718 Bodywork Advice

[tony.wong]

Hi Everyone,

I wondered if you could offer some advice or point me in the right direction.

Unfortunately, three days before my road trip through France, Germany and Belgium, my 718 Cayman GTS suffered some bodywork damage after someone damaged the car. I’ve attached a few photographs showing the affected area.

Having returned on Sunday, I’m currently deciding whether to make an insurance claim or pay for the repair myself. I’m leaning towards paying for it myself, but if I do, I want to make sure the work is carried out to a very high standard, particularly in terms of the paint match and overall finish.

I’m based in central London and wondered whether PCGB has any body repair specialists, Porsche-approved repairers or trusted independents that you would recommend in London or within a reasonable distance. I’d be very happy to travel a little further for somewhere particularly well regarded.

I’d also be grateful for any advice on what I should be looking for or asking when getting quotes for this type of repair, and whether any recommended repairers offer a discount or other benefit to PCGB members.

I’m not necessarily looking for the cheapest option – my priority is getting the car repaired properly and to a standard appropriate for the car.

Many thanks for any recommendations or advice you can offer.

Best wishes,

Tony

 

[charanpal71]

I can see why you are leaning towards sorting this outside of insurance. A bit of PITA....

There are some great Porsche Approved bodyshops around and specialist centres too. All the folks below know their way around Porsche cars.

I have used Chris at E and A coachworks in Wembley who is excellent and did a lot of work on my 993.
Bob at Autobody Technics in Slough is great specialist
BodyTechnics in Slough Trading Estate is Porsche Approved, but top end
www.bodyrepairslondon.com based in Ilford, as I understand is also Porsche Approved

 

[Scrounger]

Looking at the photos, I’d say that’s a new quarter panel as it looks like the metal has been cut. Given the photos and potential costs, I’d get your insurance company to sort it as there’s a good chance that will be expensive. Worth getting a quote though and take it from there. I don’t have any knowledge of any body shops in your area but if you do some googling asking for Porsche Approved Bodyshops then you may get a couple of companies pop up.

Dan.

 

[Smurf991ts]

I had a very poor repair from Bob at Autobody Technics. He charged us £11,500 for a glass out respray and we then had to pay Porsche Reading £41,000 by the time Reading took my car to bare metal and realised how much work was required to fix Bobs very poor repairs. This was Bobs repair to my off side quarter panel. All the filler was removed and replaced with metal by Porsche Reading. That lower sill was completely out of shape and paint was sinking all round the car. I left him a google review for all the cars he did for us via 911 Virgin feel free to check them out. Never again.



I should thank Bob though as I now have a concours car I love.

 

[charanpal71]

Crikey, I'm sorry to hear about your experience with Body Autotechnics - that sounds horrendous. Did you undertake court proceedings?

 

[Twinfan]

Porsche Recommended Body Repairers | Porsche Great Britain

Discover the body repairers recommended by Porsche Cars Great Britain. Helping you to take the best care for your Porsche. Find the right, recommended repairer for you.

www.porsche.com

 

[tony.wong]

I can see why you are leaning towards sorting this outside of insurance. A bit of PITA....

There are some great Porsche Approved bodyshops around and specialist centres too. All the folks below know their way around Porsche cars.

I have used Chris at E and A coachworks in Wembley who is excellent and did a lot of work on my 993.
Bob at Autobody Technics in Slough is great specialist
BodyTechnics in Slough Trading Estate is Porsche Approved, but top end
www.bodyrepairslondon.com based in Ilford, as I understand is also Porsche Approved

Hey, just wanted to say thanks for the recommendations and advice. Will check them out and possibly get a quote. Always best to go on recommendations. I’ve got one quote from a Porsche Specialist (mechanical) that have linked me to a body shop, so good to benchmark and assess. Appreciate you taking the time to respond.

 

[tony.wong]

I had a very poor repair from Bob at Autobody Technics. He charged us £11,500 for a glass out respray and we then had to pay Porsche Reading £41,000 by the time Reading took my car to bare metal and realised how much work was required to fix Bobs very poor repairs. This was Bobs repair to my off side quarter panel. All the filler was removed and replaced with metal by Porsche Reading. That lower sill was completely out of shape and paint was sinking all round the car. I left him a google review for all the cars he did for us via 911 Virgin feel free to check them out. Never again.

View attachment 8735

I should thank Bob though as I now have a concours car I love.

Wow!! What a nightmare you’ve had - you’ve made me feel quite lucky by comparison. Glad you got it sorted, but at quite a cost!

 

[tony.wong]

Looking at the photos, I’d say that’s a new quarter panel as it looks like the metal has been cut. Given the photos and potential costs, I’d get your insurance company to sort it as there’s a good chance that will be expensive. Worth getting a quote though and take it from there. I don’t have any knowledge of any body shops in your area but if you do some googling asking for Porsche Approved Bodyshops then you may get a couple of companies pop up.

Dan.

Thanks Dan - I’ve had one quote and is not much more than what my excess would be if I went through the insurance route. Based on photos they said they thought they could repair rather than replace the panel. Thanks for taking the time to reply.

 

[Smurf991ts]

Court? Over £11.5k? Life too short. Turned a negative into a positive by going for a colour change that brightens my day up.






Bob and his merry band of non work permit Eastern Europeans shouldn't be allowed near a Dacia Duster let alone God forbid a Porsche. To be fair I should have known better when I turned up to their shed.

On a QP repair like the OPs I would defo always go with the Porsche recommended list above. You get a life time warranty too.

For your P&J it is the differnce between going to Turkey for cosmetic surgery and your car literally dying or going to Harley St. If you love your Porsche go the PORSCHE approved repairer.