So, I'm on the 405 freeway this morning and traffic is slowing to a crawl for everyone except the guy behind me. By the time he figures out that he has to slam on the brakes, it's too late. He tries to swerve into another lane, but clips my right rear bumper doing about 20 mph. Fortunately, I had enough room between my car and the car in front of me that there wasn't a chain reaction.

The bumper is a loss for sure, but it doesn't look like he got into the sheet metal or even the tail light assembly above. The exhaust tip is munched, too.

Apart from these cosmetics, are there any mechanical problems I ought to be on the lookout for? I didn't notice any fluids leaking from anywhere. Engine still sounds normal, etc. And, again, damage looks to be body-related, though I've never owned a rear-engine vehicle before.

Also, if anyone's used Class Auto Center in Long Beach before and had experiences positive or negative, I'd be interested in hearing from you. The dealer where I have my car serviced sends all their body work there, and the shop generally does high-end cars (Porsche, Mercedes, etc.).

Thanks!

 

I have my car in the shop at this moment. Very badly damaged rear quarter panel and the door is a total loss.

When they have it in, they'll tear down the car and look for hidden damage. Most likely you'll need a suspension check-up and an alignment.

Make sure they check the exhaust itself, since the tip is so closely tied to the muffler. Sorry, have not heard of Class Auto, but I would definitely not take it to a place that does not work on a lot of Porsches.

 

Sorry to hear about your accident. Your damage report sounds similar to ours. A month and a half after we got our Carrera a Chevy Cavalier hit us from behind while we were stopped on a freeway off ramp. His speed was much less but he didn't glance off. We had bumper damage only, no fluid leaks and drove home.

West Coast Automotive in San Diego replaced the rear bumper cap and found nothing else wrong. These guys are the place our dealer sends his accident work, and they told me the 911 is pretty strong in the rear. They also do warranty paint work for Porsche and their paint match was perfect. Not that we plan to sell her, but the dealer told us that since there was no structural damage that simply replacing the bumper wouldn't adversely impact the car's resale value. Your situation sounds similar.

We originally got an estimate at a bodyshop recommended by our insurance company, but when those guys said they'd repair the bumper rather than replace it, we asked our dealer where to take the car.......we couldn't be happier with their suggestion so I'd be inclined to trust your dealer's choice as well.

 

sorry, but i'd have to disagree on that! the shop that repaired my 996 had never worked on one before, just some older porsches, but my car came back looking better than new. it required a full repaint, new front bumper, and both rear quarterpanels were dented, plus the roof was too. this shop did an amazing job!!!! if anybody in upsate NY ever needs repair work done, i'd highly recommend them. of course it helps that they're family friends, but in general they just do amazing work regardless, and if they're not familiar with working on a car, they'll learn as they go and not do anything stupid. they do it once and they do it right.

p.s. - yes, they're probably the exception, but i had to point out that there ARE exceptions!

 

Hi, just curious who and where in upstate NY?

 

Never used Class Auto. I have used Marcos in pasadena they do good work with a lifetime guarentee, I had a mercedes done at downtown motor body they do excellent work too.

 

Make sure they look to see if anything cracked regarding the engine mounts or the exhaust system in general. My Blazer got rearended by an infiniti which went under the back of my car. The exhaust pipe got bent but when they put the truck up on a lift, they discovered that the pipe sheared away from the engine as well. IT will be pretty obvious when they remove the broken parts.

Bobby

 

I agree that any qualified body shop could do a good job on any car. However I think it unwise to put a car as unusual as a 911 in the hands of someone who has not worked on many before.

There are many differences between a 911 and other vehicles, such as specific structural and mechanical components that an unqualified technician might overlook. How can one be sure that all of the necessary details were checked to ensure that issues won't arise in the future?

Furthermore, since body shops generally don't do alignments or other mechanical work, it's likely that a car in for body work would also have to be sent out at some point. I, for one, would like to make sure that my body shop has a lasting relationship with a qualified Porsche mechanic to do the work that they cannot. A body shop that never works on Porsche might not know the proper mechanic to send the car out to in the first place.

Having literally just gone through this, I advise Dmitri not to take his car to anyone that does not have significant experience with his specific brand and make of car. And in SoCal, that aint too hard to find!

 

Hi folks:

Thanks for all of the helpful advice. Class Auto is the body shop where Circle Porsche sends their cars, and have worked on Porsches for many years. So, I think I'm in good hands in terms of getting the car to someone familiar with the marque.

I took the car in yesterday for an estimate, and it's a whopping $4,700. The guy who did the estimating said this was based on the visible damage - i.e., the bumper, the support behind the bumper, new exhaust tip and possibly a new exhaust on the passenger side. It doesn't look like any sheet metal got rippled, but he said he wouldn't be able to tell for sure until he got it under the florescents and had a long look. All of the body panel lines are square, so that's an indication things might not be too bad.

Here's a strange mechanical problem I noticed since the accident. When I start the car first thing in the morning, the brakes seem like they're not powered and don't "grab." After I back out of the garage, if I try to apply the brakes hard, it feels like they've faded - the anti-lock doesn't kick in and the car won't come to a crisp stop. After I drive about 50 yards or so, it feels more normal and then it's ok for the rest of the day. But, when I get in on a cold start, same thing. I noticed this yesterday morning and today.

Any thoughts about what might be going on here?

Thanks.

 

the name of the shop is "quality auto body" and they're in fultonville, just off the NY state thruway (exit 28).

 

Update:

Car is in the shop for repair now. The tech I'm working with says that even though the damage is limited to the bumper and its components (no bent sheet metal - yeah!), in order to get a perfect "match," he needs to blend the paint into the body. Otherwise, while he'll get a pretty good match just painting the new bumper, it might be noticeably different from the rest of the car. I was hoping to not have to touch the paint on the car, but he says this is the only way to guarantee perfection. Any thoughts?

 

Yeah. Look at the match now, is it perfect? If so, that's unusual. I had an aerokit put on my car last fall and the match was horrible. I took it back to the shop, and they admitted it was a bad match, and they would try to do better. They also suggested that it would look better with a "blend", but they did not recommend I do that, and I would have refused anyway. While it was in the shop, I started scrutizing other cars and I noticed that all new 996's and 986's I saw had a detectable but barely noticeable difference in paint on bumpers (soft) vs metal. Anyway, I got the car back, and the match was as good as any car I see, and no blending. Don't let them blend it, they can get close enough without it.

 

Concur with Patrick re no blend. Our rear bumper was painted with Porsche paint by a body shop that does Porsche warranty work and it's a perfect match with the rest of the car.