Went to see our American lady friend yesterday and for the first time saw her Mazda 3 (saloon not hatch) in a fetching shade of kingfisher blue.
I noticed immediately that the shutline at the leading edge of the bonnet lid was too wide, and wider at one side than the other, ruining the look of the car. Suspecting poor crash damage repairs I looked uner the bonnet. Couldn't see any evidence of a serious front impact, but looking closely could see that the front panel, all plastic, which is quite complicated and has the headlights inset in it, needs to be refitted by someone who isn't a chimp. Perhaps it had to come off for painting, perhaps the old one was damaged and this is a replacement. In any case it is slightly lopsided and too low all the way across, and the n/s wing panel isn't fitted right either where it meets this big plastic bumper-grille thingy.
Tsk. I thought women noticed that sort of thing. I would expect a decent body shop to be able to adjust it quickly and cheaply, but when I mentioned it she became alarmed. Didn't want to know.
Cars look a hell of a lot better when everything on the outside is lined up properly. It amazes me that a dealer could offer a car for sale in that state, but I have often had to realign doors and so on in the past just so that my eye wouldn't be offended whenever I saw the thing.
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Tsk. I thought women noticed that sort of thing.
Not on cars.
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The funny thing is, that out of all the cars I've owned (and I've had some!) I've never took any notice of the shut lines etc., ... I've always been more interested in driving the critter & listening to the engine ... needless to say - I've bought a few damaged repairables without knowing :( and it wasn't until others pointed out the fault, that I became aware of it myself.
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I'm like you in principle perro, only interested in how it goes and behaves, not in how it makes me look. I've driven any number of seriously foxed jalopies and liked them.
But in a car without actual damage, misaligned panels offend my eye, and if it's my car I try to do something about it sooner or later.
And I certainly wouldn't buy such a car punter style from a dealer without making them sort it out for nothing first.
Edited by Lud on 28/09/2009 at 22:54
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Shutlines, panel gaps and alignmernt matter.
I had to go out and buy a set of star bits to realign some of the panels on my car.
I think I am a bit OCD about that to be honest.
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Wasnt the Laguna a bit beyond that RF?
EDIT: ;-)
Edited by cheddar on 28/09/2009 at 23:26
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dynamite wouldnt have realigned that
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I think I am a bit OCD about that to be honest.
Can't we dispense with searing, soul-baring honesty for once AE?
I prefer to think of it as having an eye for horseflesh. Like a little hard-bitten bloke in a cloth cap just longing to curry-comb its withers and make it shiny for the ring....
Oh all right, barmy then.
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Reminds me of the Autocar article from the sixties; A journo visited the Ferrari factory to see the latest model. He remarked that the right front wing looked slightly different from the left.
Of course it is, said his guide, they were made by different people.
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