RBatsch

My 2008 S was rear ended last week. Damage was limited to the suspension on the left rear which was damaged enough to bend the wheel a few inches forward and down. The insurance company is replacing all suspension components on that side including the wheel bearing, carrier, tire, wheel and shock (Bumper and tail light will also be replaced). The tires are brand new so I'm not worried about only one new tire but the shocks have 190,000 KMs (120,000 miles). Would that not be dangerous as the new side would have different characteristics vs the old?

extanker

just pay for the other shock out of your pocket....end of drama dude

Macster

Probably not dangerous but still not a good idea. With that many miles undoubtedly the new shock and the old shock will differ in performance.

I would speak with the insurance company and point out the concern you have. Mention safety. While I doubt you will get the other side replaced for no cost to you you might get it replaced for half its new cost.

Sometimes the insurance company replaces components in pairs but it is not consistent.

Couple of examples: When my Boxster was hit from behind and shoved into a vehicle in front the driver side headlight came out and fell to the ground and was damaged. The insurance company of the driver who hit my car paid for a new one but did not pay to replace the other. As a consequence one headlight is nearly "new" the other faded/yellowed and dimmer because of it from the wear and tear of at the time around 250K miles.

In the case of my Turbo when it was being repaired from a mule deer hit my insurance paid for a new right front tire which was damaged from the encounter and a new left front tire to keep the two tires matched even though the existing tire was still new enough the tread depth difference between the replacement tire and the other tire was around 15% vs. the 30% at which point this would have required the other tire be replaced due to safety concerns.

Even if you can't get the other shock replaced with even half the cost covered by the insurance company I think you should replace it. This ensures both sides have the same shock performance and eliminates any possibility of the car manifesting weird on the road behavior due to the mismatched shocks.

mikefocke

Replace both so you get the benefit of the alignment they are paying for.

I trust your body shop has had the "frame" measured either with a laser or a special set of "jigs" Porsche supplied. My one experience I thought the damage was cosmetic, a measurement said $26k in known repair costs when they stopped counting and handed me a check.

Macster

Mike makes a very good point. In the case of your car's accident the odds are more than just some replacement components are damaged. The body's bent and hard points are out of place.

The shop should use a Celette Bench to measure the car's hard points, the ones in the general area of the damage, to ensure they are not out of place and if they are to bring the hard points back into proper location.

Porsche guidelines for proper repair of these vehicles clearly states the Celette Bench (or its equivalent by another bench maker) should be used to ensure the car is straight.

JayG

You are entitled to to be whole again. It was not your fault that you got hit. I would argue that it is a safety issue as the car will handle differently with mis-matched shocks. They should pay for both.

How is your back and neck from being rear ended. I bet they are sore and you need medical attention. even a light rear ender can cause injury. I know, my wife and I were hit from behind stopped at a light and we are both in physical therapy for the injuries received. It was not a high speed hit, but enough to push us forward a foot or 2
Let the insurance company know that as well.

RBatsch

Thanks for all of the good advice. Yesterday I had to make some decisions and I learned some new stuff.

We have 'no fault' insurance in Ontario, Canada and this means my insurance company pays for my repairs and is solely responsible to do so. It also means, I don't really feel like my insurance company is working for me. To add 'insult to injury' they introduced me to the term 'betterment'. Get this...they are 'improving' my car! So for wear parts, in my case tire, wheel bearing and yes, shock absorber, I have to pay extra! There is no way they will replace the other shock as their policy only allows them to replace parts damaged in the collision. If the car is dangerous, it my responsibility to repair that, end of story!

Visual inspection of the chassis and suspension mounting points show no damage. The way this was explained to me, the rear wheel will be repaired and an alignment will be performed. If the alignment shows other issues, like chassis, then they will investigate further. I'm not domfortable with this as by then my insurance company will have invested about $6K and I will have invested about $1K. I guess that's still a long way from a write off.

So not only am I paying 'betterment' but I'm having a new right shock installed. I'll replace the front shocks and right rear suspension components next year as I have enough planned work on the car this summer. Thanks again guys!

Macster

Bummer about the no fault thing.

My limited experience -- and I hope I never have any more experience -- with this is one has more leverage when someone runs into your car and is at fault.

When I had a collision with a mule deer with my 996 Turbo and had to file a claim with my insurance company the treatment was quite different. One person I talked to over the phone when I filed the claim and was trying to arrange to get the car flat bedded to a proper shop for repair told me to get the car repaired at a local gas station and drive it home. This was in Ely NV.

Disgusting insurance company attitude.

FWIW, Porsche's repair guidelines to ensure the car is properly repaired and is safe/road worthy is to use a Celette Bench to check the car's hard points and bring these back into position if they are out.

It is not right to use the alignment to try to compensate for bent chassis/tub and out of position hard points.

I am not sure how you would approach the insurance company but its refusal to let the body shop follow Porsche's guidelines on this matter is resulting in a sub-par repair and the car will not be repaired to Porsche standards. Remind the insurance company it charged you Porsche premiums for your insurance coverage and can't then come back with something less than Porsche level of repair. Argue this is fraud and results in an unsafe car. Consult with consumer fraud division in your area to see what you can learn about what you can do about this.

Even if one can get the car "aligned" one wheel will be out of track and given we are talking about the rear wheel drive train life may be affected by the still out of position rear wheel that causes extra wear and tear on the CV joint bearings/boots.

I would argue it is a compromise in safety to well, to not follow the clear guidelines Porsche has for repairing these cars but I'm not sure what if any leverage you have due to that no fault situation.

Arrange to be there when the alignment is done and ask the tech about how much adjustment is being used to bring the alignment into spec. If a lot use this as an argument to push to have the car put on an the alignment bench and straightened. Argue that with all the adjustment used up for this there is none to deal with any adjustment going forward.

Even if you can't get the insurance company to agree to the alignment bench step maybe you need to consult with the tech and body shop and see if this is something you should have done even if you have to pay for it out of your pocket. This ensures the car is straight.

If the alignment is found to be out maybe you can then use this to get the insurance company to pay for it as it was damage that was not taken care of when the other more obvious damage was found and addressed.