My 1995 laguna blue car is suddenly looking a bit tired and the paint in particular is reaching the end of it’s time. Bodywork and mechanicals are fine, to my knowledge. Two Cornwall and Plymouth garages I’ve sent photos to and been clear there’s a five figure budget haven’t even replied to emails. Any recommendations please? Much appreciated.
£10,000 plus should get you some interest, may be a visit to a body shop with the car is your next option.
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My NB 2005 could do with a respray and I have a contact in my locale [not your area] when I’ve got the pennies
But chatting to my non specialist mechanic about the cost some posters were quoting on our Club site [e.g. your five figures] he said
“That is for vehicles that you want stripping back to the bare metal”
But you say your Mk 1 bodywork is ok to your knowledge so do you need to spend this much?
Presume you’ve contacted your local Area Club Members already ?
Concur with Mad Malc though…they probably want to see your Mk 1 ‘Up Close and Personal’
Suspect that’s why they’ve not responded to your emails ??
Too busy in the workshop !!
Given the age of your Mk 1…they’ll probably want to have a ‘poke around’
Indeed I had to pay £27.00 [Refundable if they did the works] to actually have Bullit inspected with my local MX-5 specialists [Club Members] for her cills/wheel arches
Make Sense ??
When I had a substantial 4 fig sum to refresh my NBFL’s suspension with all new OEM parts I had collected over two years, replace 3 wings etc etc, finish with a complete respray I did not hesitate to get in touch with Steve at MX-5 Restorations in Ilkeston after reading an interview with him in hard top soft top. He and his son Al proved to be just the right people to look after and bring Madge back to something approximating showroom condition. I know Ilkeston is a bit further than the 125 miles I had to drive from London, but if I was down in Cornwall I wouldn’t hesitate to make the trip. Will be taking my car back for engine, gearbox and LSD oil and brake / clutch fluid change next week, a while I wait service that is half what me local dealer wanted to charge. Good luck finding the right man for the job.
Thanks for the replies, all useful.
For a bit of colour, garage 1, after me checking reviews, sending interior/exterior photos and phoning. I made an appointment for them to inspect. After looking all around and opening the doors, they quoted £15,000. When I asked for details of the work they confirmed it was exterior only. Does that include the underside? I suspect not, it was never looked at. Anyway, I asked them to detail the quote in an email- which never arrived.
Garage 2, I made full disclosure of the above and explained I can’t keep taking 1/2 days off, I need to know it’s worth the trip and conversation. Yes, they said, send us the photos so we’ve got an idea, we’ll have a look and we can talk again, following up with a visit if looking positive. Ideal, I thought. Copied the email address from thei website, sent photos, nothing heard.
All a bit weird, to me. Nobody is going to write a blank cheque for undefined work, are they?
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I suspect most garages know these cars can be absolute money pits, not least because they rust from the inside out, consequently much of the work that needs doing will only be discovered once the car has been striped back to bare metal, photos and even a close visual inspection will be of little help.
That said in the light of my recent experience there is nothing stopping you asking for repairs quote in a worse case scenario, which for an NBFL for example, would include strip shell back to bare metal top and bottom, replacement of chassis rails, which I believe are not so vulnerable on a Mk 1 others may advise, replacement 2 front wings, replacement 2 cills and inner 1/4 panels, replacement 2 rear wings repair inner rear wings, then with all rust removed complete under coat and respray, complete cavity protection and underseal.
That should give you a ball park figure, While I was at it depending on age I’d have the complete suspension refreshed, I spent 2 years collecting the parts for just that to get my now shiney old car handling like new when it left the show room.
The clearer you can be the more prepared someone might be prepared to give a quote and take the work on, no garage wants to find them selves dealing with a customer not prepared for the worst because lets face it that level of work is way beyond ‘economic’, a constraint garages are often trying to work within. If it turns out you do not need all that metal work replacing then you should come in under budget.
Hope that helps.
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