Shop4Parts - UK's largest online superstore for FIAT and Alfa Romeo parts

General  Oh dear.....

Currently reading:
General  Oh dear.....

larkim

larkim

Established member
Joined
Apr 10, 2006
Messages
324
Points
169
Location
Frodsham, Cheshire
I bumped my B.....:mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:

Photos to follow at a later date, but I only have myself to blame - one v worn tyre (drivers side, front) which I'd been meaning to get replaced for a couple of months caught me out on some snow a week last Friday. Anticipating hitting the car in front as I braked for some traffic lights (and I was, seriously, only doing 10-15 mph at the time) I turned the car into the kerb and hit the wall with the nearside front of the car. Definitely need a new bumper, and probably a new wing / front too. Sounds expensive to me, so it'll be an insurance job (good job my no claims is protected!).

Lesson, hard learnt - when a tyre looks worn, replace at once!! :bang: :bang: :bang:

I'm seriously hoping the costs aren't so OTT that they write it off, but knowing the horror stories here about the prices for B bodywork, I'm at least fearing the worst. For a £4k car, its quite possible that this becomes a write off for them...... :cry: :cry: :cry:

Any experience that might help me out here?

Matt
 
Does the wing that was hit still line up with the door ? This is a good sign if the front strut is bent. When A Barchetta gets hit on the front, the strut that’s in the wing dips down taking the wing with it. A front bent strut is £££££ as it puts the corner of the car out.

You only have to be doing 15MPH for this to happen :-(

Take a look at this B, its been in a front smash but the wing and door no longer line up.

horror-022.jpg


Yours might not be that bad but check this alignment.

You could get some second hand panels from an old B. You would have to cut them off the car carefully to make sure you don’t warp them. But this should save you loads. You will also have to find someone who will work with the old panels. I think you would need to buy a new front section panel as this is an easy part to damage when removing.

Bumper is going to be £££ and a pain to get hold of a second hand one. Germany eBay has a few, but stay away from repro as Alan had one for his B and he said it was crap. Its got to be an original.

Hows the bonnet ?

FYI, If the car is scratched off my the insurance make sure you buy it back !!!! You can make good money on the parts over what you will pay to get the car back.

Hope this helps
Doc Orange peel
 
Last edited:
Think you had better keep your fingers and everything else crossed mate. Insurance declared my marea a write off a few years ago because they said the front offside wing and the door were to far out of alignment. i hit a metal fence at about 25-30 mph. Couldnt belive it when they told me. :cry:
 
The insurance companies are so quick to write stuff off these days, I recently bought a Renault Clio that was a Cat C write off, cost me a mere £550 to put back on the road:confused:
 
docorangepeel said:
Does the wing that was hit still line up with the door ? This is a good sign if the front strut is bent. When A Barchetta gets hit on the front, the strut that’s in the wing dips down taking the wing with it. A front bent strut is £££££ as it puts the corner of the car out.

.........

Hope this helps
Doc Orange peel
Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice. Actually, I hit such a glance that if you looked at the wing from any point backwards of the wheel arch you wouldn't even know that it had been hit at all. I'm not sure if I properly understood what you were saying though - if it still lines up with the door is that a good sign (I'm presuming so!)?

Unfortunately I haven't got the time or knowledge to go trawling around for myself to get the claim sorted, so I'm leaving it to my insurers appointed repair shop (I know, I know, I've heard their reputation etc etc, but I'm not mechanically minded at all) but I will bear in mind the option of buying back from them if they do want to write it off. Hell, just the window rubbers might make that worthwhile :D

Anyway, its still eminently driveable (to my eye anyway!) and now I've replaced the tyre I won't be having such a slippery time in future! I could kick myself though.....

Matt
 
See pics - quality isn't great but they are in the dark.

Drove home tonight on a fresh tyre and no odd rumbles or squeaks or steering wheel movements. Braking was fine and straight, and the car steered straight when I let go of the wheel, so I'm not overly concerned that the tracking has been whacked too hard - though certainly time to get an alignment done.

Not quite so bad as the pic that docorangepeel put up!

Matt
 

Attachments

  • Photo 2007-02-19 20-19-50Move.JPG
    Photo 2007-02-19 20-19-50Move.JPG
    602 KB · Views: 44
  • Photo 2007-02-19 20-20-32Move.JPG
    Photo 2007-02-19 20-20-32Move.JPG
    591.5 KB · Views: 50
  • Photo 2007-02-19 20-20-50Move.JPG
    Photo 2007-02-19 20-20-50Move.JPG
    631.5 KB · Views: 53
From the pictures there does not look too much to be worried about if you say it drives and brakes OK. Looks like a new bumper and some minor bodywork and an opportunity to buy a nice set of alloys:D
 
Na its just a little ding. Bumper is the expensive part. It will not be the end of you Barchetta thats for sure. Count your luck stars, it could have been a lot more damage. You can even get away with not changing the light.

Not the end of the world.

Doc Orange Peel
 
What about the crack in the wing section (just below the light in the first picture)? Is that repairable? My initial thought was that they'd need a whole new wing-to-wing section in addition to the bumper. But I agree, in the cold light of day it isn't that bad. It looked a whole lot worse for the few days when there was a space saver tyre in there too - just made the whole thing look less pleasant!

Thanks for the input guys! I'll keep you posted how the bodyshop get on with it all!

Matt
 
The crack is not a problem. The damage is on a part of the wing that does not have anything behind it. Removing the light gives you full access to the back of the damage. It can all be put back into shape without taking the wing off. A bit of filler and a lick of paint. (y)

When you change the bumper, why not get the new shape one ? I dont think it would cost you more so the insurance should not care :) The fog lights will need changing and maybe a few plastic grill parts, but that should not cost you more then £100 £150. The way I see it is, it would be nice to get something extra out of it. If you could get the new front end fitted for £150 its a bargin.
 
Last edited:
She's back - and on a nice sunny day too!

Picked up the B this morning from the repair shop. They replaced the bumper and the whole of the left to right wing, plus a new headlamp cover and new wheel. And of course they sorted out the tracking etc. If I'd funded that for myself I can't see me coming out with much change from £1500 when the paint time is thrown in, particularly if I'd gone to a dealer.

I'm an untrained eye, but the paint matches in perfectly and she looks as goods as I've seen her. Bring on the sun!!

Matt
 
By the time I'd picked B up the MOT had expired and tax was due, so I had her booked in for a service on Tuesday at Mangoletsi (Cheshire). This was the first service I'd let her go for since I bought her, and as a complete car novice I'd taken a risk buying her (9years old, 24k on the clock when I bought but I didn't bother with getting a mechanic to look her over!).

And good fortune has smiled on me again; service and MOT went without a hitch! The only extra I was charged for was that the sump plug needed re-threading as when they took the old one out it was on its last legs.

I still need to sort the leaking water bottle (though I'm not paying £200 for someone to do that for me - sounds like a reasonable first job for a novice like me!) and all four pads and discs will need replacing in the next 12 months or so, but everything else seems to have got a clean bill of health.

She'd be perfect if I could only persuade myself to find the £800 or so to get a new roof put on as the (original) vinyl one is looking a bit tired now.

Matt
 
£300 for a nice new mohair hood from a supplier on ebay and much better than the original:)
Carhoods Direct will also fit it for you for an extra fee:)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Crachat
General Oh Dear, oh dear, oh dear...
Replies
19
Views
3K
gar074
G
H
General Farewell dear b
Replies
15
Views
2K
Guinness38
Guinness38
Stevo Gee
Technical Why, oh, why?
Replies
18
Views
3K
doolahrock
doolahrock
JimMagill
Technical Oh dear....
2 3
Replies
46
Views
6K
Alan.D
Alan.D
N
General Oh no! Its open season on B's again!
2
Replies
33
Views
5K
s130
s130
Back
Top