Well, got my Jag from Las Vegas to Dallas without an issue and on July 3rd I was driving on 114 west and an 18 wheeler decided he needed my lane also. His rear wheels hit my driver side door. Welded the door and rear panel together from his rim grinding forward. Scared the living sh_t out of me! Was able to maintain control and when I realized I could still drive got the plate and took a picture of the truck. He didn't pull over. The police officer thinks he didn't even know he hit me. Good news is I'm alive and also the trucking company is taking responsible for the repairs, or so they say. I need to find a body shop near Dallas, preferably in Irving or near Dallas Love Airport. Any suggestions?

Thank you!

 

I am in Houston, so I can’t help you with the body shop, but that sounds pretty terrifying. Glad you are ok, the the car looks like it can be easily fixed too

 

I don't know Dallas or Irving, but I could point you to a couple in the mid-cities area. If you want to keep it local, the best thing to do is to visit some local weekend car shows nearby. Look for classic cars that you think have great paint jobs and then ask the owner "who painted your car?" and "if you don't mind saying, how much did they charge?" Notice I said "who" and not "what shop". I learned the hard way that the reputation of a shop is built around the guy in the paint booth. If he leaves for greener pastures, he takes the quality with him. If you are like me, you will find that you have expensive tastes, but by continuing to ask around, you'll eventually find a reference for someone who is really good but maybe someone young who hasn't built their reputation yet. Even better if you find somebody who says well, only part of the car was repainted because then you know you've found someone who can match colors which is important in a repair of an older paint job. When you go to visit the painter who has been recommended to you, tell them which car you saw that they painted and then they will know that's the level of quality you are expecting. There's lots of car shows going on during the summers so now is the time for research.

 

Great advice! I wasn’t planning on paining the car until I have all the mechanical work done but now that I have to get the door and rear quarter panel repaired I’m going to paint the entire car. Before the accident it looked great from 10 feet but it has a lot of dings on it and the front air scoop is cracked.



Regards

 

Thank you and I hoe you are right.