HELP needed after Accident

[Enright]

I was talking to Surferphil about this on Sunday night, and he saw the pics.
He has repaired 2 clamshells and thinks he could do this one too.
You should get in touch with him.

[Jackonicko]

I think it may have the chassis attached, too.... That would mean that the prongeron would be included.

Surferphil is a f*cking glassfibre genius and an absolutely top bloke. Bite his hand off.

[Sy V]

Looking forward to Gerry's reaction when he sees these latest few posts...

[ailwyn]

Be careful about buying parts then contacting the ins co...

Find out the cost, contact ins co, then buy the parts if they agree (in writing!), or you could find yourself with no car but spare body parts.

[Jackonicko]

Though at the price you're likely to get these for, you could sell them on - probably at a small profit.

[Gee0]

What can I say guys YOU ARE AMAZING

I will give Jackonicko's contact a call tomorrow. (can anyone advise on how much I should offer for the clam and prongeron (what ever that is )) or maybe I should wait until Thursday and get a list off Option 1 of the required parts
I have Option 1 comming over on Thursday AM to quote for the work.(I think the bumper is salvagable as it only has 4 bulit holes in it which I think is repairable) If the Rad is bent I can get a replacement for Ireland and maybe an intercooler if needed but not sure about that.
I think lets see what Option 1 say and then speak to Phil if the offer is still there.

what do people think.

[bobbrown]

I think looking at the pictures you should be able to repair the bumper.
I had mine repaired when a Toyota pickup backed in to mine and put a hole in it care of his tow ball.
The bumper is not fiberglass but plastic and can be welded if cracked or as in my case a 50mm hole, all be it all the material was there just a bit split.
Also had the bit above the bumper repaired and the bonnet the damaged very slightly but that was also repaired.
They sprayed the front back to the doors and as I was not paying did not worry too much about the cost but I think the insurance company got stung for £1500.00

I do not know if this still works but I have done it in the past and that is to get a couple of quotes from body shops and then submit one yourself, I think I went in at a price about 75% of the garage price.
Note: Insurance quotes are usually done with genuine parts at full retail price and I hate to think what all the parts come out at if you had to replace them all at Lotus prices!

Bob

[Specky]

Don't buy anthing yet....

Like I said earlier if you want to know what damage to expect just say...

Hey I'll tell you anyway...

Bumper cracked...Air intake mount disbonded

undertray damaged...

clam will be cracked, normally the front... The middle near the Bonnet catch... both rear light housing apertures where it meets with the clam... The clam will of disbonded underneath...

Bonnet...

Front crash member will be out of alignment....

engine/gearbox may be cracked at the front mounts...

The oil cooler ducts will be cracked

Alot of the Gel will have disbonded but not show evidence of cracking...

All the obvious suff...

But the biggy.... Remove the wheel arch liners... because the tub may be cracked approximately 6" inch in from the A-Posts

But it's not all doom and gloom, let the fellas do their assessment and see what they find...


TTFN

[Gee0]

SH1T Specky I am sorry I (didn't) ask

No really

I hope it not as bad as you are suggesting, if so they will wite it off, and NO agreed Valuation.

[Jackonicko]

Specky has given you a superb checklist.

If it were my car, I'd be asking/begging/imploring Specky (or one of the other LEC super-heroes) to have a look at it as soon as is possible, and I'd be insisting on paying him a top hourly rate.

Only then will you know whether it's easily repairable. The "engine/gearbox being cracked at the front mounts" might be a show-stopper, I'd say.

Only then will you know exactly what parts you need, and whether the bodyshell/clam/screen/chassis from the chap in Norfolk, together with bonnet, would give you most of what you need. You already know that they're available without paying Lotus prices, so get a really good idea of what needs doing, keep getting opinions on what to pay (I don't know - I keep tabs on whole car prices, not parts).

[Gee0]

Sorry My comment to Specky was purely a joke, and didn’t intend to be flippant or disparaging to his greater knowledge.

Please, I am most grateful to all whom have helped me and given their opinion. I am a novice in this situation and really need as much help as I can get.

Thanks again to everyone

[Specky]

Sorry My comment to Specky was purely a joke, and didn’t intend to be flippant or disparaging to his greater knowledge.

Please, I am most grateful to all whom have helped me and given their opinion. I am a novice in this situation and really need as much help as I can get.

Thanks again to everyone

Calm down you big bunch of loons...(Flippant....oh yes)

Now back on topic...

We've got a car to fix...


TTFN

[Jackonicko]

B*gger me Specky, why are you not a SENGO at Benson?

I like your 'can-do' attitude.

[tigerdog]

Gerry, so sorry to hear about your troubles. I'm not much help being on the wrong side of the Atlantic but am keeping the project in my thoughts and will gladly help source parts here in the States if it comes to that. Having seen Ailwyn's, I agree with Sy: a Silk Red is just too pretty to simply write off.

[Jackonicko]

A silk red is what I'd have chosen, had my budget offered a choice of colour.

[Gee0]

Right the quote is in,

Repair of clam
New fibreglass bumper
respray from a pillar forward and into doors
put all back together

£2650 plus vat

The guy from Option 1 said he will argue against write off as it is a rare sports car, He thinks that quote will NOT write it off and believes the car worth 6-8k

Spoken to the insurers and the quote is with the engineer, they will look at it speak to the quoting company and give it the go ahead or if their not sure they will come out to inspect. (he said it is unusual for an engineer to come out. They say the quoting company has inspected it and only come out if they see a problem)

Fingers and Toes crossed

[bobbrown]

Not so sure on a glass fiber bumper as any slight touch and you could end up with star cracks, at least the plastic ones do take a few knocks, supermarkets etc.
Might be an idea to see if you could get hold of a good second hand one or are we talking rocking horses here?

Other wise I can not see them righting it off as a good Elan is worth more than 2.6k never mind a silk red one and these days the insurance companies will go up to full value and not right it off if it gets to say 60% of the value.

Bob

[Jackonicko]

EXCELLENT news, well done

[Gee0]

3 to 5 days before I know if the go-ahead will be given

The guy fom option 1 suggests a fibreglass bumper because he can repair them, Plastic is more difficult because he has to strip it back before he knows if its usable or not, as the cracking will not show until then.

[Nige]

I wouldn't worry too much about whether its glassfibre or plastic as this stage. The priority is to get the car fixed and the insurers not to write it off. If it's fixed with a glassfibre bumper you can always keep your eye open for an original plastic bumper after that and once found have it sprayed to match. Fingers crossed and hoping for a good result in 3-5 days.