Hey Folks -

So on my way home this evening, an 18 wheeler rearended my c4s in rolling traffic. I was at a complete stop - he was prob going around 3-4mph. The bump was significant enough to send me forward 3-4 feet suddenly and jerk my head back.

To my surprise, the damage (aesthetically speaking) was ALL directed onto the two bumperettes in equal force. It was a straight-on hit. I've ordered new painted bumpettes from bumperplug (thanks for the prior rec) and bringing her into Porsche tomorrow for a full inspection.

In the meantime to make me sleep a little better (hopefully) - how substantial does an impact need to be to cause structural/frame damage? The car drives/sounds fine - and again - all the damage was absorbed through the impact point of the bumperettes.


Ugh ....

Thanks for listening --

B

 

Wow, glad you're OK! The P-car is replaceable and repairable, your life is not.

 

Don't trust your eyes. Have your car inspected by a specialist licensed by Porsche. Serious hidden damage is often hard to see.

Why did you start ordering parts? Shouldn't you settle with insurance first?

 

+1 glad u are ok

 

I was rear ended by a garbage truck, and the impact shortened the main frame rail by 1/2 an inch. Total damage $30k.

Hope everything goes well with you on this.

 

I would say at the very least replace the bumper struts that cushion the hit(for safety reasons) and also check the bumper beam!

Glad you are OK......!

Stacy

 

1) Why did you order the parts without involving your insurance company ?

2) Do you also realize that whiplash injuries can occur from even a mild rear end collision and that the onset might be delayed ?

3) Did you file a police report ? Did the truck driver receive a citation ?

4) Did you photograph the accident scene as well as the damage to both vehicles ?

Whether you have structural damage or not is impossible to guess. An inspection is needed as adias has stated .

 

Listen to Adias and yrralis1. Please let the insurance company deal with this. You don't keep ordering the parts Check with your Porsche dealer on their preferred bodyshop and insist that that's where you want your car inspected. It's your car .. you have it's best interest in mind not anyone else. Please remember that. Keep us posted. Hopefully there is not much frame damage. Geez, it is nearly impossible to daily drive our cars these days without getting hit

 

Very pertinent. The OP should be checked by a doctor prior to any settlement.

 

Thanks guys - I have all the proper insurance information to make the proper claim. I ordered the parts in the event it is minor damage and I can simply bill the driver personally. The Porsche is going in first thing tomorrow morning. If it's minor - I'll have the parts expeditiously and bill it back. If it's more substantial - I can simply return them. Ugh - now I'm nervous. It was a slow rolling strike but, lessons from physics 101 class ... mass x velocity ....... that was a big 18 wheeler...

dammit........

 

Get the car check but as was told before, get checked by a doctor that deals with soft tissue injuries (i.e. chiropractor, sports medicine ortho, ect). Sometimes the pain can take a few days up to a week before you feel symptoms. They can take flexion/extension films to see if there are any areas of whiplash. Long term un-treated soft tissue injuries can lead to plenty of issues . . .

Good luck!

 

Agree with Doc...A few years back I was rear ended with what I thought was nothing since there was no damage to my car....two days later I woke up with a stiff neck that kept getting worse over the week. It wasn't until two weeks later did I make the connection that it was due to my dinky little rear ender. It took about 3 weeks for the pain to go away...if I were you I would put on a collar for a few days just in case.

Bummer on the car but it can be fixed.

 

If you delay getting a medical evaluation, anything that shows up later will be denied by the trucker's insurance company.

 

Thanks again everyone for the advice. As Lowpue mentioned I feel totally fine - in terms of the backlash it was minor - but I'll go see someone just in case it rears its ugly head (no pun intended) later on. I brought the C4S (btw check out what was waiting for a check-up) and they're going to remove the bumper/replace the bumper guards to check there was no further damage. The mechanic seemed to think it was minor enough that the damage was cosmetic and just on the bumper. Anyway - thanks again everyone - I hope that's the case. He mentioned given it was a very slow rear-end its fine and our 997's frames are extremely strong.