Hit and hide

[Norminhouston]

Originally Posted by RandallNeighbour

Ha! I'm 5'9", 212 pounds, bald, 50 years old, and the only person I intimidate is the owner of an all-you-can-eat Chinese buffet when I walk through the door for a late lunch!

Randall, you are a comedian! Very funny!

Norm

[milliemax]

You will remember the car the next time you all get together, just look on the OTHER side of the parking lot. He/She will avoid you. Hope they come clean ! I inspected mine to understand the "impact", and yours was a hard hit. Not a kick from a foot. Good luck and hope you get fixed real soon !!! Yep, an older 911 (with a not so straight bumper)

[RandallNeighbour]

First body shop estimate... $1000. Said if I turned it into my insurance company they'd shell out more and I might get enough to have the hood and front bumper resprayed at no charge.

Odd thing is they had a Boxster in two weeks earlier with the same identical damage.

Is this the work of a serial Boxster killer?

[RandallNeighbour]

Update:

State Farm is not willing to pay for a new quarter panel. The adjuster told the body shop to pound it out and bondo the panel and paint it.

So, I think I have a reasonable case for diminished value since they don't want to pay to have the work done right.

Anyone know how this works and what I should be asking for or expecting vs. what they might attempt to offer me, if anything?

[boxster6354]

Randall -

Based on the year of car and the amount of fixing it, I would think you would have a claim, there is a site that may be of help. Diminished Value Qualification Quiz - See if you qualify to make a claim.

Good luck!

[MileHighBoxster]

Randall, I would appeal the decision and try to have it fixed properly. If you have full coverage that is. Either that or pay the difference between what they will pay and the full repair bill.

[wvboxst3r]

Look for a good panel at a junk yard. Have body shop strip and repaint. I would not think that would cost much if any more then the labor and bonding and taping off of the rest of car.

Also I would talk to your agent about the diminished value of having bondo on a quarter panel versus a solid quarter panel. They may have a little say in the repair.

[Ghostrider 310]

If and it's a big "IF" However, if you find a body man who really knows what he's doing he could remove that den't and use such a minimal amount of filler the end result IMO, given it's age would not harm the value or compromise the finished look. The key is the repair guy has to be an expert metal worker.

[97 Boxster]

Originally Posted by RandallNeighbour

Update:

State Farm is not willing to pay for a new quarter panel. The adjuster told the body shop to pound it out and bondo the panel and paint it.

So, I think I have a reasonable case for diminished value since they don't want to pay to have the work done right.

Anyone know how this works and what I should be asking for or expecting vs. what they might attempt to offer me, if anything?

Randall,

I just had to have work done on my car and I will tell you that the "estimator" for Allstate said that he would have everything repaired and use all the same parts with nothing new. I complained and the insurance said "its what we do, we start with what can be reused and go from there". I looked/interviewed body shops and found that Modena Autowerks was highly recommended and when I talked to them about the insurance company MA told me that they would take the car apart and call for a requote and that only new parts would be used in my rebuild. I would suggest calling Jaime at Modena Autowerks and telling him your story and get his thoughts. Long story short - All new parts and car looks INCREDIBLE. Good luck.

[NoGaBiker]

Originally Posted by madmods

...You are talking about a $300-$500 job maximum by an independent bodyshop. If you get quoted more then you are getting screwed believe me.

Whew! Been awhile since you got a rear fender painted I would guess. First, the good shops are going to feather it into the door so you can't see a difference between the slightly different color of the new paint vs. old. This requires pulling door trim off, etc. But even if they didn't have to do that and only repaired and repainted the rear fender itself, no way that's happening for less than a grand, if done right.

[tonycarreon]

Originally Posted by RandallNeighbour

So, I think I have a reasonable case for diminished value since they don't want to pay to have the work done right.

i got a nice letter with my state farm renewal last year (i think) stating that SF would no longer be paying diminished value claims and that any diminished value claim would be denied.

my suggestion, pester your agent if you've had a decent relationship with him/her indicating that should they refuse to pay for the repairs returning the car to its condition before the accident, that you will pay it yourself and find a new agent. might have no effect but never hurts to try.

[97 Boxster]

Originally Posted by NoGaBiker

Whew! Been awhile since you got a rear fender painted I would guess. First, the good shops are going to feather it into the door so you can't see a difference between the slightly different color of the new paint vs. old. This requires pulling door trim off, etc. But even if they didn't have to do that and only repaired and repainted the rear fender itself, no way that's happening for less than a grand, if done right.

NoGaBiker is right on the quarter paint work. I just had my rear bumper replaced and a small crease above the drivers side rear wheel reworked (much less than your repair sizewise) and the shop did feather it in to the side of the car. You would NEVER know it was redone. Its so impressive. On the cost side I paid my deductible of $500 and the work was about $2100 total.

New Bumper
New Tail lamp
Rear Quarter work
4 Wheel alignment (just to be sure)

Hope this helps.

[Ghostrider 310]

When you are doing a fade in a contour line is imperative if you truly don't want to see the blend, otherwise a careful inspection will always show the fade.

[RandallNeighbour]

Thought you all would like to see the progress being made on my car. They've pounded out the panel and ground off all the paint. I pointed out that the panel still needs work though because the seam in the panel and the door widens below that vent and it's too close above it and below it.

Notice the two rust holes just under the vent. Those will be cut out and metal welded in its place to remove it completely. I'm really happy about that.

And wow, the car looks so naked without the rocker panel on it. The insurance company is paying for it to be repainted as well just to make sure it matches. Nice!

[gerrynoank]

Not trying to de-rail the thread but what seems to be the cause of the two rust spots under the vent? Just wondering because I have two identical ones on my 2000.

[Ghostrider 310]

Gerrynoank, Mine had some small bubbles in the exact same place, all I could figure is it has something to do with how that side vent operates.

[RandallNeighbour]

My guess is that this is caused by condensation gathering under the fan shroud. The motor's quite hot and cool air brought into the engine compartment may turn into water droplets.

The other thought is that the coolant overflow drain may be dripping onto that piece of the body work from the inside, although I've not researched this one or given it much thought before.

Someone with some serious smarts should get to the bottom of this for us.

[NoGaBiker]

Originally Posted by RandallNeighbour

My guess is that this is caused by condensation gathering under the fan shroud. The motor's quite hot and cool air brought into the engine compartment may turn into water droplets.

The other thought is that the coolant overflow drain may be dripping onto that piece of the body work from the inside, although I've not researched this one or given it much thought before.

Someone with some serious smarts should get to the bottom of this for us.

You rang?? Actually, the fan on that side is an exhaust fan, which blows outward to exhaust hot air from the engine compartment. So it is more likely to be ingesting hot air from the engine and blowing it out to the ambient air. I doubt that would cause the kind of condensation that would cause those rust spots. I've never seen them before, ever, on any Boxster. And I'm always either in the southeast, where snow is virtually non existent, or SoCal, where it is actually non-existent. Any chance it is related to snow/road salt or whatever they put on northern roads these days?

EDIT: Randall, I see you're from Houston, so that rules that out. I was looking at the other two people who mentioned having the rust holes, and they're from NY and CT.

Okay, so I'll revise my thesis: maybe it's because you all live by the sea.

[RandallNeighbour]

Ah, you are correct. It's an exhaust fan.

My car was originally sold and driven around as a DD in Salt Lake City. I'm betting that salt accumulates up near the exit of the fan and stays moist right there due to the heat and that's what caused it.

Gerrynoank and Ghostrider 310, like my car, are in snowy and thus salt-laden places in the US.

[boxster6354]

So Randall when will the Box be out of the recovery room and ready to go for a ride?