doug751

Hello,

I crashed my 964 on the track at a PCA DE event in July. I had track insurance, but it has taken almost 3 months to settle with the insurance company and soon I will have the funds from the Insurance Company. I did not want to start until everything was settled, so that car has sat. This track policy has a very large deductable, and the insurance company does not pay for things like towing, taxes, transport for rental of equipment, wheels, fluids, etc... Basically it is going to pay for about 1/2 of the total cost of the damage.

I can afford to fix the car right, so I will pay the extra for new components if there is a benefit. I have been told by a collsion shop, not my collsion shop, that used parts for older Porsche are actually preferable. In this case, I need a door, front fender and hood. We can get all three in the same color as my car. Of course they will be repainted, but I guess the inside or backside would be fine as-is if the color matches.

IS there a benefit besides the inside surface paint? For instance, wil the fit be better? Is a new part from a 15 year old Stamping-Die as good as the orignal used part from the same year?

Any other pros / cons? The price difference for new parts will be about $2500 total compared to the used route. I will spend about $20,000 total.

Why fix this car? It is in near perfect shape besides the crash damage. The interior is very nice, and all the oil leaks have been sealed. I have a new Fabspeed exhaust, and PSS9 Suspensoin. The AC has been fixed, and I even had the AC ducts vacuumed out and cleaned. Brakes are all rebuiilt, clutch is good, H4 Upgraded lights etc. Nice car.

I love this car, and would possibly consider buying another 1992 to 1994 964 C2 or C4 low mileage coupe in silver with all the oil leaks sorted out. I do not want a 993 or 996, cost is not the issue. I have owned 3.2 Carreras as well, and really like the 964 best.

What would the market bring for my car as it is. This is not a totaled (salvage title) car, it will cost a fortune to fix it. What is the value for somebody to part it out?

My plan was to fix the car again to be used as a street car for nice day driving from April till October and occasional DE. I do not want to give up the streetability for better DE performance, so a track car conversion is not going to happen now. Maybe this feeling will change after I get back on the horse and drive on the track next spring.

Any pointers or opinions are welcome.

Thanks!

Geoffrey

Get the used parts, they'll match the rest of the used parts on your car. IE, your existing car is "used". Don't get caught up in the new vs used as long as the used parts are in nice shape.

doug751

Forgot to say; my mileage is very low; just over 55,000 if I remember right.

tonytaylor

Have you considered carbon fiber doors, fenders and hood. Likely cheaper than genuine new panels and super cool

Bull

One potential issue with used parts, which you should consider, is that they often need more attention than new parts to make them right in fit and finish. This ends up adding aditional labor to the total bill. All depends on the source and condition of the uesed parts. Has the shop factored in time for this?

TR6

Looks from the photos like you can scratch one of the H4's!

Just curious... Would you mind sharing how it happened? I only ask because I have been considering doing my first DE and have been nervous about risking damage to my car. All the DE instructors I've talked to keep telling me that a crash at a DE is almost unheard of. Yet yours is the second one I've heard about in the last two days.

doug751

The price that I have to repair the car is now fixed and they factored in used parts and they time to fit them. If I want new parts, I will pay extra. Will they refund the extra labor time? I am not sure. They seem to be pretty cool about everything and I am sure that they will not hose me.

Bearclaw

The insurance industry is in love with LKQ parts ("Like Kind or Quality"), which to them means "used" and to you should mean "run away - fast". I got screwed, and I mean screwed, on a Toyota I used to have because I acceeded to used parts on a collision repair. It was done by a reputable shop, but they had many problems with the fit and I dumped the car soon after I got it back. I'm not exactly clear on what your insurance is pushing for - if they're just cutting you a check and you're on your own, I guess used parts would be ok if you can really cherry-pick what your're getting. I still think factory parts would be better, but the price premium would be high, I'm thinking. A lot depends on whether you intend to keep it.

$20,000 damage and it's not salvage? Wow. Must be close - in my state, 70% of book value = it's a total.

doug751

The insurace company was not a "real" Auto insurance company. They offer a track insurance policy for racers and for PCA DE; I had DE Insurance. The deductible is $6000. The cost to repair is about $18,000, but I will need to also pay for new wheels, towing, taxes fluid, yada, yada. I am sure that more things will come up, and I am not going to have any recourse to collect from them; it was hard enough to get what I got. I do not think that they need to follow any of the laws that apply to road Auto Insurance Companies.

This is not a regular car, and if it were, of course I would not consider fixing it. With this car, I know what I have and if I buy another 964, it will be at least $10,000 if not more to repeat the work that I have already had performed on this car. As it is now, for about $10,000 out of my pocket, I will have the car back close to the way it was before I had the accident.

Oscar

doug,

I'll sell you my entire right side. My car was also damaged but unlike you I am going for a replacement. Anyways, the passenger side is virtually untouched. Let me know if you are interested and i can send you pictures. check out my avatar for what the car looked like the week before the crash.

JasonAndreas

Dealer cost for brand-new front fenders is around $600USD, door skins are $100USD, so shop around.

pete000

Ouch that hurts to see that...

tafkai

on a hand finished car this isnt an issue !!!!

i would only buy removed panels from a scorce i knew and trusted , just in case .
i will strongly recommend you view the panels on the car to check alignment and fit before you carefully remove !!
too many scammers to trust mail order these days .

TR6

One other concern on using used parts... The used panels have already been painted previously which means they will require more stripping and surface prep before repainting than a new replacement panel. This may add up to more labor hours. I recently saw a case where a used panel was sourced for a 964 and it had to be re-done after it was sprayed the first time because, despite the shop's efforts to strip and prep it, there was still something left in the original finish that attacked the new finish. The whole thing had to fully cure and then be stripped down a second time for another go.

tafkai

i'd say the shop messed up there !!!!

if you took your car in for a front touch-up for stonechips , would you accept any excuses from them ???