Rear Clam Shell

[italyciccia76]

Morning all

I posted for the first time yesterday and received some fantastic advice and was hoping for more of the same.

To fix a small dent in the back of my Lotus I was advised that I would need to remove and refit a rear clam shell, and was told this work would cost £1,500 ex VAT.

Does this sound accurate as I am certain Wilsons in Chadwell Heath were trying fleece me as they offered £8k for a car that has done 20k miles.

I appreciate any advice or if anyone knows where I may be able to get the work done cheaper.

Thanks for your advice again.

[JTBUSH]

Can you stick up a picture of the damage?

[italyciccia76]

yes of course - i wont be able to do it until tonight though. Basically there is a white mark scratch no longer than 2 inches if that - it was caused by a shopping trolley

[noodleman]

I think you already know that £1500 is wrong to fix a scratch!

Take it elsewhere.

[21TonyK]

Sounds like someone who knows what they are doing could fix it for a lot less and more easily. Miles at Fibreglass Services maybe or Alan/Karl at Specialised Paintwork spring to mind although there are probably 101 others as well.

[italyciccia76]

i did hope so !

I just didnt know if it could be fixed without replacing the whole rear?

[siwil1]

Wilsons are no longer a lotus dealer so may not be that interested in new work.

See the thread re Sinclaires they are just up the road at Gallows corner and a million times better.

[italyciccia76]

thanks for your help guys - i'll post a picture tonight

[S Works]

Talk to Sinclaires in Romford. www.lotusrepairs.com

[italyciccia76]

thanks

[jcb156]

Hi italyciccia76,

I had an experience last year which may help.

Had a shunt on the rear clam just above the left wheel arch which left a large crack in the arch and needed a new clam, plus check the chassis, geometry etc and was in the thousands.

On the night before the car went to be repaired (Merritts bodyshop) it was reversed into on the street outside my house. This time the front right wheel arch and a small crack (2-3cm) This was fixed by the same bodyshop at the same time for a few hundred.

HTH

J

[jb111s]

Give Fibreglass services a yell. They are far cheaper than most other bodyshops (only charge 30 odd quid an hour)& do a great job.

[Piddy]

On a similar note, someone has accidentily tapped my car on the rear clam as they reversed a couple of weeks ago. Fortunately i saw them doing it and got their insurance details as the were 'apparently' unaware they had even hit it.

The scratch is barely an inch long but it has cracked right through the fibreglass. Does anyone know if this something they will try to repair or will it be a replacement rear clam job, which i would obviously prefer. It will have to go through their insurance anyway as they have scratched the alloy as well.

[Beachbum]

Piddy said:

On a similar note, someone has accidentily tapped my car on the rear clam as they reversed a couple of weeks ago. Fortunately i saw them doing it and got their insurance details as the were 'apparently' unaware they had even hit it.

The scratch is barely an inch long but it has cracked right through the fibreglass. Does anyone know if this something they will try to repair or will it be a replacement rear clam job, which i would obviously prefer. It will have to go through their insurance anyway as they have scratched the alloy as well.

Depends who you take it to, as to the method of repair, Lotus main dealers, in my experience seem to just say "New clam", whereas a lot of the specialists will fix things. Depends on what you want, as to where you take it. From your comments, it would seem the dealers will provide you with the result you are after

[Piddy]

Beachbum said:

Piddy said:

On a similar note, someone has accidentily tapped my car on the rear clam as they reversed a couple of weeks ago. Fortunately i saw them doing it and got their insurance details as the were 'apparently' unaware they had even hit it.

The scratch is barely an inch long but it has cracked right through the fibreglass. Does anyone know if this something they will try to repair or will it be a replacement rear clam job, which i would obviously prefer. It will have to go through their insurance anyway as they have scratched the alloy as well.

Depends who you take it to, as to the method of repair, Lotus main dealers, in my experience seem to just say "New clam", whereas a lot of the specialists will fix things. Depends on what you want, as to where you take it. From your comments, it would seem the dealers will provide you with the result you are after

Nice one. Cheers mate. That was what i wanted to hear. I would rather have it restored to pristine condition than risk having a crack repaired which might reappear sometime in the future.