Hey all, My precious Calais had an incident over the weekend! Sunday nite, i went round to the Mrs. flat, picked her up and headed off down the road on our way to the movies. The back of the car just stepped out all of a suddern and the car started heading towards a parked car so i turned the opposite way (naturally). Then i over-corrected when turning back the other way, so i hit the brakes, but being that the road was so ****en wet and that i was heading down a hill - the car just locked up and skidded to a halt in a tree on the side of the road! The only thing i hit was this quite small tree between the road and the footpath - no private property or anything! So yea... now the front drivers side quarter panel is fcuked - was just wondering how much effort it is to change the front quarter panel... any info would be helpful! Also that was only half of my problems... one of the neighbours was an off duty cop and decided to call the cops, so they turned up and talked to him, then to the other neighbours (that didnt see anything i might add) and finallly they talked to me - but it's pretty obvious they already had there storey! So now my car isnt just ****ed but im also looking at a charge of careless driving - which involves loss of licence for 3 - 6 months and $500 - $2000 fine. So not only is my prized possession fcuked but the cops would rather me pay a stupid fine and not be able to repair my car! Here's some foto's for ya'll to cringe at... or larf depending on wat type of person u are! Some original photos have not been recovered yet.

If the damage is isolated to that one panel, which it appears to be, you got off hell lucky, considering. If that was the rear, you probably wouldn't bother. I was quoted around $500 to spray and replace a front quarter, you could do it yourself for less.

pull the bumper off pull the headlight out release the nose panel undo all the guard bolts and it will come off pick up a 2nd hand guard at the wreckers and reverse the process till u can afford to get it painted... ps check for damage under the guard and check diagonals by tape measuring on a diagonal from back of guard occross engine to bottom of other quard and same on other side to make sure they are the same

Jeez thats a horrible accident, but it could of been worse! That must feel like having salt rubbed into your wounds, when the cop and neighbour got all narky.

damm, I reakon that missed every single panel except for the front 1/4! Funny shaped tree. might not be as much as you thought to get it fixed. But get it checked for chassis damage, and I daresay u will definatly need a wheel alignment/check of the suspension/steering rack, check the rim/tyre for damage, etc Some original photos have not been recovered yet.

You might just be the luckiest person to hit a tree I've ever seen: you might get awy with a new panel. a couple of inches either way and you're looking at either more panels, sill damage, or a front wheel hit that would have rooted your front end no questions........

bloody lucky hit there - I would get all the undercarrige checked (tyres, rims, suspension, steering, etc) - I went over a curb in my first calais didn't hit anything, but wrote the car off with the damage the curb did under the car. Buy a 2nd hand qtr panel - $40, get it resprayed - $200-ish, and while its off, check the other stuff under it - might need to fix the bonnet up if the 1/4 guard has hit it / chipped the paint. All up - looks quite lucky that it wasn't more.

Quote: Originally Posted by '87Calais Hey all, Also that was only half of my problems... one of the neighbours was an off duty cop and decided to call the cops, so they turned up and talked to him, then to the other neighbours (that didnt see anything i might add) and finallly they talked to me - but it's pretty obvious they already had there storey! So now my car isnt just ****ed but im also looking at a charge of careless driving - which involves loss of licence for 3 - 6 months and $500 - $2000 fine. So not only is my prized possession fcuked but the cops would rather me pay a stupid fine and not be able to repair my car! 87Calais you taking it to court and fighting the fine and suspension cuz thats ****ed up

well looks like u did ur best not to take a greater hit.. just think if u'd gone front on into the tree.. u'd be looking for a new calais front, new bumper etc. possible radiator damage... it doesnt look like there is much damage atm from the pics, but ur best bet will be to take the 1/4 off and then inspect it all as stated above.. could be a few hidden obsticles Goodluck champ... just be extra careful in the wet...

Hey, thanx for all the comments; 'Shaun' if they do decide to charge me with careless driving and give me some stupid fcuken fine etc then yes i will take them to court! my brother tried to out run the pigs in his MR2 and lost his licence, so he knows a good lawyer that specilises in driving charges! Yea, surpose i was lucky - but hey, it never feels lucky wen u find your car parked in a tree! i did try to avoid it all together but... meh, i was heading straight 4 it at one stage - so i didnt do too bad! I'm probly taking the quarter panel of this weekend and having a looksy around under there - anyone dun this and know how easy/hard it is? I know there are a few hidden bolts in some places - if anyone has a fair idea where they all are i'd appreciate it! Oh & 'exchaser' - i was being careful - i always am in the wet, its just that road is bloody slippery wen its wet and the mrs rambling on to me so i wasnt conserntrating as much as i shuld have been! I have been driving VL's ever since i got my licence (about 3 years ago) and i've only had one speeding ticket and no accidents - wel until now! anyways gotta get back to work - gotta raise muny to fix it somehow! P.S. What damage shuld i be lookin for after i've taken the panel off? I think it might just be panel damage - not sure tho, im still driving the car and i can't feel too much thru the steering wheel and the suspension seems alrite! lata, Jay

man u are so lucky, only panel damage, i wrote my car off 4 weeks ago now and my chassis was bent to all hell! u are so lucky!, aslong as no one was hurt, i feel sorry for u

I was drifting up around the old freeway with some ricers (i didnt know them just followin) and because i have bald tyres on the back (oops) the whole car slid out and i nearly ran into the side of the hill which would of ****ed the car royal....I know the brakes are good now though You're lucky it's just on that one panel, when a taxi hit my VH he managed to hit every possible back panel and wrote off the car whilst he was travelling at no more than 40-50kph ( i would hope) Some original photos have not been recovered yet.

Think about it this way: 1) Your (expensive) calais front is still good 2) Your rims are still good 3) Your front bar is still good. I'd prefer the front guard to be hit as opposed to the above. -David

i had a similar accident except wen i tried to correct the car ket spinning, it seems i lost control much b4 u did and yes, i learnt neva to break too hard in da rain, it doesnt help at all. it looks like just the quarter panel and a little touch up on the door, but then again it could be all messed up on the inside behind the dent too, please giv details of what exactlly is wrecked, if any of the framework has shifted u wont b able 2 fit snother 1/4 on there til its all fixed, and if u try 2 bent stuff in2 shape it will alwayz look funny wen u put it on so make sure everything is replaced that needz 2 b, it's worth it for how good the rest of the car seems to look

just slap some bog on there ....jks good luck

neva play in the wet

Your lucky, my old VLT had the whole front written off.

Quote: Originally Posted by '87Calais Hey, thanx for all the comments; I'm probly taking the quarter panel of this weekend and having a looksy around under there - anyone dun this and know how easy/hard it is? I know there are a few hidden bolts in some places - if anyone has a fair idea where they all are i'd appreciate it! Jay there are too bolts on the inside of your car, i think they are called the kick panels, (just sit in your car and move your right foot more right and you will know where im tlaking about LOL) just pop it off and there are two more bolts there as well as oneright on the bottom corner of the gaurd which screws into the sill. hope that helps and sorry if it just confuses you! vleccy P.S. forgot to mention if you have sideskirt you have to take that off first!

Quote: Originally Posted by davo_rulz Think about it this way: 1) Your (expensive) calais front is still good 2) Your rims are still good 3) Your front bar is still good. I'd prefer the front guard to be hit as opposed to the above. -David The front bar is pretty fcuked - its cracked all along the join and all chipped along the bottom... i think it's gonna cost a fair bit to repair... needs re-firbreglassing and re-spraying! Cheers for the help everyone... keep the comments coming! lata, Jay

Quote: Originally Posted by '87Calais The front bar is pretty fcuked - its cracked all along the join and all chipped along the bottom... i think it's gonna cost a fair bit to repair... needs re-firbreglassing and re-spraying! Cheers for the help everyone... keep the comments coming! lata, Jay Oh dear, now that I look at it you're right, that front bar needs some work. I feel for ya man -David