"Grimly Curmudgeon" wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com...
: Perhaps, the real problem now is the lack of pride and skill in : painting, same as with many other trades, where a quick and dirty job : can be got away with, as long as too many customers don't complain.
Tell me Grimly, do you, would you, work for nothing (and in some cases pay to work on someone else vehicle), what do you not understand about the fact that repairers can only do what they are being paid for - pay peanuts get monkeys, that goes for insurance cover as much as the repairs.
This is exactly why the OP should have bought classic car insurance; old cars will get minimal repairs (or surcharges for "Betterment") assuming that they are not just written off, if the owner is lucky with the option to keep salvage.