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Accident! Ouch

5K views 42 replies 17 participants last post by  Bill 
#1 ·
So this morning a tow truck driver decided to side swipe me.

I talked to the guy at my body shop he said a new door i needed and that the insurance will probably allow them to blend the car on adjacent panels. My insurance company is Hagerty.
For all of you that, unfortunately, were in the same situation, how did it work out for you?
Will hagerty find the parts needed?
Would you consider changing the color all together (my current color is NOT original)

all input are appreciated.
Thank you.
Antonio
 

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#5 · (Edited)
I would take it to Accel in Waltham for their professional opinion of what would work best. They have a body shop next to them ( I am not endorsing with no experience with them) and have enough experience with Alfas to give you a very good appraisal of what path to follow. I'm sure they have seen it all in the decades they have worked on Alfas. I also believe you would be surprised how good a "paintless" dent repair service can straighten things like this. Before you throw yourself to the wind, I would definitely investigate that option and photos passed might get you a quick answer from them. Check out that option. I'm not suggesting they will do it without paint required. It's just possible they have the right tools to straighten it in the most expeditious way without generic body shop methods.

I'm inclined to think the door is salvageable.
 
#6 ·
If your door is relatively rust free you might find it difficult to get hold of a good rust free door. Theta might be one deciding factor. The top curved area of the door is hard to replicate, and yours looks pretty good, but the frame is bent by the looks of it. It is easier for a body shop to just put a new door on. See if you can find one.
Just a thought.

Cheers
 
#8 ·
#11 ·
First thing IMO, DON'T get your insurance company involved, just fix it. Too much hassle and will end up costing you ... Insurance is for near write offs, etc.

I'd fix that door and yeah skin will probably have to be pulled off BUT I reckon it will fix and go back on. Quarter window support is at the other end of the door and should not be affected.

Best of luck
Pete
 
#13 ·
Forgot to mention - Grundy is similar to Hagerty - they specialize in classic cars. Might not be worth it if you were dealing with a company that doesn't deal with classic cars.

Which brings me to another point - I wouldn't trust a regular collision shop to do the work. Yeah, you might get lucky and end up with a top notch repair but if I were you I would take it to someone who regularly works on vintage stuff. If they have Alfa experience, all the better.
 
#14 ·
Hagerty is very good... Not sure they will find you a door, but they will pay to get it fixed and not cut corners.
They once paid for an entire paint job for my car when the repaired area (new paint) could not be made to match the older patina on the rest of the car ! No muss, no fuss... I've been very loyal to them since !
 
#15 ·
So much depends on the quality of the body shop. Putting a new door skin on your existing door is something I'd definitely consider, as would replacing the door with another good one or even an Alfaholics replacement. As others have mentioned fitting an odd door on a GTV can be highly problematical. A really good body man will add/remove metal to get the shutlines right.

Since you'r in Boston I suggest that you take your photo and visit one of the high dollar restoration shops and seek their advice about what to do. They're know you're not really a customer but shouldn't mind telling you what to expect and what the best approach is (at least they'd do that here in Texas---can't say about the East coast). One thing you might consider is taking the door to a shop like Paul Russel and letting them fix just the door. Since Haggerty insures pretty expensive exotics, their claim adjuster may even be able to help.

What I'm suggesting is for you to develop a lot more expertise about exactly what's going to be done. This is your car and it's up to you to make sure the work is done right. Believe me, it's far, far better to know ahead of time than it is to try to get a shop to fix bodywork that already done.
 
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#18 ·
Hello guys, quick update, the body shop decided to fix the door instead because it just worked better and its a perfect original fit. The insurance company decided to pay for a full respray of the car, so i decided to do AR835 Mr.Fazio said it was the original color for the car. The body shop gigliotti auto body in wakefield fixed rust spots and rocker panels as well. I also did a euro turn signal conversion to eliminate the ugly side reflectors. If you guys are interested i will post pics!
 
#26 ·
Thank you Pete!

Awesome! You made many good decisions after this event. As a result of those decisions the appearance and value of the car has increased noticeably. Well done!
Norseman thank you so much, i cannot wait to see it in person!

Curious to know how you found the body shop..right decision to save the skin.
divotandtralee, It was recommended by a friend, they do a great job and they are reasonable - it was adviced by them to keep the old door, they dealt directly with hagerty and explained to them why they needed to do a full respray. Great people. I am not advertising them, i am just sharing my experience.

have the car revalued by a known and reputable valuator!
Berlinista, thank you, might i ask you why i should do that?
 
#29 ·
Excellent ! Hagerty did the same for me when matching/blending would have proved difficult. Free paint job !!! Can you honestly ask for better service from your insurance ? Glad it worked out for you !
 
#31 · (Edited)
I guess I am a little confused:

You had an accident that was not your fault.
A company truck side-swipped you.
They had no insurance or at least none that payed for the damage.
You have Hagerty insurance.
Hagerty has paid for the damage repair.
You got a completly new repaint of the entire car after some major and minor "modifications" were elected by you and paid for by Hagerty.
All of this cost you $0.

Correct me if I'm wrong in this scenario, but how in the hell did you pull this off? Some of the details were a little sketchy.
I'm asking because I couldnt even get a full repaint out of "their" insurance on the "them tripple-ticketed" accident I had with a kid-on-the-phone-driving-a-jacked-up-suburban-while-his-girlfriend-hits-him. I got my car back 8 months later.....
 
#33 ·
I got into an accident the other driver had insurance. We exchanged info and the police came to do a report. I called hagerty and they told me to find a body shop. I got referred to gigliotti auto body in wakefield (im not endorsing) - If you look at earlier convos on this thread the body shop suggested i fix the door. The problem, luckily for me, is that the gtv doesnt have brake lines in the body, its one big shell. Also the paint was not original so it could not be matched. The body shop wrote up a fully respray, a very reasonable price too. Also because i got referred the told me they were willing to fix the car right since they had to respray it. At this point i order parts from alfaholics to convert the car side turning signals and reflectors. Yes i got really really lucky, especially in finding the original color and to find exceptional body shop people that understand the car very well.


Do you have Hagerty as well ?

I can't answer for the OP, but in my case Hagerty first fixed the damage to the car, then, when we all agreed repainting just the affected area would look terrible, they cut me a check for a full repaint. It took 2 days for the entire process... Apparently they do that, the benefit of a good classic car coverage (in a way if makes sense because in certain circles, even a new paint job is not worth as much as "nice original paint" for resale - maybe not for Alfas because their original paints sucks, but on Porsches say, it's a fact).

At that point if I wanted to use the $$ paint money to sneak in some body mods and come under (or slightly over) the repaint estimate, it's between me and the paint shop. Also, prior to repaint, they rub down the whole car for repainting, take out the glass, etc. If they find a little ding, or you want to shave a turn signal reflector, it adds very little (or nothing) to the bill...
I could not agree more with what you have said
 
#32 · (Edited)
Do you have Hagerty as well ?

I can't answer for the OP, but in my case Hagerty first fixed the damage to the car, then, when we all agreed repainting just the affected area would look terrible, they cut me a check for a full repaint. It took 2 days for the entire process... Apparently they do that, the benefit of a good classic car coverage (in a way if makes sense because in certain circles, even a new paint job is not worth as much as "nice original paint" for resale - maybe not for Alfas because their original paints sucks, but on Porsches say, it's a fact).

At that point if I wanted to use the $$ paint money to sneak in some body mods and come under (or slightly over) the repaint estimate, it's between me and the paint shop. Also, prior to repaint, they rub down the whole car for repainting, take out the glass, etc. If they find a little ding, or you want to shave a turn signal reflector, it adds very little (or nothing) to the bill...
 
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