Ouch for my car and have i been diddled?

[Mr_PPP]

Hi peeps, been a long time since i posted here but been still reading the forums as often as possible, best bring everyone up to speed with my car, been having fun since i bought her last year, things took a turn for the worst last week when i found out the equation sharp bend+fast speed+wet road+dodgy left front tyre = car in field, car went through a barbed wire fence and considering the whack it got and the fact that the front of the car ended up buried upto the registration plate it got away in better nick than i thought, however, several things need sorting out, the main one being the wing damage caused by barbed wire slicing into it! also ripped off a wheelarch and i noticed tonight that the steering is seriously twitchy even though the cars had new tyres put on and tracking fixed, feels like the power steering sometimes doesnt work right then comes back, left turns feel like the cars on full lock early, car feels heavy steering then suddenly and scarily light around corners

pictures of damage here
http://www.wotton.eclipse.co.uk/images/barb.jpg
http://www.wotton.eclipse.co.uk/images/barb%20entry.jpg
http://www.wotton.eclipse.co.uk/images/bonnet.jpg
http://www.wotton.eclipse.co.uk/images/bumper.jpg
http://www.wotton.eclipse.co.uk/images/fog.jpg
http://www.wotton.eclipse.co.uk/images/arch.jpg
http://www.wotton.eclipse.co.uk/images/side.jpg


now onto the question i wanted to ask, i bought a new grill on ebay as metal is twisted and plastic is scored by drivers side headlight, happened to be similar paint job, looks a match to mine from this pic from the auction



My car for comparison



now heres a picture of the grille i recieved, notice the damage and the colour of the metal trim!



now do i have a case for thinking that the guy has switched grilles and not sent me the one pictured on ebay? his feedback was high and i dont want to accuse someone unjustly, however i guess i want a second opinion from someone just to be sure! there is no way grey can look blue even with a crappy camera is there? and is that damage just courier bashing or something more sinister? i'll also ask can anyone guess at a cost for putting the wing right and respraying the scratches?, are missing chunks of plastic out of the bumper easy for a good bodyshop to fix or would it be cheaper to get a new bumper? sorry for the length of the post, thought id try and explain as much as possible, still cant believe i pranged her  cheers guys

[...joe]

the scratches on the bumper should be easy to sort out by a body shop. the textured bit would be the only tricky part. as for the grill, i'd say its a case of the flash making the colour look different and the damage looks like it could be done in transit. to be honest i doubt someone would take a photo of a decent grill and then send a buggered one. post a link to the auction... if the guy has good feedback email him, if you paid for postage insurance you should be able to claim something back.

[Mr_PPP]

thanks for your response gtiblow, heres the link to the auction itself

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=4586369959&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&rd=1

unfortunately didnt pay for insurance and the reason why im just a little suspicious is because of the fact that postage was 6.50 originally and was changed to 15.00 shortly before the auction ended! i guess i have a suspicious mind but ive used ebay a fair bit and never really had any problems before, do couriers normally have insurance anyway? i know for ordinary post you have to pay extra

[ronnie'C']

Check the items that he has sold in the past. This can be done by his feedback rating and see if he has sold things like this b4. If so he probably has a few of them that he needs to shift.

[Mr Blue]

visit gpcvwaudi.com

they do lots of plastic trim and things

can your original one be bent back into shape?

[rubjonny]

had the same thing on a grill I got sent thru the post, basically if you want a grill don't get it posted as they are a bugger for getting damaged

[Judderi]

Your steering problem sounds like your power steering belt has been damaged or bent or something. Mine does this sometimes when its lashing down.

[silkyballs]

ive heard of this powerstreering thing befor not so long ago from daz16v when we were at mk meet last sunday.you can get a guard that styops water getting on th belt and allowing it to slip.i have a j plate and have never had it happen to me!as for thr grill cant see how it would have changed colour that much under flash but who knows just mail thr guy and explain to him what has happend1

[Judderi]

Yeah you can get a guard, but as long as your belt is in good nick and tensioned right you should not need one. Can be scary though!

[silkyballs]

like i said ive never had any probs with mine.im sure you could make a guard if need be probably best just for piece of mind.he said he had a duff tyre which didnt help him stay on the road.sorry dude but fancy going out in the rain,driving fast with a duff tyre you could have killed yourself your car and somebody else not good what a lesson!easy now!