Stupid Me - Wrecked the P Car tonight
 

Well, my nearly perfect 97 - 986 had an accident tonight. I will post photos tomorrow when the light is better. Pulled into my garage and parked the car. Got right out and proceeded to move my wifes Hummer out. While backing her car out I noticed that my wife was in the Porsche (at least thats what I thought). The car was driving solo. The E brake was not pulled enough. By the time I realized it I had to E Brake the Hummer and run to catch the Porsche rolling backwards down my driveway.

Right across the street into a 4 Runner. Man, this perfect car was running so well too.

From what I can see the damage is:
-Rear Tail light
-Rear Bumper smashed in on the drivers corner
-Small dent/crease on driver side rear panel above wheel

My concerns are the paint match. I have a guards red car and its 14 years old. Paint is perfect and deep. Not a scratch and always garaged. Will a reputable company be able to match this well? With one broken tail light would it be wise to have both replaced so they match and its not a NEW GLOSSY lens and an older one? Also, I guess I should have the bumperettes painted while its in the shop.

The good - Bumperettes can get painted which I wanted to do anyways. Also, the bumper is the only part that needs paint so masking the car or the risk of overspray should be minimal or NOTHING.

Thoughts??

Terrible. Glad nobody got hurt.

I can't help you much on your plight. But, taillights are easy to come by. Lots of folks de-amber, which means there are un-used factory originals out there. Or, take this opportunity to de-amber yourself...



/

Does the rear bumper need any repair or just paint?

The rear bumper is smashed in and cracked pretty bad so it will need to be replaced. As for the lights, I would like to de amber so I will see what route the repair shop is headed and make my decision. Either way I just want to take today back. LOL

I might have a rear bumper for you, although it's blue.

Let me see what the repair center is going to do and I will let you know. Happy to help you unload it if they can work with it. Thank goodness for insurance, I am certain this fender bender will be expensive.

A local parts store is closing and they said I could have it (the bumper) for cheap, I have not seen it yet but I told them I would take it.

Cool. Sounds like it might be an option. My brother and I just purchased a bunch of stuff from a Hummer dealer because after sitting on the building for 2 years after closing it they had a ton of parts and Hummer stuff that we both wanted. Sometimes it works out to be a great deal.

I will get the bumper this weekend and take pictures then post them here for you.

A good body shop will match the paint without issue. Paint matching today is light-years ahead of where it was 20 years ago. Personally, I would only use a new bumper cover. Otherwise you'll have layers of paint and ..... Since it will likely be much more than your deductible, you might as well get it new and done right.

Glad that no one was hurt. Sorry for the incident but a decent shop should have no problem in matching the paint. It will look brand new in no time.

Welcome to the club. Two years ago, while working on my other car, I noticed some movement out of the corner of my eye. Yup, my Boxster had somehow rolled out of my level garage and was now rolling backwards down my driveway. By the time I figured out what was happening, it was too late. I watched the car cross the street, jump the curb and hit a tree. Thank god it didn't hit anybody or another car. Damage was a dented bumper and a broken taillight. I had a moblie paintless dent repair guy fix the bumper for about $300. He told me up front it wouldn't be perfect, but okay from a short distance. He was right. There's a crack in the clear coat and a slight waviness if you look real close. I thought about getting the Ebay led tailights. But for just a little more, I got an OEM replacement from Sunset Imports. But you're right. The right side is bright and glossy and the left has 8 years of wear and tear. But like most things, time heals and I don't notice it much any more. Bottom line is I got out of this little mishap for around $500. And now, I always remember to set the brake and put the car in gear.

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t...2/IMG_0243.jpg

same thing happened to me about 20 years ago and it was only a VW Rabbit. but that helpless feeling in your gut watching your car roll down a hill and hit something? doesn't matter what kind of car it is or what it cost, it sucks.

(it stopped in a ditch and only belt the tailpipe over)

No need to fear the paint match, my body shop uses a camera system to match paint, I'm sure it must be fairly common. Bumper cover isn't that big a deal, it just feels bad to damage something you treasure; nobody ever enjoys that..

A good shop will do a great job with the paint match. Painted bumperettes are the bomb!

Take lots of pictures of your car, before, during and after the repair, so you can show/document the damage and repair, for the next potential buyer. This way you can show it was mainly a cosmetic repair, and not the result of an accident/collision.

I always, always, always try to remind myself to put the car in gear whenever I park.

Thanks all. Photos will be coming soon. Lighting was bad last night so I will take some today and I will be visiting the shop several times throughout the process. Still going to get a few estimates so I am not sure where at this time but I will keep all posted. I agree with you as well on the documentation that this is cosmetic. Just a bumper cover and tail lamp. Nothing with the metal from what I can see. A little paintless dent repair and I should be good to go. The matching of the paint it a HUGE concern for me but many have stated I should be fine. Thanks for the words.

FWIW, when I had my semi-minor mishap with my Boxsta I agonized over where to go for repairs. I, too, was wanting the best work and, of course, the perfect match with paint color.

I asked around, probably talked to a couple dozen people or more, even visited a couple of shops. Ended up going back to the same P-car dealership where I had originally bought the car. They had a complete set up for body work, and a very impressive paint shop. The head guy there had been doing that kind of work for 25 years or better, and his assistant almost that long.

I got what I was looking for...it was perfect. I have to stop and think about which side of the car was involved anymore. It's virtually impossible to tell by looking. The nice thing about going to a P-car dealership? They know their clientele are sticklers about things being done right and, typically would not hesitate to make a fuss if it's not.

I can think of something positive that came out of this. First of all I am sorry about your car damage. The important thing is you were not hurt. A friend of mine's car rolled over him in a similar situation. By the look of his injuries it did some damage to his head and he died of a stroke a few months later. He was in his 60's. Car bodies are easier to fix than human bodies. As a note of interest a couple of days ago my Boxster's handbrake had to be pulled up hard to engage. I found this out when I depressed the clutch and the car started rolling when the handbrake was applied 2 notches only.:(Am sorry about your damage.

In addition to the e-brake, I also use a "parking mat". That keeps me from going too far forward, and keeps the car from rolling once it's parked.

http://s7d4.scene7.com/is/image/Grio...77057?$detail$

Vitamin C, I like this solution. Where did you get these? I will stop by and get some. Thanks so much for all the comments and YES its great that nobody was hurt. :)

Just bought some on Amazon.com. Thanks VitC

You're welcome :cheers:

Someone else with the fine style sense of chromed twists, I salute you sir, they look awesome with the red.

Thanks GR:). I thought about changing them out but everytime I see a Porsche with the grey wheels I think it looks:eek: unfinished. Now thats just my opionion so dont everybody jump on me for that LOL. I will only drive a red car and YES, the twists with the chrome are a nice combo. Thanks

Oh man! Sh@t happens.....

Once a guy with a shuttle minivan wanted to pick me up, parked in front of the garage but left it in drive. Crawled in slomo into the garage door and totally busted it! He even tried to stop the minivan by running in front of it...... Well a new garage door was supplied and all were happy except the guy who probably lost his job.

I like this forum for "non-flaming"!

Good luck and let us know the progress.

Later, Andy

Hello. I also have a '97 Guards 986. I scraped the rear passenger side wheel arch and bumper area late year (note it's a UK RHD car). I too was worried about paint match and ending up with a colour contrast and / or an obviously over-shiny area. I had the whole rear passenger wing / fender and rear bumper attended to. The results were way, way better than I expected. The colour match was pretty much perfect. The glossiness matched the rest of the car. The only flaw was on very close inspection in the form of some very tiny flecks of dirt in the paint.

The arch / wing / fender and bumper in question can be seen in the image below taken after the work was done but good enough to make it onto a magazine cover:

http://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-OC...ok%2520mag.jpg

I'm afraid I haven't taken any proper images myself since the work was done and I don't have the pictures taken for the mag, but this iPhone snap hints at the colour match - ie it's very, very good.

http://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-2F...s800/paint.jpg

This work was done by a pretty unassuming local paint shop. Nothing high falutin'. Before the work he said he intended to keep the blowing in / colour painting to a minimum, but he intend lacquer the entire wing / fender. Whether he did this or not, I don't know - the work looked good, I didn't ask whether he stuck to the plan.

Now, the big question is whether the paint was lacquered from the factory. I tried some polish compound on a few panels and found it went pink, suggesting the paint is not lacquered. I think the paint probably did lacquer their work.

Moral of the story - it can be done. Hope this helps a little.

Don't be too hard on yourself 97, we all know someone (in my case, several people) who have done the same thing. Just last year, my wife was on the phone with one of her ladyfriends who during their conversation said "Hmmmmmm... there's a car across the street down in the woods that looks just like mine".

Back in '99, my then roommate managed this:

http://vitaminc.smugmug.com/School/N...23_ryPzR-L.jpg

That was at the bottom of our (steep) driveway. And yes, it did leave a mark :rolleyes:

Drivers Tailight
 

97

I have a drivers (left) tailight (amber) in excellent condition I can let you have for $50 shipped.

John

I could use that one. Let me see what the insurance company is willing to do. Thanks

Just an update. Took my car to a few shops today for some estimates and decided to go with Modena Autowerks. I will keep everybody posted and update you on the process with Modena. Jaime Garza - Owner , was great to work with and really knew his stuff. Car should be back in a few weeks when I return from a business trip. :)

If anybody is interested in having work done Modena Autowerks is in Houston, Tx. I will give feedback good or bad once the work is completed. Stay tuned.

I have a set of OEM tail lights you can have, just come by and pick up since you are in Houston. Cost will be two....maybe three beers :cheers:

Man, I will take you up on that. And I will be happy to pay you for them. Thanks for the offer. Let me get with the repair shop and make sure they dont order some first. Thanks again.

No cost to you as they are just sitting in the garage after I upgraded mine last year.

I will PM you with my contact details, if you still need them just ring me.

-T

Thanks. I will let you know early next week. I appreciate it and hopefully I can find a way to pay it forward. Again, thanks.

And here they are...
http://986forum.com/forums/uploads01...1329009422.jpg
http://986forum.com/forums/uploads01...1329009439.jpg
http://986forum.com/forums/uploads01...1329009452.jpg
http://986forum.com/forums/uploads01...1329009465.jpg

This bumper is in real good shape, it was in a Porsche parts store that is going out of business so I got a good deal. New paint (dark blue), has not been on the road since painted. No road rash on it at all. Make me an offer I can't refuse (if you need it).

You guys rock! How nice of a forum is this???? The best!

Jäger. That bumper is perfect. I agree with andya6. This place is awesome. Thanks to everybody for your willingness to help a brother struggling with this very minor problem. It could have been much worse. Can't wait to get my "Betty" back.

Can you believe I paid only $50 for this bumper? I couldn't pass it up... You never know when someone will need one.