Newby with accident damage!

[LogicSnap]

Became the proud owner of an S2 111S after two years of saving...10 days later some idiot in a beemer drives into me, then reverses and pulls a small chunk out of my right side panel where the side indicator sits.

Getting a coachworks company to look at it tomorrow, but wanted some advice from the forum, is this a new panel required or a patch and fill effort? I want a new panel so my pride and joy is back to normal but worried his insurance company will opt for the cheapest option! Can I force them to fix it how i want?

cheers anyone!

[dunxS1]

I suppose it really depends on how bad it is, I would try and push for a new front clam and front end respray if it's an insurance job.Though I have seen some very good repairs of damaged clams. Sorry to hear about your misfortune.
Dunx.

[LogicSnap]

ask a stupid question...exactly what constitutes the front clam? My damage is thankfully limited to the small panel around the side indicator, thanks for replying though!

[S Works]

Don't let any old coachworks give you an estimate or repair. I see you're in London. Do you know Sinclaire's of Romford? They are THE people to talk to for Lotus repairs in London, especially bodywork as you describe. Give them a call. Very friendly, and will be happy to help you out.

[mike9009]

The panel you describe is one panel which wraps around the front of the car and includes each wing (commonly known as the front clam). I suspect a simple patch repair would be sufficient. Can you post pictures of the damage?? Might help other recommend repair options....

Mike

[cyberface]

The issue is really that the Elise doesn't have 'panels' as such, but two 'clamshells', one entire GRP shell at the front, and one at the back.

Light damage can be repaired by experts, but if you want it pristine then you'll need a new clam. These cost thousands, but are more or less a simple paint-and-bolt-on job.

At least it's an Elise and not a VX220 - Elise clams are readily available whereas VX220 ones are not... a small corner bump on my VXT resulted in the insurance company writing it off

Push really hard for a new clam - the benefit to this is that virtually any bodyshop / Lotus dealer can fit it and do a good enough job. If the insurance company won't budge and want to do a fibreglass repair, then make sure it's done by experts who have history of 'invisible' repairs on Lotuses (I don't know of one, but a search here and on SELOC will find the favoured firms). Botched fibreglass repairs can result in paint bubbling / delamination over time (hell, my VXT came from the factory with these fibreglass faults...)

[riwiho]

As has been mentioned above, to provide a more accurate answer, images will provide a better understanding of the damage.

Don't take it to any old body shop. Elise bodywork is fragile and as such any repairs you have completed should be done by a Lotus specialist who can bring your vehicle back to an acceptable condition. Sounds like you shall require a new front clam and where possible any Elise owner would push for this if it was on offer from the insurance company.

Edited by riwiho on Wednesday 4th March 20:42

[LogicSnap]

Cheers for all the input guys! Pictures to follow, have to bluetooth them to my housmates phone as thats the only one sync'd to this computer... The place I am taking it too was recomended by my insurance company, they are called north Acton Coachworks, and apparently they do specialise in Lotus repairs

http://www.actoncoachworks.co.uk/news_thesource.ht...

Thankfully this is about 2 miles from where I work in Chiswick. Dont want to fly in the face of accepted wisdom but it really does look to part of a very small separate panel between the door and main front section (clam?). Anyway a picture tells a 1000 words...

[LogicSnap]

I assume its because I am being dense, but I cant see how it says to post pictures... in any case I have uploaded it to be my profile pic, so its viewable there. Looking at the photos of Boggy's white Exige, if you find a side profile of the car and see where the front indicator is, thats the panel in question.

[Scuffers]

thats part of the front clam

[Scuffers]

I would suggest that's a relatively simple fix...

[Justin S]

Thats the hinge cover panel.unbolts on 4 bolts and will probably be replaced and painted.If somehow a mark appears on the panel above, then the whole clam may have to be painted too. Easy job to replace that panel.

[LogicSnap]

Thanks for all your help lads, will put a quick post on tomorrow after speaking to the coachworks company, might be a good company for any owners in west london.

cheers again

[bjc388]

Ouch - sorry to hear about your misfortune

If you're in W London then also give Steve Williams a call if that's more convenient: http://swlotus.com/

[LogicSnap]

The verdict if anyone is interested is that it is a separate panel. The place looked like they know what they were doing, they had three lotus in their already and a brace of Lambo's and fezza's. They even had a stack of front clams from old jobs, so we could check that the panel in question was not attached to the main clam. Anyway will be getting a new panel and the guy reccomended a respray of the whole front clam to cover a tiny scratch on the main section along the lines of "well if your not paying mate..." I'm not paying but I cant help feel that this is why we pay so much insurance in the first place... another thread methinks..

thanks to all the posters

ps they do wheel re-sprays too, satin black might look nice...

[miro]

I would still have gone to Sincs. might not see as many supercars there but they have a reputation amoungst lotus owners that is second to none, true enthusiasts with a proven track record in exactly this sort of thing.

Hope its all sorted quickly and you are back on the road asap.

[jondude]

LogicSnap said:

The verdict if anyone is interested is that it is a separate panel. The place looked like they know what they were doing, they had three lotus in their already and a brace of Lambo's and fezza's. They even had a stack of front clams from old jobs, so we could check that the panel in question was not attached to the main clam. Anyway will be getting a new panel and the guy reccomended a respray of the whole front clam to cover a tiny scratch on the main section along the lines of "well if your not paying mate..." I'm not paying but I cant help feel that this is why we pay so much insurance in the first place... another thread methinks..

thanks to all the posters

ps they do wheel re-sprays too, satin black might look nice...

Good points. This 'well, if your'e not paying, mate' is as annoying as it is wrong. You are paying and so am I through higher premiums. Insurers are not charities, they work more as credit card companies.....they pay the bills they send them onto us.

Are you certain the other bloke's insurers have agreed to this work?

[LogicSnap]

The plot thickens... My insurance company told me that third party's insurance is a Motor Trade Policy, similar but not the same as a fleet policy. Ie for a garage owner to cover cars on their property, if they own them or not. The insurance company dont know all the details yet as the policy is apparently with Royal Sun Alliance, but they are claiming no knowlege about it. Sounds fishy to me. I have also been advised that I will have to claim on my insurance, and then try and recover my excess (£500) and then get my no clams re-instated.

As you stated, we all pay in the end!

[Zippee]

Give PHer anniesdad a call, he runs an accident management company called europa (www.europaconsultants.co.uk - his direct line is on the contacts page) and specialises in this sort of thing, especially when insurers try to bugger you about. I've used him 3 times and I know of a lot of other PHers who also swear by him.
At the very least he will give you advice on what to do.
Personally I'd not want to claim through my own policy unless I had absolutely no choice. It's a bugger to get your excess and NCB back as well.

[LogicSnap]

Zipee, excelent shout with Europa. I gave them a call yesterday they and seemed really professional, listening to my problem and coming up with some ideas of their own and explaining the situation to me. I then had a follow-up call this morning outlining the progress so far. Anyone else reading this, I would recomend them.

Thanks again

Russ