Guys
I've never had cause for a body shop before but am looking for recommendations of people near Bristol. I'm after someone who is reliable, does a good job and charges a fare (justified by the quality of their work) amount (i.e. not the cheapest).
My girlfriend has managed to hit what must have been a sizeable bird the other week on her way from work. She said it had hit the windscreen, but on close inspection (e.g. looking at the front of the car) I found a lovely hole in the plastic grill, and a nice section of dead bird cooking on the radiator. Seems like there's not been significant damage to the radiator, guess the grill did its job, but there is a healthy dent, and crease in the bonnet. Her car is a Clio about 3 years old from memory.
Dent is about 150mm across and at most 35mm deep at the centre. Unfortunately it is centred on the nose of the bonnet, and the paint has cracked where there is a crease close to the bonnet lip.
I don't think this is worth an insurance claim, but she wants it fixed and to be a tidy job.
One option I considered was finding a bonnet from a scrap yard and changing it across. Would this be cheaper than getting the dent pulled out, filled smoothed and painted?
Any advice gratefully received.
