Minor accident

[Navaros911]

Just had the car two months and someone just failed to see this was a WTL body I guess, crept up to close and scuffed the left rear wheel. Fortunately some swirving and manouvering from my side in traffic managed to keep the damage down (rather than the whole side being taken out only the left rear wheel was hit). Pictures below.

I need your advice on how to deal with this guys...

A/ What are the alignment tolerances for the 964 in Turbo Look trim?

B/ What is the finish of the wheel (cup wheels from the early 90's)? Anodized, painted (def not chromed)?

It doesn't look too bad, but one can't tell any other damage until you can get underneath. I would be surprised if there is any... I wasn't even convinced the other party hit me or not. It felt as someone was leaning against the car and decided to push himself off from the car. But sure enough, the result can be seen in the picture below (taken with a camera phone - so applogies for the low quality). So this makes me think that the damage is only to the wheel and that there is no other damage to be found to any mechanical elements. The alignment will need to be checked anyway.

First of all, the other party was not aware of any traffic laws, the conversation we had when the police "interrogated" us was amusing and went like this:

Me - asking other party: Did you see the stop sign?
Other party: Yes!
Me - asking other party: Did you stop at the stop sign before entering the intersection?
Other party: No!
Me - asking other party: Who is at fault then?
Other party: You!
Cop: Shakes his head and starts writing up the report.

Now the annoying part: insurance.
This accident happened in Bahrain, where insurances take cars older than 5 years outside of the official dealerships... so they want to take my car to their garage around the corner (you can rest assured that this is the cheapest garage they can find). I'm not convinced they are capable, let along that I trust them with my car in general. I barely trust the official dealer (who are not bad, but a little issue prone in the service department, don't get me wrong). I don't even want to leave my car there as it may come back in worse condition than when it went in. Fixing a wheel is one thing, having people qualified to do proper alignment checks/adjustments is another thing. Even with the fanciest laser measuring equipment I've seen people do this incorrectly.

So these are some of the options that I can think of:

1/ Take it there and hope for the best - I'm not inclined to this at all

2/ Take it there and have them check it with me there (also check drive train of any possible damage), talk to them and assess their competence. Have them do the alignment on the spot so I can verify the work they do. Then take it back home and take only the wheel to them for repair (I hope they can at least take care of that part of the work). If I'm not convinced of the alignment work, I will take it to another location and hope the insurance refunds me (very little chance - they believe they have a fully qaulified worksop - to work on Toyotas maybe, not on cars with fully adjustable suspension).

3/ Take the cash settlement from the insurance and have it taken care of myself (but I would still like to have the car checked with me present to assess any "invisible" damage). But this cash settlement will be way less than the actual cost of repair at a decent location.

Your valuable input please gentlemen?

Thanks,
Michiel

Here's the wheel after the incident:

[Navaros911]

This is my first accident (with another party at least)... and I have no clue what to expect.

Anybody with some experience in this field that can offer some advice?

[Groesbeck Hurricane]

Only the wheel was hit??? YOU are a LUCKY man!!!

Experiences on accidents varies by country and states/locations within those countries. I would agree your alignment should be checked as well as the measurements on your wheels and suspension to ensure nothing else was damaged.

Hopefully the officer wrote up the other driver's comments as the officer heard them! Some people can never accept blame.

In Belgium I was rear-ended. I let the lady go as my 1976 Ford was unhurt, her 1987 brand new off showroom floor BMW lost it's front bumper. In US in Texas I had issues with a hit and run and ended up having to pay for everything myself. Insurance in The States will allow you to take the vehicle to your choice but might not cover all the costs involved in the repair if you choose a facility that generally charges above the average.

I wish you the best! This could have been MUCH worse!

[Navaros911]

Originally Posted by Groesbeck Hurricane

Only the wheel was hit??? YOU are a LUCKY man!!!

Yup... I think so too. And the place where the wheel is hit (close to the bolts) makes me believe the rim could not be bent either.

It's funny you mention that incident in Belgium... I am originally from Belgium

I'm leaning towards taking the cash from the insurance co and having it sorted myself. That will save some headache I think.

[Navaros911]

Some good news: the suspension and drive train are fine and straight... so I'm relieved in that. So only the damaged wheel needs to be addressed. The alignment is out by fractions only... so I'm inclined to have that added.

Now here's the catch: the dealer has recommended to replace the wheel.

Tomorrow the claim will get opened with the insurance (that is if we can this time - paperwork drives me crazy here)... and the insurance claims guy will come to asses the damage.

He will most likely not go with replacing the wheel and want to repair it. So I'm thinking of ok-ing that and having it properly repaired and the alignment done. So it will be a negotiation... recommended cost: 2000 USD... actual settlement probably 600 USD and I get a wheel repaired and the alignment done.

The dealer says there may be stress cracks in the wheel.... but if the impact didn't even alter the alignment much, I don't think there would be many stress cracks.

Any advice or tips?

[Groesbeck Hurricane]

I would pose this question in the 911 Technical Forum or on RENNLIST in the 964/993 forum there. You will get a much better/faster response.

Sorry, I am not any assistance. I would think the likely hood of stress cracks to be high and the need to replace rather than repair as paramount. I am NOT an expert and could very likely be wrong!

[lucittm]

Navaro,
I would replace the wheel while you can. Those cup wheels are getting scarce and expensive. The wheel is most likely bent and even though it can be repaired, it will never be right.

I had a crack in one of my 1991 cup wheels and was lucky to find a new OEM wheel. Here is the best part, when the mechanic mounted the Michelin Pilot Sport and dynamically balanced the wheel, it took no weights, it was perfect. That is what you need after this.

Mark

[Navaros911]

Mark,

You have a very good point... I'll try that with the insurance - of which I hope to hear back today. I let that slide a bit since I was on leave and catching up with work. Now I want to get my car sorted in three weeks at the most.

What's the best way to tell if there is a crack in the wheel?

Best regards,
Michiel

[lucittm]

Michiel,
I am not saying that your wheel is cracked, but it is most certainly bent. The Porsche wheels are strong but designed to resist the forces encountered in driving (axial load, torque, etc.). Your wheel was pushed from the hub, inward. Not a normal force vector.

Keep your old wheel (tell your insurance you don't want to see an unsafe wheel end up on the market) and some day you can have a good wheel man tell you if it is salvageable. Perhaps then you can sell it to someone who needs a display wheel.

Mark

[Navaros911]

My gut feel tells me it isn't bent, nor cracked....... BUT I do want it checked. It would be foolish not to get some peace of mind... after all who would I be to just ignore all this free advice

Still trying to have them open a claim with the official dealer here... every day there is a new reason why nothing is moving on this. And I can not make the time to handle this during the week... in the weekends there is just one day and only half the staff. Oh well... let me clear all other projects off the list so I can focus on this baby when she gets back.

[Navaros911]

Well, good I had some advice from you guys since the wheel was actually cracked.

So, I am now waiting for delivery of a new Cup 1 wheel from Germany.

If all goes well I will have my car back on the road by next weekend.

Thanks for all the advice guys.

- Michiel

[Don Plumley]

Glad to hear you had it checked out and have a new wheel coming.

[lucittm]

Noah,
You can send the $50 to me anytime you want...

It is good that members like Michiel reply to the forum and let us know how things actually worked out.

Thanks,
Mark