O/s/f mk1 xantia wing removal?

[quintet]

Has anyone on here tried removing a front wing on an (early) 94 xantia? no doubt plenty of people have done it in bodyshops but it's not a job i've had to undertake until recently. Having said that my car might end up going to a bodyshop anyway, it just depends on what my insurance company does but being such an old car i have a suspicion they'll write it off .

Obviously the wing is bolted on along it's top edge but how's it attached to the rest of the body? bonded/spot welded? if they do write it off & i'm able to get it back off them i'll be after several parts if anyone has such items although it all depends on the pay out, the fact that it's only valued at £600 isn't gonna land me with a decent pay out & finding one the same color in a scrap yard just aint gonna happen, it seems to be a rare color for a car this age (ETK i think, poss' known as (metallic) storm grey? )



If i do end up fixing it myself I'll be after the damaged parts as seen in the image (the bumper needs fog light cut-outs & a new fog light surround/trim). Anyway to cap off if anyone knows the pitfalls of removing the o/s/f wing i'd appreciate a heads up (to be honest i've yet to actually look into removing it ) and for the record i was hit by a drunk driver at 7.20am! the fact that she was quite a pretty young girl did nothing to mellow my mood

[Xaccers]

Open the driver's door and you'll see the bolts that hold the wing on there.
There's a torx screw in the end of the bumper by the wheel that goes up into the wing, and at the end of the grill under the indicator.
I've come across one car where the wing was masticed along the vertical edge by the door, that was a pain to remove!

The bumper, should you need to remove it, has 10mm bolts along the bottom (3 I think), the torx mentioned above, and 13mm bolts that are accessable up inside the inner wings.
Ratchet spanner is your friend here.
They go into captive nuts in the bumper, which due to rust over the years become fixed to the nuts and break from captivity, so you may need to pull the bumper off the nuts carefully.

[quintet]

Oh cool, that makes it all sound fairly straight forward,I guess the bumper removla will be tricky if the captive fittings break free although i'm familiar with the wing to bumper bolts/retainers as pretty much all citroens seem to use that method but i did figure there might be an issue where the wing is attached to the body near the door frame (the wing got pushed back a mm or two but hasn't touched the door thankfully, the bonnet escaped damage too which was lucky!). Hopefully I'll find out what my insurance company are planning in the next 48 hours although i've already been passed onto 2 sub-contracted claims companies (ie im already getting passed around , thanks for the info though

[addo]

That doesn't really look like needing removal. A skilled tinman will get that back out, and a squirt of phosphating primer in the back (plus proofcoat) will see it well enough protected again.

If you have full comp then you are prejudicing the claim by tinkering it up.

[quintet]

It's true the wing could well be repaired without being removed & if the repair is kept localised the rest of the wing might not even need painting, i'd rather just the corner didn't match the rest of the car rather than the whole wing if the paint's poorly matched as is often the case with such repairs, however i suspect which ever bodyshop it goes to will replace the whole wing as 'time is money' & repairing the damage would probably not be cost effective for them, however as for 'tinkering the claim up' what am i to do with the broken fog light, cracked bumper, broken indicator & smashed headlight? just leave them? i don't think so.

[addo]

In terms of panel replacement, anyone defending the at-fault party may claim the car was in a damaged state prior, and you would have no hard evidence to dispute this.

The wing is further bonded on with sealant; cutting for replacement this allows moisture to penetrate further, as most refitting doesn't involve correct resealing.

As to replacing broken bolt-on parts, keeping the damaged ones as an ensemble and documenting their removal might help you. Detailing the car to death, presenting it as your pride and joy, then making the point to the claim defender that you will accept no less than a 100% repair, is where I'd be going...

You don't have to emply your insurer for any restitution activities as you are not at fault. There are private claims advocates who tag a fee onto the claim but expedite the process, they may be worth talking to as quite often they have a "hotline" to the empowered people in insurerance companies.

[quintet]

Story so far (if any one cares ) - the car now has a 2nd hand headlight, new indicator & i've physically pulled the wing into place so the car now looks a little more normal. However i do feel ive been well sh4fted by my own insurance (underwriters) company!, (long story short - ) they've taken their cut from my pay out - my excess & left me with £125.00 in order to get my own car fixed, i've spoke to a lad i know who runs a bodyshop & the bodyshop repairs alone will cost at least £250.00 + parts & thats at 'mate's rates' . So far i've not actually received any money from the underwriters but when it arrives i'll be after a good condition front bumper (with fog light cut outs) if anyone on here happens to have one or i may try getting one off e-bay.