Anybody have a fender bender in their replica...how was it repaired?

[Yrag]

New to kit cars so I was wondering if any of you have experienced a so called fender bender and how was that repair made? Does the fiberglass body shatter, requiring an entire new body, or are repairs made just to damaged area? Say you back into an obstruction and damage rear tail light area,.... How do insurance companies handle a claim . Apologize if this is a stupid question...but new to kit cars and was curious. Thanks

[carlewms]

Yrag,

I don't have personal experience ... and hope not to.

Your question is pretty broad and the answer would depend on a lot of factors in my opinion ... remember this is an opinion.

1. Extent of Damage. Depending on your skills at it minor cracks (if your hit hard enough to cause a dent in a metal car I am assuming that you probably crack the fiberglass) it can be fixed;
2. Location of Damage. If your considering a roadster depending on the location I think it would be a lot harder to fix than just to buy a new part. For example if you completely crushed the rear tail light area like took it out or took a chunk out of it I would think it would be better to buy a new shell;
3. Would it be easier or less expensive to just buy the part? ... lets say you got rear ended you might be able to fix the valence under the trunk lid but it would probably be cheaper to buy a new trunk lid; and,
4. FFR on the parts site sells the body shell, the doors, the hood, trunk lid and hood scoop so remember it is not like a sheet metal car where you can just go down to the dealer and ask for a fender replacement, etc. Since the body shell is made from a mold I don't think they would have like just a fender for example.

As for the insurance question ... I can't help you there yet I have not got my car on the road.

Remember there have been a lot of fiberglassed corvettes out there so its not like your talking about new technology.

I think also that it would be very important if your not able to do the repairs that you use one of the prominent builders/vendors to do the work ... not some shop that has never done it before.

Carl