Last January on an icy Tuesday evening I made the stupid driver error whist coming off an island before straightening up fully I applied a little power… only to find afterwards there was a patch of black ice
The VX bit me hard as I’d heard others talk about, forget counter steering, applying op lock ect… BANG! 360’ spin later and I was at the side of the road thinking ‘Sh1t…’
I recon the impact speed was no more than 15mph but a quick look round and I was counting the damage, Front Clam, O/S Sill, Vent, Door skin, Wheels looking like an angle grinder had been at em and that was what I could see Christ knows what else had been done
The AA got me home and I just felt sick!
I called Mike at Horizon 8.30am the next day as I really did not want the car going anywhere else, I’d had work done on the car at Horizon before and I’d always been impressed by their attention to detail, and had walked round their body shop many times and seen that the standard of work from them was superb, they had also just finished a front clam repair on Namaah’s in the same black sapphire as mine and absolutely A1, So I was very relieved when Mike agreed to send a recovery truck out (at his expense) and take a look at it for me.
The good news was it was not as bad as I first thought, mainly cosmetic damage with the exception of a wishbone and ball joint, the assessor from ‘MarkerStudy’ came quickly and approved the work to be done, 3-4 weeks was the estimate, but this was to be wildly out!!!
In the last six months to say that Mike has been at his wits end with Vauxhall Parts Dept is an understatement! It’s been a long saga of them sending the wrong parts, damaged parts, parts that were just not of a reasonable quality to be used, or just not sending any parts at all… 5 sill sections before one was suitable.. 4 front clams… 3 door skins… trim looking like it had been twisted by king kong! and every time something arrived damaged or faulty the car sat there in the corner gathering dust, and as much as I wanted it back and they wanted it back to me and out of their workshop they never compromised their quality, if it was not going to be perfect then they returned it, Mike would rather apologize for yet another delay than put his name on a ‘poor job’.
I got used to going down every Wednesday and saw the delays for myself which were no fault of Horizons and could genuinely see they were as frustrated as I was with the situation, But as soon as a part came in they got straight on it and everything they did was done perfectly so I could not ask any more from them than that.
I got them to do a few other jobs whilst it was all apart, Pro-Alloy rad, Colour match the screen and ‘V’ and generally pull the car apart and do anything that they felt was required to hand it back to me ‘better than new’ Those that know me from the meets ect will know what I’m like and how critical I can be, often bordering on OCD! Mike did pass comment that they noticed the INSIDE of the exhaust had been polished!!! He knew what I was expecting back from them!
I’m glad to say that now the car is back it is ‘better than new’ Mike and his team have far surpassed and exceeded even what I was expecting from them, the quality of work and attention to detail that they have taken is truly a credit to them and I am very greatfull.
I would recommend anyone needing any work be it mechanical or body to pick up the phone to Horizon and you’ll be very well looked after, I know from talking to others that you’ll probably find a cheaper quote but you won’t find a higher standard of finish or people who care more about your pride and joy, Mike and his team clearly love cars and this is evidenced in the way they look after your car, the work that they put into a preparing a panel before going into paint is probably more man hours than most spend on the whole job, and it shows.
So thankyou again to Mike and his team!
And also a massive thanks to Kip & Srin, John (westyman), Namaah, and all the others who made sure I did not miss out on the meets and offering me pax rides for the various runs and events, often going miles out of their way to pick me up, I am both humbled and truly greatfull, It really has made me realize that there is so much more to VX ‘ownership’ than just a car, It’s the people you meet and the good friends that you make
A week before the accident
The ‘next’ morning…
Ouch!
Better than ‘new’ this evening!
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For anyone doing future searches on this car,
Current number plate ‘OO51 MAC’
Original plate (which would probably be re-assigned if ever I sell) ‘FP05 YSS’
This car is NOT Cat ‘D’ or VCAR listed in any way.
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But have this weekend off for the Chase! 
J
See you soon 
