Its wonderful how bad news piles on just when you dont need it.

Firstly I get a crack in my windscreen. An absolute beast. 70 quid to autoglass.

So this morning the guy turns up in his van to replace my screen. It's chucking it down with rain but not windy so all is good. My coupe is starting to shape up nicely in terms of it becoming mint condition. I'm in my garage with the car half in so the autoglass guy has a bit of room to get around the front. I'm having a look around the car admiring its freshly waxed paintwork when the autogalss bloke walks in only to tell me he's got his van stuck on my lawn and low and behold he's span his wheels so much that its beached itself. Great. Why the hell has he driven off my drive onto my lawn?!

While he arranges for a tow to come and get him out, I sat in my car in the garage.

Then..... BANG!

I put my head back on the headrest and closed my eyes. Yep, thats right the one and only time the garage door has ever fell shut by itself is when my coup is sitting under it! It was wedged tight yet somehow it fell closed! It's never done that before. Ever.

I got out to have a look to be greeted by my aerial bent in half and the garage door resting on the edge of my bootlid.

Now, my car wasnt perfect but it was getting there. I need a new bonnet because of a dent that cant be repaired. Its not a massive dent and its not too noticable unless its pointed out but I still want it gone. I need a tiny bit of rust repaired on the offside rear wheel arch, a little scratch on the rear bumper which may aswell be resprayed and I need to have the aux belts replaced.

I was even contemplating an LE kit and a s/s exhaust. The car was nearly there In my view. Now I've got a giant scrape across the bootlid (down to metal), a nackered aerial and motor (which is sticking out into the boot through the flap in the boot lining). Money is tight but I still want a mint condition car, which I think I deserve as we all do. Why do these things happen? I may as well think about a full respray as the panels that need changing are so obvious that a colour match might not be perfect.

Im so close to loving that car but with things like this happening it gets harder and harder.

would your house insurance cover this, accidental damage?

don't give up mate, come the spring and summer it'll all be worth it

Ahh mate im so sorry to hear that. But hey think of it as a blessing in a sick and twisted way. You were getting your car perfect bit by bit slowly slowly. I would just go and get a respray funds permitting, get every dink filled or pushed out and go the whole way with it. Trust me when you get your car back from the body shop you will fall in love with it over and over again.

I had the same prob with mine, lots of marks and dinks - no one would notice them until i pointed them out. But they really do p-you-off when you see them. The minute my car came out of that spraybooth it was like nothing i imagined!

You wont regret it.

Keep you chin up mate and let us know how you get on

Mario

I might well consider a full respray but that would mean having to live with the new massive scrape until I can get the funds together.

I use the car as my 'daily' driver although it only goes out two or three times a week and lives outside while I'm at univeristy so with a repsray, I think I'd be more paranoid about it then I am now.

oh yes the downside of a respray, you will be seriously paranoid. I had aquired a rather new way of parking since i had the respray. Lets just say it anoyed many people

ps your car is a really nice shade btw

Thanks. It really does look spot on in the flesh (when clean). I've not look at the coup since the incident earlier so hopefully I wont get too annoyed everytime I see it. I love the clean lines of the rear. Not so clean now

Just keep your pecker up and don't get down-hearted. That is one lovely coupe.

Why don't you speak to Joe? His spray guy is spot on with colour matching and I bet the price won't be astronomical!

These things are sent to test us, you'll laugh about it one day

PS - PM me your address and I'll send you a free copy of my Lawn Book, at least I can help you getting the lawn looking good

Cheers guys. Im waiting on a quote from Joe for some work anyway so I'll see the damage for that first

Thanks for the compliment AlanW. By the time I'm finished with my plans for the car it should be a great example...hopefully.

Patch234 your car is looking great. Thats a real transformation.

Just had a the new windscreen put in. One job done at least