Hi, Yesterday was certainly one of the worse days of my adult life. I parked this car and walked away, the handbrake failed, car was not in gear and it rolled down the driveway and hit the back of the SUV. I have owned this car for over 20 years and do all the maintenance myself, but I do not know what to do in this case. I am not experience in body work and don't know where to start. I don't even know if it can be repaired. Can anyone offer any advice? Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
It'll be expensive to fix so you have to decide if you're going to involve your insurance company or not. The damage can be fixed without replacing the fender portion if you find a good metal guy. The headlight bucket and maybe the base will need to be replaced, no shortage of them for sale. Matching the silver being a metallic might be a challenge and can lead to painting more of the car than you think. Also is the paint single stage or base clear? That will also determine how they go about blending the paint if possible. The rubber US bumper might be junk if the inner rebar is bent.
I am so sorry about this - but at least it CAN be fixed. T Rutlands would be my first call for used parts. Wishing you the best outcome
My 308 needed love when I got it, and honestly it’s been a mostly fun process tracking down parts sources and doing the work. Mostly because there are a sea of scammers. As mentioned above, Rutlands is good.
Don't feel too bad it is just an accident and those happen from time to time. Looking at it the damage does not look too bad and Newman has offered some excellent advice. Find yourself a quality body shop in your area that is experienced with metal work and they will be able to do a perfect repair. Try to avoid production shops that only do new cars for insurance repairs. You want a place that is comfortable with fixing metal rather than replacing it and who is comfortable with working on older cars. Don't fall into the trap of worrying about someplace that specializes in Ferrari. This repair is straight procedure and has nothing to do with vehicle specific knowledge. As for repair costs get ready for a bill closer to $10K than to $5K. Also prepare to be out of your car for a few months. This is just the way these jobs go regardless of your best intentions and planning.
It can be fixed, but you need a professional body work: you can't do it by yourself. You need some replacemente parts, the right headlamp housing / cover, probably the front bumper and maybe the front right fender tto. But in my opinion a good bodywork will save the fender and you will need only the complete headlamp housing / cover and (very likely, but maybe not, who knows) the front bumper. A good source for parts is Ferrari Spare Parts by Red Bay Cars or Ferrari Parts | Genuine and OEM Ferrari Parts Online They are reliable and I know Stefan, but they are here in Europe. The color can be matched without too many problems. All the process won't be cheap. Good luck! Ciao
Send your car to Classic Coachworks in Elizabeth, NJ and rest assured it’ll come back like new. Alan N.J.
take the insurance paid out, put the car on BAT just as it is and start shopping for next car. Very difficult emotion but financial angle and your drive time this way is best to get you back in a Ferrari fastest
Gabriel Sports Car in Yonkers - Frank Runco. Great work and good people. Just go visit the shop and see what they are working on and you'll know why I am recommending them
Thank you all for the feedback! I feel less helpless now The insurance adjuster is coming on Tuesday to take a look. I got a recommendation for James Auto Works in Long Island NY and I spoke to a guy there called John who was very helpful. If you guys have any experience with James Auto Works please let me know. I agree that the front turn signal, headlight bucket and possible front bumper need replacing. I did a quick search and at least this parts are available! The big concern is can the metal work be fixed. I am hopeful..... Thank you again for all the replies and I will post progress
Hi Jonny Law - I might take you up on this ! Can you PM me and tell me how much you want for this? When I spoke to the insurance adjuster on the phone, he said that the more help I can be on sourcing the parts the better......so if you can give me a quote and it turns out that I do need a new bumper I will come to you first. THANK YOU again!
Hey Jason, After taking a closer look I realize you have a QV and mine is from a GTSi. Not sure if there is a major or noticable differance. Maybe the hive can weigh in.
FYI to the OP I saw on Facebook marketplace recently new original fenders for sale in CT i believe I would start first with sourcing some parts before having any shop start as they will charge you hours of labor to make calls and locate parts so that is my suggestion.
No way you need new sheet metal. And stay away from Ferrari shops. They will just charge you 3 times what it costs to bang it out. That's pretty minor damage. Any decent body shop can fix it.
If only these were still available it would have been great but I don’t think there’s any left. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Them and FerrParts.... Deep breathe but find the local hot rod guys and plead for them to help you. You can actually get all the minor sections and weld them togetehr. Our cars were leaded in Italy they can be leaded in America, but it's a dying skilll away from Hollywood and SoCal An entire front clip was $6500 decades ago Lesson learned Never trust the handbrake. Leave it in gear Wheel chocks on inclines.
