Dented A2 ?

CD17

A2OC Donor
I spent ages looking for a nice A2 TDi 90 & eventually found one in January from another A2OC member, I had to get the clutch & the cam belt replaced, had some other bit done to make it how I want it.

Yesterday morning the bin men while moving the bin to the road let it slip & hit my car ? the dent is quite nasty, so I need to find someone who can repair it.

I’ve contacted the council & I’m waiting for them to get back to me.
 

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I spent ages looking for a nice A2 TDi 90 & eventually found one in January from another A2OC member, I had to get the clutch & the cam belt replaced, had some other bit done to make it how I want it.

Yesterday morning the bin men while moving the bin to the road let it slip & hit my car ? the dent is quite nasty, so I need to find someone who can repair it.

I’ve contacted the council & I’m waiting for them to get back to me.

I'm sorry to hear about the damage caused to your A2. As you've been advised elsewhere, I'm sure that an insurance claim would result in the car being written off on account of the higher cost of repairs to aluminium panels. A quick Google search led me to Sandown Coachworks in Surrey, who appear to be Aston Martin approved and so will be familiar with aluminium bodywork.
Perhaps a call to there so you can get an estimate of the cost that you can relate to the Council official when they make contact would be a starting point.
 
Doesn't look too difficult for a bodyshop to sort. They could pull the majority, fill and then blend in the panel. Luckily its next to a glass window so any difference in colour would be less obvious if it happens.
 
I'm sorry to hear about the damage caused to your A2. As you've been advised elsewhere, I'm sure that an insurance claim would result in the car being written off on account of the higher cost of repairs to aluminium panels. A quick Google search led me to Sandown Coachworks in Surrey, who appear to be Aston Martin approved and so will be familiar with aluminium bodywork.
Perhaps a call to there so you can get an estimate of the cost that you can relate to the Council official when they make contact would be a starting point.


Thank you I’ll contact them & see what they say.
 
Hi. I feel your pain. Hope it is repairable by pulling and painting.

I'll be interested in your Council's response. When I made a claim with Wiltshire last year re tar damage at road works they said it was nothing to do with them and I should contact the contractor. I replied that they were the Statutory Authority for Highways and if they wanted to sub-contract then that was their business and my claim was against them. They then quoted the GDPR as to why they could not pass my claim to the contractor. I replied that I held the council liable but they had my permission to pass on my details, which they did.

After 8 months and no action - any emails to the council simply got forward to the contractor - I made a formal complaint and threaten to go to the Ombudsman. Suddenly I got a letter from the contractor offering a goodwill settlement (what I claimed) without admission to liability.

So stand your ground if they get obstructive.

I recall reading that there are few companies expert in aluminium repairs and therefore could be costly and the council might offer no more that scrap value. So if you can find a good local bodyshop who can pull it out, fill and paint that might be a good compromise. Aluminium is soft, so they need to be competent - no bashing like steel! I used a body shop that was into restoring modern classic cars. Getting a good colour match is key.
 
Hi. I feel your pain. Hope it is repairable by pulling and painting.

I'll be interested in your Council's response. When I made a claim with Wiltshire last year re tar damage at road works they said it was nothing to do with them and I should contact the contractor. I replied that they were the Statutory Authority for Highways and if they wanted to sub-contract then that was their business and my claim was against them. They then quoted the GDPR as to why they could not pass my claim to the contractor. I replied that I held the council liable but they had my permission to pass on my details, which they did.

After 8 months and no action - any emails to the council simply got forward to the contractor - I made a formal complaint and threaten to go to the Ombudsman. Suddenly I got a letter from the contractor offering a goodwill settlement (what I claimed) without admission to liability.

So stand your ground if they get obstructive.

I recall reading that there are few companies expert in aluminium repairs and therefore could be costly and the council might offer no more that scrap value. So if you can find a good local bodyshop who can pull it out, fill and paint that might be a good compromise. Aluminium is soft, so they need to be competent - no bashing like steel! I used a body shop that was into restoring modern classic cars. Getting a good colour match is key.

Thank you for your information, I know it’s not going to be easy, although it’s not just the damage, it’s the inconvenience & time I’m going to spend, so they should make it as easy as possible really.

A bit of good news, I also contacted the managing agents who manage our flats & they have contacted the refuse company & they’re not supposed to take the bins past the cars onto the main road, but drive the bin lorry into the car park & empty the bins this way.

These things normally happen when someone is cutting corners etc.
 
Doesn't look too difficult for a bodyshop to sort. They could pull the majority, fill and then blend in the panel. Luckily its next to a glass window so any difference in colour would be less obvious if it happens.

I certainly hope so ?
 
I wouldn't worry about the actual repair: access is pretty good there I think. It doesn't need anything clever, just basic hammer and dolly work with a little shrinking afterwards to get the level back down. In this context there's nothing very special about working with aluminium (filling / priming aside) as there's no welding or riveting involved. I speak with a little experience as have built vintage car bodies from aluminium.

I also wouldn't worry too much about it being written off either: it's a straightforward repair. Also, it's your car: you have the right to nominate your repairer and they can't inflict a 'write off' on you. Their priority in fairness is simply to get you and your claim gone. Therefore if you say 'here's my repairer, here's the quote and I'd like them to go ahead', they'll probably go for that as it's easy.

Don't be concerned if the repairer wants to lacquer the whole rear wing and along down the A-pillar. This just saves blend marks appearing in the lacquer down the line. In this case, you'd blend the colour out from the repair but take the lacquer to the end of the panel in question.
 
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Rusty has it nailed I couldn’t have said it better myself ..what is the world coming to when the insurance companies want to right a Car off for a dent ..I do know a little myself on working with ally ..many years on aircraft ..
 
Sadly this is the world we live in. When my partner's A2's door was slightly dented by a mobility driver not believing his reversing beepers (he had a lamppost right next to his gateway), his insurers said that a repair request would result in them forcing a write-off due to cost vs perceived value. Advice from here regarding wording got me an offer from them of a cheque for £500 if I took care of things myself which was better than losing the car and getting a cheque for ~£800 (their declared top value in spite of all the mechanical renovation work at that point). I got a replacement door panel for £50 from a8parts on Ebay that still needs to be installed (it was last autumn and the weather went rubbish) - which was better than nothing. It is worth pointing out that in conversation with the time-served guy who was sent to assess the car on their behalf (without warning due to a comms glitch, so it was away in work with my other half) - he said that A2s were notoriously difficult to do the values for because the bodywork repair costs were considered in his trade to be on the specialist-only scale analogous to coachbuilt classic sports cars, in spite of the Polo / Fabia mechanicals underneath and age that have a bigger influence on the real-world book value, so normally the insurers push back against any outcome except write-off at guide values or a fixed compensation cheque to get the owner to go away.
 
Update.

Luckily the bin men did the same thing on Tuesday, moved the bin past the cars & with just one person moving it. Their safe system of work states, 2 people to move the bins & they’re not supposed to take them to the road but pull the lorry into the car park, I got them on video & the manager accepted that they were not working to their procedures, so they’re going to pay for the repair.
 
Glad you've managed to get them bang to rights, and they're going to sort out the mess they made. And so they should!

Exactly, apparently the driver should report them for moving the 2 handed bins on their own, but it’s obvious he knew about it & was trying to save time.

I’ve also got a friend who can repair it, he works for ford in Southampton & he repairs old BMXs in his spare time as a hobby, he is unbelievably careful & precise & great attention to detail, so I’m happy for him to do the repairs.
 
I am very careful, have a great attention to detail, and the very best of intention.
I don’t have any experience panel beating aluminium and would make a real ar$e of repairing your car.
Just sayin’, Andrew ?
PS I am impressed by your detective skills catching the culprits on film.
 
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