E. J. - 993 Alumni

Hi guys,

I know this is not the place, but you all know so much, I figure I better ask the true Porsche experts too. As you can guess, I have also posted this on both 996 boards, but I value your opinion and after all, it is a Porsche problem and it might get me some points with my boss.

I went with my boss to pick up his '01 C4 from the body shop after some front end refinishing and the body shop came up with some interesting stuff. The photos below show the bumper cover during the refinishing process. The body shop said as they sanded it down, the next color beneath the seal grey was arena red and then there was a coat of seal grey under that then the first coat. The car has 1600 miles on it and it was purchased in January.

My question should be obvious: Why the coat of Arena red mixed in? The body shop assures me that they have never seen it before. They think that PCNA must have replaced it after it hit our shores with a readily available one at the port. Could there be any other reason that this car would have had an arena red front bumper cover on it? The shop assures me that there is no other damage to the car, but now my boss is wondering.

Thanx in advance,

E. J.

Kevin

E.J.--Risky Business II

If your boss was the original owner Porsche must disclose any damage. 10 years ago there was a Doctor in Nashville that purchased a new BMW 850i. Upon delivery a friend asked him about some overspray in the rear quarter area. After a lawsuit he ended up owning a new BMW free of charge. You buy a new car you expect to get a perfect car. Did his son take the car out when dad was on a business trip. I would confront the dealership, trade it in on a new one at there cost.

amfp

Don't know why red was used. But do know from a factory tour last year that bumpers are not sprayed at factory they are vendored out and reassembled at the factory.

bet

The BMW case(took place in Alabama and applied Alabama law) (BMW of North America, Inc. v. Ira Gore, Jr., 517 U.S. 559 (1996)) is very interesting. It was speculated the damage was as a result of acid rain damage during transportation in Europe (makes sense why all the cars are covered in white plastic film now). The jury found for the doctor at the trial level with an award of $4,000 compensatory damages and $4,000,000 punitive damages. The case went to the US Supreme court. It is one of the leading cases with regard to damage awards that are considered “grossly excessive”. Prior to the case BMW had a policy of not disclosing damages to “new” vehicles unless the damage exceed 3% of the value of the car. The returned the verdict based on a determination that BMW’s nondisclosure policy constituted “gross, oppressive or malicious” fraud. BMW changed it nationwide policy after this case to full disclosure of all repairs, no matter how minor.