The worst night of my life

[MiniMan]

Hi everyone,

I don't really know where to start with this. Last night about 8.30pm I went to pick my girlfriend up.
Took a corner and the back end came out, attempted to correct it and the car lost control. I ended up hitting a lamp post. I was fine, but the car isn't. I've owned it for 6 years and every bit of spare time I've spent tinkering, cleaning and improving this car and am absolutely distraught. I got about an hours sleep last night and still have a lump in my throat, going over what if I'd done this, what if I'd done that differently.

I thought I'd ask for your advice. I am yet to contact the insurers as after speaking with Martin (late last night, thanks again) and googling and researching, the cost of the repair simply seems out of reach and likely to be a right off.

It looks like its going to need a new bonnet, new inner wing, outer wing, front valence, headlight bowl and slam panel. Plus a new bumper, drivers side headlight and surround. The list is extensive and all I can see to do is rent a garage and put it away till I can find a donor car and all the bits I need.

Heres a few photos.











The final picture is of the engine bay. The car still runs fine, brakes, wheels all seem fine.
I've checked the chassis and that too looks to be fine.

Any advice or help would be appreciated. Like I said just gutted.

Sam

[Fordoholic Nick]

Hi Sam

Sorry to hear this mate. You can obviously see how much time and money you have spent on your Capri. I can honestly say that is one of the cleanest Pinto engine bays I seen. Whilst I cannot really offer any advice I do want to wish you all the best wishes to getting it sorted.

All the very best Sam

Nick

[Tamworthbay]

This may not help much at the moment, but remember that you are ok. Cars can be fixed, people are harder to sort when damaged. Take your time to go through the options and don't rush into anything. Most important of all DONT let the insurance company take the car away unless it's to a repairer of your choosing/ agreement. It will be treated like shit at their 'assessment' depot. They can just as easily assess it on your drive. Good luck mate.

[Peter-S]

Gutted for you Sam. As said, good that you are OK and the car does look repairable although at a cost. What sort of insurance do you have - is there an agreed value for the car?

[Noel]

Don't worry son, it will be alright.
I once had mine re-sprayed, then went sideways into a concrete fence about a fortnight later.
It took off the front wing, then picked up the rear wheel and bent the axle like a banana.
Had to be forklifted off the road it wouldn't even drag onto the flat bed that took it away.
Sill, it went back on the road within a year.

Least you drove home, so it ain't that bad!

Noel.

[andyd]

This may not help much at the moment, but remember that you are ok. Cars can be fixed, people are harder to sort when damaged. Take your time to go through the options and don't rush into anything. Most important of all DONT let the insurance company take the car away unless it's to a repairer of your choosing/ agreement. It will be treated like shit at their 'assessment' depot. They can just as easily assess it on your drive. Good luck mate.

100%

I know how you must feel
Andy

[Bertie]

Hi Sam

Very sorry to see this, It's been said but thank goodness you are ok, the car is repairable but it means not a jot when you see your hard work and PJ is damaged... been there, done that through insurance or not keep us up to speed, chin up buddy..

Des

[MiniMan]

Hi,

Thanks all for your advice and kind comments, much appreciated.
I decided to take the plunge this morning after speaking with a friend and call them. I'm now waiting to hear back but will not make any rash decisions.
My insurance is fully comprehensive with Adrian Flux.

Unfortunately I fear the worst. If it is writen off, right now, my plan would be to rent a garage and over time gather the bits I need to fix it.
Sam

[Caprifan Rob]

Sorry to hear this Sam. At least you're with a specialist insurer who understands classics, let us know how you get off mate.
All the best,
Rob

[A17 LTF]

Very sorry to hear of your woes but as has been said already, its not the end of the world. I did this once as well but my car ended up being scrapped. Should have bought it back but it would have needed jigging as the drivers door didnt shut properly.
Take your time in sorting things out and hopefully you should be able to get it back on the road sooner than you think.

[Bertie]

Hi,
My insurance is fully comprehensive with Adrian Flux.

Unfortunately I fear the worst. If it is writen off, right now, my plan would be to rent a garage and over time gather the bits I need to fix it.
Sam

If it is Sam that's a good plan, as you I'm comprehensive with AF so it will be interested in how they work with you on the claim...

Des

[D366Y]

About a year ago I had the exact same thing happen so know exactly how it feels.

I decided not to go down the insurance route, and purchased a new front valence, wing and bumper along with the necessary mounts from CCI. Wasn't cheap and came to around £4/500 for the parts but the garage that fitted and sprayed it all said they were some of the best pattern parts that they had seen in thirty years of repairs!

Luckily I had managed to pick up a bonnet a few months before on for £50 as it needed a bit of love and work and the old one had the traditional holes along the front edge.

Ended up giving the garage 11/1200 spondoolicks but insurance would have probably set me back more at the time...

Hope it all gets resolved for you

All the best
Danny

[Arnoldhar]

Sam really sorry to see your post good you are fine and to be honest the damage doesn't look to bad to me, looking at the photos a good metal man will be able to fix most of that, i would be very surprised if you needed a new inner wing, you would be surprised what can be done.

[MattMe]

Hi Sam,

Sorry to hear about this - your car is obviously very well looked after.

I would have thought that the value of your car will be high enough that they won't write it off.
I know it looks bad, and in fairness it is, but it's not that bad. Assuming it drives straight, the doors shut and there are no visible creases up the A-Pillar etc then t'll be a straight-forward repair for a good body shop. Pattern wings and valances aren't that expensive, and I've seen inner-wings on eBay (and I bet Martin has a few).
It's difficult to see from the pictures (all that blinding white bling ) but the inner wing might even be salvageable.

If I were you I'd push for the insurance to cover the cost of repair rather than writing it off. Or don't go through the insurance and save up for the repair. With the cost of 'project' Capris at the moment I wouldn't hold much hop in finding one cheap enough with the panels in good enough condition to go on your car.

I know how you feel in the unexpected Capri expense, I've been losing sleep for the last few weeks now

The good news is you and the girl are both okay. Only take a few inches, or a slightly different angle and you could have been much worse off.

[3 Litre Power]

Everything is repairable with time and money , i've had way worse accidents with my Mk2 and it's been repaired! so don't worry

[Andrew 2.8i]

Hi Sam,
Sorry to read about this incident, I'm gutted for you. As the others have said, the most important thing is that nobody was injured.
Hope you get it all sorted out quickly.

All the best,
Andrew.

[MiniMan]

Thanks all, its great to hear how positive everyone is.
I've spoken with the insurers this afternoon and they plan to send round an "independent engineer" to evaluate the damage.
I guess we can work it from there. I'm not really sure how it all works so any advice here would again be appreciated.

Here's a better shot of the inner wing section.



There doesn't appear to be any damage to the A pillars and both doors close fine, so that's a positive. In terms of wings and replacements, is it best to go with the steel option or look into these fibreglass reproductions? Also do you reckon a good panel worker could recover the bonnet?

Thanks for all the sound advice so far and stories.
Sam

[Andrew 2.8i]

In terms of wings and replacements, is it best to go with the steel option or look into these fibreglass reproductions

Hi Sam,
I'm no expert, and I'm sure somebody will correct me if I'm wrong....but will the front of the car lose some structural integrity if the wings are replaced with fibreglass? Definitely steel for me, every time. Even if they will have to be pattern parts.

Andrew.

[Peter-S]

With a little help from a stationary lorry I did this to my first Capri 30 years ago - just over a month after I bought it. I got it back on the road so all is definitely not lost.

[brooky]

Hi Sam

What a shame but I am sure you can get this back to its former glory, might be worth keeping an eye on this to get some donor parts if they are solid, may be worth contacting the seller to see if panels you need are all good and not been repaired before

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/131707359952? ... EBIDX%3AIt

Mark