First post first 914 ... Options

[kg6dxn]

You got scammed! That hole in the wheel well is structural, thats the longitudinal rail. I bet right above ther has a half ass hidden repair (under the battery tray).

Have either a Porsche 914 expert look at it or one of our members here. You may be in for an expensive repair... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif)

[Ray Mital]

how are the gaps between the door and the rear panel??
are they binding?? big on the bottow, close on top by the door handle? (yellow circle in pic)
if so, they the car would be flexing...hopefully not.

not sure of the area where your hole/crack is. if that area is just the shell or is it where the longitudinal or the support beam meets the rear suspension.
....I'll have to check my car this evening to get it straight in my head.\

Attached File(s)

 gaps.jpg ( 100.92K ) Number of downloads: 5

 

[Porschef]

That looks also to have been sprayed with an undercoater in the not too distant past. Makes you wonder about the extent of the quick and dirty hide job pulled by the PO.

When I bought my car I had limited knowledge of what to look for...just the basics. Turns out that while there were a couple of issues right under the battery tray and a bit with ol' hole, the rest was pretty solid. Would you consider a follow up call to the PO and remind him of his rust free quote? Might be worth a rebate of some sort....

Joe

[Jon Fernandes]

how are the gaps between the door and the rear panel??
are they binding?? big on the bottow, close on top by the door handle? (yellow circle in pic)
if so, they the car would be flexing...hopefully not.

not sure of the area where your hole/crack is. if that area is just the shell or is it where the longitudinal or the support beam meets the rear suspension.
....I'll have to check my car this evening to get it straight in my head.\

Hmm, it seems the hole would be to the right of the battery tray (if you were looking at the battery tray from the drivers side). It looks to be right above the trailing arm pick up point, definitely something to look into further, not the best area to have a weak point. But that is an odd area to have rusted through, if the rest of the car is ok...

[Netvoid]

First, there is no gap difference, door alignment issue, door closing issue on the passenger side at all. That area circled looks fine, when you open the door nothing seems to rub or be a problem closing.

The very top of that crack is actually a piece of wood sticking out a little which happens to be the new make-shift battery seat.

There is a hairline crack that starts at the bottom of that tear and goes almost all the way to the base of the vehicle. It does appear to stop a few inches from the bottom, shoved a camera in it to see.

Purchased from a dealer. This was my question (copied from email),

"nice clean title? Any rust? .. in battery mount area or in spare tire area? "

This was their answer (copied from email),

"Yes, clean title and absolutely no rust on this car."

But whatever lesson has been learnt, now I just need to figure out how to make it right. And yes I am trying to get them to refund a bit. The rust was obfuscated, they did a fair job at making me thing before and after the purchase that it was in fact basically rust free. It took digging in that hole and removing the battery to really understand how wrong they were.

[Jon Fernandes]

I would contact the dealer, provide them photos of the damaged areas, and try to see if they will make it right.

[Ray Mital]

I'm an optimist....I have and or had 914's where there's plenty of areas that are rusted. Some of those areas are just tin and wont complicate the structural integrity of the car. Lets hope that what you got here.....

always when I check out a 914 door gaps and where the fuel pump is mounted are first questions or what I look at first. If there in bad condition, then it's a sign to dig deeper.

your out on the left coast, plenty of 914er's out there to help you diagnose the situation.

...or just post some more detailed pics here.

[Netvoid]

You guys have been awesome so far, I'm not totally discouraged I knew the risks. I appreciate all the input, here are some additional photos.

Another shot of the crack slightly different angle,
(IMG:http://s17.postimage.org/xh9jpb9nj/photo10.jpg)

A shot lower, well under the cracked area,
(IMG:http://s15.postimage.org/8t2tvlux7/photo11.jpg)

This one is deeper in the wheel hub up towards the passenger door,
(IMG:http://s13.postimage.org/ssy57vhjb/photo12.jpg)

This one is the side of the battery closest to the rear of the vehicle, where you can sorta see how the battery is poking through into the wheel hub a bit in the corner.

(IMG:http://s10.postimage.org/myvf89bih/photo13.jpg)


Thanks again for all the input.

[kg6dxn]

I would not drive that car very far or very fast until you get it fixed. It is cracked right above the rear suspension mount. A great deal of load is transfered there while turning, braking and accellerating. The car can be fixed. It should also be put on a Celette frame bench for best results. But you can repair in your garage. Poke around the area with an ice pick or awl. Look for thin metal in the local area. You will have to cut it back to good metal. I can assure you the damage is worse than it looks. Fix it up and drive the shit out of it!

[Porschef]

There appears to be a two part overspray issue going on there, paint and some sort of undercoat....reeks of duplicity. Jon, Ray and Mikes advice is all good; poke around and record your findings on video.

Blatant deceit really pisses me off...cause I been there...
(IMG:style_emoticons/default/mad.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/mad.gif)

Joe

[cairo94507]

Nice looking car and great year.

I would get it to a respected auto body shop familiar with 914's and get an estimate for the repair. Then I would file a small claims case against them alleging fraud for the amount of the repair. I would also call the BBB and report their misrepresentation when you specifically asked the rust question. Maybe it will motivate them to kick back a couple of thousand dollars.

[Jaxdream]

Almost forgot ... 1 other thing,

There is a free floating object with 3 rubber lines tied into it, doesn't seem right that it's not attached to anything just flopping around on top here in this pic..

(IMG:http://s14.postimage.org/mtm0j754h/photo_3.jpg)

Should I be concerned about this?

This is a Holley style aftermarket fuel pressure regulator , it needs to be firmly mounted to a body panel , you dont want it loose setting on top of the engine . You need to determine a good place to mount and rerun new fuel lines to it and to the carbs . Looking at the pics , kg6dxn is right about the loading of the right ( passenger ) side , that hole is into the long and that is a suspension structure area , be careful of driving it very fast or far , it really needs to be fixed . Tell the dealer that you got it from that he put your life and others at risk by not fixing that problem and worst covering it up and not informing you of the possible problems associated with rear suspension buckling and folding up on that side .
Good luck with your new buy , the problems can be fixed , just got to spend some more money on it to have a known safe driving car . The folks here are always willing to help .

Jack

[Netvoid]

Well pretty much good news, the dealer is tossing me back a chunk of cash and I got estimates in the 1200-1500 range to get the structure repairs done.

Since I am completely new to this 914 decided to take it to a local and apparently reputable shop to have the engine related stuff taken care of, get a tune up, and have the loose stuff mounted. Cape Auto Repair in Laguna Niguel seems to know the 914 well.

Next stop the body shop they recommended to get the structure damage repaired.

Thanks all for your input and suggestions, hope to continue to find good advice here.

Clark

[kg6dxn]

Well pretty much good news, the dealer is tossing me back a chunk of cash and I got estimates in the 1200-1500 range to get the structure repairs done.

Since I am completely new to this 914 decided to take it to a local and apparently reputable shop to have the engine related stuff taken care of, get a tune up, and have the loose stuff mounted. Cape Auto Repair in Laguna Niguel seems to know the 914 well.

Next stop the body shop they recommended to get the structure damage repaired.

Thanks all for your input and suggestions, hope to continue to find good advice here.

Clark

There are many many 914 owners near you. Most of them hang out at www.914world.com

There is long history between 914club and 914world; Don't ask. It used to be one site before the split. Anyway, most of the members are over there not here. Don't know why. But, the super awesome people still check out both sites.

I recommend you post over there and I bet guys will come to you to help with whatever you need. Otto's in Venice can help you too.

[Porschef]

Clark,

Glad you got something back. They probably knew and hoped there'd be no repercussions.

Good on you, now enjoy. I havent driven anything more fun......

Joe

[abnrdo]

Welcome to the club! Nice looking car you have there. Glad to see you got something back from the dealer. Hopefully you will be back on the road in no time.

-Jim
(IMG:style_emoticons/default/driving.gif)

[cairo94507]

Well good progress then. First, I would suggest that you not use a dealer referred shop. I would look for a shop with serious 914 experience to do that repair. You don't want someone who has never worked on this area before just welding it up so it reappears 1 year later.

As for a tune-up, same thing. Post on a couple of sites, Pelican, here, and especially 914World.com with your location and ask for recommendations.

Don't rush into this. Do it right so you only have to do it once.
Best wishes.

[Netvoid]

Thanks for the input, I didn't follow the suggestion of the dealer, the dealer is 3000 miles away. Just did research on the various porsche sites and found that the mechanic shop I am trying to use seems to know their stuff and is nearby my house, http://www.capeautorepair.com/ ....

They mechanic shop suggested a body shop in Anahiem Hills, http://www.autocollisioncenters.
com/ ... He said for the types of rust repair I am looking for and for a 914 there is no better shop in the area... I can't find any negative feedback about either of these places and have so far had good experience with cape auto... So unless something else comes up it seems these two places are a good direction.

Any input here continues to be appreciated.

Thanks

[bembry]

Any updates on the car? Did you get the rust issues identified and sorted out?

[indianmort]

i think that you need to take off the wheel and get rid of the undercoating and get a good look at the steel all around the long. that rust hole looks to go into the outer suspension console and that is very structural. maybe after examining just how much repair is needed you could get the dealer to adjust the price accordingly. this is by no means a rust free car. good luck.