My problem is a stupid driver (me), and my complaint is he should have known better. I turned in too soon in exiting the bank drive-through last month and scrapped the righe rocker panel and dinged the wheel. Not too bad I thought, just $$$. My dealer recommended a local (to him) shop in Chattanooga that was Porsche Certified so I took it there for an estimate and the insurance paid me. One wheel ($2400) plus the rocker panel and paint and labor was about $3000 total. So I'm out $500 for the deductible. The shop gave me updates via text as to when it would be ready, and I was planning to go get it two weeks ago when the morning of the expected finish date my text showed another month. Calling the adjuster I found out they had discovered damage to the floor pan behind the rocker which opened a huge can of worms.
The pan is aluminum, so it cannot be straightened on the frame alignment puller like steel. I went up to visit and my car was in multiple pieces, front and rear bumper covers off, rt. front fender removed, and the tech was getting ready to remove the door. Seat and carpet will also have to come out, new floor pan installed, and he explained in great detail how the aluminum and steel are bonded together. Its a complicated and expensive process, and the estimate shot up to over $12,000. My insurance had not at that time approved it, but it will once they are shown the Porsche approved method of repair, so I've been without my car 3 weeks and counting, two more to go if the parts arrive on time. The floor pan has to come from Germany unless they find one at a dealer in the U.S. and I've not heard if they did.
So I'm telling this mostly to give you guys a heads up on the time and expense involved in repairing our newer cars with aluminum bodies. The tech said even Honda and toyota are moving to this assembly process as the quest for weight reduction continues. They add more electronic stuff to the cars all the time and its a constant fight to reduce weight in other ways to offset these new marvels. Combined with gov't mandated items (backup cameras being the latest) the days of a 2500# car are long gone unless you drive a Smart car (is that really a car?). So be prepared or get smart yourself and don't drive dumb like I did.
The pan is aluminum, so it cannot be straightened on the frame alignment puller like steel. I went up to visit and my car was in multiple pieces, front and rear bumper covers off, rt. front fender removed, and the tech was getting ready to remove the door. Seat and carpet will also have to come out, new floor pan installed, and he explained in great detail how the aluminum and steel are bonded together. Its a complicated and expensive process, and the estimate shot up to over $12,000. My insurance had not at that time approved it, but it will once they are shown the Porsche approved method of repair, so I've been without my car 3 weeks and counting, two more to go if the parts arrive on time. The floor pan has to come from Germany unless they find one at a dealer in the U.S. and I've not heard if they did.
So I'm telling this mostly to give you guys a heads up on the time and expense involved in repairing our newer cars with aluminum bodies. The tech said even Honda and toyota are moving to this assembly process as the quest for weight reduction continues. They add more electronic stuff to the cars all the time and its a constant fight to reduce weight in other ways to offset these new marvels. Combined with gov't mandated items (backup cameras being the latest) the days of a 2500# car are long gone unless you drive a Smart car (is that really a car?). So be prepared or get smart yourself and don't drive dumb like I did.
. Anyway, seems like you hit in front of the rear wheel first, correct? Also not clear what exactly needs to be done, but sounds like the floor pan is divided in left and right, for what you described. What a drag, but the good news is the shop checked things carefully, and found that damage on time. Insurance should pay, but the bad news is the amount of dismantling involved. Hopefully everything will be put back together without an issue. Hopefully no suspension damage, but an alignment would show that (make sure it's done). Good luck, and keep us posted. And yes, a momentary distraction can have those consequences. I had one of my own and hit both wheels and damaged the suspension in front, and felt so bad for my stupidity that I paid out of pocket the $4K+ to fix it, but it was my beater car. Also it was probably cheaper in the long run due to the inevitable 3-yr premium increase due to such accident. Happens to the best of us, but definitely a harder lesson on a nice car. Take care.
