That said, I did smash up the Fiat a bit today.
I was driving through Topanga Cyn when I came around a blind corner to see a local had stopped his pickup truck in the middle of the road to make a left turn. I tried to stop in time, but didn't.
The Fiat is gonna go into the body shop Monday morning. The interesting thing here is that this has apparently happened before. In looking at the fender, there is a LOT of body filler indicating it was repaired once before. This time, the fender will certainly have to be replaced.
The previous owner tells me that his grandfather had the same experience back in the 70s and that's why the hood isn't original -- he too hit a pickup truck and effectively "went under" its bumper. We didn't know the fender had been repaired as well. The hood has a dent as well but may be salvageable. If not, it wasn't original anyway. The rest of the car is fine; even the alignment is still good. I was able to drive it home with no problems.
This car is a luxury item and while I'd like to get it fixed, if I'm going to do it now, I need to do it as cheaply as possible. Anyone have any suggestions on where I can find a fender?
Also, I trust people have dealt with this type of thing before; the front clip appears to be all one piece. I assume it's still possible to repair just the passenger side. The driver's side is still fine.
Mark -- do you have any thoughts on this and is it something you might handle? I may give you a call Monday morning before I take it somewhere else.
