First I would like to wish a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all.
The past month has been an expensive one for me. All had been quiet on the M5 front so I decided to buy myself a little present, after searching the 'For Sale' threads I found what I wanted and bought a Bluetooth Kit.
While waiting for it to arrive (US to Germany) I was awoken at around 0300 by the M5's alarm sounding. Immediately I jump out of bed, run down stairs and out side, grabbing one of those BIG maglite torches on my way, in case I find anyone still in the process of hurting my baby. By the time I get to the car there wasn't a sole to be seen and after a quick look around I see no damage, so I turn off the alarm and return to bed. In the morning as I was getting in to go to work I noticed a screwdriver size dent in the B pillar and one where the drivers door and passenger doors meet. My guess at the time was someone wanted to get in, without causing too much damage, presumably to steal the car. The alarm and the sound of the dog barking must have scared them off.
I was pissed off as you can imagine, but as I was so busy with work I decided I would have the damage fixed during the xmas holls. Thank god I did because a week later, I hear the alarm going again. So, same routine, out of bed to the car with torch in hand! This time though, there was no drivers window left, I call the police and tell them about both incidences. I also find that the bastards had not only smashed my window but stolen my Ipod in such a hurry they took some of the DICE integration kit with them.
This obviously prompted me to get the work done that day, so when the police were done and the stealers were open I took the car to them. The tech rang me later that day and told me that the glass had damaged the paint on the door when the **** lent in to steal my Ipod. I said I would come over and look at the damage to see how bad it was. I came to the conclusion that the door needed spraying, and as I was paying for a new window, metal B pillar strip, and the door to be sprayed I though this would be a good time to give the car the Christmas treatment and sort out all those stone chips and slight scratches that have appeared on the paint work.
So I get my car back this evening after 3 weeks away with the following work done
New drivers side window
New drivers side metal B pillar strip
Respray on bumper
Respray on bonnet (hood)
Respray on left wing
Respray on right wing
Respray on drivers door
Respray on back left door
Respray on roof guttering (previous owner had fitted what looks like a 'one size fits all' roof rack and had taken off 3 inches of paint in each corner)
I was concerned about the new paint and old paint having a slightly different shade, due to the old paint fading but the sprayer told me that he matches the new paint (he called it weathering or something) to the old, so we shall see!!
Does anyone on the board have that clear film on their cars to protect the paint from chips and dents? If so how visible is it and is it worth the price to get fitted or is it just a gimmick?
Thanks for letting me vent and share my excitement of getting the beast back,
Farquy
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