Hit and hide

[RandallNeighbour]

My Boxster was hit from the side below the exhaust fan while parked. I didn't see who did it. Some one must have backed into it. A bumperette-sized indentation was made. I was parked near a bunch of other Porsches at the time.

The door seems fine but the rear quarter panel is toast and really bent up, pulling the sea, away from the door edge line. There's a 1.5 inch gap between the bottom of the panel and my skirt. Looks like it will have to be cut from the bottom side rail to be replaced.

Just how expensive is this going to be? Should I eat the repair cost or risk having the car totaled by calling my insurance company? I doubt the car is worth more than $9k now.

[coreseller]

Gotta love people. Sorry to hear about your luck Randall. I guess I'd ponder do you want it totalled? And then buy back? Repair it afterwards or part it out? Pull parts and put them on another Boxster, possibly an S? Ready for something different? I'm not overly familiar with body shop repair costs but my guess is a new rear quarter plus paint will run $2k plus.

[RandallNeighbour]

Originally Posted by coreseller

Gotta love people. Sorry to hear about your luck Randall. I guess I'd ponder do you want it totalled? And then buy back? Repair it afterwards or part it out? Pull parts and put them on another Boxster, possibly an S? Ready for something different? I'm not overly familiar with body shop repair costs but my guess is a new rear quarter plus paint will run $2k plus.

I will probably get a body shop estimate this week and see if it's astronomical or not. If it's 50% of the car's value ($4k or more) I'll probably just save up the money and have it repaired this summer and get the whole car resprayed while I'm at it. I cannot fathom allowing my car to be labeled a totaled vehicle with a salvage title. I've replaced the entire interior sans the dash board and carpets, the entire suspension, all four wheel bearings, the tranny, the motor (replaced a week before I bought it), most of the radiator system, fuel pump and sending unit, and the list goes on and on and on. Ugh!

[97 Boxster]

Man, this sucks. I ALWAYS dread the day this happens to mine and mine has nothing that yours does. Hope your luck is better this week! Keep us posted.

[RandallNeighbour]

Here's a pic of the damage. Hard to see because it's black, but if you look at the door line and then the bottom where the aftermarket rocker panel used to be stuck to the side of the car with 3M tape you'll see it was pushed in a LOT.

[RandallNeighbour]

It really pisses me off that another Porsche owner did this and didn't man-up and tell me he did it and offer to make it right.

[madmods]

..............................

[RandallNeighbour]

Originally Posted by madmods

Perhaps you are 6'7" too tall and weight 225pounds too heavy and he/she got scared

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!

[DenverSteve]

That appears to be about 4 inches too low for a bumperette dent. Maybe a kick or baseball or... anything else. It doesn't really matter what caused the dent, you're the unfortunate recipient of it. Sorry for your inconvenience. Since no one has come forward there's no need to speculate that someone from a Porsche event did it. If it was kicked, it could have easily have been someone put off by your (the groups) possessions.

[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)

[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.

[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.

[DenverSteve]

Originally Posted by RandallNeighbour

It really pisses me off that another Porsche owner did this and didn't man-up and tell me he did it and offer to make it right.

This assumption would require information not in evidence. I would prefer to "assume" some gum-ball from the neighborhood or area did this and not another owner/member of your Porsche group.

[coreseller]

Wow!! Just now saw where you said another Porsche did it, yep that makes it even a little worse. I know this is going to sound really goofy, you might want to consult with a very experienced paintless dent repair guy local to you. Seeing the gap on the door / quarter makes me doubt he could pull it off but after seeing the 2 foot crater sized dent repair the local guy did on a truck quarter about a year back I would at least check it out. Good Luck.

[AndyA6]

Taking responsibilty and doing the right thing is a rare thing these days!!!!!!

Sorry!

[vitaminC]

Were you at a Porsche event? If so, maybe see if you can find some photos of who was parked next to you. Good luck in getting it resolved.

[MileHighBoxster]

It sucks, but it can happen. I would simply call my agent and have it fixed this week.

[JohnLathrop]

Sorry to hear about your luck, I hate thinking about body work.

Within the first three days of buying my Boxster someone apparently dragged the handle bars of a bike across my drivers side quarter panel. I was livid! The damage was very obvious but no paint was missing. I called a paintless dent repair service and they sent out the owner because of the type of car. Three hours later it was perfect. I no swear by a good paintless repair. It can be a little expensive (mine was $345) but that bears the hell out of a $500 deductible and insurance.

[Ghostrider 310]

I'm sorry to hear it but not surprised. In my own neighborhood people see me limping around the block to stay limber. Yet one of my neighbors does the empty the ashtray fly-by at the stop sign by my property, must have been 50-60 butts to sweep up spread over 30 feet. I guess the world we live in has lost some civility, that damage doesn't look like it will be stupid expensive to fix. Because it's low a spot paint job will be almost impossible to discern.