programmatore

Peter,

I'm sorry to hear about your car. Where did the accident happen?

I don't think Wagon Works is as good as they once were. I had them paint my RUF RGT bumper and side skirts when I got them a few years ago and thought they were overpriced and SLOW. I've heard a lot of good things about Euro Pros but they are also pretty slow (although I've been told they are worth the wait.)

I went with Autobody of Vienna when I had my front bumper replaced after my hit-and-run accident back in December '06. They did such a good job color matching the bumper that I went back to them and had the hood and fenders re-sprayed (too many rock chips.) Chris, the owner, is a good guy.

Good luck and I hope you get your car back good as new soon.

-Gary

spiderv6

+1 Yep, that is absolutely the way to go.

I had a similar minor ding last year which needed a fender replaced (it could have ben "bashed out" but I wanted it replaced so it was perfect again) and these things are always more complex than you think and I ended up having doors off to allow access etc etc.

Point is, you want a shop that knows the 911 and knows, for example, how to take a door off. Taking a door off also sets off some flags on the system so they had to take it to the dealer to get that reset - again, they knew what to do and who to call.

I felt a LOT happier pulling into the shop to see a turbo next to a boxster next to a C4 etc etc.......

Oh, and be ready for your insurance company to helpfully suggest some recommended shops.....one of my recommendations was the local KIA dealer/bodyshop.........

redduck996

Gary,

The incident happened at GMU, near the PE building. I was there for our weekly flag football game/practice. The girl that hit me was heading to v-ball practice and felt really bad about it. She was pretty nervous so I didnt go off on her, I was actually pretty nice to her. Had it been some dude, I might of gone off a bit (bad huh?)

If painting was the only thing the car needs then I wouldnt be as critical. But the car needs body work repair, the front fender has a crease, and the head light needs to be replaced or repaired. Im not sure whether or not the hood was bent or damaged either.

Ill look into euro pros, first choice, and the shop in vienna.
So noone has any experience with the HBL collision center behind the dealership?

peter

programmatore

I looked into HBL's bodyshop when I was shopping around for someone to paint my RUF bodykit. They didn't even want to touch it because it is aftermarket! They did paint one of the sideskirts after it was damaged one on of the HBL lifts during routine service. I think the HBL bodyshop is good for minor scrapes and bruises (HBL sells a lot of used cars that need touch-ups) but I don't know if I would put it at the top of my list.

You should definitely ask your adjuster for a bodyshop recommendation. Tell him the shops you're considering and ask if they are on the list of authorized shops. Autobody of Vienna was on Allstate's list which made it really easy to deal with them. I didn't have to play middleman -- they invoiced Allstate directly and when it turned out that the estimate was off a little, they took care of it directly with Allstate.

I'm glad you weren't too hard on the poor co-ed. I am sure she felt bad. I can only imagine how much she is dreading telling her folks that she needs to file an insurance claim because she hit a Porsche (been there, done that, it wasn't a Porsche I hit though.)

-G

THPorsche

I hope she does. I have heard so many people changed the story afterward.

AOW162435

Peter,
Quite a few 993 owners have expressed satisfaction with Euro Pros - although they tend to be slow.

You may wish to look up "Mr. Bock" on the 993 forum. He is using Autocrafters in VA to replace his roof and do a few other things. Based on his most recent posts, he's very happy with the quality of the work.


Andreas

JFScheck

+1 on Euro Pros - slow but nice work (friends 993 just had some work done there)...

redduck996

Ok I'll check out euro pros this week. I stopped by First Choice and Wagon Works yesterday to talk to the reps. They both seem like pretty good places. First Choice has a tiny little lot with alot of cars, mainly bimmers. I did see some benz's at wagon works.
One place seemed to want my biz more then the other, they didn't come out and say it but implied that they were the best and that the other places did not compare.

I dont mind so much the amount of time the shop has the car just as long as they do great work and the paint looks alamost as it does from the factory. I know they are only able to bake the paint 150 degrees and they dont use the same paint the factory uses right?

Slightly off topic, my car is midnight blue, should I have the shop paint the lower lip or should I just leave it black? I understand that the lip will scrape alot (which isnt a big deal to me) but do you guys think on a midnight blue car the colored lip looks better then the two-tone?

tia
peter

V.A.G.

x2!! Talking from experience...

rmillnj

You are lucky the woman was honest. Without a police report, after the fact it becomes your word against hers and if she changes her story, you might find yourself with a chargeble accident on your insurance. It is nice to be a nice guy and let them go without involving the police, but at that point you are completely at their mercy.

redduck996

I realize after the fact that I had made a mistake and that the authorities should have been contacted. I'm just glad she was honest and everything worked out. Now I need to decide between the 3 shops.
Euro Pro's im MD is booked until the middle or end of Feb.

limey940

sorry to hear about this. I had a ladt literally drive into the side of my Chevy Avalanche while i was driving down an access road at 15 mph. She said she didnt see me. I called the police to get an accident report that stated i was not at fault for insurance purposes. Im just thankfull i was in the truck.
Im sure the body shop will make the damage undetectable on your car.

cheers

Phil G.

With a high end shop with extensive experience working on Porsches, your car should be good as new after repairs. Use either a shop the dealers use, OR better yet, follow the advice of Rennlisters in your area who know or have experience with the top body shops who can fix your car right. What happened to your car truly sucks, but it can and will be fixed. Good luck.

Kevin K

Redduck,

You've got a beautiful color car and I wouldn't change too much of anything on it.

When a good body shop is done, only you will know the car had work. I really don't know if the baking temp is as big an issue as it once was. If you trade the car in or go to sell it, someone looking for signs of rework may be able to tell. I would keep the pictures you took to show it was only a minor thing.

Post the pix when you get her back.

Kevin

redduck996

thanks kevin... so have you had any experience or heard anything about euro pro's or the other shops I have mentioned. Taking it to a good shop is without a doubt the only way to go. However, I dont have first hand experience with these shops. Truely knowing if they are good or not is the tricky part.

I wont get the new bumper in for another week so I guess I have a few more days to shop and ask around. I still would like to have the shop of my choice take the car apart to see what hidden damages were done.

I think i'm leaning towards wagon works because they have been around the longest and the guy sounded comforting. He did not give me any indication that I would have to pay anything out of pocket. He said that my insurance company is pretty good in that they dont nickel and dime the shops.

First choice was almost the same way, but the guy didnt want to make any false promises, which is understandable. But to me, that's like setting the bar low so the customer wont have high expectations.

I plan on checking out euro pro's later in the week.

Oh, and I finally get to take that yellowish film off the panels and fenders. Not sure if I will install a new film. Ive heard some good things about ventureshield but I thnk I would much rather wash/detail/polish/wax the entire car then just plexus the front. Wouldnt that be cool if the entire car was covered and all we had to do was wipe it down with plexus...

Wonder if i'm alllowed to keep the old bumper cover and front panel