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

[berettafan]

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.

[LakeCleElum]

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

[red-beard]

[VincentVega]

Ouch

Need to borrow my trailer?

[berettafan]

[red-beard]

That'll buff right out....

[nostatic]

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

[RANDY P]

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

rjp

[berettafan]

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.

[Rick Lee]

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.

[boba]

"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.

[m21sniper]

Originally Posted by berettafan

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.

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



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.

[masraum]

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.

[pwd72s]

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...

[svandamme]

the car must be jinxed... i'll do you a favour and take it off your hand for 600 bucks...

[Rick V]

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

[widgeon13]

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.

[onewhippedpuppy]

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.

[sailchef]

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.

[berettafan]

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.