Got boshed by white van man on Tuesday in Nottingham

(Slammed anchors on up to those camera policed traffic lights (been caught before - so don't take any risks!) van man was asleep/reading sun/looking at nice women/eating pasties/other cliché van man activities)

Jumped out to asses the damage, not too bad - just bumper scratches, pulled off road - ready for shouting match. Van driver apologised immediately, was a top fella. Turned out he had nearly stopped; but his unsecured load tw*tted down the van and carried on the momentum.

Anyway..........was wondering if anybody knew any top notch body shops in the Midlands (anywhere between Peterborough and Derby) have had bad experiences in past with paint matching/damage whilst in workshop, can anybody recommend any top quality shops? cost is no barrier, they aren’t going through insurance, so will give them a couple of quotes from the best shops.

Any help would be most appreciated.

Ta.

LWS SMART REPAIRS ALFRETON very good indeed he does a fantastic job (he sprays show cars astons ferrari etc so he is good) I am sure you wouldnt be dissapointed.

I wanted some bits spraying and was worried where to go as like you say there are some supposedly good bodyshops but arent actually any good but I went and saw the quality work they did and got him to do them and was very pleased with them and I am quite particular. He has always got some cars there you can look at to see the quality before you commit. Also he is a top bloke aswell

Hope this helps

Bit of a trek but Shorade in Cannock. Porsche, VW and Audi approved bodyshop and they have replaced 2 wings on my Bora due to corrosion (after 18months battling with VW UK) and you truly can't tell they have been done.

My Octavia 1.8T 4X4 was repaired by Avid Autos in Peterborough following a deer strike on the front. They carry out insurance repairs for LV, and did a very good job.

Id also highly recommend Lee at LWS SMART REPAIRS ALFRETON 01773 835159, he has painted my brother truck, did an excellent colour match on a metallic Mercedes paint. He has also done a paint job on one of my alloy`s, again excellent paint match and high quality finish.

Im going to be taking my new FL VRs to him to have the wheels painted.

Lee used to work at Toyota, untill he setup on his own, and has grown over the years and now has an excellent modern spray shop. As been said before, he does all sorts of work from Aston`s, to dealer repairs, to commerical vehicles. He wont release the vehicle untill he is 100% happy and he has very high standards!

Say Alex (with the VRs) and Matt (with the merc lorry) have recommend him.

Can't recommend "Stallion Accident Repairs" highly enough. They're at the end of Dovecote Lane in Beeston (opposite one of the best pubs in Nottingham IMHO - The Vic). Run by Graham Flint see www.stallionaccidentrepairs.co.uk.

They did a first class job on my Mk3 golf. Beautifully matched, over superb repair - even made a new section of wheelarch / wing because VW sent the wrong part three times!

Edited 21 March, 201016 yr by OHbi-Wan

Sorry to hear that matey, i was quite annoyed when a large van hit the gf's car in the side with a insecure load after coming out of no where at some pace. Smashing into the car, it bent the side in and distorted the door.

The insecure load, came through and shattered the windscreen. Which if had have come through, could have quite easily penetrated the glass of the gf's car. Injuring her and her passenger, or possibly worse.

There is a place opposite my office that specialises in prestige stuff - Chartwell.

They're on Pride Park in Derby, and looking out the window now I can see a couple of Ferraris - they regularly do Mercs, Audi R8s, Lambos etc - you get the jist.

Not many days go buy when you don't see a transporter outside belonging to a Ferrari dealer, dropping off or picking up a customers pride and joy after a prang .

They have a huge workshop and yard, so are definitely not a one-man-band. I expect they will be pricey, but with the kind of cars they deal with, I expect they do a top job.

Infact I think our company does their website (but that's not why I'm recommending them). http://www.chartwells.net/

No help to you but I hope I never have to drive within 10 miles of Nottingham again as long as God makes little apples, what a bloody nightmare of a place for cameras. Wouldnt mind if all the roads where smooth as silk with all the cash they must be raking in, but they are pot holed to hell Sorry to Hijack with a rant :(

Edited 22 March, 201016 yr by postmanpat

I can recommend Selby's in Nottingham. They did my SEAT and you couldn't tell it had been pranged. There were Ferraris, Porsches and Bentleys there when I was there a couple of years ago.

No help to you but I hope I never have to drive within 10 miles of Nottingham again as long as God makes little apples, what a bloody nightmare of a place for cameras. Wouldnt mind if all the roads where smooth as silk with all the cash they must be raking in, but they are pot holed to hell Sorry to Hijack with a rant :(

Off topic still but living in Nottingham I read some time ago that the city council was very disappointed at how successful its average speed cameras were at reducing motorists' speed - to the extent that they were compaining that the £400k invested in cameras on the ring road would never pay back. The council's cynical attempt at playing Robbing Hood backfired completely, while doing nothing to negate the public's feeling that the cameras are there to make money, not to make our roads safer. So, sadly, the council has £400k less to spend on repairing the roads with no income streams from fines. Ha Ha Ha. And that's why I specced 17" rims on my vrs instead of taking the free 18" upgrade.

Thanks for all the replys,

Gone with Chartwell in the end, customer service top notch + like for like courtesy car

Coffee was awsome too,

Probably the least prestigous car they will have worked on, (asked for thier price on wheel refurb for a couple of marks.....£110 per wheel...eeek)

Thanks again.

Phil

Cool, good to hear you were pleased with them.

You should've popped in for a coffee while you were passing .