After I told this story to a colleague, he commented that I leave a charmed life. Even though I agree that the situation could have been worse, the repair costs is not agreeing. Anyways, on to the story.

On Saturday evening, I was driving on my driveway and heading into my garage. I've made it a habit to coast in neutral while driving into my garage and just soft pedaling the brakes into the garage. Anyways, I was going about 5mph into the garage when suddenly I heard a sudden crash. I just remembered that my bike was on the roof rack and my garage does not have clearance!!! ARGH!

I quickly backed up Einstein and my adrenaline was just jumping. The roof rack had been torned off the contact points and the bike actually seemed unharmed(apart from the shifters being pushed sideways on the handlebars). I quickly carried the bike rack and bike off Einstein and inspected the damage. There are 5 scratches. 2 shorter ones(about 2 inches long) and 3 longer ones(longer than 4 inches). Unfortunately the big damage was behind the antenna(thank god I went with the shortie antenna). There's 2 large dents(it looks like it was just bevelled down and not an actual "dent") but it also broke the paint. Also to note, the scratches all went through the base coat(my roof is black but I see red paint). One last damage was the right roof liner(the molding that wax can never be cleaned off of) got bent at one of the contact points.

Initially, I thought I could just get a PDR guy to massage out the 2 large dents since it seems to have just bevelled downwards but no one is able to do it since the paint was damaged on the same spot. I checked with a few body shops and they want anywhere from $1200 to $1000(if I paid cash). This includes replacing the molding, bodywork to remove dents, prepping and shooting the whole roof. Firstly, I find it crazy to shoot the whole roof when the scratches are not that big(albeit deep) and the major damage was the two dents. I'm tempted to DIY with removing the dents(removing the roof interior and popping it back out) and just spot painting it. If I screw it up, I can always get the body shop to redo it(since they're doing the whole roof, what's a few more issues? ;p)

My question is, does the repairs seem absurdly expensive? Anyone living in SE Wisconsin know of a reputable body shop that is reasonably priced? I just want to confirm that the estimate I got was not inflated(although the cheapest place I found is usually the most expensive and is a top notced body shop). ARGH I am so mad at myself. At least the 8 thousand dollar bike was not totalled. Surprisingly the bike rack is still intact and usable. :P

 

Ouch. I hope you can get it fixed soon.

This is one reason I went with a Saris rack - I have heard of other people crashing roof racks into garages and I know I'd do it, too. But, my bike only cost $250 and is heavy so I can't lift it onto my roof anyway.

I'm glad your bike is OK, but sorry about your MINI.

 

Izzy, if you think you might wind up taking it to the shop in the end, why not save the grief and work and just let them fix it right the first time?

Remember the old saying, "always enough time to do it over, never enough time to do it right"

I'd bite the bullet and have it fixed by a shop you trust........if you want to know the best place to get it fixed, call your local high end car dealers, Lexus, Jaguar, MBZ and ask them where they send their cars for body work - that's the place.

 

 

I'd say that you lead a charmed life...and I wouldn't be in such a big hurry to leave it.

Sorry, couldn't resist. I'm truly glad the damage is minimal and hope you're back to perfect soon. Reminds me of my own "doh!" moment a couple of years ago when I opened my bonnet after a wash with the wipers extended.

 

Gil: Yea, that's what I meant. Oops! ;p

Dave: Well if my own DIY is sufficient for my tastes, then I might skip the shop all together. I've done my own touch up paint and had success. Only thing that I need help with is the dent removal. Unfortunately, like I mentioned, no PDR is gonna touch it since the paint broke through. Either way, I cannot make the grand payment for another 3 months though so I'm just gonna DIY what I can to make the next 3 months bearable. :P

 

You could always turn the claim in to your insurance company.

Not sure what deductible you have for your Collision coverage. And i don't know what kind of claim history you already have. Weigh those things and then decide if it's worth it. Talk to your agent if you're not sure.

BTW, you're not the first person to do that. Many have, including me.... back in 1981 I ran a forklift with the forks up into an overhead garage door. Quite a shock when you first hear that "crash", isn't it ?

 

Well, then I say go for it, you probably can't make it much worse.........