Stevie

What is this world coming to? I just got rear ended for the second time at a stoplight on one of the secondary roads here on Long Island. The first was several weeks ago while approaching a traffic light. The second was yesterday leaving a traffic light.

EDIT: Sorry I didn't give enough info on my original post. Immediately after the first accident, her insurance company called me with a claim number and indicated that would pay for the repairs because their insured was in fact responsible.

Today I dropped the car off at my dealer to have it repaired and, the service agent suggest that I DON'T have the driver of the second accident call their insurance company (same company as the first) as it may result in two Car fax reports instead of one, and may cause processing confusion within the company.

What do you guy's think I should do. The day before bringing my car to get repaired, I got hit a second time. The question has to do with processing a claim for the second accident (same insurance company).

BTW, I have read So You Thinks Its Just a Bumper Job.

_Steve

UPDATE
Well it’s been some time and a lot of progress, since I last posted here. So I thought I give you all an update and share some knowledge that I gained from the experience. Since my last report, I decided to leave the car with my local dealer, Porsche of Huntington. With my best interests in mind, they disclosed their dissatisfaction with the quality of work from the Porsche certified body shops and as a result have had some great body and paint work from Superior Auto Collision of Lindenhurst, NY.

I called Superior and gave them specific instructions not to do any repairs until I personally inspected the frame and the insurance adjuster had seen it. When I got to see the car, I was surprised that the aluminum frame had been drilled, filled and primed… against my directions!



I asked them why they repaired the frame at it was aluminum and should not be repaired. They said they didn’t want to have the engine pulled for a simple dent the size of your thumbnail. I walked out shocked and called immediately called four other Porsche certified shops to confirm what Sam of Collision Body Shop in LA had so carefully documented in his post “So you think it’s just a bumper job”. Not only did the other shops confirm that the frame should never be repaired but, I learned the following from my discussions that I’d like to share with you guys to confirm here on this forum:

1. Rear end collisions have been the Achilles heel of the 911 since the get go. Apparently, the energy received from a rear end collision can cause distortion in the rear steel monocoque and that no amount of frame pulling and alignment can return the factory again. This results in below par ride/handling reports that we read from time to time.


2. As a result, the 991 has been designed with an improved the reparability path by incorporating a squared-U (2 below) aluminum engine frame mounted in the rear monocoque around where the engine is mounted.


3. Bolted to the corners of this rear frame is a thinner gauged aluminum impact bar designed on crushable posts (think soda cans) that extends back to the bumper cover. This disposable, soft impact bar is intended to take most low speed impacts and, only Porsche certified shops can purchase.

4. In the event of a collision with sufficient force to make it through the impact bar and damage (read dent) the engine frame, Porsche requires replacement to insure the car will drive like a Porsche again.

Fortunately, Geico had photographed the damage to the engine frame and posted it on their claim website where I was able to view the frame before Superior attempted to repair it. Kudos to Geico’s transparency and eager responses to my questions. Here is the picture “thumbnail sized” dent that Superior so quickly filled and primed.



That’s when I decided to go with J & B Body Works of Mt. Vernon, NY. Joe from J&B said “get the car out of there as soon as possible.” Not only are J&B Porsche certified, but they were the most versed at explaining how the repair process will go from their experience with several 991 engine frame repairs in the past. The way he explained it correlated exactly with what Sam of Collision Body Shop had written up.

I called Geico, who were more than willing to pickup the car at Supreme and bring it to J & B the same day. As soon as J&B got the car, they ground off the bondo from the frame and sent me a photo of the discovery.



Gieco came out the next day and wrote up a second claim to replace the frame and by the end of the week, Porsche of Larchmont had the motor dropped and back to J&B. I don’t have enough nice words about for Porsche of Larchmont, probably the highest rated dealer in the NY Metro area. It will turnout their doing responsible for the improved handling, PDK shifts, syposer, even slow speed braking! That will turn out to be one of several silver linings in this story.

Porche NE Technical center’s warehouse (where I attended this year Tech Tactics) shipped the new frame overnight. I guess they keep them in stock. They are an hour’s drive from the shop could have had it there in a matter of hours if needed. So here is where the car meets its new engine frame (old one on the floor in blue, new one in the care in black).



Here is an J&B’s Instagram of my car on their Car Bench (they have 1 Car bench, 1 Celletes, 2 Global Jigs and 2 CarOliners). I’m impressed on their dedication enough to invest in no less than 15 high end certifications including Ferrari, Testla & McLaren:



All primed up with no place to go:





Buttoned up like a baby… we’re off to see the wizard. Ready for the engine connect at Porsche of Larchmont. Then, back to J&B where the entire car was assembled, painted, wheel aligned and shampoo’d inside an out. The effect was no less than showroom!

When the car was delivered late Wednesday afternoon, I was delighted! If you've never had a complete professional detailing, try it. The results would astound you. I took a back road to my house after sunset… it still hadn't sunk in yet. I’m still confounded and a little gun-shy from the experience, after after 9 years without incident in my Cayman. Here it is back at Porsche of Huntington for a quick checkup before a short burst back to my office.



My initial driving impression was multiplied by the tight steering and braking feel, and showroom fit and My car felt new again! It actually felt better than before! Could it have been damaged before I got it?



I can succinctly notice snappier and consistent PDK shifts. It never misses a beat. Also most importantly, The ride and handling is so much closer to the Cayman’s nimbleness that I was used to , but more stable. Even slow speed brake modulation has improved; coming up to a light is smoother and less grabby than before.



As for J&B Bodyworks… it’s NOT true there are no good Porsche certified body shops. J&B is proof that at least one does exist in my area. Joe was spot-on with the repair path, flawless execution and kept me informed with photo updates throughout the process. And it all went without a hitch! Porsche of Larchmont did such an outstanding job at tuning the engine, brakes and control systems. Everything was tested perfectly calibrated, like factory.

Finally, thanks to Sam of Collision Body Shop in LA for his post on what goes on inside and what it takes to make the car right again. In summary I want all you know, if you get into a minor bump in your lovely 991’s bum, it’s not the end of the world… or the car for that manner. And don’t think that it’s just a bumper job.

Porsche has truly engineered magic into these steel and aluminum cars with purpose, speed and serviceability (in that order). Here is a case of a silver lining; I like to say ‘blessing’, that revealed a car that drives better than before, in the end.

Sometimes everything goes right_Steve

STG

Actually you better call their insurance company and yours, and get a police report.

Who's going to pay for it? You? Or you're hoping this person that hit you will cut you a personal check?

Lucky next owner too having undisclosed damage.

What kind of dealer would suggest that??

LexVan

Sorry to hear. Not suggesting it's your fault, but we all have to drive defensively and always be looking in our rear view mirrors. Lots of distracted drivers out there, and a 911 has great stopping power that cars behind us just can't match at times. Again, not judging your situation, just talking out-loud. Intersections are very dangerous places. Hope you are back to 100% soon and no injuries.

STG

The problem is people looking down at their phones and not seeing cars stopped at a light or slowing down in front of them. It's an epidemic.

You're a sitting duck if stopped at a light and hoping the idiot coming up behind you is not paying attention. Not much you can do there. Car in front of you? You're stuck. Traffic flying across intersection in opposite direction? No where to go as well.

LexVan

I agree. Another reason to always leave a lot of room for the car in front of you at a red light. May need to occupy that space to avoid an idiot behind you. I hate when people park on my rear bumper at red lights. Not safety cushion.

Grunty

Because Long Island.


I feel for you.

STG

+1

Last summer, sitting at a light waiting, I get rear ended by a Hummer. She was looking at her phone and never slowed down. I was ok, just sore. Good thing the 911 was home!







The Hummer that rear ended me





I then got pushed into the car in front of me





My rear damage from the hit. Thank goodness the ML can take a good hit!

nova996

Exactly. Police should forget about trying to collect revenue from speeders, and focus instead on these people with their phones out. In this area on my own commute I see 3-4 people rear ended every single week (in heavy bumper to bumper traffic)

I've lost two really meticulously maintained cars to this issue already. You sit there at a stop in stop and go traffic and watch someone coming up in your mirror with his eyes clearly pointing down at his stupid phone on the mount.

I spend time every morning looking for the 1 out of 3 drivers in this area who are actually paying attention to traffic and I try my best to stay right in front of them. Sometimes I pull over if I see the person behind me distracted by his/her phone. And then I try to merge back in front of an actual sane driver.

GSIRM3

I agree. Pisses me off too. It's like they are in a contest to see how close they can come to your rear bumper.

LexVan

Yeah. And then you try to creep forward a little, to give yourself a safety gap (because you were smart enough to leave room in front) and then they creep forward and park on your bumper again. That's when the fight breaks out.

tomc_mets

From your mouth to God's ear! It amazes me when I'm in the passenger seat the number of drivers around me who are screwing around on their phones while driving. Can't someone invent a simple hand held device that the popo can use (one handed operation is best, so they don't have to put down their donuts!) to tell who's jacking around on their phone. It'd give them something better to do than worrying about ticketing folks with no front tags!....T

duxsi

You have my condolences for the utter stupidity and irresponsibility of others.
At this point does one accident vs. two really make a difference on Carfax.
As long as you have pictures of both accidents for any potential buyer (with the accompanying Porsche certified repair paperwork) I would go for the absolute best repair job out there and charge it to their insurance.
But make sure you go to a fully Certified Porsche repair shop.

Good luck.

hoppah

Oh that bumper job article is nice - great illustration. All that energy has to go somewhere.

H.

Stevie

STG991,

Sorry I didn't give enough info on my original post. Immediately after the first accident, her insurance company called me with a claim number and indicated that would pay for the repairs because their insured was in fact responsible.

The day before bringing my car to get repaired, I got hit a second time. The question has to do with processing a claim for the second accident (same insurance company). Thus, the reason why the service manager suggested one claim instead of two.

What do you suggest I do about the second accident?

_Steve

STG

Boy do you have bad luck! I guess better it got hit again before the repair!

What are the odds?

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Do this:


This is very complicated. Contact your insurance company as well. They act as your representative and will deal with the other insurance company.

At least the two people that hit you have the same insurance or else how would they split the damage and who did what?

Let them work out the details. It's their job.

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You can select WHERE it gets repaired, so pick the BEST shop you can find.

Sorry to hear about your situation.

If you pick the right shop, you'll never know it was ever hit.