I went out to the garage today to discover that overnight, there had been an ‘incident’!
The very large shelf that I use to store all my old training materials had ‘made a bid for freedom’ and detached itself from the wall! The result? The contents of the shelf (and there was plenty of it – five large plastic containers filled to the brim with ‘trainer stuff’ – pens, clocks, books, a laminator, a guillotine, and other assorted visual aids) under the influence of gravity, deposited their contents all over my ‘pride and joy’ – the XKR – causing some pretty extensive (and expensive) damage. I was amazed at the spread of the car-nage – from the rear quarter, over the roof and onto the bonnet! Clearly, the items had bounced across the vertical surfaces of the car before coming to rest!! That shelf has been up there for over 20 years, and in that time, there’s never been a hint of it wobbling – OK, if I’d installed it, I could maybe understand it falling off the wall, but this was put up by a professional with enough brackets to support a tank! It’s all a bit weird!!
After the ‘incident’… (click on the individual photos for a larger version)
If you look closely, you’ll see lots (and I do mean ‘lots’, of tiny tents and dinks), peppered all over the roof, wing, bonnet and rear quarter.
Cue, a long and important call to the Insurance Company. After 30 minutes of form-filling, the deed was done, and a local damage-repair company is coming around tomorrow to assess the damage.
Why so much damage from a few plastic boxes and their contents? Well, car-nuts, will know the answer – the body of the XKR is actually made of aluminium – this makes the car very light… very fast… but also very soft! A blessing and a curse (breathing on it causes dents!) rolled into one! So, at the time of writing, the Garage has been round and assessed the damage and I’m just waiting for them to ring me back to tell me (hopefully) they’ve got the go-ahead to put the car right. Lots of damage spread over a large area sounds expensive – so thank heavens for a fully comp policy!
Update 1: Thursday, May 17th I chased the Insurance Company and the Garage as I hadn’t heard anything. Apparently they’re waiting for the Insurance Engineers to approve the repair and then I’ll be able to book it in. Never say I don’t do things in style – apparently it’s over £5000 worth of damage!
Update 2: Monday, May 21st Rang Saga to be told that the Engineers HAD approved the repair last Friday (thanks for letting me know!). Estimated repair time – 16 days!, 16! Crikey, it only took God six to create the Earth! I’ve arranged for the Cat is being picked-up on Thursday.
Update 3: Thursday, May 24 The Cat was picked-up today!
…now the waiting begins! So, that’s 24 + 16 + allow for non-working days – I reckon it’ll be back around the middle of June!
Update 4: Friday, June 15 Worth the wait! Excellent work by Excel Body Repairs. A perfect paint match and the Cat is looking better than ever!
I got into blogging quite late in life, not publishing my first post until 2004 – well into my 40s! My lifelong love of technology and communication (in all its forms), together with a fondness for the art of writing seemed to be the perfect combination to contribute a few words to the online community. But I’m no Samuel Pepys! If you’re looking for deep and meaningful comments on a variety of subjects, then you’ve arrived at the wrong site! I only pen for pleasure! On average, my posts appear about twice per month, covering family & friends, cinema visits, eating out, holiday experiences and techy stuff. Oh, and as this is my hobby, there are no sponsored links nor adverts here – it’s all done with love!
I hope you find it enjoyable, interesting and occasionally, even helpful!
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