Last Wednesday (20th July) our much loved 2011 mx5 2.0 sport tech roadster suffered severe body damage from a freak hailstorm. The main damage is to the bonnet and boot but the top of each wing and both doors also damaged. The roof is fine presumably because it’s not metal. We have had this car since new and really don’t want to lose her. However our insurance company are suggesting the car is a write off and we are struggling to find out if the car can be repaired. Any help and advice would be gratefully appreciated as we are at a loss what to do. Pictures attached.
Strange - clicked on each of the images and see the same picture of the bonnet each time.
Surprised the car is deemed a write off by the insurance company although that seems to be serious hail damage. I wouldn’t have wanted to be outside in whatever did that to your car.
I would suggest that Bonnet and bootlid will definitely need replacing. Would expect the possibility that the wing and door damage could be repaired.
Recommend taking photos to a respected body shop for their opinion. If the car is written off, you can always buy it back and commission the work yourself. It will be a financial write off rather than a technical write off so should be no problems getting back on the road.
Imagine the insurance company are also looking at replacing all the wings, reskinning doors, etc - with a respray this would be very expensive.
Find out the cost of repair and keep your options open.
Look into Paintless Dent Repair (PDR). It may be a good few hours work but may save writing it off.
A bodyshop wanted £340+ for a wing dent so i bought a £40 kit off EBay and am having a crack myself
Another vote for the paintless dent removal. I had 12 dents removed from 5 panels at one of our rallies recently for £120. It’s remarkable what they can do if you find a good one. I think the full price would have been £70 per panel, but you can negotiate. Might get it all done for less than the price of a bonnet.
As above get the insurance offer and see what it costs to buy it back.Good used bonnet and bootlid and repair the rest .It will be well worth you time/money
The problem with hailstone damage really is that it damages a number of areas not just one area, most dents with bodyshop would probably be filled brutally speaking, but to much filler then causes a whole host of issues, and most likely replacement in the only way. The panels tend not to be expensive, but the cost of prep is on another level than just refinishing a current panel.
PDR will work and might be a viable suggestion to your insurance company if they will consider going down this route to keep the car. But the paint must not have cracked in anyway to make it worthwhile.
Hello and welcome hope you get your car sorted, you do not say what area you are in.
Thanks to all for your replies. I am pleased to report that after much haggling the insurance company has agreed to pay for repairs including a full respray.