One second I'm happily following my mate in his Elise...

[corradoboy]

...the next I'm dodging a bombardment of plasterboard :eek:

I was driving along the M62 last night following a mate back from a Scooby meet (I know, a Fabia and an Elise at a Scooby meet, but they're mates) when the front of his car explodes. At first I thought the wind had ripped his bonnet off and it flew straight at me, slamming into my nearside front. We both quickly surrendered to the hard shoulder and inspected the damage. Mine seemed to have shrugged it off quite well, but it was dark, very windy, snowing and the hard shoulder is not a place to linger in quiet contemplation. His had popped out its indicator and looked to have a few scuffs. We popped his light back in and got on our ways. Once at home under the garden floods I realised my damage was a bit more substantial :( It's broke 2-3 slats out of the grille, damaging the chrome bezel. There's a dent in the leading edge of the bonnet, a chip in the paint of the fog surround, and various scuffs to the front and nearside

Front showing dent to bonnet leading edge, 3 slats missuing from my grille (had to check they hadn't gone into the intake duct), various scuffs and a chip off the fog surround, and my 'vRS' badge gone...

...the dent...

...and some of the scuffs down the side...

:cry:

I think the scuffs will buff out, the chip I'll do with touch-up, try and get a 2nd-hand grille and the dent can wait for spring

For now, does anyone have a grille kicking around that they don't want ? Or does anyone know how much they cost at the dealers

[VRStu]

Might help - Fabia-vrs.com - Colour Coded Grille & Octavia II vRS Badge

Hope your mates Elise is ok, I am just finding out the cost of parts for those myself!!

[corradoboy]

Thanks for that, give me an idea of costs. If anyone has changed their grille for an aftermarket one and has the OE item gathering dust I'd make a sensible cash offer though !

[Mossman]

Oh man, that sucks :( Glad it was not any worse though.

[bengie]

any idea where it came from?

would be nice to get it paid for by who ever casued the damage.

[corradoboy]

A gift from the Gods in the strong winds :(

[vRS Dovit]

I know its a bit of mess, but it could have been alot worse mate. Main thing is your both alright.

[mattyg]

A good dent man may get that dent sorted for about £40-50

I hit a set of step ladders in lanr 3 of the m60 last year but the police couldnt be arsed checking cctv to see what it came off. Good job i wasnt riding a bike or i would be brown bread.

I also saw a pick axe jump off a balfour beatty pickup not that long ago

[corradoboy]

It's about time pick-ups were classified as unsafe loads unless fully covered whilst on the highway.

[starch]

Another option would be to see how much another complete bonnet would be from a scrap yard in the same color. Could be cheapest in the immediately, just may not have perfect color match. It would give you a doner grill, and something to sell if you want to later fix the original bonnet.

Lets have a look at the lotus then stu. Any bits you want if you let me know I will keep an eye out for you.

[ClearwayDT]

I was once hit by half a lorryload of yellow pages in a works van.

Made quite a mess of the front of the van!

[oilburninnut]

I was once hit by half a lorryload of yellow pages in a works van.

Made quite a mess of the front of the van!

at least it would be easy to get a no for recovery...............i'll get me coat:D

[UWO]

corradoboy now you have en excuse to get a carbon fiber bonnet:D

I think the bonnet is easily repairable. Just push from the inside (or rather get a professional to do it) and as I can see from the picture, you won't even have to paint it.

[corradoboy]

There is quite a bad scratch there so I may need paint, and it is double skin with only the tiniest of holes nearby to push from behind :( A pro dent-guy might do it, but I'd fear making a mess.

[ClearwayDT]

Why do I have visions of it turning into the Rover that Father Ted tried to repair :eek:

[Stevoraith]

Hope your mates Elise is ok, I am just finding out the cost of parts for those myself!!

Well, a new front clam for my VX220 was approaching £2k plus painting and fitting :eek:

I'd guess the Elise will be similar (although maybe a bit cheaper being more readily available).

[starch]

If you go to but a new one from lotus they are 2k region, but on ebay they can be had for as little as £150 ish. Just need painting/repairing

[Hittboy]

Doesn't anyone use their insurance company for repair work?

We hand over enough money to them every year.

[Stevoraith]

Damn right! The £4k repair bill for a new front clam and crash box on my VX220 last year means I've definitely had my moneys worth out of insurance

[PaulC]

Ouch, sorry to hear about your car, lucky it wasnt any worse.

[starch]

Doesn't anyone use their insurance company for repair work?

We hand over enough money to them every year.

Not when it would cost me less to repair myself than what it would cost in inflated premiums and excesses for the next couple of years.