vjd3

A 75-year-old woman in a 99 Pontiac minivan decided to make a left from a side street with a stop sign, directly into my path this afternoon. I was going about 35-40 mph, she pulled out about 20 yards in front of me, I barely had time to hit the brakes before impact. Both air bags went off, a hell of a collision. I emerged with ringing ears, seatbelt bruise and a scrape on my nose and left forearm from the airbags, otherwise unscathed. She did not appear to be seriously injured; they took her off in an ambulance but she was conscious. Her husband, who was not in the car with her, said, "What a beautiful car ... that's a shame." The cop was admiring it, too ... and why not? I had just Zaino'd it two weeks ago. I've only had it for a month; it's a black/cashmere 95 C2 coupe with 25k miles.

The car is another story; the nose is completely smashed, hood pushed up, passenger side fender buckled and windshield cracked on the passenger side from the (empty thank God) propane cylinder I was on my way to have refiiled. For what it's worth, these cars are STRONG cars, I'm amazed that I walked away after hitting the van that hard. It drove her clear across the road and up a dirt enbankment. Meanwhile, the Porsche sat in the middle of the road, idling peacefully. Must've been the TechArt strut brace.

Anyway, I'm kind of doubtful that the damage is severe enough to total it, so I'd like to make sure a really good bodyshop gets it. Can anyone make a recommendation? I'm on the South Shore about 20 miles from Boston, but I don't care where it goes as long as they are good. I've had work done at Inskip Porsche in Rhode Island, but I'm not sure how good they are with real collision damage.

Advice appreciated ... dammit.

Vic
95 C2

john.rogers

Sorry to hear of your accident. Best of luck with the insurance company.

I would recommend Hatch & Sons in Wayland (no affiliation). They do tremendous work on frame up restorations as a business. I have used them to do work on my 97 Cab, mostly mechanical, no body work, but I have seen their body work in their showroom. They also repair Mercedes.
They sell used Mercedes and Porshes

I would give them a call or check out their web site
http://www.hatchandsons.com/

You can ask for Ed Owen the service manager.

Best of luck.

JasonF

Vic-

So sorry to hear about your accident and hope that your car (and more importantly, you) make a quick recovery.

Best, Jason

ca993twin

Vic,

Sorry to hear about the car. It wouln't surprise me too much, after hearing the damage report, that the car will in fact be a total loss. If so, you'll need to be your own best advocate to ensure a fair settlement. Start gathering ads for cars in similar condition. Collect all your receipts for recent work. Your insurance compnay will try to low-ball you... that's just how they work, You need to "prove" that to replace the car will take the actual money you need.

If, on the other hand, they choose to repair the car, there may be a few upgrades that can be done... euro front bumper, "s" ducts, perhaps a front splitter (since they will be painting the front anyway), litronics. Work all of this out with your body shop... there should be virturally zero extra cost to get the car upgraded the way you want it. You may also be able to claim "loss of value" for a pristine Porsche that now has body work. This is a tough road, but might work for you.

good luck

vjd3

Thanks, guys ... I'm fine, that's the main thing. Hope she's fine, too. Cars can be replaced, people can't.

This is going to be tricky, because unfortunately we both have the same insurance company, so they'll be out to screw me, I suspect.

Vic
95 C2

nman413

Make sure you check the body from below. There was damage to my car that wasnt visible until it was on a lift.

mwildt

Hi,

Sorry to hear about your loss. Unfortunately you're in for a tough time. Insurance companies are not the easiest ones to dance with. Since you're only had it for a month I'd consider having a lawyer in the game if needed. Definitely do your home work on body shop selection.

There are a few places in Boston area that are known for their body work on Porsche's.

Mike's Autobody in Malden
(781) 324-9831
I've used Mike my self for some spoiler work. He is a local PCA sponsor and really knows his job. Speak to Mike Noonan him self.

Dick's Autobody in Somerville.
(617)625-9171
Never used this shop, but seen it in person. They also sponsor local PCA events.

WEST FOREIGN AUTO BODY
(508) 655-5677
Never used this shop, but it comes highly recommended through several of my friends. Their shop is right next to EPE performance Engineering in Natick.

Hatch and Son, as recommended above. Probably the best place for a restauration job.


Michael

Rob 97 993c2

if you want to travel a little further, i cant say enough good things about Automotive Associates in Canton, CT (near Hartford). They have done many full restorations, both 1960 porsches (won national concours) and restoring modern porsches that have hit a track wall at 100mph to new. They are expensive, but will work with insurance cos.
The owner is jim newton and the bodywork guy is Kenny 860-693-0278
I have no affliation, just a happy customer.

viperbob

I have used West Foreign Auto Body next to Jerry's shop (EPE in Natick) on numerous occasions. They do GREAT work....

Dudley

I will second Kenny at Auto Associates in Canton CT.

Patentman

I have had three severe Porsche accidents that each were repaired by Dicks Auto Body in Sommerville and allcame out like new.

My first was an '81 911 SC that was forced to merge with the guard rail on Rt. 9 in Newton, crushing in both fender flares and scraping up the sides of my fuchs rims. It went to Dicks and they advocated for me, the car owner, with my insurance company and made sure I got factory parts - not aftermarket. They were successfull in convincing the insurance adjuster that the parts, includig the fuchs rims ($1100 each new) and fenders must be from new from Porsche AG. With this as a cost basis or allowance, I was able to take buy a steel flared fender kit and have them convert the whole car into a Turbo bodied Targa with steel flares, and upgrade my wheels (with my $2200 wheel allowance - both friont and rear rims were shot) to a new set of C4 cup wheels and new tires form tire rack. They did great work and the car looked like a perfect factory wide bodied targa.

A few years later, I had my first 993 and I hit a dear and they repaired it flawlessly (to the tune of $20K). Then, a year later, I totalled that car on black ice on 495 and they advocated for me for top dollar due to low miles and I actually got the insurance to pay a higher price than I had paid for it.

I cannot speak enough about Dicks auto. If you call, ask for Frank and tell him Barry Chapin sent you. Each car they service gets photogrphed and put on a cork board in their office - there are several hundred, maybe a thousand photos - many many ferraris, lambos, porsches, BMW, mercedes, etc - they mostly work on high end cars. I have several pictures of me and my Porsches on these boards (though I am not sure this is a good thing because it means I've wrecked more than my fair share of these cars).

vjd3

Thanks, guys ... Dick's Auo Body is getting the car today. We'll see what transpires ...

Vic
95 C2

vjd3

more ...

vjd3

last one. Shorter wheelbase, huh?

Vic
95 C2

GeorgeK

I would change the seatbelt too, considering the impact.