OCBen

You mean to say you intentionally put a scratch on your brand new Benz after picking it up just so you would be the first to damage it? ... And this is in order to ward off future damage to the car??? You're joking, right?

You don't carry around a voodoo doll of your worst enemy in your glovebox by any chance, do you? I'll try to be nice to you. Wouldn't want any more misfortune to befall me.

OCBen

Gee Stig, sorry to hear about that. What happened to you was much, much worse than what happened to me. At least in my case it wasn't intentional. Man, that would really make me sick to my stomach. I'm so sorry to hear that - I really am. Gee I hope you find the very best body shop around. Go to those shops that specialize in high end exotics and ask to tour the facility, asking questions about how they would repair the damage and match the paint. And see for yourself first hand how they do their work. Ask to see examples of where they matched the paint to see how well they might be able to do the job for you. And once you're satisfied that a particular shop will do the very best, then you've done all you can. The rest is up to them. Good luck my friend.

SrfCity

Same thing happened to a friend. A really good shop can fix it so you can't tell. These days I think having a daily beater is the only solution.

dmac

That sucks. I'm glad that the damage wasn't more severe and didn't result in an accident. I'm sorry for the damage and hassle you have to go through.

That driver's negligence could have easily killed someone. There are things that I miss about OC (did my undergrad at Cal State Fullerton), and thinks that I don't. Thanks for sharing your story and pics.

JJGray

I've had my '06 Arctic Silver 997S just over two weeks now, and after just two days of having the car, a guy at my work accidentally backed into my front bumper, causing some slight cosmetic damage.

Like you, I took no body damage at all, just a slight dent in the front bumper. I too have a clear bra that I had the dealship install prior to picking the car up.

My bumper is being replaced with a factory bumper from Pacific Porsche Body Shop in Torrance. After they've painted and clearcoated it, it'll sit for 30 days to cure before they redo the clear bra. Then I'll take the car in and have the bumpers swapped.

Something to think about. My dent isn't as bad as yours, but as short as I've owned the car, there is no way I was going to accept a re-conditioned bumper.

Good luck with your dent, and sorry you had your heart broken like I had happen a couple weeks ago.

Here is a pic of my car. Looking at the front bumper, the dent is about 4-5 inches to the right of the tow-hook plug. It's more obvious when looking straight down at the bumper.



John
Anaheim, CA.

OCBen

Thanks for sharing, sorry you had your heart broken like me shortly after picking up your baby.

I know what you mean. And I'm a very, very picky, **** retentive kind of guy who uses 3X magnification glasses to examine my paint finish, so if it's not perfect I won't be happy with the reshaping process. I would rather live with a slight paint mismatch than with a slight warp in the bumper cover. At least I can hide the mismatch some under the optical altering properties of the clear bra and then it might not be as noticeable. I'll see what works best.

Buzz911S

A slight aside on the type of car, but my daily driver is a TT Stealth. I bought it new and it still looks that way.... but not without some repainting. I've had the car 15yrs, 174k miles and the first DAY I had it someone keyed the entire length of the passenger's side of the car. I was in a depression for days, but the repair was fantastic. But, on the bumper... I'm just having my 3rd put on after some idiot smashed into the rear tire and fender while it was parked! Broke the rear suspension.... ahhh, never mind about that one... what I'm getting to is I have had to replace 3 bumpers made from the same material as the front of my porsche. I guarantee they will try to "hot soak" it before they replace it. Mine never straightened out. It looks as if you have some hood alignment issues to deal with also. Left side looks down and right side looks up to me. Good luck....

Buzz

Racer48

OCBen,

Very sorry to hear about your plywood encounter. Last year I experienced similar damage to the bumper cover of my Boxster, and it quickly became obvious that replacement was necessary. We used Porsche OEM parts, and the new cover was painted to match by the best body shop I could find (seal grey). The results were quite good, and it was extremely difficult to even tell that it was not original. I hate to say this, but after looking at your pics I am pretty sure that you will need to replace your bumper cover also, and possibly your hood. Good luck!

Fast40th

OCBen: That totally sucks!!! That is a serious bummer! What was the deal with the 405 yesterday?!!!? On my way back home I had to dodge a full size trash can in one of the middle lanes around Carson, and a bunch of tire threads just north of that. Geeez!!!

I'm assuming you took your car to Class Auto repair in Signal Hill, since that is the shop that Circle recommends. They've done work for me and a couple of my friends (one of them a severely damaged 993) and I can only say good things about them. So you are in good hands with them.

Hope it all works out!

Cheers.

Buzz911S

God god. I won't even take mine on an interstate or freeway. Just for the reasons above. I drive US-1 along the coast.....or find another scenic route. The Pcar is for touring too...... open that sunroof and turn your A/C fan up. That helps with buffeting....and if you let down the passenger side window a bit, there is no butteting at all. Isn't there another more enjoyable route to take? Enjoy your car! Let it relax you... Hell, I retired early and bought this car just for that reason. Cruising.....but of course road racing too. The Carrera S is built for comfort, and performance.

rss997

Dude, I feel your pain..sorry! I had someone back into my front bumper and put a crease in it...I dont even notice it anymore on black so i will wait till the front is chipped up and replace or fix then...

You almost self induced this into happening being so paranoid about getting any mark on it....I came to the conclusion that its just a car, chips happen, **** happens and its better than some doctor telling you or a loved one it is cancer....

Hang in there man, now your car is officially broken in!

XOXO

Robert

boolala

Agreed with that. Not being **** about these things makes lifes little setbacks a little easier to take.

OCBen

Almost self induced this into happening??? Ha ha, that's funny. Don't tell me you too subscribe to that school of irrational thinking, Robert. Not you?? Not after your very admirable rational perspective that I wholeheartedly subscribe to about it being just a car, and that it's a hell of a lot better than hearing that a loved one has cancer - that's for sure.

I'm not bent out of shape about it really, though my bumper cover clearly is. It'll get repaired and it will look as good as new to most observers, even if the cover will have to be eventually replaced (which I'm starting to believe) and get repainted. But I'll be able to tell. But that's okay. It's still my baby, and I'll still shower her with love and attention, maybe even more so now that she's sustained an injury through no fault of her own. I'll still lavish attention on her when I detail her to perfection. That will never change. Nor while I be any less careful with her when I take her out. True....she's just a material object, but I get satisfaction and pleasure from taking care of things and keeping them looking as new as possible. That's just how I am. And if you were to see my 20 yr old Z car that I've had from day one since college, you'd understand. Car care is just a hobby and a passion of mine. That will never change.

tarpon1

with respect to like my stoppie's approach; superstitious or not...we got some golf umbrellas sent to the office by a client and one of the other traders "had" to see it. needless to say, i told him not to open it (opening an umbrella on a trading floor? are you nuts?). yes, he opened it. as he handed it back to me it popped open again...i kid you not, no lie; 1 week later on the way home i hit a patch of black ice, did a 360, hit a telephone pole head on and totaled a gmc yukon. the other guy crashed his mercedes on the way home within the same hour that night. (cue the twilight zone music please)...ben sorry about the car...

911core

Ouch!!!!!!!!!