Ouch!

[zoomlenz]

Ok I'm a member for a while, but 'till now I've been only a consumer of the fine beta on this site. Now I need your good advice. My '03 vanilla box got smacked in the parking lot at work. Happily the hapless perp of this horrific crime against beautiful machinery left a note. The question is can a company like ABRA do the repair work to a standard that will bring my Box to it's original glory? I should say that the damage is driver side behind the door 1.5 to 2 in. deep. I like ABRA their work has been excellent on my lesser cars but I appeal to this informed group about the righteous path. Thanks.

[mikefocke]

and wander over and see the quality of work on some half completed cars and on some that they have completed. Only time I needed work I looked for the best shop in town and one that had at least a dozen Porsches in the storage lot. You want a shop capable of doing a frame measurement to be sure the frame is straight and that requires either a special jig from Porsche or a laser sighting setup that not every paint shop would have.

The back of the cars have some complex curves around the air "intakes" etc. Not just a slab sided task.

Don't underestimate the cost of body-repairing a Porsche.

[eightsandaces]

Zoom, I have what I believe to be some of the best body fender guys on tap in my area. If either of the bumper covers are affected and they have spider cracks, it's likely that any restoration will eventually redisplay the spider cracks. Like I said that's from two excellent body guys, good luck, at least you get to pick the shop, i give high praise to the person with enough fortitude to leave you a note..

[Frodo]

I had a bit of a mishap in my Box about 9 mos ago and went through all kinds of mental anguish deciding where to take her for body work. Got lots of recommendations from various sources but, ultimately, took her back to the Porsche dealer where I had bought the car a few years ago.

I really don't know if all/most P-car dealerships do body work or, among those that do, if it's all of pretty comparable quality from one shop to the next.

The place I went to is in Willoughby, Ohio, obviously not particularly convenient for you, but you might want to check out their body shop website (http://www.****************************************************/body_shop.shtml). It talks about their methods, materials and experience level, all of which could be compared to Porsche dealership body shop(s) that may (or may not ) be located in your area.

By the way, I made the right choice: They had to repaint a door and rear quarter panel---the finish on those areas is indistinguishable from the rest of the car. I couldn't recommend them more highly.

I agree with Mike---where ever you're considering, go check the places out. These guys (if they're good, anyway) LOVE showing off their work.

[zoomlenz]

Thanks for your good advice. I contacted Carousel Porsche and they directed me to LaMettry's. The have Porsche certified technicians. The car looks like the smack never happened (better), and I still have a month of decent Minnesota driving left!