thanks for the reply guys. just an update, i dropped the car at rusnak of westlake here in southern california. talked to the service manager and candidly said that she see a lot of these things happen with a porsche (spin off) and suggested i'd take driver's ed class. she also assured me that they can bring back the car into prior condition which would take about 3 weeks but could take longer due to holiday season. the agent on the claim dept from my insurance co. said it would be after x-mas that the adjuster can inspect the car. ouch!!! i guess i wont be back on the road until the end of january next year. happy holidays to all!