I bumped my car....some advice needed

[ticex]

Hi there,

Well, last night the inevitable happened and I scraped my car squeezing it into my underground parking in Brussels . I managed to catch the rear right wheel arch, rear edge of the back door and the rear of the plastic rubbing strip. Just to put me out of my misery does anyone have an approximate idea how much this is going to cost to fix?

Anyway, as I'm abroad I will need to use the car everyday so getting it fixed over here will be a bit of an inconvenience. I will be back in the UK within 2 weeks so was wondering if it will be ok to drive it with these bits of bare metal exposed and just have it fixed at home? The bit just behind the door has been ground down a fair bit and the wheel arch is crumpled a bit.

Here's a photo of the damage:

Thanks very much in advance for any advice!

Michael

 

[peterchurch]

Hi,
owch! The first thing I would do is rub a small pad of silvo into the big white scratches. This will remove the crud and you will get a better idea of what the real damange is. (Try the silvo on a small patch first. I used this method on my SL the other day no ill effects ) wash the silvo off with water at regular intervals and work in the same directions as the scratch...


Best regards,

Peter

 

[ticex]

Hi there,

Thanks for the tip...i've already given it a good rub-down and most of the scratches have gone down to the metal with the bit just behind the door being the worst. I know a good paintshop in Edinburgh and would much rather get it done when I'm home but my worry is whether having the bare metal exposed to the elements for the 2 weeks I'm driving it over here will make things worse. I know it's now "summer" but it will no doubt be raining a lot and the metal will get contaminated.

 

[peterchurch]

Hi there,

Thanks for the tip...i've already given it a good rub-down and most of the scratches have gone down to the metal with the bit just behind the door being the worst. I know a good paintshop in Edinburgh and would much rather get it done when I'm home but my worry is whether having the bare metal exposed to the elements for the 2 weeks I'm driving it over here will make things worse. I know it's now "summer" but it will no doubt be raining a lot and the metal will get contaminated.

You might be suprised at the extra amount of crud the silvo removes. Get some wax in the cracks to seal them till you get home

 

[portzy]

I know it will look awfull in the interim but I would, (and I have done in the past), smear the bare metal with something like vaseline or similar greasy substance. It looks awfull I know but it will keep the rain and damp off the metal. Just keep checking it and replenishing it should it thin out at all in the sun.

Portzy.

 

[ticex]

Hi there,

Thanks very much for the tip about the Wax and Vaseline....I'll pop out and buy some shortly! It seems I may be coming home sooner than I thought as I'm needed back in Edinburgh next week so hopefully I'll get the damage fixed soon. Hopefully it won't be too expensive a mishap!

Thanks again guys!

 

[Steve_Perry]

I know it will look awfull in the interim but I would, (and I have done in the past), smear the bare metal with something like vaseline or similar greasy substance. It looks awfull I know but it will keep the rain and damp off the metal. Just keep checking it and replenishing it should it thin out at all in the sun.

Portzy.

Very wise words of advice, you will be amazed at how very quickly bare mild steel will turn to the horrid brown flaky rust when exposed to the elements.

S.

 

[Anders]

Hi there,

Well, last night the inevitable happened and I scraped my car squeezing it into my underground parking in Brussels . I managed to catch the rear right wheel arch, rear edge of the back door and the rear of the plastic rubbing strip. Just to put me out of my misery does anyone have an approximate idea how much this is going to cost to fix?

Anyway, as I'm abroad I will need to use the car everyday so getting it fixed over here will be a bit of an inconvenience. I will be back in the UK within 2 weeks so was wondering if it will be ok to drive it with these bits of bare metal exposed and just have it fixed at home? The bit just behind the door has been ground down a fair bit and the wheel arch is crumpled a bit.

Here's a photo of the damage:

Thanks very much in advance for any advice!

Michael

Michael,

You could take it to Diplomatic Car, rue Artan 9-11, 1030 Brusssels, phone 02-215-1047. Have used them previously and they are very good. If you ask nicely, they will also forget about VAT... Should cost you less than 250 euro.

 

[ticex]

Hi Anders,

Thanks very much for the info! As is always the case with my work at the last moment I have to rush back to Edinburgh so I will be departing from Brussels this evening with the car. However, I will keep the number of "Diplomatic Car" handy for the next smash....I'm in Etterbeek so they are just down the road from me.

Thanks again - greatly appreciated!

Best Regards,
Michael