Arctic997

So I had to do what I dread most with regards to my car and take it to someone else for repair.

The someone else is the local Porsche dealer, the repair was an alignment.

Between the person checking the car in, the tech performing an alignment, or the guy who washed it afterwards, someone backed into something and caused damage to the rear bumper cover below the driver side taillight.

I didn't notice until I got home and was going to give a quick spray detail to remove the water-spotting from the wash, and that's when I saw the damage, and when my stomach sank.

I immediately called the dealership and they asked me to bring the car in to have a look, which I did. The advisor was very understanding of my pain and took the car back to their paint correction crew and had them try to correct it, which they did to about 90%. It's basically invisible, but there are two small imperfections you can feel with your fingers and if you get within a couple inches you can see them.

At this point, if they had done the repair without me knowing, I may never have noticed, or if I did, I'd probably assume it was a factory defect, but that's not how it went, and I know it's there, and why.

The advisor suggested they'd pay for whatever repairs need to be made to make me happy. Problem is, I'm not sure that a repair can be done right.

It's Arctic Silver metallic, and I don't think I've ever seen a metallic respray that matches the original 100%. Close, but never perfect. Either shading is off, our flop is wrong. Sometimes it doesn't show except in certain lighting, or in photos. Either way, I'd rather scrap the car than have mismatched paint on it.

I was thinking that, considering the repair is currently about 90%, declining further repair and asking them to instead clear- bra the rear bumper cover and bumperettes (I have the full front end done already) to prevent similar damage from occurring again.

What should I do to make this right?
Thoughts guys?

Meursault88

I've been there with cars and bicycles. In the 80s we believed that new handlebar tape would be the cause of a crash soon after so we would always take the bike out into the lawn and let if fall over to remove the curse. Oh yeah, and flat tires come in 3s.

I had a polar silver metallic 66 Porsche that a neighbor kid decided to poke with a stick right after we finished painting it. The paint was still soft and the damage was great enough that we had to repaint the affected area. Same painter, same booth, same batch of paint. The repaint was the rear passenger quarter. Despite best efforts - we could always see the difference.

My advice would be to let it go - wait until something worse happens and do the repair when you HAVE to.

Very little in life doesn't eventually succumb to entropy. Sometimes we just have to accept it.

Wayne Smith

This. A smart realization. Enjoy your car for yourself. You make it harder to do that without at least one defect. Now go out for a drive. You can't see the rear bumper from the driver's seat.

OnlineAlias

You bought it because it is a fun car to own. This doesn't sound like fun to me.

Go to the dealer and say "Ay, got a scratch, fix it up real nice for me, will ya?" They'll say "sure, want a bunch of free stuff for your trouble?" You say "sweet".

Now your car is fun and you have new friends.

ChicagoSpeed996

I agree with M88. Looks pretty good. They did there best. We are all human and make on average 5 mistakes an hour. Let them know your dissatisfaction, but you are willing to let it be. Be honest and forgiving. They will respect that and treat you even better in the future.

BHMav8r

Let it go. Enjoy your life. Take extra precaution not to scratch other peoples stuff.
These machines are tools for our enjoyment. They are going to age.

docdrs

1 you could leave it
2 you could take the bumper off , apply heat to the inside and roll push out the defect and maybe get it to 99%
3 you could take the bumper off, do a very light sanding and have the bumper clearcoated again. A paint guy would know better

I would consider 1 probably as if you do 2 or 3 , you are then almost gauranteed some thing else will happen to your car.

workhurts

Ask them to authorize a respray and put it in your 'file'. Sleep on it for a while. 6 months later if it still bothers you get it fixed, if not then you have a free respray for when you do some real damage to it. Good thing is that it's a bumper and will never match anyway.

Meursault88

"you are then almost guaranteed some thing else will happen to your car"

" We are all human and make on average 5 mistakes an hour. "

" Let it go. Enjoy your life."

There is a definite zen vibe here and definitively disproves the old cactus and Porsche analogy.

Good group of guys. Nice to know you all.

Bruce In Philly

Let it go.... you can never enjoy a car worrying about this stuff. It is going to get banged up..... from a variety of sources.... it is just the way it is.

My entire front end is starting to look like downtown Baghdad from stone chips. After 124K miles, I see scuffs on the car and can only imagine where/when they happened and from what..... While I don't like it one bit, if I compare the enjoyment I got from driving from the pain of stone chips and scuffs...... well put it another way: If the stone chips bothered me more, I shouldn't own the darn thing.

Peace
Bruce in Philly

Tcc1999

DC911S

Its not brand new, and as you said....you can barely see it now and i doubt anyone is going to be crawling all over the bumper skin looking for imperfections. I suggest getting the dealership to comp you a oil change or something, then let it go. I've had silver cars, and a neighbor backed her Mercedes right into my rear quarter panel....on a RSX-S (super little car BTW), it took them three tries to get it just right to match the paint to the rest of the car.

j beede

This is a primary reason why I try to DIY what I can on my 997. The last two new cars that I have purchased have suffered damage while under dealer care for "1,000 mile" services. One was a rolling tool box that got a little too close to the car. The other was clipping the overhead door rails while the car was backed out of the oil change bay. Of course I was offered a free trip through the body shop in each case. The damage did not go through the paint to metal in either case and I chose to live with these scars. Not pleased.

In a case like yours here is what I do: give it a week and see if you still look at that corner every time you approach the car. See if you find yourself kneeling/squatting to look at the damage again even though you know nothing has changed. If so, have the bumper re-cleared or re-sprayed. If you find that it is no longer the first thing you notice about the car, then leave it alone.

mrhebert

My GT Silver 997 has a factory defect in the rear bumper paint, and it still has won multiple 1st class ribbons in Concours. I believe you should just go on with it and not make a big deal of it(imperfection). It will be very hard if you drive your Porsche on road trips and park in lots not to have a few nicks in the paint. You won't be repainting a full panel everytime you get a nick.

mcfisticuffs

My car has a penny sized dent behind the passenger door. that came with the car

I'm not fixing it. It bugs me, but I know as soon as I fix it and make my car "pristine" I'll bugger something else up and that will bother me more.