Dmitri

This hasn't been the best car week ever.

Last week, I took the car in to have the throttle body serviced because the car was hesitating on take-off. While performing that service, the dealer noticed a small drip from the transmission pan and recommended that the pan gasket be replaced. They did that, and after I got the car home, all of the transmission fluid leaked out.

After I picked up my car, I gassed it up, and while pulling away from the pump, scraped the bottom of the rocker panel against the pump "island" and have about 8 inches of curb rash on the rear passenger side rim.

The rocker panel dent is pretty small, so I figured that it couldn't be more than a couple of hundred dollars to fix, and that the wheel can be fixed for about $100 or so. Boy, was I wrong.

I have two repair quotes, each for about $2,700. Both think that the repair is going to need to get into the rear quarter panel paint, and to properly blend it, they have to spray into the roofline, etc. Then, of course, because you have to remove and replace the passenger side rock guard clear plastic (which has yellowed some over time), you have to replace the film on the other side so they match, blah, blah, blah.

One area where the two quotes differ concerns the wheel repair. One says that the wheel can be "remanufactured" for about $215. The other guy says that Porsche recommends that if there is any damage whatsoever to the wheel - including a curb scrape - it can't be fixed, but should be replaced.

I call BS on wheel. What do you guys think?

No HTwo O

Sorry about your tough week. Can you post pictures of the wheel damage? Better days are ahead for you.

Dmitri

That's a good idea. I'll take some pix and post them in a little while.

Dmitri

If I did this correctly, below is a picture of the curb rash on the wheel, which one estimator says cannot be repaired per Porsche:



Here is a picture of the dented rocker panel that, according to two estimates, will cost around $2,500 to repair:



Bummer.

And, just for more fun, I was hearing a loud "crack" sound when I open the driver's side door fully. Dealer says it's not the door check, but instead, thinks that the weld behind the bolt where the door check is bolted to the body has broken. I haven't delved into this, but from the location of that bolt, looks like it's pretty near impossible to get to without disassembling a lot of stuff.

My car still has time left on the CPO warranty. But, what do you wanna bet that PCNA says sorry, but broken welds are "normal" wear and tear, so, not covered.

Like I said, a bad car week.

No HTwo O

That wheel looks repairable.

axhoaxho

I think you should file a claim to your insurance, pay your deductible, and let the shop repairs your car to its best (new wheel, too.)

After your car is repaired, enjoy driving it, be careful next time, move on with your life happily

Regards,

Kuhan

I would probably not bother getting the rocker pannel fixed for $3k - you won't get that money back when you sell the car.

Someone can probably drill a small hole and slide hammer it out for $100 and it'll look close to normal. It's a textured piece of the car so it won't show up as badly as if it was on a polished piece.

jason952

I bet you can find some nice aerokit rockers or a techart that will cover that and upgrade the car....

ADias

The rim is readily repairable. The rocker panel can be painted directly given the clear line to the body above. I would seek other body-shop opinions/estimates.

Dmitri

The rocker panel repair quotes that I received do seem extreme, and involve blending paint all the way up to the roof line and/or into the passenger side door. I was also thinking that because the damage seems to be confined to the "orange peel" surface of the rocker panel, that they ought to be able to to either get in behind there and push it out, or pull it out, and don't need to get into the quarter panel above.

Anyone have recommendations for a Long Beach, CA or Orange County, CA shop that might be able to do this?

Thanks.

uzj100

IIRC, Circle has been recommended before on here. As for the wheel, try Wheel Enhancement, or give your dealer a call and find out who they use for their wheel repairs.


HTH

rijowysock

ouch, watch out for those curbs,

boolala

I have a near identical scratch on my wheel curtesy of a ledge I scraped while exiting a drive through ATM ON THE DAY I BOUGHT MY CAR 5 years ago. I never bothered to fix it. The dealer (unsolicted) offered to repair ir for $150 - $200 as I recall. I see no reason why this cannot be repaired.

If it were me (and it is me) I wouldn't even bother fixing this. It's just a friggin' wheel. When the wheel is dirty you can't see it anyway. JMO.

Edgy01

Unfortunately, that's a very vulnerable part of the car. I can give you good advice on the wheel, however.

Take it to Wheel Concepts in Newbury Park (Glenn Scott, 805.376.2113) and they can repair the wheel. Often they can do that without even dismounting the tire. With all wheels other than the Carrera Sports (which have a machined edge) they can repair that quite easily and match the paint beautifully. Cost--maybe $100.

www.wheelconcepts.com

They did a couple of wheels for me a year or so ago and do pretty good work.

Macster

Arctic silver paint work to get a good job requires blending of adjacent panels to avoid the painted panel and original panel having a visible difference in paint.

My body shop friend tells me arctic silver derives its "color" from the metal in the paint and the shape/size of the metal plays a role -- but using a suitable paint ensures the shape/size are correct -- but so does the orientation of the particles of metal. This is controlled by paint, temperature, paint gun type/condition, air pressure, humidity, etc.

But a good shop can blend the paint so you nor any one else can detect which panel repainted from the differences in color/shading/tint.

However, you might just leave the dent. I'd need to see a full pic of the from the damaged side to form a better opinion.

As for the wheel, Porsche does not support any repair of any wheel that requires welding/straightening/re-machining.

If that wheel doesn't require any of that kind of repair if you can find a shop that can do a good job on the wheel refinishing then have it done.

I had a Turbo wheel that had less damage, just some blemishes to the finish (from hitting a deer) and a "highly recommended" wheel repair was unable to refinish the wheel properly. The dealer and body shop overseeing the repairs had to reject the refinished wheel and source a new one.

Added: Oh, I see your car still is covered by CPO warranty. Since no mechanicals were damaged -- though I suspect the alignment's been knocked out of spec -- you might be in the clear, but in order to keep the CPO warranty intact Porche requires a damaged car: 1) Use only Porsche parts bought through PCNA; 2) Parts ordered via a qualifed/authorized Porsche dealer; 3) Parts installed by a qualified Porsche tech.

You might check with your local dealer and see what body shop it recommends/works with in order to ensure the car's remaining CPO warranty is unaffected.

Sincerely,

Macster.