front hood bent - db9

[pbe624]

Hi all,

strange thing happened yesterday. I was waiting at the traffic light, auto box in D, foot on the brake and suddenly the car leaped forward a bit and hit car in front of me.

I think I may have put my right foot on both the brake and throttle at the same time, and when I let go of the brake, car moved forward... stupid of me of course.

Anyway, car in front did not have any visible damage so that was good. On my car, I heard the bump and checked the front. Front bumper has 2 small paint spots from car in front, which I can easily fix but more worringly is that the front hood of my car has bent slightly along the side on the driver side (Euro car), while on the other side, no visible change.

It is just a small curve and from front to windwo ,at its widest about 1 cm (somewher in the middle), and then gently curves back towards the window. I can open and close the hood with no problems, but viewing it from the side, you can see the small opening anyway.

So, question is: will this be an easy/expensive fix or does it mean the whole hood has to be replaced ? I will be checking with the dealer but just wanted to check if anybody has had similar experience and could share that.

So, it is just a slight curve going up and down, so I was expecting that it could be bent back into shape, but not sure... .

Any feedback welcome !

Cheers,
Frank

[yeti]

It sounds like a new bonnet is needed without seeing it

It's very thin aluminium and does flex very easily. If its creased then uncreasing it would be tough. Start looking for one on eBay or the scrap dealers, they're only a few hundred but its paint that'll cost. Good chance to get rid of any stone chips though

[Bravo73]

yeti said:

Good chance to get rid of any stone chips though

...or 'upgrade' to a DBS bonnet.

[pbe624]

Hi all,

just spoke with dealer and he said that if it is a small deformation, sometimes they can bend it back into shape, but he will have to see it... .

Will be back in 2 weeks from worktrip so will know then , when I go and see them.

I will check what they say, post a picture (if I can, not sure if/how this works) and update on the results so that others can take confort (if positive solution) or get depressed (if I need to buy a new hod, respray etc,...) ;-).

Cheers,
Frank

[ds2000]

Without seeing pics its very hard to comment. You'd be amazed at what a skilled bodyshop chap can straighten out these days though. If its just bent and not creased you'll probably be ok.

[Neil1300R]

A bent /deformed bonnet (hood) can be repaired, especially if its not creased. Just don't ask me how I know.

[pbe624]

Hi Neil,

how do you know ;-)))

Well, if anybody had similar experience and has a picture of before & after, I can show it to the dealer to maybe convince him that it can be done.

Although I generally think they are very open and honest with myself (my experience so far), I would want to make sure that what can be fixed gets fixed and not replaced. I am sure my wallet would agree with that :-)

And no, it is not creased (I was looking for that word), i.e. it is a gentle flowing bent from front to rear which at the middle point sticks above the rest of the front about 1 cm... . I think the only concern is that it is aluminum and not steel so not sure how much you can manipulate shapes with that material.

Will know in 2 weeks I guess and will post results here (and cost for repair if that's what they do so that people have an idea).

Cheers,
Frank

[Neil1300R]

I deleted the before photos as they make me cry!

[ds2000]

With all due respect... ask around locally for a respected/known bodyshop... for instance there is one near me in Wales and I had a nasty scratch and crack on my S2000's rear bumper (hit and run at the train station ) fixed and painted.... £100

A bonnet is even easier to remove if thats what they need to do.