Greetings -

Yesterday, my 2011 CTT was hit by a complete idiot...poor sight distance for a lt turn out of a parking lot, and I pulled the nose out to see the on coming traffic, and when I realized someone was coming, couldn't get it in reverse fast enough

The jerk even told the cops he didn't attempt to swerve or brake, as "I had right of way" - resulting in no citation being written (and a comment from the cops, "Can you believe the people I have to deal with?"), but I am now faced with repairing this:


So, I need the entire front repaired - both fender panels (passenger is pushed enough to prevent front door from opening), the hood, and nose...in addition to the driver side radiator, checking parking sensors, and finally re-applying the 3M rock protection. A couple of local "DEEP pocket" car collectors have recommended a local shop for the work, as opposed to shipping the SUV back to the dealership for the work (closest dealer is 3 hours away). One of the rec's came from a guy that is literally a billionaire, but stated he has had 2 Audi's, his VW, and his 911 Race/Track car all repaired by this one shop - and if it was his CTT, he'd probably bring it there.

My heart is telling me to ship it to the dealer...my practical side says keep it close to home and let the local guy do the work (he has a FANTASTIC rep. for body work on hi-end cars).

What would you do?

BTW - this one is coming out of my pocket book, as I just signed the paperwork totaling my old Land Cruiser from a wreck my daughter got into last month. So to avoid the HUGE increase, I'm thinking of eating this one.

At least it wasn't my 911....

 

That is awful---and even worse that you have to eat the cost! Not sure where you are in NorCal but I assume somewhere very north if the nearest dealer is 3 hours away. there are several good shops in the Bay Area, however.

 

Man that blows. I hope it works out for you regardless of your decision.

 

Most dealers sub-out the bodywork, call the dealer and see who is the nearest certified Porsche repair center.

 

+1 here.

I'd use what the guy recommends if he trusts them. I've used a couple body shops here for my M3 and I liked both for different reasons. One guy actually did work on the car, said "He wasn't 100% happy with his job", I said I was, and he did it for free. Basically had to push out a bunch of major dents (long story). Anyhow, what Rojo said.

 

That sucks !!! i hope it works out! please keep us updated

 

Sorry norcal, I still remember your first post when you got the beauty. Please use a Porsche certified repair shop and have them check closely for all areas of chassis damage, wheel alignment etc stuff that is not apparent to the naked eye. Man that sucks but am so glad you are okay. Trust me it could have been a lot worse, like a bad whiplash injury.

 

If it were me, paying out of pocket, I would more than likely take it to the local shop. Now if insurance was taking care of it all, I would take it to Porsche.

Now, that being said, do you wanna sell those LED DRLs since you would most likely be getting new ones?

 

I'd take it to the dealership. most likely dealer will sub-contract it out to a certified repair but giving your car is still under warranty I think taking it to dealer is the safest bet just in case if problems in the future arise no one can say " its because you took it somewhere else to fix".

sorry to hear about what happened. look from the bright side it will be just as new once its repaired.

 

And the bad luck just keeps on coming....

After much discussion with the Porsche dealership, I decided to let the local shop do the work. Also, due to a call from my insurance agent, we engaged State Farm and are letting them pick up the tab.

Here's the kick...I got a call yesterday from the shop indicating the insurance adjuster had come by to take pix. While pulling the nose/front clip off the car to check all the sensors and other stuff tucked up under the nose, they discovered the front frame rails are bent.

Porsche actually has a frame rail replacement procedure for the fronts (and due to the high cost of the vehicle, the repair doesn't even approach the amount to total the SUV), but now the engine is being pulled and front frame rails cut out and new ones welded back in. Porsche and the shop swear it'll be ok when completed, but honestly my heart sank and I felt like I got punched in the gut when I heard the words "frame rails are bent." I know the SUV will never be truly "right" again

Seriously thinking of completing the repair and selling the CTT...maybe get another, or something else....

THIS SERIOUSLY SUCKS!!!

 

For what it's worth, my brother in law put the front end of the M3 into a tree; we split the 20k in repairs and the car ran like new through road atlanta, michigan speedway, mid ohio, etc.

Deep in the paperwork of my used evo, I see 4 hours labor for frame straightening as part of a rear end bumper replacement. Haven't tracked it but its runs true and stable.

I know others will say dump the truck; and you may never feel good about it, but give it a chance. Go through the repairs and then run it as hard as you can. You'll come to know what to do. Hopefully you'll experience a big sigh of relief with smiles all around.

Very sorry for your trouble and best wishes for "straightening" things out.

 

i'd say wait don't assume you are at fault. let the court determine fault.

i doubt the frame is bent. whatever this frame rail is, it's probably an extension of the frame to hold bumper, fenders in place. make sure the job is done right by inspecting it during the repair.

 

Good luck dude,i feel for you and wish you tha best

 

Back in my youth () I did bodywork/paint/appraisal as a hobby with years of credits at the local community college. That particular hit your truck sustained is particularly brutal on a unibody. You can actually take a straight-on hit from the front or rear at a higher speed with less things going out of spec than with a lateral hit (especially at the very tip of the front bumper, like yours sustained), so your frame being bent is reasonable.

That said, it's pretty amazing how well a good shop can patch your truck up to as-good-as-new condition. Reputation is everything, and with a good reputation, I would trust the work.

Good luck!!

 

Well...after thinking this over this weekend, I have decided to get the SUV repaired per Porsche specs, and trade it for a 2012 CTT. Here's the order I'm getting ready to place:

White or Yellow or Meteor or Amethyst Exterior
Natural (espresso) or Black interior
18 way seats (had the 14 way, but prefer the Sports Seats of my 911)
Natural Olive Wood Package incl. Selector
Premium Plus Package
Trailer Receiver Hitch
Stainless Skid Plates Front & Rear
Roof Rails - Had Aluminum, but thinking of Black this time
Thermally and Sound Insulated Privacy Glass
PDCC
PTV
21" Sport Design Wheels Painted Black (loved them on my 2011)
Burnmester Stereo
Model Designation Deletion

Don't think I missed anything this time...having had my 2011 for almost a year makes the build process MUCH easier than just "poking around" the web site.

I'll start a new thread with build date info and then eventually pix of the 2012.

Will also see how much I can document of the 2011 repairs as well.