Well, I’ve finally managed to get the car repaired. It’s been a bit of a nightmare, it took a few weeks to get a settlement, buy the car back (it was a Cat-N write-off) and then after booking the car in for repair the guy who runs the body shop and does most of the work popped two discs in his back.
In fact it’s been the summer from hell, all in all, because when he was able to get back to work (part time) I had a bad reaction to some new medication and, to cut a long story short, ended up in the ICU in Bournemouth hospital for two weeks with chronic kidney failure.
Anyway, it finally went in two weeks ago and I picked it up this morning.
They say the best things are worth waiting for. The bodyshop came highly recommended from two repeat customers, and they have stellar reviews online so that’s why I stuck with them and wow, what a fantastic job they’ve done.
Perfect colour match (on 17 year old strato blue mica) perfect shut lines and they even valeted it inside and out. I’m a VERY happy bunny.
They sourced a second hand bumper to keep the price down, and fitted a new wing as they are metal and they weren’t keen on using a used one.
Edit: oh, and a BIG shout out for the bodyshop - Dentz Paint and Body in Christchurch. Lovely people, fabulous attention to detail and a great price. Very happy to recommend.
Hi TerryM1,
This is brilliant news! I am so pleased that you have your lovely car back on the road, and I do hope you are fully recovered now and able to get out and enjoy it.
I had only been thinking about The Precious a couple of days ago, and wondered how things were going - so thank you for letting us know.
Hopefully the sun will shine again soon and you can get out for a decent drive through the wilds of Dorset.
JMK
Thanks JMK, and thanks all for your posts. I am fully recovered now thankfully (God bless the NHS) and looking forward to further adventures with the Precious.
I had a sleepless night last night worrying about how the repair had gone. I was very relieved when I saw the car sat outside the bodyshop, resplendent in its new paint and looking like new after the valeting. That little car has been such a tonic, it’s been horrible having to see it sat at the side of the house for so long in a sorry state.
The forecast for tomorrow looks promising, with sunny spells in the afternoon. Hopefully time for some top-down motoring!
Glad you are both better and eager to hit the road again.
Great job on the car, I felt the same fetching mine from the paint shop earlier this year. Not anywhere near as badly damaged as yours but apprehensive about how the car looked afterwards. Great job done too for me.
Glad it’s back together and I suspect that the finish is even better than the original 20 year old paint.
Besides replacing the front wing and bumper, was there any other work such as bumper mounts required?
Cat N is nonstructural damage so it should have not been too expensive to repair, but Insurance companies have to build in all the other costs such as hire cars so that the other costs rapidly cause the cost of repair to exceed the resale value.
Thank you. They also replaced the inner wing and the headlight which had damage to the mounting lugs. I believe the bumper mounts were OK. No mention on the bill anyway.
Yes, it’s crazy that the car is now condemned as a write-off for non-structural damage. That affects the re-sale value, and the car is low mileage with only one previous owner. But the car’s a keeper so that’s immaterial to me. My daughter named it ‘the Precious’ because I love it so much (you have to say it in a Gollum voice ) Just happy and relieved to see it on the drive with its cheeky grin restored.
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) Just happy and relieved to see it on the drive with its cheeky grin restored.