent is in an awkward place but surely this quote is taking the mick? Does anyone have any experience of getting rid of dents from this panel? Does anyone know how much a replacement panel would be? Any help appreciated, Gavin

Hi Sorry to hear about your dent - IMHO the OPC is having a laugh. [:'(] Try the yellow pages and find your local Dent Wizard or similar and compare their quote - the job they do won't be any different, esp if the paint hasn't been broken. I would estimate around £200-£250 tops.[8D] Good luck Rob 997S

Deffo sounds like Chiswisk OPC are taking the p*ss. If the paint is unbroken, and they plan on just pulling the dent out, why does it need the respray? I'd take your business elsewhere and have a chat with the manager. If the dent is small, give Chipsaway or similar a call to see what they can do. Inspection is free.

They will no doubt be using Solus's fantastic services to do the bodywork for you. The same people that sent a drunk man round to pick up my car for bodywork (he was later sacked) The same people who charged my insurance company £1,300 for a small repair of the O/S wing of my car, but did such a bad job, with overspray everywhere and lacquer all over the tyres. The paintjob itself was swirly and mediocre. It's not Soulus per se that is bad....as per all painshops, it's not the brand, it's the staff....sometimes good, sometimes bad. But at those prices, they should always be exceptional, and in my experience, they fell far short of the standard expected of them. In the end I got Chipsaway to do the job for £50 (he used to work for Solus) and he did a great job! They (Chipsaway is a franchise) will fill the dent for you and paint it for less than £100. Good luck

Seems like a lot of money to me, however, about right for OPC. My car was in at OPC for some work recently and it came back with a scratch/damage on the off side rear bumper. They put their hands up fair enough and angreed to repair it (as well as the other damage on th nsr wing) FOC. Before my time, it would apear that my car has had some paintwork on the drivers door and its a different shade of Mirage (goldy silver) and every time I look at it it p1sses me off. I asked them to quote me to have the rest of the side don (they would already have to blend in the wing so it was the osr panel, door and front wing) and the came back with quote including a chipped front bumper/psu at £1100. Needless to say I declined their kind offer.... So on balance, your quote seems fair for an OPC/approved bodyshop. Shit shed loads. However, the moral of my story is dont get a half arsed job as it will bug you and no doubt p1ss you off for ever. Not having seen the problem, I would get one of the chips away or similar people to have a go first at a minimal cost and if your not happy then get it done properly otherwise you will regret it on such a lovely car. Just my opinion. Rob - still with a dodgy drivers door and hating it!

Cheers for the replies, I'll give chipsaway a try. I was pretty dissappointed with OPC Chiswick, asked the parts dept about clear lense upgrades whilst I was there and they weren't really interested in supplying them, said I should consider upgrading the car! Also asked about getting the scuffs removed from two of my alloys (18inch classic design) but the guy said they can't do them as they're split rims and they also don't recommend any companies for it, pretty impressive answers from the OPC experts! I think I'll be taking the car to the Guildford OPC from now on, had a totally different experience there when I had the car serviced and a few things fixed under warranty. Thanks again, Gavin

Try wicked wheels for your wheels refurbishments - normally costs between £60 - £80/wheel. They have done 3 - M3 wheels and a 997S wheel for me, all superb jobs and done within the day.

Hi Gavin, I had the older yellow lenses and wanted to upgrade to the clear ones recently. Also wasnt overly happy with the brightness and was looking tp upgrade to Xenon/Litronic lights. There is a thread under general discussions I think. In short, I bid on a few clear lights and litronic (original lights will need additional wiring - pain in the rear & expensive) ot maybe getting Xenon upgrades. In the end I bought clear lights, upgraded lenses (as per factory) and all the wiring built in. Simply remove the old lens and put the new ones in. Looks good and the illumination is even better. Try www.design911.com Cheers, Rob

996C2 I had 4 small dents and a reasonably sized one on my 996 over 3 different panels (no paint issues). Had them removed by Little Knocks for £200. Great service, fantastic job and took approx 2 hours. I've used them before on a Subaru which had a badly dented and scratched door and their paint and repair was fantastic. They're near the M25 / M4 intersection. http://www.littleknocks.co.uk/ 01895 822 665, ask for Chris and tell him the guy with the silver Targa recommended you.

Thanks again for the replies, it's appreciated. Unfortunately the tiny dent on the rear panel is now the least of my worries. This morning someone cut me up on a dual carriageway in central London just before some traffic lights that had just changed to amber and decided to slam the brakes on, surfice to say my 996 is now on a 6 week holiday organised by OPC Chiswick! I'm absolutely gutted, never had an accident before and just approaching my first year anniversary of Porsche ownership. On the bright side, they're going to do the rear panel whilst it's in the body shop and I'll try to get the clear lights fitted too. Cheers again, I'm off to get the bus home Gavin

I used Chipsaway Chelsea (next to the Battersea Heliport) for a bumper dent and 2 stone chips. They were about one third of the OPC price and the work was very good. They also polished the car, cleaned the alloyed and valeted interior without me asking. Excellent job and I was reassured by a 911 Turbo and a 997 C2S there on the same day as my car