Trouble sourcing a wing, any ideas?

ajchetcuti · July 12, 2019

Hi,

In my first post on here I mentioned somebody hit my car in a car park. For the last month I've been trying to get it sorted out.

I tried breakerlink and only had 2 hits on a replacement wing. One turned out to be rotten so I purchased a much more expensive colour matching 2nd choice. Turns out the guy didn't have the part to sell and had Googled the photo. A month later and with involvement from the bank I've got my money back and have reported the fraudulent activity.

I've reached out to three breakers on eBay. One has already sold the part and the other 2 have ignored me. Lexus UK can only get service parts nowadays it seems.

I really want to get my car fixed as I'm gutted that it looks a mess. I'm not sure it can be beaten out well enough to look right after and rust has set in. I'm working toward getting the car spot on and have even found replacement exhaust tips, new petrol cap (consumable apparently) and cabin filters from the USA recently.

Has anybody on here got a driver's side wing or can point me in the right direction? It's a pre facelift which doesn't help.

Thanks for reading, would greatly appreciate your help!

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Bluesman · July 12, 2019

Just a question of being patient and checking eBay as many time as poss each day until one pops up, this what I did when I needed a wing. If my memory serves me right I paid £40 for a MK4 wing luckily the correct colour.

runsgrateasanut · July 12, 2019

Real shame.

Can usually find a part rust free in the States but they won't ship as prohibitively expensive and unlikely to arrive without damage. I tried several times to get one this way.

Pity, I bought a second hand Drivers side as my own showed signs of rust, but it turned out to be not much better.No dents however. I kept it for maybe a year before scrapping it thinking it would need the same amount of work as the one in situ., so why bother to restore it and the hasle of replacing.

Personally I'd try to get a panel beater to repair your wing. One of these dent removal guys check out someones work on vuttube and decide if they can do a good job with the wing and dealing with the rust work. Taking off a wing is not so easy, so I've been told.

Will never be perfect, but is any '93 Car?

cruisermark · July 12, 2019

I searched facebook ads and there are 2 being broken - one in Orpington and one in Derby

Jake430 · July 12, 2019

I would try a panel beater for a cost. It may be an easy fix once the splash guard is removed.

Farqui · July 12, 2019

I wondered that too Stuart, some of the repairs PDR guys pull off is mind blowing so I'd definitely give one with a good reputation (check online/etc) a call.

Good luck getting it sorted

ambermarine · July 13, 2019

Alex

It would be easier to knock out the dents and fill it then spray to the correct colour ,I would do the job on my own car but not on yours as it is not going to look perfect when done but it would look a lot better than it does now.

Have a go you will save a fortune and learn how to fix dents.

runsgrateasanut · July 13, 2019

Doubt you'll find any '93 Car that has not had the front wing rust repaired and re-sprayed. That Black LS400 has been advertised for several years on the bay which is annoying because the guy doesn't say whats already gone, which is probably 95% of it. See he is also the seller of another. Time wasting to find out no parts available.

Then theres the cost of picking up if you are nowhere near, or having Couriered with all the risk that a five foot length of flexible metal will get to you, damaged that is if anyone is likely to want to somehow crate wrap it.

Agree with Phil - DIY. Can get various dent pullers. Strip off, and underwing protector removed - Rubber mallet etc. Fortunately it doesn't appear to be above the crease line, so you could just get away with removing the rust and using a large amount of body filler, and the rest of the job. Lots of expert advice online about such work.

Who would know other than you? - which of course is always the problem!

runsgrateasanut · July 13, 2019

France 2018 thought I'd do the rust issue on Drivers wing.

Wrong paint courtesy of eBay seller who refuesed to accept that it was wrong. Whats seen on the Jam jar lid was the correct colour bought from Auto paint St Helens. Sadly less than a week after this, Hail peppered the car with dents. I have however bought a Can of the correct colour and maybe later this month will make the wing look slightly better. Note the dust free surroundings - not !

Newbie1 · July 15, 2019

You could get a wing and even if it was the same colour it would probably not match due to resprays at some time or just fading. A decent panelbeater should be able to do that wing quite reasonably. Unless the rust requires welding it shouldn't be a problem.

Malc · July 15, 2019

I'd have thought virtually all the Mk1 and Mk2 ( yours ) scrapper cars have long long gone by now

Find a good ( back street, small indy ) panel beater and sprayer guy and you might be lucky

I mentioned before that these are becoming a very rare species, my son-in-law age 51 is the youngest guy he knows that does the spraying side of things . there's very few of 'em coming through

Malc

runsgrateasanut · July 15, 2019

4 hours ago, Greer said:

Yes that would be fine for those living out in rural areas and a private drive to work on, IF they could actually do the work, but, those of us living in cites cannot do things like that due to the numerous by-laws & local council rules stopping their public roads & pavements (work tools on walkway pavements) from becoming industrial outdoor work yards

A good point.

I recall an idiot who moved in to one of the Grade two listed terrace houses on the sea front where I live, and proceeded to start to cut up Ford Escort bodies with Oxy-acetelene in the front garden much to the curiosity of passers bye, not to mention the fury of the neighbours bringing the area into disrepute. That person was a nightmare and it took years to put a stop to his unacceptable behaviour. Long story, part of which made a TV documentary.

sam case · July 15, 2019

What part of Cheshire do you live in .

sam case · July 15, 2019

Alan it was Sam Case trying to help Alexander with his problem

LexusPartsDirect · July 15, 2019

If you are happy to go down the new route, send us a message via the website and we can confirm cost for you and upload the part to the website ready for ordering!

https://www.lexuspartsdirect.co.uk/contact-us-genuine-lexus-parts/

ajchetcuti · July 15, 2019

What part of Cheshire do you live in .

Nantwich near Crewe.

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ajchetcuti · July 15, 2019

I wondered that too Stuart, some of the repairs PDR guys pull off is mind blowing so I'd definitely give one with a good reputation (check online/etc) a call.
Good luck getting it sorted

I've contacted dent wizard as there's a technician local to me. Waiting to hear back what they think. I really didn't think it could be saved but if it can that's great! Thanks for your opinions all.

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ajchetcuti · July 15, 2019

ajchetcuti, Just an opinion on my part, I suspect if you look around for a while you may well find an LS400 as cheap or even cheaper than getting that wing looking like nothing happened to it, also IMO your car does not look at all bad & certainly not looking battered, just my thoughts. If it's panel beaten it will have to be resprayed & laquered to get exactly the same color as your 20 year old paint!?
Maybe check these adds out, there are some LS400's well worth looking at which might be as cheap & perfect as the one you've got, some I think with Lexus FSH, at least you could compare to a panel beating job & repaint. BTW, no idea why the text above is all bold
https://bit.ly/2JINOR2

No my car is mainly in great shape it's just this panel that's making it look really sorry for itself. I don't want to change to another as I've got a good early example and I know all the work that has been done that I won't need to have done on another. It's too good to give up on, so going to try my best to sort it.

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steve2006 · July 15, 2019

This was mine post accident, took it to a local body shop and they repaired the wing, bonnet and bumper to such a high standard you cannot tell.

Malc · July 16, 2019

don't these older Ls400s just look the bees knees :yahoo:

Malc

steve2006 · July 18, 2019

On 7/17/2019 at 11:31 AM, Greer said:

Can you give details Steve? I know someone in the Kiveton Park area who needs some good body work done (not lexus) thanks

Sure, no problem, the company is called AutoKolor.

http://www.autokolor.co.uk/

steve2006 · July 18, 2019

I found this early model on Facebook the other day which may solve your problems.

ajchetcuti · July 18, 2019

Hi!

I actually had a guy look at it today who said he could repair it and do a good job of the paint. So just waiting for the quote!

The valeter at work recommended him and said he did a cracking job.

Fingers crossed!!

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ajchetcuti · July 26, 2019

Hi,

So the car is going in on the 12th August to be repaired.

He's going to save and paint the wing and then repaint all the cladding and lower bumpers to make her look perfect. There's some signs of previous scuff repairs on bumpers and scratching to the cladding. I'll shower her off once it's all done.

Thanks again everybody for the advice. The guy I've found seems great and loved the car. Wants to feature it on his website etc.

Take it easy gang...

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