Fallen Roof Beam

[AGT]

A rotten roof beam in my car port collapsed last weekend causing fairly significant damage to the back of my car. The roof beam hit one rear wing and the 40 terracotta tiles which cascaded down have peppered the boot lid. All quite a mess.

There are so many dings in the boot lid that it might be better and cheaper to replace it. The damage to the top of the rear wings (fenders) worries me more as  I don't know how you would get to that to repair it.

The car is close to Nice in France. Does anyone have any recommendations for a repairer? I would bring the car back to the UK for repair if necessary but the North of Italy or Germany would be closer although I don't speak either language.

The car was repainted in 1998. It was 180 per the data card. However, when I had the rear valance repainted a few years ago the coachbuilder decided that it was not 180 and used 706.

I have tried to attach some photos which show the damage and one earlier photo to remind me of better times.

Regards
Andrew

1966 230 SL
1989 420 SL

[Larry & Norma]

Tough luck :'(
I'm sure a good panel beater and painter could sort it'
Insurance job?

[Garry]

ouch, that would hurt, I can feel it from here.  Even worse than the hard top falling on the car

Hope it can get fixed under insurance for you.

Garry

[KevinC]

Wow...sorry to hear it....Perhaps a "Paintless Dent Removal" technician could look at it? Good ones can work wonders.  I had a dent the size of a basketball (!) removed from a door on an American car. Another guy did 17 "dings" on my SL, including the trunk/boot lid.

[jedwards]

Would this not be a great opportunity for a back-to-bare -metal respray all paid for by the home insurance?

[Garry]

I agree, it will be near impossible to match the panels.

[Rolf-Dieter ✝︎]

Sorry to see this Andrew, should you ever come to Canada I'll let you take my "Blue Tornado" to Niagara Falls.

Let me know if you like me to translate and post the request in the German Pagode Forum regarding a repair in Germany near where your car is now.

Nice to see you managed okay in posting / adding the photographs.

Tip, here in Canada when I had issues with my cars as far as body work is concerned I always checked with the BMW or Benz Dealerships as to who handles there body work (all depending if I drove a Bimmer or Benz). They always refered me to a Authorized Body Shop, one they would use if one of there new cars required work. I always found certificates on the walls of those Body Shops that some of the Technicians were certified by BMW or Mercedes-Benz. They always did nice work for me. I would recommend to make a few phone calls in the areas you plan to take the car, in Germany you should have no issues with English. Anyway, just a thought.

[Bonnyboy]

I'm sorry about your car.  Hope you had insurance - if you did there may be a way to get more that first expected.   A friend who had mostly superficial but extensive windstorm damage on an E-Type Jaguar called his insurance company and got some names of preferred paint shops, he also checked with the local Jag car club for recommendations as well as the local JAguar and Aston Martin dealers (most dealers here in Canada need to be affiliated with a repair shop to maintain dealer status) and found that one shop in his area was on both lists.  He went to that shop and liked the guys and they explained that if he did specific items that they could charge him significantly less that the insurance numbers.  He ended up taking a cash settlement from the insurance company after working out a cash deal with the paint shop and did lots of the prep work and was able to get the entire car redone (and soft top) and had extra money to do his interior at the same time.   

Some body shops will work by the job rather than hours in the book so if you are handy and have the time you may be able to get a deal.   However, some insurance companies will discount the cash price to discourage the situation I commented on above.   Do yourself a favour and ask as many questions as possible for as many possible options as possible.     

Beware of the resto creep though - my friend ended up doing his chrome, suspension and engine at the same time and got carried away $$$.   Car was awsome when finished but he needed to sell it to get out of debt.  He told people that the car turned out too nice for him to drive but in reality he spent way too much on the car and couldn't afford to pay for all the extra work he did.  He was devastated having to sell his pride and joy. 

[Jke11y]

I hired a 190SL last year from these guys; www.rentaclassiccar.com -  they have a nice stable of cars including a Pagoda. Anyway, my thinking is that they for sure have someone down there who looks after all the cars and bodywork. The couple that own the business are really nice, her name is Linda.

I am going to be down in Nice in June in my as-yet to arrive Pagoda, and I am also a Scot currently in London. I haven't sorted out accommodation yet so if you have any tips let me know!

[stickandrudderman]

Andrew, that damage looks fairly superficial to me. Any good body shop should be able to deal with it easily.
If the car was in London I'd be happy to take care of it for you.
Colin

[Flyair]

There is a Pagoda owner with his car registered in Monaco, a short distance from Nice.
You can try to contact him since he should have some local contact in that area. His mail is info@my280slpagoda.com
However, the damages require a good metal and paint specialist and are probably not that much Pagoda-related.

[AGT]

Thank you for the responses. I am still trying to tell myself that even my Pagoda is only a "thing".

Sadly it will not be an insurance job. I had a lot of difficulty finding a suitable classic car insurance policy in France as I don't have a modern daily driver car in the country as our Citroen 2cv (which survived the falling roof without injury) is too elderly. So, a third party, fire and theft policy only - talk about a false economy.

Thanks also for the suggestions to find good bodyshops locally. Maybe unfair of me but given the state of many French cars I was not sure that carosserie was a booming business. But then again, if fully comprehensive insurance is not the norm that would explain why carrying a few dings rather than p/a repairs might be more bearable.

Colin's soothing description of "superficial" damage has just about won me over. Any excuse for a drive through France.

Jke11y - I hope that you enjoy your trip in June. If it is roof down weather as you get South of Lyon I would recommend the Route Napoleon - a perfect Pagoda road. We are in one of the "perched villages" on the hillsides above Nice and I don't go into the city much or know the hotels. Hotel Alain Llorca  which is between La Colle Sur Loup and St Paul de Vence and about 20 minutes from Nice Airport is fantastic with great views, excellent food and secure parking.

Regards
Andrew

1966 230SL
1989 420SL

[jpinet]

Andrew,

Paul Bracq, yes that Paul Bracq, has opened a complete repair shop dedicated to the W113 in Bordeaux with his son Boris.
I've read great things about their work in Auto Rétro et la Vie de l'Auto, although that's not a surprise.
Look him up on the net, they have a web site.

Bon courage!

[Flyair]

Andrew,

the website that Jocelyn had in mind is http://www.paulbracq.com

bon courage as well

[stickandrudderman]

Well; I'm not often worried by competition!.......................