Greg H.

How common is it to replace, rather than repair, body panels such as the front fenders or hood? I'm looking at a car that has had the above two parts replaced as well as the front bumper cover (not ROW, unfortunately) due to a *minor* accident.

The owner says a truck backed into her in a parking lot necessitating all the new parts. Does that sound right? Of course I am going to have a body shop look at it, but I was wondering if it is possible to damage this many of the exterior panels without damaging something important.

Greg

Randy M

Depends on the damage of course. If its a small dent then just have it fixed. If it looks like balled up reynolds wrap then replace it. If you do replace a panel make sure it is a genuine porsche part. Aftermarket sheetmetal is usually thinner and it will not have as much carbon in it as genuine

Tim Ashfield

Greg,

What would concern me would be the replacement of the front decklid. You would need a serious impact and deformation of the front bumper to get to the hood unless the overhanging part of the truck cleared the bumper and just caught the hood.
Have you had the spare wheel and carpet out and checked the inside of the front tub including checking for original Porsche seam seals. If there is any sign of repair in here serious questions need asking about the car. A good bodyshop PPI would be a very sensible move to establish exactly what has and has not been repaired here.

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max911

a water-logged ceiling collapsed on my SC. the only damage was to the hood, thankfully. I thought I was going to have to fight with my insurance carrier for a new hood, because I didn't want any bondo on a large, flat,flexible panel. To the body shop's and my relief, the insurance company, without hesitation, okayed a new hood. The damage wasn't too bad, just enough to have the slightest 'kink' in one spot on a dish shaped dent about 10 inches dia. I think part of the insurance company's decision has to do with the labor involved. Obviously, something like a rear quarter or roof with a dent would probably just pulled, filled, and sanded. As for the fenders, the area around the headlights would probably the most labour intensive to fix, and could be the result of said accident. Max

Randy M

When I was about 16 and extremely stupid I was working on my dirtbike. I had it sitting on top of an upside down 5 gallon paint bucket as some of you know that dirtbikes do not have kickstands. I happen to be working on it right in front of my mothers '86 Black cab with a car cover on it. Well the inevitable happened and the dirt bike fell over onto the hood, the end of the handlebar being the first to hit dead center on the hood. At the time I was too frightened to look at the damage under the cover so I waited for a minute before pulling the cover off. When I did the handlebar had eyebrowed the entire hood at both the top and bottom of the impact. It took me a long time to pay that off. Luckily my ex-girlfriend's dad was an excellent body and paint guy and he pounded it out and finished the job without a flaw. That was definitely a lesson learned.

OTTOMAN308

Usually when we do work we don't like to repair hoods, unless the dents are really small. The heat from the sun can shrink the bondo, or cause the metal to warp back over time. If I recall the prices on fenders for the 993's are around $1800, you can do a lot of metal work in exchange. Good shops have tools to work the metal and use minimal filler. On quarters fixing them instead of replacing them, copying the factory welds is almost impossible. Bumpers you can repaint. Our covers are very thin, scratches and chips can be fixed, but the bumpers get wavy. Most exchange houses don't service Porsches, because they won't guarantee the waves not coming back. Hopefully this is helpful.

Aaron

amfp

Sometimes shops prefer replacing than repairing. I am not sure what is right or wrong, but suspect depends on what is best outcome for the shops. Had a door dent on a prior car, which I thought could be repaired, but we agreed replacing the door would be a better long term solution.

I suggest, if you haven't already, is check with the seller if there are photos from the accident, suspect if insurance paid for the repairs someone should have photos. Also check with shop that did the work for invoice of repairs and their reasoning for replacement. Lastly, as you are, bring to body shop and have them inspect on a lift for any damages. I would also be suspect if there is uneven front tire wear.

JPS

Get the PPI, look under the hood and in the tub...if all checks out, be glad it was replaced and not repaired. Means no future problems, fresh paint (not blended over existing), etc. etc. assuming genuine Porsche parts.

JonT

In addition to the reasons already given for replacing rather than repairing the hood, it's
a pretty simple bolt-on job. Replacing a rear quarter is way more labor.

mdsqwerty

There is nothing important under the front spoiler but there are a few semi-important parts under each fender.

Under the passenger-side fenderlies the Oil Cooling system while the driver's side has the Air Conditioning System.

Now, these are critical pieces because if something were to push these pieces back or upwards far enough(not that far actually), then this will cause the light to be be pushed back causing the Lip of the Fender to bend back which causes a permanent(until a body specialist repairs) gap between the seal of the light and the fender.