Oops. A PU backed into my B a few years ago when my wife was driving it. Not
quite as much damage as you experienced. Since they B is a unibody design
with independent front suspension, there isn't really a frame or a front
axle to "bend" -- basically it's all of a piece, so it's that much harder to
straighten.
I couldn't find any body shops in the area even willing to give me an
estimate. All they are interested in is late model insurance work. I did get
a settlement from the other driver's insurance company, by taking the car to
their claims center along with the Moss catalog. Since it was mostly bolt-on
replacements in my case (bumper, grill, bonnet), they used the parts prices
from Moss and standard shop rates, and estimated the hours, to come to an
amount, and cut a check right there. In actual fact it probably would not
have covered having a shop completely repair and paint the front end, but
since the paint was completely shot and there was evidence of previous
poorly-repaired damage, I thought it was an adequate amount. As an aside,
there is a good reason to drive around only in perfect condition vehicles --
if the paint is faded, and you get in an accident, you wind up paying for a
paint job on the entire car, since the insurance will only pay for
repainting the damaged area, but who would do that?
Good luck.
on 5/8/01 11:50 AM, Justin Lehrer at justinl8@yahoo.com wrote:
> My '79 MGB was in an accident yesterday near San Francisco. My girlfriend had
> the car, and she rear-ended one of those god-forsaken Mercedes SUVs at about
> 10mph. Nobody got hurt. The passenger side has most of the damage--hood is
> bent a bit, front fender is bent down and digging into the tire. Axle looks
> like it might be bent also. Windsheild also cracked. I think my dogs head
> went into it (dog is fine--he's got a hard head!). Needless to say, I am
> devastated. The insurance adjuster hasn't come yet to appraise, but I fear
> the frame may be bent. The whole front quarter of the car is bent down
> towards the ground. I have some questions for the list:
>
> 1. Can anyone recommend a body shop that works on MG's in the SF Bay area? On
> the peninsula would be ideal, but I am open to all recommendations.
>
> 2. Does anyone have any advice for me with regard to the insurance appraisal?
> My concern is that since these cars are not all that common, and probably wont
> be in the computer systems for instant parts quotes, that the insurance guy
> will lowball me or declare it a total loss. Anyone have experiences with this
> they can share?
>
> Thanks. All advice is appreciated.
>
> Justin Lehrer
> '79 Red MGB in critical condition
> Redwood City, CA
> justinl8@yahoo.com
--
Max Heim
'66 MGB GHN3L76149
If you're near Mountain View, CA,
it's the red one with the silver bootlid.
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