decampos

I was in stop and start traffic this evening and was smacked up the **** by a huge truck. It was an almighty crunch but upon inspection it was only the spoiler that was damaged. Quite remarkable. The truck was so ludicrously huge, its bumper was higher than the rear of my tailgate and it was his license plate that did all the harm. I cannot find any other damage. (there was NONE to his truck).

I felt that heady mixture of shock/joyous relief/annoyance. But hey, these things happen. So our rear spoilers are actually a kind of protection. Who'd have thought that they actually have a use?

Anyway, I don’t want to go down the whole insurance road again unless I have to, so I thought I’d ask you guys what’s involved in this repair and give the guy (seemed like a nice guy) the option to settle it himself. He was keen on that idea.

What do you reckon?

Thanks.

decampos

I should say that the spoiler is definitely toast. I don't know how much or how obtainable the spoilers are (couldn't find any on craigslist or ebay or 928int's website for that matter).

mr914

Give this guy a call he might have a spoiler (818) 397-6959 he parts out 928's and he is in north Hollywood.

I had two I picked up from pick a part for $29 .. Sold both

stuartbrs

Does the hatch still open and close correctly?

GlenL

Check for a popped bumper shock.

Ducman82

so just the spoiler? nothing else..... wow lucky

ThetaTau87

I would take it to a good body shop to get an estimate. They will fully inspect it and may find damage that isn't obvious that you may have missed.

I don't think the bumper shocks are a concern. That truck is really high and it would be nearly impossible to even hit the bumpers.

decampos

Thanks for that number mr914, that guy’s really near me.

Hatch opens fine, currently looks as though all the damage was contained within the spoiler though I’m not sure what state the mounting holes are in.

Popped bumper shock? Are our bumper shocks typically shot?

Speedtoys

Why? Are they in the spoiler?

Speedtoys

You have a few options:
1) Work it out with the guy, he hit you, he knows it..get repair quote, get a check.
2) Insurance..he was at fault, but depends what the repair costs..is it worth it?
3) HOW lifted was he? Like..more than 5" over factory chassis height?

Then...you have a open/shut small claims action against him.

http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/fa...ionNum=24008.5

He was operating an illegal vehicle, and as such, unable to utilize the factory designed low speed energy absorbing protections build into your car, and he caused damage to your car, and you can sue for up to $7500 in costs to you to repair it.

And..if he dont pay, fine..lein on his truck..

decampos

Thanks for all that info speedtoys.

That’s interesting. I didn’t even think that his vehicle was riding at an illegal height. It was way jacked up but I think that worked in my favor.

Some kid smacked into me last summer. Car was in the shop for 6 weeks for some pretty minor damage and it was a huge hassle even though it didn’t cost me a penny. Kinda want to avoid that if I can so hopefully I can do deal with the guy.

Speaking about shot bumper shocks: I examined my rump and one of the shocks is compressed. Not from yesterday’s shunt (it’s on the other side), What’s the best way to correct that? I tried to lever it out but it’s not moving. Any ideas?

Speedtoys

....replace it.

$50

928intl

GlenL

The shocks are one-time use. They burst and seem to get stuck in. Maybe you can lever it back out. I've tried and failed.

I replaced a rear one without taking off the bumper cover. The 2 tricks were to sawzall the shock and put in a bracket-style holder that RoW cars got. Most of the body of the shock sticks through a hole into the body of the car. Took forever to do but still better than pulling the bumper cover.

OTR18WHEELER

....I don't know why your bumper shocks would be an issue if his license plate was over the top, 'dunno if some people even read the OP topic.
Anyway....
I've seen S3 rear hatch spoilers regularly on ebwahgh for a hundred bucks, but.... I suspect you may have some underlying damage to the mounting points.
The bolts that anchor the spoiler are stronger than the part.
The mounting holes may be distorted, it may be not possible to just remount another spoiler.
.... Well, he's gone now, but I would think 500 would be a minimum to just "fix" it to your liking.

decampos

Thanks for your reply. I’m also suspecting that the mounting points might be a little disrupted. I have seen the spoilers on eBay from time to time. The guy mentioned earlier in this thread in NoHo/Burbank has a lot of 928 parts and is selling them for a decent price, he knows his stuff and has this project car on his lot:



Regarding the compressed bumper shock: I was actually able to reset it perfectly with careful levering with the pry bar. Seems like it’s as good as new but please someone chime in if it really is a one-time thing and is now useless.

Ages ago, when I enquired at the DMV office about the need for a front license plate, the lady explained to me that I have to have one so there would be an imprint of the plate were I to rear-end someone. Sounded like insanity to me until I noticed that my neighbor’s plate in one of my bumperettes: