It happened.....today :(

[astewart]

So let me start from the beginning as there is a little bit of story leading up to..the incident. First off, all your northerners know it is snowy up here really bad this year for so early and I have been treating my car accordingly even though it is my only vehicle at the moment and I HAVE to drive her as much as I hate to in this horrible weather. Ok, now for the story...

I just moved here and have no family on this side of the state, so a coworker invited me to spend Christmas Eve with his family. I went. On the way there and right before we pulled up, I got a flat in the passenger rear. Not too big of a deal. I don't have a spare (yet) but his dad had some of that foam flat fixer and we had to put that in there to drive it the relatively short distance back to his house at the end of the night. I was driving extremely careful considering the conditions of the road and now the condition of my car. We get back to his house safe and sound and I park my car out of the way in his yard for the night while he takes me home.

I had to work Christmas night (i'm an overnight stocker), so my friend was awesome enough to come get me and take me to work the following night (last night). And all come and get me from work this morning so that we could go back to his house and tend to my flat tire now that the stores are open again. When we arrive at his house....he breaks the new....his roommate supposedly SLID INTO MY CAR! Gah! I have been soooo careful with her and actually calling into work when I felt it wasn't good to be out in her and now through absolutely NO FAULT OF MY OWN she is ran into....while parked

Here's the damage and you will see why I have a hard time that they only 'slid' into my car. Again, I parked it out of the way....

Can you see the multiple waves in my fender all the way up to the door?!? Ugh! I can't even believe this. I couldn't even fully vent because my friend knows how much this car means to me and he already felt like dirt because it even happened.

So...how bad is this really? I know I need to find a REAL body shop for true metal cars (like ours), but I don't really know where to start. I have yet to get quotes because I need these real body work guys to be the ones giving them to me. Also, it just happened this morning and I have to work tonight still. I may also have a few leads on some parts cars. Comments, suggestions, especially anyone on the west side of WA state....I am open to driving her somewhere to get her fixed properly. Right now that huge pinch is compromising the inner fender well radius.

Edited December 26, 2008 by astewart

[Bruce Palmer]

That's why, especially in a recession, the bodyshops love winter. It's a great business generator.

Being new to the area, you might want to stop by a local automotive paint jobber store (or call 'em) and solicite suggestions as to shops or individuals they know of that are skilled in this type of pull-out repair.

Some days you're the bug, some days you're the windshield......

[bigoak]

Oh man...merry christmas to you...

That...sucks...

Good luck with the repairs...

[EScanlon]

You don't mention WHERE on the West side of Washington you live. That makes it even harder for people to give you recommendations.

Your post makes it sound as though you doubt that they slid into your car, but there is a distinctive track in one of the pictures that would support their story. In either case, talk to the roommate and see if his insurance will cover it. It did happen on private property (not on the road), so unless he reports it to his insurance company you're basically SOL.

Bruce hit it on the head. Talk to the paint shops, they'll turn you on to those bodyshops that do actual bumping and not just panel replacement.

Keep in mind that this being the season of lots of thumps and dings, that bodyshop and others are more likely to be doing insurance work than on bumping out NON-insurance work. Their quote may reflect that.

Sorry for the bad news.

E

[Zs-ondabrain]

Alicia,

Washington isn't huge but where in the state are you??

There is a great body shop in Everett called "Special Interest Auto Body" on Evergreen way.

They did the work to a friends 240Z, in the same spot of the car, like yours. They did an Awesome job. Just remember that you get what you pay for. It's Illegal to drive in Washington without insurance, so your buddies friend should put up the bill.

He's totally at fault as HE hit a non-moving vehicle and should'nt have been on the roads if he doesn't know how to drive in such conditions. I live in Marysville, and if you've kept up with the weather reports, every thing North of Everett (Marysville, Arlington, etc) have been hit Very Hard. I guess I'm lucky to have my front wheel drive Van (Grand Voyager LE) as it kicks arse in the snow.

http://www.specialinterestautobody.com/

Hope that helps,

Dave

Edited December 26, 2008 by Zs-ondabrain

[Mike B]

Looks like she is near Puyallup from this post in another thread

http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showpost.php?p=272152&postcount=6

Everett is not too far though, especially for someone that can do good work for a decent price. Like E said, unless this is going through insurance, it may be difficult to find someone that is willing to do the work right now, after two solid weeks of snow in the area.

-Mike

[astewart]

I am in the the Puyallup area.

[Bruce Palmer]

Give Canyon Auto Paint a call 253-535-1335 for suggestions on where you might find qualified help. They are good folks and a Zero Rust jobber as well..... goota love it!!

[Seppi72]

Alicia:

As someone who recently crashed his 240 at speed and did a pretty good number on the front end, I feel your pain. I don't know your circumstances, but, all in all, the damage doesn't look to be too severe.

I would think that almost any body person with some experience would be able to pull the panel and mostly "hammer and dolly" the metal back to close to original condition. You'll do him/her a favor by taking out the interior trim pieces beforehand.

At worst, a studs welded to the metal would allow a slide hammer to do a lot of the work too. The studs get ground off after the pulling.

A minimal amount of Bondo should be required and, indeed, the repairer might opt to use Duraglass underneath Bondo to smooth things out and prevent any lifting due to expansion/contraction differentials as the years go by.

I hope you're able to get your car repaired quickly because it's your DD. I'm fortunate that I can allow mine to linger in the shop all winter.

[astewart]

Give Canyon Auto Paint a call 253-535-1335 for suggestions on where you might find qualified help. They are good folks and a Zero Rust jobber as well..... goota love it!!

Thank you so much Bruce. I will definitely give those guys a call!

Alicia:

As someone who recently crashed his 240 at speed and did a pretty good number on the front end, I feel your pain. I don't know your circumstances, but, all in all, the damage doesn't look to be too severe.

I would think that almost any body person with some experience would be able to pull the panel and mostly "hammer and dolly" the metal back to close to original condition. You'll do him/her a favor by taking out the interior trim pieces beforehand.

At worst, a studs welded to the metal would allow a slide hammer to do a lot of the work too. The studs get ground off after the pulling.

A minimal amount of Bondo should be required and, indeed, the repairer might opt to use Duraglass underneath Bondo to smooth things out and prevent any lifting due to expansion/contraction differentials as the years go by.

I hope you're able to get your car repaired quickly because it's your DD. I'm fortunate that I can allow mine to linger in the shop all winter.

I appreciate the wonderful suggestions, Bob, but I would prefer to do it without having to have filler if at all possible. I really don't like filler as I've seen what it does after years of being on cars and it tends to only cover up the stuff I don't want to see. Like I said, I have a few leads on some parts cars, so I may just see if they have any rear fenders for this my '78. I don't know. I guess I will have to just see what the extent of the damage really ends up being once it starts getting hammered out.

On the up note, I did buy a toyota pickup to get me around so that I can now park my z until she is drivable and also this season is behind us. A little stress off my back because now she can be in a shop and I can still get to work

Thank you everybody for your comments and suggestions!

[EScanlon]

Alicia:

Given the choice between a bump and filler job and cutting and replacing a fender.... and don't forget that it will also require some filler..... it would be much cheaper to do the bump and fill. Additionally, it would probably take less filler and potentially have less problems than a cut and weld.

While the damage to your car is unsightly, it is by no means to the stage where you need a new fender.

Filler has received a bad reputation over the years, mostly because of amateurs doing shoddy and short-cutted "repairs". If used properly by someone who knows how to use it, it is by far the easiest and fastest method of dent repair. Which is why so many amateurs skip the bumping part and head right to the filler.

FWIW

E

[Garagegoon]

Alicia:

Given the choice between a bump and filler job and cutting and replacing a fender.... and don't forget that it will also require some filler..... it would be much cheaper to do the bump and fill. Additionally, it would probably take less filler and potentially have less problems than a cut and weld.

While the damage to your car is unsightly, it is by no means to the stage where you need a new fender.

Filler has received a bad reputation over the years, mostly because of amateurs doing shoddy and short-cutted "repairs". If used properly by someone who knows how to use it, it is by far the easiest and fastest method of dent repair. Which is why so many amateurs skip the bumping part and head right to the filler.

FWIW

E

I must agree here. If done right filler will hold and look just fine. I just got back from cutting fender lips off a 56 ford that had filler in the fender. The car has been sitting since the 70's at least. The owner said that he had wrecked it in the 60's. He owns his own speed shop and had done the repair himself.