Why approved crash repairers aren't the only option

What’s left of the Jag is supported on a chassis jig at Castle Coachworks in Northampton. Autocar was here only a few weeks ago when Brian Lennon, co-founder and director, sparked our interest in manufacturer-approved bodyshops such as his with warnings about lesser bodyshops fitting recycled parts that can compromise a car’s safety. It sounded like the thing you’d expect an expensive bodyshop to say about its less expensive rivals, so we returned to see what Castle Coachworks, which is approved by JLR, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, Audi, Volvo and Kia, does that is so different.

And where better to start than with this battered Jag? Its engine and eight-speed gearbox have been removed and lie behind a plastic screen. With its bonnet and wings also removed to expose its A-pillar reinforcement beams and chassis rails, the car looks like a giant stag beetle. Panel technician Steve Johnson is preparing to replace one of the A-pillars and its reinforcement structure and straighten a chassis leg. Later, he’ll check the alignment to make sure everything’s true.

It looks like a straightforward, if major, repair, except the XJ is aluminium, a material that requires special treatment, while those who work with it require intensive training and dedicated tools.

“Aluminium is the new steel,” says Ellis Lennon, Brian’s son and Castle’s vehicle damage assessor, charged with knowing all the correct repair techniques. At one time he was the country’s youngest panel technician approved by JLR and Mercedes; no small achievement given that the failure rate on automotive aluminium training courses is high. “Aluminium has no memory so won’t return to its former shape,” he says. “As you work it, it gets stiffer. It can’t come into contact with steel and if you expose it for too long, it oxidises.”

Just like steel there are multiple varieties of aluminium, some containing more silicone for greater flexibility and used for external panels, and others containing more magnesium for strength, in areas such as the bulkhead. JLR vehicles feature at least five different grades of aluminium. The front of the Jag features three alone.

“If this were steel, we could repair it in situ,” says Ellis. “But aluminium stretches so we’ll cut away the damaged areas and replace with new panels that we’ll weld, bond or rivet as required. Other bodyshops might try to get away with patching the damaged panels with filler.”

To avoid cross-contamination with steel, the tools and equipment that Ellis and his team use must be cleaned and stored separately. They also need to be regularly updated. “The investment in tools is considerable. Our rivet guns will be outdated in 12 months’ time,” he says.

Training isn’t cheap, either. Mercedes, for example, demands that technicians attend its training courses twice a year for four days at a stretch, at a cost of £2000.

This all helps explain why Castle’s repair bill for the crashed Jag will be £30,000. It makes you wonder how the owner persuaded his insurer to pay up rather than give him a lower cash settlement and write off the car. That they did so is thanks to JLR’s total loss avoidance scheme that grants approved repairers access to discounted parts. By taking advantage of it for the Jag’s repair, Castle’s estimate fell £2000 short of the insurer’s write-off threshold.