Hello,

My partner misjudged a bend in our '72 MGB GT on Saturday and, to cut
a long story short, we ended up on our side (nearside) in a ditch. Both
of us were fine, and the car has sustained surprisingly little damage.

The left front wing and left door have both dented, but no paint
breakage. The windscreen is broken on the left side, and there is
kinking in the roof - it looks like the A-pillar has been pushed back a
smidgen. There is almost no scratching or scraping, most likely due to
the squelchy muddy nature of the ditch - I'm still fishing handfuls
goopy mud from the bodywork :-).

For a better idea of the damage, see the photos:
http://www.photonhunter.co.uk/photos/events/mg-crash

Sensitive readers will be pleased to know that she (the car!) has been
given a wash, wax & hoover since then, and looks almost better than she
ever has, apart from the obvious...

So, I now have a few questions. I am insured with Lancaster/Groupama
under the MGOC scheme. How likely are they to be amenable to repairs
(if possible) being undertaken at a repairer of my choice, rather than
one of their 'approved repairers'?

If I am allowed to choose the repairer, given it's a classic MG, am I
likely to be better off taking it to my friendly-but-standard garage
(who happen to have an accident repair business), Drewett's in
Headington, or to somewhere less geared to accident repair but more
geared to MGs - e.g. Manor Farm Garage near Wantage, or Oselli in
Witney?

Should the shell be deemed unrepairable, I am considering a rebuild
around a Heritage shell. I see these cost GBP 4060 - how much are
labour for transfer of the bits from my car, painting, etc, likely
to set me back?

Finally, the poor car was unceremoniously dragged out of the ditch
backwards by the rear axle (nngh). I can't see any signs of resulting
damage, though I will probably get the alignment checked. Was this the
most sensible purchase point for the winching, or could I have
recommended something better?

TIA,
Arthur

--
..-------------------------------------------------------------.
| Arthur Bullard | | |
| | http://photonhunter.co.uk/ | |
`-------------------------------------------------------------'

"Arthur Bullard" wrote in message
...
Hello,

My partner misjudged a bend in our '72 MGB GT on Saturday and, to
cut
a long story short, we ended up on our side (nearside) in a ditch.
Both
of us were fine, and the car has sustained surprisingly little
damage.

Hmmm...... I'm not so sure - Sorry :~(


The left front wing and left door have both dented, but no paint
breakage. The windscreen is broken on the left side, and there is
kinking in the roof - it looks like the A-pillar has been pushed
back a

What are the door gaps like, is there any obvious difference between
what they were before or LH to RH ? I also want to know what the tear
in the headlining is, was that there before the accident, if not do
you know what caused it ?

smidgen. There is almost no scratching or scraping, most likely due
to
the squelchy muddy nature of the ditch - I'm still fishing handfuls
goopy mud from the bodywork :-).

The trouble is, judging by the photo's it has come into hard contact
with something...


For a better idea of the damage, see the photos:
http://www.photonhunter.co.uk/photos/events/mg-crash

Ouch !


Sensitive readers will be pleased to know that she (the car!) has
been
given a wash, wax & hoover since then, and looks almost better than
she
ever has, apart from the obvious...

So, I now have a few questions. I am insured with Lancaster/Groupama
under the MGOC scheme. How likely are they to be amenable to repairs
(if possible) being undertaken at a repairer of my choice, rather
than
one of their 'approved repairers'?

It's *your* car, you can have your property repaired were ever you
like, they may play silly buggers and delay sorting out the claim but
you just need to be firm with them [1]. I suspect you are looking at a
substantial repair here (roof screen pillar areas are always a *******
area). I will stress that this is based solely on your photo's, the
car needs to be inspected in person by someone who knows what they are
looking at.

[1] even if it means accepting a cash payment (write off) whilst
keeping salvage, and then you having the car repaired.


If I am allowed to choose the repairer, given it's a classic MG, am
I
likely to be better off taking it to my friendly-but-standard garage
(who happen to have an accident repair business), Drewett's in
Headington, or to somewhere less geared to accident repair but more
geared to MGs - e.g. Manor Farm Garage near Wantage, or Oselli in
Witney?

No, you NEED a car-body shop that is well used to re-aligning panels
and not just fitting new (as many body-shops do now), so you have the
damaged planished out and not just bodged.


Should the shell be deemed unrepairable, I am considering a rebuild
around a Heritage shell. I see these cost GBP 4060 - how much are
labour for transfer of the bits from my car, painting, etc, likely
to set me back?

You'll be talking about a good two weeks work to spray the new shell
[1], strip and fit-up the new shell - there might be other
(mechanical) work that needs to be done so that the car can be put
back together, I would cost in a new complete clutch anyway unless
it's all but brand new.

[1] it will also take a lot more paint than you think to paint
correctly which needs costing in.


Finally, the poor car was unceremoniously dragged out of the ditch
backwards by the rear axle (nngh). I can't see any signs of
resulting
damage, though I will probably get the alignment checked. Was this
the
most sensible purchase point for the winching, or could I have
recommended something better?


Given the options, it was probably one of the best places to use, if
the body has been damaged by such a recovery then it's time for a
major rebuild anyway (IYSWIM), I doubt that the axle would have bent
unless the recovery person want very careless.

I really have reservation about just how much damage has been done, my
bones are telling me that the pictures are not telling me all I would
need to know before estimating for this sort of damage.

On Mon, 30 May 2005 18:39:20 +0000 (UTC), Arthur Bullard
wrote:

So, I now have a few questions. I am insured with Lancaster/Groupama
under the MGOC scheme. How likely are they to be amenable to repairs
(if possible) being undertaken at a repairer of my choice, rather than
one of their 'approved repairers'?

Phone them and tell them that you would prefer the repairs to be done
at your chosen specialist, given that the car is a classic, etc and
would not really be suited to repair at a modern bodyshop. Get a
quote for repair from them too, and send it to your insurer. I did
this after a recent accident in my 1966 Beetle, and they did not even
argue against me about that after they had inspected the car.

--
Howard Rose
1966 VW Beetle 1300 Deluxe
1962 Austin Mini Deluxe
1964 Austin Mini Super Deluxe
http://www.howard81.co.uk/ (cars on website)

On Tue, 31 May 2005 21:47:38 +0100, ":::Jerry::::"
wrote:


"Arthur Bullard" wrote in message
...

So, I now have a few questions. I am insured with Lancaster/Groupama
under the MGOC scheme. How likely are they to be amenable to repairs
(if possible) being undertaken at a repairer of my choice, rather
than
one of their 'approved repairers'?

It's *your* car, you can have your property repaired were ever you
like, they may play silly buggers and delay sorting out the claim but
you just need to be firm with them.

I do recall having a claim on a new Citroen AX. We insisted it be done
at the Citroen garage as the car was under warranty; the insurers wanted
us to use their approved repairer. The irony was that the two were
different garages of the same company on opposite sides of town! but by
the time they'd agreed the warranty had expired anyway!
--
Regards, Chris (Please take out my car to reply by email)
----1961 Austin A40 Farina----1966 Triumph Herald Estate---
---1967 Riley Elf---1965 Hillman Minx---1969 Morris Minor--
-1972 Mini Clubman estate--1957 Standard 8--1979 Ford Capri
********** Please don't email in HTML! **********

"Howard Rose" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 30 May 2005 18:39:20 +0000 (UTC), Arthur Bullard
wrote:

So, I now have a few questions. I am insured with
Lancaster/Groupama
under the MGOC scheme. How likely are they to be amenable to
repairs
(if possible) being undertaken at a repairer of my choice, rather
than
one of their 'approved repairers'?

Phone them and tell them that you would prefer the repairs to be
done
at your chosen specialist, given that the car is a classic, etc and
would not really be suited to repair at a modern bodyshop.

As I said in my reply, the most important thing is not were or what
age of vehicle the 'shop is used to working on but the fact that they
are used to the damage that has been done - many a classic car
workshop could bodge this sort of repair just as well as any
slap-happy 'late vehicles only' workshop if they don't know what they
are doing.