Advice on bumper damage

[Guest]

Hiya sadly rushing to hospital car park and managed to scratch my car.

We have a special cage where the doctors cars are locked in but the damn enternance is very narrow and i caught the front left side of bumper and side wing whilst taking a right and entering the compound.

It scratched aginst the metal post, ad left a minor dent in the side wing.

There are scratches to the bumper that can be polished out, but one deep one.

Then there is the scratch down to metal on the side wing, with a minor bump.


I got three quotes for insurance but the excess is 300 so i may just cough up instead of losing the no claims.


here a few pics



I went to a Paint Finish a BMW approved paint shop in Coventry.They were very good when i had my z3 and z4. They have some experince of porsches
They quoted £450 plus VAT, to remove bumper bang out the dent and repiant and respray bumper.

For £300 they would just paint it. They need the car for 3 days and week days only.



Then I went to see Martin at Shirleys Of Meriden, He said bumper needds coming off, respray and filling in off dent. He estimated 275 to 300 plus vat and could do over a weekend.



Lastly i read with interest our fellow member Phil On porscheClubGB who had a scratch and somebody recommended Chips Away.

I went to Chips away in coventry, and they said they do a lot of porsches . Apparently they touch up all the porsches from Autobahn


I was surprised as they said the scratch could be polshed out, no need for bumper to be removed. The side wing needing som filling and then painting. It could be done in a day and cost £190 plus VAT.


Should i go through insurance and do 450 at paint finish? or just pay the 190 plus vat and get done at Chips away. Advice please.

 

[Guest]

another pic

 

[Guest]

pic 3

 

[Melv]

"We have a special cage where the doctors are locked in "

Figures...........

[]

Melv

 

[JCB..]

A few observations

I would be very surprised if anyone could polish out damage like that.

The bumper is plastic so they would have fun banging out the dent.

"Paint Finish" seems the best option as:

(a) You know what they can do

(b) Sounds like that of the three they know what they are talking about!

I'd pay the £450 out of my pocket and keep the no claims for a proper prang!

As a Doc you can afford it!...

JCB..

 

[Peter_Bull]

Raj
Go to a Porsche Approved repairer. With a new car like yours there is no other option. You get a lifetime warranty on the repair and a good job done to Porsche standards.

When you come to sell it and if it has been repaired outside the Porsche Approved network you will have problems.

Best of luck,

 

[JCB..]

Sorry but I think that is nonsense!

Go to a Porsche Approved repairer. With a new car like yours there is no other option. You get a lifetime warranty on the repair and a good job done to Porsche standards.

Having it done at an OPC bodyshop is no guarantee of getting good workmanship. My car went back three times and in the end I just couldn't be bothered with being without the car. Even now I can point out areas such as the edges of the bonnet where they did not put down enough paint.

It also took three attempts to get the guarantee card to report the same area of the car where the work took place.

You also need to take the car back for inspection every year.

Raj has already stated that he has personal experience of a good bodyshop and that to me is worth far more than any "guarantee" from a Porshce Approved Bodyshop.

Why should having a car repaired by a non Porsche professional result in problems when reselling? You are also under no obligation to reveal any body repairs.

JCB..

 

[Peter_Bull]

John
In the past I also have had a bad experiences with an Porsche Approved Repairer and it wasn't even resolved with a visit to Reading for further inspection. However that was in the early 90's and they have vastly improved since then, and they have to comply with very strict guidelines.

Sure, we have both had problems, but that could and will happen at any bodyshop. You pay your money and take your chances with any bodyshop, approved or otherwise, so we should all be aware that problems could arise whatever we choose to do. What you do have with a an approved repairer is the backing of Porsche should things go terribly wrong, and have some redress.

The car has to be inspected every year for the Porsche bodywork warranty whether you have repairs done or not.

As you explained, you did not have a good experience with your approved repairer, but that is no reason to tar them all with the same brush. Since my own unfortunate experience many years ago I have found that they are extremely professional and the work I have seen at my local repairer is second to none.

In my opinion newish Porsche's should always be repaired in a Porsche Approved "" and yes it does matter that it was done in the approved way "" just ask your local OPC. There will be a good chance that the may not take the part ex or in the very least they would have it into the bodyshop for examination to ensure that the repair was carried out correctly and approval given. You may even get a reduced value trade in.

Repair damage can nearly always be noticed and if I was to buy a newish car that had not repaired at a Porsche Approved Repairer I would be very cautious indeed. Probably I would walk away and buy another.

 

[JCB..]

Peter

That's all very well but as a result of my experience an OPBS is the last place on earth that I would take my car for bodywork repair.

My car was repaired at my local 'approved' shop twice in the first two years of ownership. Once for accident repair and once for a severe case of gravel rash. In both instances the car went back several times and in the first instance was with them for over seven weeks.

If the condition of the car had demonstrated the degree of workmanship that you claim will result from a visit to such an establishment I would fully endorse your statement.

During one return visit to pick up the car the manager actually told me that they were under too much pressure to turn around repairs quickly - visibly borne out by the sheer number of cars in their workshop - with the result being that they were unable to spend as much time as necessary to produce A1 results every time.

And as for inspections one of my repair guarantee cards could easily be used to demonstrate how near to the factory finish their repairs can be. It actually states that the guaranteed repairs were undertaken at the other end of the car!!

In this day and age what matters to me is either first hand experience or a trusted recommendation - not some empty promises from brochures.

Unfortunately it would seem that finding a good bodyshop is akin to finding a decent plumber or builder these days.

JCB..

 

[Peter_Bull]

John
I do agree that it is difficult.
You trust the Approved Repairer and then are let you down. To be honest there is no excuse for poor workmanship on any car, never mind an expensive one like a Porsche. It is very disappointing, but you must get Reading involved if you are not satisfied as they hand out the franchise these people. They may be able to assist you.

Your story reminds me of my first experience of a Porsche Approved Repairer when I lived in Dorset. My local OPC was then Heddell & Deeks (now Chaplegate) just outside Bournemouth and they made the introduction to their approved repairers J***** in Christchurch. Being new to Porsche at that time, I was really taken by their setup and trusted them implicitly with my car. I should have known all was not well when I was given a clapped out car to get home, but thats another story.

When it was time to collect the car (80 mile round trip) I was so disappointed and I was almost in tears when I saw it. There were so many faults that I would take up too much space to list them here. There was even a tiny drop of red paint (the car was pale gold!!) about 2mm round at the back corner of the bonnet under the new lacquer and they even had the cheek to say I put it there!! How I could have lifted the lacquer and put it there is beyond me!!

The colour match and workmanship was so poor I refused to accept it. The next visit was just the same so I got Reading involved. The arranged meeting with the Porsche's body shop manager got off to a great start. Late for our meeting, he climbed out of the passenger side of Range Rover, having been for splendid lunch with the owner and manager of the bodyshop. Things went downhill from there. Still not satisfied I took the car to Reading for inspection. They found lots of faults that had to be rectified "" but the colour match was found to be "˜acceptable'.

I knew then that I couldn't win. I had the faults rectified to a reasonable standard but I had to live with the colour mismatch.

All this was in the early 1990's and I would hope that there is a big improvement since that time.

Nowadays I am extremely fortunate that I have a friend in Graham Green who does all my paintwork to such a high standard that I would go nowhere else. He recently restored Peter Cooks brown 911 that has been featured in the last 2 issues of Porsche Post and the Blue Baron, a 1968 911S that has won many national Concours events.

Best of luck!