Mercedade's '98 Vitesse in BRG

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mercedade
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Re: Mercedade's '98 Vitesse in BRG

Post by mercedade » Thu Aug 04, 2016 2:50 pm

I never did reply, but here's my answer - a year later.

Just took it for an MOT where it failed, but only on the sills!

I'm resolved to getting it sorted, although I won't be the one sorting it - welding is just out of my zone.

I've had one quote so far of "between £200 and £350. It won't go over £400 anyway". To me that seems reasonable, in that I've asked them to replace both sills entirely (I have replacement panels already), but that doesn't include painting and I'll probably do the strip down myself.

Clearly, the car isn't worth this kind of money, but I don't really care - I just want to know that welding price is fair.

Does that seem sensible?
Adrian
1998 Rover Mk2 820 Vitesse Hatchback (white gold)
Gone...1998 Rover Mk2 820 Vitesse Hatchback (green)
Gone...1992 Rover Mk1 827 SLi Manual (green)
Gone...1998 Rover Mk2 825 Diesel (green)

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Re: Mercedade's '98 Vitesse in BRG

Post by CHR15E » Thu Aug 04, 2016 4:28 pm

The high end seems dear to me honestly if they're not making good afterwards. I would want it painting for that especially if you're stripping it too.

I would have thought £250 tops but ideally less than £200 IMO.

You could buy a welder for that kind of cash and do it yourself? It's not rocket science TBH to make a decent job.
Chris
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mercedade
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Re: Mercedade's '98 Vitesse in BRG

Post by mercedade » Thu Aug 04, 2016 8:45 pm

I was worried it seemed dear so I headed off to a waste-ground-at-the-back-of-an-industrial-estate place, presuming they would be cheaper.

I was wrong.

£700 (top estimate, could be cheaper)

And yes, I've often wondered about biting the bullet and getting a welder, especially now that I've moved house and finally have secure, off road parking, and a large shed with power, but at this moment time is against me. MOT runs out in 2 weeks and I could do with my first panel welding in nearly 15 years NOT being on a car I need to drive!

Longer term though, it's definitely in the plans.
Adrian
1998 Rover Mk2 820 Vitesse Hatchback (white gold)
Gone...1998 Rover Mk2 820 Vitesse Hatchback (green)
Gone...1992 Rover Mk1 827 SLi Manual (green)
Gone...1998 Rover Mk2 825 Diesel (green)

mercedade
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Re: Mercedade's '98 Vitesse in BRG

Post by mercedade » Thu Aug 04, 2016 8:46 pm

I should add that it includes some replacement patches on the inner sills too.
Adrian
1998 Rover Mk2 820 Vitesse Hatchback (white gold)
Gone...1998 Rover Mk2 820 Vitesse Hatchback (green)
Gone...1992 Rover Mk1 827 SLi Manual (green)
Gone...1998 Rover Mk2 825 Diesel (green)

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Re: Mercedade's '98 Vitesse in BRG

Post by deano » Thu Aug 04, 2016 9:00 pm

HOW MUCH ????

I got a pair of sills that need welding on my 827 Fastback and a patch on the inside needs doing.

MOT Tester said last year he should fail it, gave me a wink and said get it done...

But at that sort of money I can see the car being scrapped :(


Surely its a few hours work for skilled welder, a days work at most .
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Re: Mercedade's '98 Vitesse in BRG

Post by Alucard7002 » Thu Aug 04, 2016 9:52 pm

If you want a job done properly with replacement panels, both sides, all the original spot welds drilled out and the new sills fitted as per OEM then that seems reasonable. A day per side at £150/day ish plus materials - you pay that for a sparky or plumber, minus the callout fee!

Paint is expensive if you want it to look like OEM. If you can live with black sills and bottom of the rear arch then you can save a little cash.

Considering my own personal experiences with rust on 800s from completely rust free like my current 820Si to Shitesse levels of terminal, car-destroying rot.

Get the job done properly, do it once, do it right and it will last another 10+ years. The car surely can't owe you that much?

When I first saw this car for sale 4 YEARS ago the sills were dodgy at best IMHO. A shonky sill length bodge on one side and a few patches on the other.

Too much for me at the time at University else I'd have bought it!

Good luck and please keep us posted. Top tip, get the boys doing the welding to snap some photos with their smartphone if you can't be there to supervise ;-)
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mercedade
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Re: Mercedade's '98 Vitesse in BRG

Post by mercedade » Fri Aug 05, 2016 8:12 am

The lad who's doing it has a day job at a national chain, but is a hobbying restorer (including some SERIOUS work on hot rods etc). To be honest, I've got no idea whether it's a good move or not, but based on my second quote, this feels like a bargain! If anyone knows a reliable and cheap welder in the Manchester area, I'm all ears.

As for the sense of it - to be honest, I imagine that this kind of work is what will kill (and has killed) dozens of 800s every year. Like Dean above, if I was being 'sensible', I wouldn't be pumping £400+ (it'll need tyres very soon too) into a £400 car, but what am I going to replace it with?

Whatever I buy won't have this kind of power and practicality, nor will it be anywhere near as unusual - of all the cars I've had, any of the 800s have undoubtedly been the rarest and, for whatever reason, that alone is enough to keep me going. It's had timing belt, clutch, radiator all in the last 3 years - anything I replace it with probably won't have been as well looked after in its recent past.

This is by no means a pristine example (you should see the paintwork and the passenger arch!), but unless anyone can dig me out another Vitesse, I'll probably stick with this one :)
Adrian
1998 Rover Mk2 820 Vitesse Hatchback (white gold)
Gone...1998 Rover Mk2 820 Vitesse Hatchback (green)
Gone...1992 Rover Mk1 827 SLi Manual (green)
Gone...1998 Rover Mk2 825 Diesel (green)

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Re: Mercedade's '98 Vitesse in BRG

Post by scoobyh123 » Sat Sep 17, 2016 11:22 am

Good, cheap, reliable welders are hard to come by Adrian! Getting on for 20 years ago now i bought a Series III Jaguar Sovereign 4.2 that on the face of it was a "minter" - underneath it was more of a polo with holes everywhere!
Worst offenders were the sills which it failed the MoT on (barely surprising given the state of them!) so i asked around locally to find a good, cheap, reliable welder. I was told to go and see "Rick the Stick" which i did. Quoted me £125 for both sides to do the outer sills, warned me it could double if the inner sills needed repair as well. Fair enough, get on with it. The price included all stripping down and refitting although it was agreed that if there was something he found that needed more work, i'd do the stripping out.

Imagine my surprise when i went round a week or so later to check on progress to find the back bumper missing, the rear seat backrest burned, the wiring that ran behind the backrest burned and cut, most of the interior out, various sheared bolts etc on parts totally unrelated to the sills, big holes cut out of the front wings and so on!
I'd seen a lot of the work on the sills so was expecting to part with some cash and take home an MoT ready Jag. It was in a right state! He'd damaged all three of the rear bumper sections (why he removed them i'll never know!) and done so much other damage it was unbelievable. In the end i gave him the £250 that i'd brought with me for the inner/outer sills and took the car.
A week or so later i had a solicitors letter demanding another £1000 for the rest of the work. I listed all the damage he'd caused and just in parts to put it back how it was when i took it in, the bill came up to about £4000, mostly using second hand bits. I also pointed out to the solicitor that i had only asked for the sills to be sorted for the MoT and he had no right to do any of the other work, whether it needed it or not.
Never heard another thing from it.

I suppose the moral of the tale is that cheapest isn't always best. He claimed to be a bodywork expert and to have restored several MGBs, i'm not so sure. Personally i think he was trying it on with the extra work in the hope i'd just pay up and not argue. With the amount of damage he did to various bits of trim, upholstery etc and work that didn't need doing that ruined the overall appearance of the car i think even Mr Magoo would have complained. A few weeks later he was the subject of a Bankruptcy Notice in the local paper. :roll: :shock:
Cheers,
Dave

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rosshenocsr
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Re: Mercedade's '98 Vitesse in BRG

Post by rosshenocsr » Sat Feb 11, 2017 4:54 pm

How is the Vitesse doing?

Did you get the sills done?

Still often think about the car and the trips i made in it. Still one of the most comfortable cars i have had.
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mercedade
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Re: Mercedade's '98 Vitesse in BRG

Post by mercedade » Sun Feb 12, 2017 1:24 pm

Hi Ross, good to hear from you.

Yep, sills were completely replaced last August. It's crying out for a n/s/r wheel arch as that's the only genuinely disgraceful bit of bodywork now, but time and funds etc.

I've never had a car for this long! I was in the habit of changing cars every 6 months or so, but this one has been 4 years which is unheard of for me.

The only gremlins outstanding are an occasional non-starting (which is down to a dodgy spade connector on the starter. I'd thought I'd sorted it a year ago, but its crept back. Always starts with a poke of the wiring, and that usually lasts for another week or so), and a dodgy drivers switchpack.

I don't drive it as much as I used to (used to do 60 miles a day in it, now down to 30 a week), but it's holding up well
Adrian
1998 Rover Mk2 820 Vitesse Hatchback (white gold)
Gone...1998 Rover Mk2 820 Vitesse Hatchback (green)
Gone...1992 Rover Mk1 827 SLi Manual (green)
Gone...1998 Rover Mk2 825 Diesel (green)

rosshenocsr
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Re: Mercedade's '98 Vitesse in BRG

Post by rosshenocsr » Sun Feb 12, 2017 3:55 pm

Great to hear it is still going strong
2003 MG ZS 180 - Trophy Blue
1998 Rover 620 ti - Kinversand Orange

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