I cannot help you with the dent repair - - unless you want to drive your MGA
to Atlanta, and then I'd personally take care of it for you if you were to
drive the 3000 miles for it!
However, I too had a similar problem just in December that came out to the
rare plus side as yours did....
In 15 years, I have NEVER parked my B on the street - EXCEPT for this one
time a couple of months ago. It WAS a beautiful day and I was doing some
yard work around the house and some work in the garage that I needed to use
the floor space for. I had both of my other cars at home too and with all
the yard tools and cars it was just easier to put the B on the street. It
was only for a few minutes.
BAM! A visitor to my across the street neighbor's home backed out of the
drive across from my B and clipped the left rear. I didn't actually see the
impact, I was in the back yard when it happened, but I DID hear the sound,
ran around the corner, saw my B damaged and the visitor driving off already
a few car lengths down the street.
Nobody was home at my neighbor's home so I called the police to have a
report made. When my neighbor did drive up an hour later, you can bet I was
all over her explaining that her visitor had backed in to my B while she was
gone. I was careful with my words because I did NOT actually witness the
impact. I just told my neighbor and the police that "the visiting driver hit
my car".
The next thing I knew my neighbor got back in her car and drove off. In just
a little while she was back again, this time driving up with the offender
following her. I told her too (the visitor) that "she hit my car" - and "why
didn't she stop"? - that I was right there in the yard! She had a young
passenger with her and the passenger responded "I TOLD you that you hit that
car"!!! The driver then admitted that she did - but said that she didn't
fully realize that she had damaged it "that much", this said in front of my
neighbor, another neighbor and my wife.
The driver was young, oriental, and later discovered to be insured under her
father's (who didn't speak English) insurance policy - and it took me almost
three weeks of serious threats to file a hit and run report, and a final
high noon deadline, before they finally came through and reported it to
their insurance company, and then the insurance to assume responsibility.
I got almost $1300 from the insurance company, fixed the car myself, and
bought my wife a diamond tennis bracelet for the holidays with the insurance
proceeds (plus I added just a little bit more)!!!
Black Beauty looks better than ever - and my wife is a very happy camper!
This definitely helps keep her friendly towards my Black Beauty project. She
sees the value now!
As most listers know this kind of storey doesn't often come out like this!
Worth writing about! True storey, every detail!
-Jerry Erbesfield
73 B Black Beauty roadster
jerbesfield@mediaone.net
website- http://people.atl.mediaone.net/jerbesfield
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-mgs@autox.team.net [mailto:owner-mgs@autox.team.net]On
Behalf Of Simon Matthews
Sent: Tuesday, February 12, 2002 5:43 PM
To: mgs@autox.team.net
Subject: Got a result/Body shop in SFBA?
Yesterday my green MGA sustained a dent while parked in the car park at
work.
Today, I noticed a vehicle with green paint marks at the correct height to
match the dent and scrapes on my car. While inspecting this vehicle with a
colleague (I wanted a witness), someone came out of another business in
the business park, so we asked her if she knew the owner. She indicated that
she knew the owner and that he/she worked in the same place as her. After
going back into the other business' office, she came back out and said that
the owner was not there and I should call the police.
Well, I took her at her word and called the police. The policeman agreed
with me that the marks matched up and that the vehicle I had noticed was
probably the cause of the dents in my car. To cut to the chase, the woman
who had denied that the owner was there was herself the owner. Her husband
(who also worked there and could also have been the driver of the vehicle)
agreed to pay for the damage to my car.
Now -- critical question: does anyone know of a body shop in the San
Francisco Bay Area (preferably in or near Fremont) that can do a nice repair
to the aluminium door of my MGA?
Simon
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