Menu toggle

Parking Damage. Where to Repair?

GeeDog

GeeDog

PCGB Member
Member
I was having a perfectly reasonable day until someone drove into the Cayman. It was parked quite legally in a nice wide street, minding it's own business too.

Luckily the driver stopped and left her details, so I should be thankful for small mercies. It looks pretty superficial, but I'm conscious the air con rad lives in there.

Insurance company would happily send it to their own place, but what's best? Any recommendations? I'm in the Oxfordshire Cotswolds between Chipping Norton and Witney.
 
Ouch, that’s bad luck. A few yeas ago I had my 997 repaired at Sandydown Bodyworks near Stockbridge (no connection). They did a great job. They do a lot of work on Porsches and the MD was a past chairman of PCGB. Worth a call to them if you can’t find a bodyshop locally.

 
Graeme,

Porsche have a number of recommended body repairers distributed around the country, although I’m not sure that there’s one in your locality:

https://www.porsche.com/uk/accessoriesandservice/porscheservice/serviceandmaintenance/repairexpertise/recommendedrepairers/

Anecdotally I had to have a new front PU and some plastic ducting on my 987.2 CS a few years ago when I hit a kamikaze cat and the repair cost was about £2,500 using one of the above approved body shops. The impact cracked the PU and the repairer said that a replacement was required because of potential distortion. Looking at your damage it’s difficult to say whether or not that will be necessary, and I doubt that any damage has been done to the a/c condenser, etc., but the repairer will be able to assess fully the damage on inspection.

Good to hear that the other party was responsible enough to own-up. Personally I’d favour getting the car repaired by a body shop familiar with Porsches rather than just using your insurer’s choice.

Hope you get it sorted quickly and to your satisfaction.

Jeff

 
As your car is still newish I'm sure you'd want it back to 100%. I had a similar experience with my previous Cayenne except the culprit drove off. Fortunately the store we were visiting had CCTV and the police found and charged the driver. Their insurance company was not happy that we insisted on a Porsche approved bodyshop but it retained our warranty etc. We took it to Dick Lovett's Spraymaster in Swindon and the result (new rear bumper/tailgate etc) was flawless. Yours looks like a complete new PU if you take it to them, but it will be a proper job.

 
Thanks all for the advice. I'm inclined to push for a Porsche approved repairer and Spraymaster do sound good. I'm roughly half way between them and Elite at Northampton but reviews seem more mixed for Elite. Ugh! It's such a lot of hassle!

 
Try Top Gun Refinishers in Kidlington, not Porsche approved(but no one is anymore) but a very good bodyshop all the same

 
Graeme,

Although I’m always reluctant to make recommendations for any type of service provider, just to add that my car was repaired by Elite Motors, Northampton, and I was very happy with the repair. A number of other R10 and R24 members have also had their cars repaired there with satisfactory results as well. One chap destroyed the whole front end of his (nearly-new) 991 GTS when he drove it into the M1’s central barrier and Elite replaced everything forward of the bulkhead (a very expensive repair - £40k?) and has no complaints about the quality of the repair.

They do all the remedial pre-sale work for the Silverstone dealership and when I took my car for repair there were a lot of Porsches parked outside with their front or rear PUs missing!

Jeff

 
Thanks everyone. I'm very grateful the lady stopped and did the decent thing. From her voice on the phone, I'd say she was from a generation when it was, perhaps, more common. For my part, I've declined a hire car to avoid bumping up costs unneccesarily. ("But we can find a hire vehicle equivalent to your Porsche and recover the costs" ... "But I don't need one"). They seem very happy - nay keen - to inflate costs.

Meanwhile I'm sure either Spraymaster or Elite would do an excellent job (thank you Jeff and Peter). I've established my insurers already have Spraymaster on their list with a current agreement in place, so as that's an open door to push against my car will be heading off to Swindon soon. I hope they turn it around quickly as I have a holiday cottage booked for April over in Suffolk and I rather had that down as Porsche playtime.

Thanks, too, for the local recommendations. I run a Discovery 4 with high miles and a few scuffs which I'm less precious about but intending keeping. Tidying up the bodywork is one of those 'when I get around to it' jobs and I'm new to the area, so that's very helpful. I mean, I wouldn't have wished for a woman with a Skoda and a deathwish to prang the front of the Cayman so I could find out who was good in the area, but since it happened, it's an ill wind, eh?

 
Don't forget that when you come to sell the car it will be more 'attractive' if it has been repaired by a Porsche Approved Bodyshop.

You will also get a certificate of authentic repair that gives a lifetime guarantee of the repair - provided that it is inspected each year.

Personally, I would not do it any other way. Good luck.

 
Can you let us know how this is resolved please. It does look as if the damage is confined to the PU, so hopefully a more extreme solution is not required. I had thought that the plastic front panels are becoming a consumable item these days, with the combined effect of gravel rash and errant parkers.

 
Absolutely John, will do. It's in a queue, effectively, for Dick Lovett's Spraymaster at Swindon so hopefully will be picked up next week.

 
I promised to update the thread. The car's back from Dick Lovett bodyshop in Swindon. They did a great job. Comms good too. I'm glad I wasn't paying the bill, ultimately. £3.9k (inc. a headlamp unit). Thank you all for you advice.

 
Looking better...

dC72kCE.jpg


 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Posts made and opinions expressed are those of the individual forum members

Use of the Forum is subject to the Terms and Conditions

Disclaimer

The opinions expressed on this site are not necessarily those of the Club, who shall have no liability in respect of them or the accuracy of the content. The Club assumes no responsibility for any effects arising from errors or omissions.

Porsche Club Great Britain gives no warranties, guarantees or assurances and makes no representations or recommendations regarding any goods or services advertised on this site. It is the responsibility of visitors to satisfy themselves that goods and/or services supplied by any advertiser are bona fide and in no instance can the Porsche Club Great Britain be held responsible.

When responding to advertisements please ensure that you satisfy yourself of any applicable call charges on numbers not prefixed by usual "landline" STD Codes. Information can be obtained from the operator or the white pages. Before giving out ANY information regarding cars, or any other items for sale, please satisfy yourself that any potential purchaser is bona fide.

Directors of the Board of Porsche Club GB, Club Office Staff, Register Secretaries and Regional Organisers are often requested by Club members to provide information on matters connected with their cars and other matters referred to in the Club Rules. Such information, advice and assistance provided by such persons is given in good faith and is based on the personal experience and knowledge of the individual concerned.

Neither Porsche Club GB, nor any of the aforementioned, shall be under any liability in respect of any such information, advice or assistance given to members. Members are advised to consult qualified specialists for information, advice and assistance on matters connected with their cars at all times.

Porsche
Lockton
Pirelli
Officially approved
Oracle Finance
WEX Esso
Collecting Cars
Archant Dialogue
Back
Top