Yesterday it was so nice and the recent rain had let up so I thought I would take the 914 out for a drive.

As I was getting onto the express way, one of the circular on ramps I felt the rear get really light and begin to oversteer, I tried to correct and must have over corrected because I ended up eating the gaurd rail.
I couldn't have been going very fast but the guard rail was about 2-3 inches above the top of the bumper and just went right through the front fender.
The whole drivers quarter is toast and I am hoping that it can be fixed but there is a lot of damage and I'm not so sure.

So now I guess I have to see what if the insurance thinks its toast or fixable
Any advice from those who have dealt with insurance on this kind of situation before?

I'll add pics of the carnage later but here it is just a week before.

I cant get this sick feeling out of my stomach

Sorry to hear the accident, but happy you are ok...

Its just metal, it can be fixed..

Rich

What kind of coverage do you have? and with whom?

If you aren't a PCA member get one who is....they will do a free evaluation.

Get Bruce Anderson's articles from Excellence on values, see if there is a local vintage auto appraiser that would be willing to do an appraisal, get all your reciepts together, start down loading every expensive priced 914 ad you can find......take it to YOUR choice of shops for prices of repairs. Insist on new parts, don't take any shit from the insurance company....you have a contract.....they WILL try and screw you. There is a reason they are rich....they take your money and intend on keeping as much as they can.....

They screw with you tell them you are gonna get on the horn to the State Insurance Commisioner. What are they gonna do? Cancel you? They probably will do it even if you roll over and take it....

Yep, 914's become very un-914-like in rain. Gather yourself. Haven't seen pics, but your car looks too nice to toss because a couple panels. Any replacement 914 will likely have issues as well, so theres no fast and cheap way out of it (unless you're leaving teener-dom). My '76 had a moderate crash 15 yrs ago, and now the driver door gaps are a little out, but I figured its better to keep one on the road, rather than start over with a new project. good luck, sorry to hear about it.

Fortunately I walked away with out a scratch, even drove the car home.

I have state farm, full coverage.

I am a PCA member, who would I take it to for evaluation?

Thanks for the advice and kind works

Go to their website.

www.pca.org

Follow the prompts.

http://www.pca.org/members/valuation.html

Which Porsches are included?

Within these ground rules, just what "older" Porsches does the committee cover? The table below has the answer. You'll notice immediately that newer models aren't covered. The new years are covered by the various industry "blue books" and we couldn't argue with these learned sources even if we wanted to.

Models Covered

356, 356A, 356B, 356C

Coupe and Cabriolet

1959 Convertible D

356 Speedster
1966-69 912

1976 912E

1973-76 914/2.0

914/6
1965-91 911

1976-79 930

1983-91 944

Models NOT Covered

356A Carrera

Coupe and Cabriolet

924, 924S
Racing models

Limited production models
914/1.7 & 1.8

All models 1992-on

were you driving on the azenis?

they suck in wet weather...

Yep I was driving on the azenis
It wasn't raining at the time but I think the roads were still wet.

Sorry to hear about this. Your car looks like it was very nice. If its not bent you can fix it. Back in the 80's I was rearended by a Mach 1 Mustang that hit me so hard the entire trunk compressed to the rear wheels. Cut it out welded in new section. However those were the days when insurance took care of 914's. Not sure what it will be like now.

I just hate driving 914's on wet pavement. They seem to float better than many cars on the road. Good Luck!

215's or 615 model??

my 215's sucked on anything wet, go over a gutter and vrrrrrrrrrrrr lol.


be careful out there, and maybe put on some less "summer" tires on thar....

they are the 615s

I have the falken ZE-205s

I love them, ya just have to be CAREFUL in the rain....

thats it. but then again I guess its different, bc my 914 is my forced dd.

b

...

that IS fixable.

Believe me, mine was much worse. I dont have pictures to post right now, theyre buried in linux server archives....

i hit a explorer's trailer hitch and boogered up the whole front trunk....snow...and not having power assist brakes and CRUNCH.

its fixed now....which is good.

b

...

...

First thing I would do is stick a carpenter's square on the garage floor and measure the camber of the front tires. See if that driver's side tire is leaning in more than the passenger side.

Bummer man, that's tough to see....



Tom

Yes its leaning about a 1/4 inch more than on the other side.

I just got it aligned and balanced a week or two ago.

What does this mean, damaged susp pickups or bent control arm?

Sorry about the crunch.

Looks like you'll need :

hood, bumper, headlight assembly, eyebrow, turn signal assembly, side marker asembly, front clip and fender.

Call Rich on Monday and get a quote on the parts.

Check the ads for a parts car.

Sorry, again.


KT

Wussie!

Glad you are fine, that ain't no big deal.

I have just begun with the insurance company on the car.

One of the most well known 'collector car ' insurance companies around and THEY SUCK TOO!

They want to repair the car and the estimate is a joke, less than a third of what it will need to cost.


John

Ohhh, that still looks like it stung......

looks like you are going to need a WHOLE LF quarter car...

front runk, bulkhhead,fender etc...

a real 1/4" of the car....

My heart sunk when I saw you car John, after your restoration your car was such a beauty.

If it's leaning inward, and due to the impact, I'd say it moved the whole strut/shock tower to the passenger side.



I'd think it would be clip time, or a good frame bench.

Man, that sucks. Sorry.

Tom

Yes, you'll do fine - that is NOT that bad.

Your insurance should cover most of it, but even if you do have a few out-of-pocket expenses of your own, that car is very fixable.

As for driving in the rain, I recall about 20 years ago, doing a 180 degree spin in the light rain late one night entering 280 northbound from Page Mill Road...the sweeping righthand curved on-ramp didn't mix with my acceleration & cheap tires, as I eventually slid partially down the embankment. After getting towed outta the mud, around 2:30 a.m., I'm lucky I was able to drive away without a scratch.


Your car is beautiful, and I can feel your pain.
But, you'll do fine & it'll be back on the road again.

As a recommended body shop, call Scott Yeaman @ Yeaman Auto Body in Palo Alto, CA.
He know 914's very well, and will work with Rich @ HPH to get your car back again.

My advice:

DO NOT use Garrett's Auto Body in Riverside, Ca. for your repairs.

thanks Kelly,

John

P.S. Good luck with yours.