To want to know how badly I've messed up my car?

[MogTheForgetableCat]

Car is a Citroen Picasso if relevant.

Coming out of a car park, had kerb/great verge all along left side. Should have driven straight out but didn't think it through as exit was to left so tried to come out at an angle. Heard a horrible grinding sound. Panicked, and reversed and more horrible grinding.

Looked underneath and the metal stuff has separated a bit as per pictures. Have I completely broken it? Will all the underneath need replacing? Any ballpark figure to fix (ie how many £k?)?

Had to drive home and nothing seemed amiss with actual driving, no warning lights.

Hard to tell anything from the pictures.

It's a lot time since I have done any car repairs, but in my day there was very little that a truly enormous amount of filler couldn't put right.

You might get a tyre for a toy car for £20!

If the metal sheet is to protect the actual mechanics then it's done its job.
You need to get someone to put it up on a ramp to have a good look.

I've had two under-car incidents in recent months - one where I was shoved off the road by a wanker truck. The offside wheels went off the road, the nearside were on and the underneath dragged along the broken tarmac (I live rurally, the roads are a bit shit). Sounded awful, but it was just badly grazed underneath.

The other time I drove into and over (think Dukes of Hazard) a tree planter thing (kerb height) in a car park, in the dark. This planter didn't actually have a tree in it and the car park has about 1 light. That was quite the landing. Again, nothing but superficial scuffing underneath.

It wont fail an MoT for that from what I can see on the photos

Thanks for the reassurance! It sounds like the driving over a planter thing was very similar so hopefully this might be superficial too. Maybe I will tell them that's how I did it rather than in broad daylight ...

If the mechanic says "ooohh, OrigRights came in only a couple of weeks ago having done the exact same thing" we will know we live near each other and go to the same garage. Then we can be friends and drive around in our poor, ill-treated cars!

😂

@MogTheForgetableCat

Well???? What was the outcome?

I don’t really know what I’m looking at from those pictures, but general rule of thumbs is - any tear or break in the metal = full replacement as it weakens the integrity of the structure.

Bumps, dents etc can all be pulled/filled, fixed and repainted. unless the effort/Labour cost outweighs the replacement cost.

👏👏👏

Impossible to say from the pics, but I did a stupid thing recently and accidentally brushed against a pillar in a car park, then did it again on reversing! There was a space on both sides too! Felt so stupid. The side of the car was badly scratched so I took it to a local car body shop who charged me £270, which for me was a lot, but it is a fairly new car. The guy who did the job also took out other small marks and scratches and the car looked like new. I live in London, so it may be more expensive. Take it along and get a quote, or several quotes if you can. Good luck!

Took it to the dealer today as service and MOT was also due. They reckon it's superficial but for some reason can't fix it as they don't do that stuff (which I don't understand at all). So the saga continues!

That's made me feel better that I'm not the only foolish driver @Thomasina79 !

I guess at least I've been reassured it's drivable while I try and get it in with the place they suggested for body work. I'm a bit concerned about rust though with all this rain and driving through puddles.

Please tell me where you get your car tires for £20-£40!!

I had to have the sills welded on my car. Cost about £80. This was last year.

My car is a Ford and they also outsource any body or paint work they don’t do it at the main garage so that’s not unusual. A couple of body shops near me are just insurance work so just call a couple and ask around.

I’m thinking the £20-40 tyre poster meant part worns as I’ve gone to places and they’ve asked what price I want to pay for a part worn tyre as they have a range!

I used to drive a Daewoo Matiz and could get tyres for £20 🤣 this was about 13 years ago though

Good news! Got another garage to look at it today and they said it was just minor and only needed pliers and sealant, so all I had to pay was a fiver for the sealant!

Brilliant news - thanks for the update OP.

Thanks! I'm so relieved and the garage have also got me as a customer for life for saying it was so simple they didn't want to charge me!

Obviously not relevant to the OP anymore, but as a general rule of thumb, that's absolute bollocks.