I'm still fuming after my accident on Friday. I haven't been in an accident in over 18 years. I haven't purchased a new car since my 1995 GTI-VR6. This kid that t-boned me, really did a number on my new MINI. Over $3,000 damage to my rear fender, passenger door, front fender and maybe hood plus one wheel and one tire. Honestly, even with a very good shop experienced in MINIs, how good will the car be when it's done. Will it ever be the same?

 

yes i think anything can be made right if the person working on it is skilled enough...


long as they get everything straightened out nice

 

I agree, a skilled auto body guy can make it as good as new. A friend, who is in the buisness, put a new rear clip on a rear ended BMW. He mapped the factory placement of the spot welds and put his welds in exactly the same place. It was impossibe to tell that the car had ever been in an accident, when he was through.

Dave

 

Yes. I got to go on a tour of our local Ferrari dealership last year that has a full "restoration facility." They had frame straightening machines, body shop, and state of the art paint booths. They humbly said that a car coming out of their shop would be better than a new factory build and I believe it. Ask for local recommendations for a body shop in your area.

 

After getting rear-ended in my '08 MCS my best advice is not to accept any insurance settlement until you have the car from the body shop and have the suspension/tires/wheels etc. checked by your dealer in great detail. Mine had a horrible roar in the right-rear that they never did figure out so I got rid of it. The paint/body work was flawless. It's amazing what a good body shop can do. Good luck. Sorry to hear about your accident. They're never cool - but in a new MINI!!! One thing I'll say is the Infiniti M that hit me was totaled...MINI was not. It took the lick pretty well.

 

I got tboned by an elderly lady that ran a red light in my mustang gt. Ended up with over $10k in damages. Had to replace the door, rear quarter panel, back axle and wheel. Really didn't have a great time with the body shop ( didn't repaint the roof after removing the rear windshield leaving chips down to the metal, busted my sat radio antena, broke my sequential turn singnels and told me to get them fixed at the dealer). Not to mention it took well over 2 months to get fixed (gave me a dam chevy aveo to drive). After a lot of complaining finally got everything fixed but instanly started looking for a new (used) car. Took 6 months but a clubman s showed up in my area with everything I wanted and I went and bought it the next day.


I hope you find a good shop, it can make all the difference.

My old car a few days before it was hit:

 

Hey Dave, Have you had the chance yet to read the PD report on the other driver's statements. Was curious as to what they were doing moments prior to impact. Again, everyone in MMC is just very happy your ok.

 

honestly, $3000 in damage doesn't sound that bad, which means your car should turn out fine after the repair.

last time i got t-boned, (on 93 325), it was over $7000 in repair.

and another time i got hit by a drunk driver in my mini, over $6K in estimate.
and my car was totally driveable.

 

I'm the like the OP and agree that a car that's been hit is never the same again. But I had a REALLY poor experience with a body shop on my last car, paint peeling, things misaligned, rattle/shakes/vibrations after they "straightened" the frame, poor quality aftermarket parts like the headlight, turn signal, fender, nothing fit. It was HORRIBLE. They were horrible in customer service and eventually stopped fixing their problems, had to complain through insure, took a year to get settled, sold the car eventually. It's hard to find people that take their work seriously. I hope that if I ever have another accident *fingers crossed I don't* that the car is totalled.

 

Gray Raven, There is no mention to what the driver was doing; all it said was that he didn't see me. No kidding! He didn't see me because he was looking right while making a left turn over two lanes.

I think I'm happy with the shop I chose. He was highly recommended on the local MINI board and even had a few mentions on a Porsche forum. The icing on the cake was that when I mentioned I understood what he was talking about on paint because I'm an Airbrush artist, he dropped the name of a friend of mine. Checking with ThinAir GraFX, I found out that the shop owner is as picky as I am.

 

It sounds like your MINI is in good hands.

Dave

 

I see you're in MA. Talk to Pete at Greasy's Garage in Worcester. He is a Mini owner, and although he doesn't do body work he can certainly recommend you someone who can. When I had an accident a few years ago he recommended someone to me and the work was spectacular.