wow! would have never guess that little bumper dent caused frame damage. is this typical of aluminum body cars? or just the impact location? still can't believe there wouldn't have been more damage to the bumper (cosmetic) if the force was enough to cause frame damage.

 

Thanks for the compliment. As for the "no complaint," those are all old parts that are being replaced with new OEM parts. I don't play, and the guys insurance knows that.



It wasn't a low speed hit, rather it was low on height and managed to push the exhaust up into the xmember. And that upward trajectory is what caused the inner part to stress. I'm gonna correct myself here - those are not welds coming apart. They are 2 panels riveted together. Being Aluminum sheet, we were able to repair that by cold straightening. If it wouldn't have come out by hand - it would have basically totaled the car (good news for your track buddies).



There will always be a strong loyalty to the 997's. I remember when Porsche came out with the 996, it was a revolution. Change is just like that. This post is not about a design flaw, rather about a new way of building and repairing cars. It's just the latest Porsche revolution. In a few years, you'll be able to say you were around when Porsche came out with the first "no pull" aluminum chassis (meaning there is NEVER any frame pulls, under NO circumstances).




I can't begin to stress the importance of finding a quality repair shop that ALSO works well with your insurance company. Shops and insureds often take pride in the fact that they "fight hard" with the insurance company. If the shop has a reputation for being reasonable and maintain a high standard of quality, there's nothing to fight about.

 

Wow. That's horrendous. I always thought the 911 was going to be more susceptible to rear-end damage than most cars due to the engine placement, but this is crazy! I am sure some shops/owners would have just replaced the bumper.

Are 997's this fragile? I am now more afraid than ever of being hit from behind!

 

Do you have an idea of about how big of an impact/speed differential there was? I think the takeaway here isn't "991's are fragile" but that one can't tell how bad the damage is from external cosmetics - which in this case the rear bumper wasn't that bad looking.

 

That was my thought when i sorted through the repair sequence. Wonder how many cars with similar rear end damage are driving around with just the bumper fixed. New bumper, paint and labor....maybe 2K. This operation? No clue. Has to be a minimum of 20K. Incredibly impressive no matter what the cost though.

 

Great write up - I'm def curious about repair costs and how close it came to being totaled for what appeared to be "minor" repairs at first blush. You probably can't disclose the bill,but it had to be significant.

 

That's more like it. I just didn't thought the impact not only got into frame but also the whole muffler and air box

 

Sam -

It's a great repair job and a very informative post.

I am not sure if common rear impact would cause this extensive damage or if that particular car got hit at just the right manner to look simple yet turn out complicated.

My general thought is once a car has frame damage it's toast . It's a loss emotionally. financially , and in terms of precious time which can never be replaced .Even if it's fixed properly the owner might always have this doubts when he looks at it .He'll know it isn't the same as when it came from the factory . He'll know that someone else destroyed it and someone had to fix it . In my opinion the only way to clear that memory is to start over with a new car . Maybe some guys will sit in denial and try and rationalize that its ok but i find that even the most minor blemishes are often remembered every time a person who cherishes his car looks at it . Something this dramatic to me would mean a new car or if finances don't permit .. simply not keeping that car anymore.

 

Been a long time, I wonder if anyone else has experienced this?