# They pranged my MGB **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 10, 2018, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-pranged-my-mgb/819390 "2018-08-10T15:37:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2018, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-pranged-my-mgb/819390/1 "2018-08-10T15:37:31Z")
I took my 1966 MGB to Maaco a couple of weeks ago to have it repainted. I just needed to protect the metal from rusting, as the original body guy did a crappy job. Maaco did an excellent job on Mrs. L.A.'s Tacoma. I opted for the guaranteed-for-five-years paint job, and they sanded it down to the bare metal. I was hoping to pick it up today. Maaco just called. They said ‘We were moving cars around, and there was an accident.’ They damaged my right-front fender, and will have to repair it and repaint it. They also asked where to get the chrome moulding, as that is not repairable. I sent them a link to Moss Motors. They said I might be able to pick it up late next week. As it happens, Mrs. L.A. injured her foot Wednesday night and cannot drive. I guess I don’t have to pick up the MGB, leave the Prius at Maaco, and then catch an hour-long bus ride to pick the Prius up. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2018, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-pranged-my-mgb/819390/2 "2018-08-10T17:02:46Z")
Ew, rotten luck! Years ago I was pumping gas into my car at a service station when an employee backed a car out of the service bay very fast. Alerted by the loud zoom, I dodged away and he hit my car and pushed it a couple of feet sideways. The owner of the station, who did not speak English very well but keenly understood that an admission of guilt meant liability, came running out waving his hands and saying “No pay! No pay!” before I had even recovered from the adrenaline spike. Fortunately the police concluded otherwise. One of my tires had been resting on a quartz pebble, and when the car was pushed sideways the pebble scored a bright white arc where it dragged across the asphalt, giving the officer a clear indication or relative motion. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2018, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-pranged-my-mgb/819390/3 "2018-08-10T17:30:10Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > They said ‘We were moving cars around, and there was an accident.’ I got that call when my old Ford Escort was in the shop for tires. They offered either 4 free tires, or repair of the damage. I took the tires. That car was hit multiple times. I always took the cash, never repaired the damage. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2018, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-pranged-my-mgb/819390/4 "2018-08-10T17:50:15Z")
If you’re gonna have your car hit, no better place than already in the body shop. I almost envy you. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2018, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-pranged-my-mgb/819390/5 "2018-08-10T21:17:00Z")
I worked with a guy who had leased a Jeep. Very near the end of the lease, one of the parking lot attendants ran into another car with it. Don’t worry, the boss assured him. We’ll take care of everything, pay for a rental, it’ll be like brand new, etc. After a couple of weeks in the shop, they were bringing it back when it got T-boned at an intersection. Try to explain that when you’re settling the lease. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2018, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-pranged-my-mgb/819390/6 "2018-08-10T22:47:07Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > They also asked where to get the chrome moulding, as that is not repairable. I sent them a link to Moss Motors. Shouldn’t a paint and body shop already know where to get parts like that? I know you don’t just drop in to the local MG dealer anymore, but it still seems like it would be part of their business to have a network for stuff like that. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2018, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-pranged-my-mgb/819390/7 "2018-08-10T22:55:01Z")
Shops do have connections for the stuff they routinely work on, but I don’t know if anyone even _sees_ more than one or two MGBs on the road in a year. A shop can do brisk business for decades and never put a hammer on one. They are likely equally represented in parts yards and such, meaning not at all. For such rare items, it’s reasonable to expect the owner has already done the work of identifying a parts source, making them the logical first step in finding the parts. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2018, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-pranged-my-mgb/819390/8 "2018-08-11T05:03:33Z")
> [@Inigo\_Montoya](#): > > I don’t know if anyone even _sees_ more than one or two MGBs on the road in a year. Sad, considering they made more than half a million of them. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2018, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-pranged-my-mgb/819390/9 "2018-08-11T05:20:02Z")
Ouuuuuch. I hope that they’re able to repair it properly. > [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Sad, considering they made more than half a million of them. Even back in the '70s, they weren’t exactly common here in the States (though I have no idea how many of that half-million were imported here), and you don’t see a lot of 50+ year old cars on the road, of any make. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2018, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-pranged-my-mgb/819390/10 "2018-08-11T11:47:56Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > Shouldn’t a paint and body shop already know where to get parts like that? I know you don’t just drop in to the local MG dealer anymore, but it still seems like it would be part of their business to have a network for stuff like that. Back in the early 80s I spent 6 months visiting junkyards in an attempt to locate headlight adjusting screws for my midget. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2018, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-pranged-my-mgb/819390/11 "2018-08-11T11:54:37Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Back in the early 80s I spent 6 months visiting junkyards in an attempt to locate headlight adjusting screws for my midget. Hmm, well the frogeye versions had pretty weird headlights, so I imagine the adjusting screws would be a little weird, too. Otherwise, I’d think the headlight screws would would have just come from the Big Bin of Common British Car Parts. But the frogeyes were all Sprites rather than Midgets, weren’t they? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2018, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-pranged-my-mgb/819390/12 "2018-08-11T13:48:54Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > Even back in the '70s, they weren’t exactly common here in the States (though I have no idea how many of that half-million were imported here)… There was a dealership in Lancaster, CA where I lived in the mid- to late-'70s. MGBs were fairly common. In the '80s I had a '66 that my mom bought new, and two '77s. At that time, '77 MGBs were selling for about $1,500 so there were quite a few of them driving around. I still see the occasional MGB between where I live now and Seattle. A few couple/few years ago there was a very nice, red, ‘rubber bumper’ one parked at the corner market. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2018, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-pranged-my-mgb/819390/13 "2018-08-11T14:05:37Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > Ouuuuuch. I hope that they’re able to repair it properly. Me too. The thing is, the front fenders are new. Now I’ll always know it’s been damaged. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2018, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-pranged-my-mgb/819390/14 "2018-08-11T20:13:41Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > There was a dealership in Lancaster, CA where I lived in the mid- to late-'70s. MGBs were fairly common. In the '80s I had a '66 that my mom bought new, and two '77s. At that time, '77 MGBs were selling for about $1,500 so there were quite a few of them driving around. I stand corrected, though I know that the southern California climate is a lot kinder to cars than the Midwest is. Whenever I’ve been in LA, it’s always been fun to see how many older cars are still on the road (and still in great shape). ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2018, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-pranged-my-mgb/819390/15 "2018-08-11T22:53:14Z")
By the way, _“pranged”_. Very English. ---
**Author:** ![Penfeather](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penfeather/32/384_2.png) [@Penfeather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penfeather)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2018, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-pranged-my-mgb/819390/16 "2018-08-11T22:57:09Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Back in the early 80s I spent 6 months visiting junkyards in an attempt to locate headlight adjusting screws for my midget. I hope he said thank you. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2018, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-pranged-my-mgb/819390/17 "2018-08-12T00:33:11Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > By the way, _“pranged”_. Very English. I learned it as an aviation term. (Bob Stevens, I think.) [**Prang -** To bump, crunch, bend, or break an aircraft.](https://sierrahotel.net/pages/aviation-slang-pilot-slang) . ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2018, 9:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-pranged-my-mgb/819390/18 "2018-08-12T09:26:38Z")
More than you ever wanted to know: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF\_slang](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_slang) ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2018, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-pranged-my-mgb/819390/19 "2018-08-12T15:06:23Z")
> [@PatrickLondon](#): > > More than you ever wanted to know: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF\_slang](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_slang) I can’t help but think of the ‘RAF Banter’ sketch. I’m positive I learned the term from Bob Stevens’s [_Prop Wash: A Fractured Glossary Of Aviation Terms_](https://www.amazon.com/Prop-wash-fractured-glossary-aviation/dp/091049701X). ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2018, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-pranged-my-mgb/819390/20 "2018-08-13T13:19:44Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > I can’t help but think of the ‘RAF Banter’ sketch. Would “cabbage crates” still mean ‘German’ or would it apply to Korean vehicles as well? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-pranged-my-mgb/819390.md?page=2)