Fender-Bender
A few weeks ago, Charlotte went out for some air on a warm winter day. Coming home in the early evening, we were making a left turn only a few hundred yards from home base, when the unthinkable happened: we struck the bumper a parked car on the right-hand side of the road while making the turn (at the breakneck speed of maybe 8 mph!). How or why, we'll never know — although the police officer on paid detail (utility work at night) standing in the road and neither directing traffic, nor making much effort to move out of the way, may have moved me to steer wide to the right.
Felt a bump. Oh damn! Got out to look, and was aghast. The damage is shown here (photo taken next day)…
The slight impact also managed to cut a gash in the shoulder of a brand-new expensive Nokian Hakkapeliitta winter tire. Of course, the big rubber bumper of the Saturn suffered no damage at all, confirmed a few days later in a phone call with the owner.
But the tale has a happy ending. As luck would have it, brand-new (still wrapped in shipping cardboard) BGT-specific fender was found offered for sale on Craigslist for a fraction of the price charged by Moss Motors. (In retrospect, I ought to have bought both and kept one as a spare.…) And as icing on the cake, the fender was located only 100 miles away, in the hills of north-central Massachusetts, making for an enjoyable drive along winding country roads!
Hauled back from central Massachusetts, the fender was installed in a little over six hours, thanks to the unparalleled skills of Mr. Steve Mackay of Mackay's Garage (with assistance from MG guy Mr. Steve Devine). After some red paint, Charlotte will be as good as new!
