I'm the ********* now. parked my car in a field. after finding a tree.
 

Never in a million years thought this would happen to me. In 20 years of driving i have yet to cause an accident. I thought i pretty much knew how to handle anything in my car at lower speeds. Turns out i'm just another schmuck who wrecked his Porsche.

I am completely deflated. The considerable (and apparently misplaced) confidence i had in my ability to drive an old 911 at sub 60mph speeds has utterly vanished. Sounds goofy i know but the time i've spent autocrossing has really opened my eyes to what these cars can do. I look at my baby as she sits in the garage and i think not just of the $$ i have put into it but the countless hours. And MUCH work within the past year or so.

Slow turn then accelerated and in retrospect the coldish weather (approx 45deg) and strong crown of the road i had turned onto helped the rear to step out A LOT. Stayed in it and managed to correct quickly but ended up overcorrecting and getting tossed around a bit in the car (yes, had my seatbelt on) and next thing i knew i was a goodly ways out in a wet field. Passed through a fairly pronounced swale on the way.

That really sucks. Pic's when you can. Hope it not too bad? Glad U weren't hurt......

Ouch

Need to borrow my trailer?

That'll buff right out....

My dad's a tv repairman - he's got an awesome set of tools...

Least you're OK that's what matters....Hopefully the car is fixable.

rjp

Never felt the impact and this is most likely because the car hit 'outside of the tub' if that makes any sense.

Tore the ball joint right off the arm. Tie rod left a 1/4" deep impression in the wheel well where it was shoved against the inside of the well. Fender was shoved back into the door cause paint damage and the door feels a bit loose on the hinges now. Battery box was shoved inward and the flange where the fender bolts on is obviously bent in right where that crease is. Tie rod is bent like a pretzel.

But even with all of this i was feeling pretty good until my brother in law helped me get the hood open and we found damage at the rear left (looking from the front) of the smuggler box and where the HVAC plumbing goes down through the 'deck' there. IOW round ain't round any more. Not really awful but very noticeable. This has caused me the most stress thus far.

Hope to get insurance (St. Farm) co adjuster out ASAP but as it's tax season i'm not going to be able to get the car to Balt./NoVA for quality shops to look at till mid April. Adjuster may take one look inside the trunk and tell me i'm well and truly farked. I don't want to lose this car, i've got waaay too much blood, sweat and money in it. It runs...ran...like an absolute champ and i was completely stoked to raise hell at ax's this season with my new V710's (note was driving on Dunlops when crashed...NO skid marks tells me tires/road were COLD and grip was for sheet).

I am HOPING the adjuster ballparks something short of them saying 'totalled' and i can get it to a good shop with a jig to check for tweaks.

I won't bother listing all the nice stuff that car got from me over the past year or so (i'm sure i've posted about it in the past) but just about everything under the car was new and installed by me. The H4's were perfect and less than a year old IIRC.

Ugh. I am truly embarassed and disgusted. Heartbroken too. Not looking forward to dealing with the insur. co though a quick check of NADA gives me hope.

Where in MD are you? You know Euro Pros in Gaithersburg is the best there is. They take forever, but they make it better than new. PM me if you want to discuss how it works over there. No better craftsmen anywhere for making Porsches look new again.

"a butterfly in Zimbabwe farted "


I just hate it when that happens.


Sorry to see the damage, hope it did not get the tub or suspension. Should be fixable.

Saw your update after I posted, sorry to hear your report. Hope you get good news from insurance.

This was porsche's answer to that problem decades ago.
Shame the purists never bought into it... I love mine.

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b3...nedials2rt.jpg

REALLY sorry to hear about your loss man! I have not hit anything in over 20 years, but i remember how much it sucks when you total a car you love.

Sorry bro- really sorry.

Wow, that really sucks. Hopefully you get what you need from Ins to get it fixed and get it fixed right without any major issues from either Ins or the damage.

The good news is that you're ok, and it could have been much, much worse.

OUCH-OUCH-ouch! At least the horn grille appears intact...sounds silly, but that may have been the most difficult thing to replace. I'm glad you're okay...

Eric, let me know if I can give ya a hand, but I know you can handle that repairs.

Glad you are OK, perhaps the only thing really scratched is the ego, just maybe your candor will help some other folks here who think slow driving is always w/o mishaps.

Good luck w/ the insurance and hope it's back in the garage soon.

Sorry about your luck, it happens to the best of us. Don't take any crap from the insurance company, that car is far too nice to total.

Dude, I'm trying to think of something lighthearted to say......

Took mine out for a shake down this past weekend and was going to bring it by for a little "show & tell".

Damn.

Glad you're OK,

Give me a call if I can give you a hand with anything.

Thank you guys for the kind words. My pride is indeed the worst casualty of all but obviously it needed adjusting.

If you look closely at where the hit was vs. the tub you can see just how lucky i was.



http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1268058789.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1268058809.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1268058827.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1268058885.jpg

Chill our Spicoli :)

Rick(s) the first thing i did when i got online was head over to see what the Dorki have to say about body shops. Europros is very clearly the place to go and I will be trailering the car there once i get a cheap control arm (looks like i'm taking the pickup to Hershey with a list!) to install so i can drive the car onto a trailer.

Kind of cruel that motors LOVE 50 degree weather and tires are not so fond of it.

I'm moving my V710's back out to the garage as they mock me every time i walk into the bedroom. :(

SUCKS!!! kudos to posting this up. i would have fixed it very quietly. ;)

glad you are ok.

You need to part it , it cant be fixed ;-D
besides, I need a lot of stuff of it

fixable

I realize this will follow the car but frankly i'd never sell it without showing these pics to a buyer anyways.

Worst case i suppose i have to buy a totalled car back from the insur. co and transfer my parts to a solid tub. Best case i get to go to a good shop and have her fixed up right.

May look at 964's if i'm forced to (depends on the numbers i guess) but have a feeling i'll find them to be heavy and complex vs. my 2300lb carb'd baby. Most of the longhoods i've seen for sale lately have not been 'sorted' and that's what REALLY matters with these cars when it comes down to it. In fact based on quality and asking prices i'd say longhood prices, at least for non S cars, are quite strong.

You know since i put the pertronix in the car has run so evenly you'd think it was efi.

Hoy.

If i could draw everyone's attention to the second pic in post #20......This is the spot that has me worried. I THINK the wheel/strut/etc caused this when it got shoved into the side of the car (look at the control arm to see the forces involved) and i'm not sure if that can be 'pulled' out or not. These cars are such a complex patchwork of panels...particularly in the front.

Man do I know the feeling, I was backing my car through the windings of a warehouse, was turning extra hard to miss a CNC machine on the other side of a doorway, hit the right front into the doorway. :(

Man it felt bad...I'd just had the car painted and all the tiny dents removed to. Fortunately it meant I could take it back and it all matches up, cost me $500 and a lot of pride....

Dang Eric, I am really sorry to hear this. I know how much you have put into the car. But most importantly, glad you are okay.

Hal no doubt you are glad to know about this BEFORE you considered handing me the keys to a 993!!!

I am truly a fortunate person. Could've been 2 feet to the right and centerpunched the tub. Could be posting up about a son dealing with cancer for the second time. Could be posting up about losing a job. Could be posting up that our daughter was born with Downs Syndrome. But am not having to post any of those things so i count myself one lucky guy.

Am going to do my darndest to have the car ready for September (already reserved a room)!

Sorry to hear about the "incident" I think a good repair facility could sort everything out. You are right, we are all kind of lucky considering what we have.
Regards,
Sandy

When I threw my 993 into a wall at SP, I hit the rear bumper slightly left of center. It creased my left rear fender and tweaked things all the way upfront such that my driver's door didn't close properly. Car looks showroom new now. If it can be fixed, Jack can do it. The man is the most meticulous, self-critical body repair man you will ever meet. My repair took six mos. and I was so irate about it, that, while on the way to pick up my car, I was sure there was nothing Jack could say or do that was gonna make me happy. But when I walked up to the shop and saw this, I was a happy man again. I think Jack called every few weeks for the next year to keep asking if I was happy with it.

http://fototime.com/EF04C4BF33E0B85/standard.jpg
http://fototime.com/995D46A7B1C5846/standard.jpg

That is just below where summer tires lose their grip.

It pains me to see this happen over and over again, but even I drive in the cold up until it snows.

I'm sorry to see this.

Was that ditch in the background the culprit for 'excess' damage?

Good Luck! -- and don't make any quick decisions.

If you need a trailer or anything else, give me a shout. I have a strong bad and a weak mind and am willing to use the former;)

I've owned basically your car and a 964...you'll find the 964 superb should you go that route. I hope you can stay the course, however.

Again, holler if you need any little thing.

Damn, I hope they don't total the car!

Rick already talked to my insur. and they said 'we'll pay to tow it to Euro Pros' so i've got to call them and feel out their schedule so it doesn't sit outside for any length of time. Off to a good start i suppose! Read so many good things about those guys I'm not at all worried. WOULD like to be under 3 mos. but i've got the miata to ax with and at this point i'll just be thrilled to not have it totalled (assuming that's what happens).

Seahawk thank you! Still want to get up with you and Targa to do some shooting later this year. I need a day of gunpowder and blued steel to relieve the stress.

Randy i'm not sure about the ditch. Definitely went through it and not 'over' it so could've cause some flex but it is more gradual than it appears in the pic (particularly the part i went through). Was a big effing tree that did the nasty stuff.

Glad you're okay. That is the important thing. Seriously. If your car were unscratched but your body were seriously injured, you would be wishing it were the car instead.

Ease up on yourself and your driving skill. This sort of thing can happen to anyone. Even Superman. BTDT.

Insurance companies sometimes tend to have trouble accurately valuing these cars. My SC was hit hard in the rear and bent. If something like that ever happens again, I'll hand everything over to an attorney.

If the cost of repairs is too high and they elect to total it (again, they have trouble understanding the values of these cars), they will likely place a ridiculously low salvage value on the car. In my case, they considered the wrecked car to have no value at all. They GAVE it to me. The engine had fresh rings, bearings, valves, etc. The transmission had been freshened by JW, etc. Zero value. Bunch of idiots.

The car will live to drive another day.

Maybe this is a way of showing you alittle bit of humility. I have long said we are in CONTROL OF NOTHING..now maybe I have a new believer..Anyway


With Nostatics Dads TV repair tools and my talent for pounding on hard heads...that fender will look as good as new in no time whats so ever.....pound it out, put a little Bondo and slap some paint and no one will be able to tell the diff...

Your "talent" with "hard heads" has nothing to do with autobody repair.