Body shop in / near Lancaster PA?

DD#1 is selling her '99 NB Miat.

It's been sitting for a while and has some mild mechanical issues (lots of leaks) but when I prospective buyer put it up he was very concerned about rust.

When I was under it 3-4 years ago it was crusty but not worrisome, but buyer passed on the car.  He suggested she get a body place to look at it in depth to see if it is even worth getting it saleable, or just offload it as a parts car.

She just moved to Lancaster and is planning on having AAA tow it there.

Is there a shop that anyone recommends?  Cost is an issue A) because new house, and B) she doesn't want to spend more than necessary just to find out if it's a goner or not.

On the other side of the coin, anybody looking for a parts car?  It has a nice newer top at the very least.

If the chassis is shot I may be in the market for a BP4W. But I'm hoping the chassis isn't shot. 

In reply to Duke :

PA is an annual vehicle inspection state.  She (and the Miata) just moved to PA?  

Is the potential buyer actually saying that he doesn't expect that the car will pass a PA inspection (and therefore he chooses to pass on the car.)  

If all above, this doesn't directly mean the car is inherently unsafe but in its current condition it may be difficult to sell in PA.  

What about taking it by an inspection shop? Seeing what my wif went through with her old Passat I know PA is pretty strict on rust when it comes to inspections.

She was in the Lancaster car scene, but it's been a while. I'll see if she has any leads/recommendations.

I'm only about 40 minutes from Lancaster, and have been an insurance appraisal manager, and have owned 4 Miata's.  I'm happy to take a look underneath if she gets it up here (Birdsboro PA)

Lancaster is where I work every day. So it sounds like you are looking for an inspection station vs a body shop at this point. She just needs to know if the car can get a sticker or not. I can recommend C&W Imports, 872 N Prince St in the city.  Been in business forever, honest, and still work on old British junk.   I've dealt with them professionally a few times recently and was very happy. Their customers all love them. 

If it winds up needing rust repair, it's very hard to find anyone willing to do it. Collision repair is much easier money. Most of the ones local to me have been going to a hot rod shop, since they aren't afraid of fabricating whatever is needed. They don't do painting, but can weld anything back together. Quite To Riot Customs (you can Google it) in Elizabethtown.

There is a shop up in Hummelstown area that buys and sells Miatas but I don't know the name of it. She could probably find him and sell it pretty quickly.

In reply to John Welsh :

The car was previously licensed in PA a couple years ago but may have lapsed - not sure about that.  It sat for a year or more while a local shop was allegedly trying to locate a PS rack for it.

She drove it down to DE to show a potential buyer and he went under it to check. It's apparently pretty wet underneath.  The worst leak is the rear cam seal which seems to have voted itself off the island on the drive down, so it is not drivable until that is fixed.  Unknown if there was any low oil damage during the drive - she didn't mention an oil light or anything.

Other possible leaks include the main seal and possibly the transmission case itself.

In reply to Sonic :

Thank you - that's a generous offer.  The car is not currently drivable, but I will let her know.

In reply to ddavidv :

Perfect, thank you. That sounds like a winner and I passed that on to her so she can call them.

If it's too rusty to pass inspection she will not repair it - she just wants to make an informed decision if she needs to junk it or sell it as a parts car rather than a drivable Miata.  Of course she'd prefer to do that but she doesn't want to throw good money after bad trying to make it saleable.

After talking to DD#1 , it apparently passed PA classic car inspection over the summer.

If you find one, let me know.  I haven't found a decent one in Harrisburg.  There's a guy in York that the Nelsons turned me onto, but he told me he was booked for the next two years.

There is no such thing as "classic car inspection".  It's pass/fail for anything that doesn't have an antique tag. 

PA Inspector here classic vehicle inspections are absolutely a thing, classic plated vehicles are safety inspected the same as anything else. 

Enhanced inspections are issued when a branded title is to be issued (reconstructed, hot rod, specialty construction, and so on) 

Miata meca or whatever the place in Middletown was called is no more and the building sold for a sum of money that should mean the wonderful but slightly grouchy former owner should be set for the rest of his life.

I'm in Lancaster every day for work and would be happy to check it out. I do rust repair in my shop. 

In reply to Byrneon27 :

That would be fantastic, thank you!  The car was supposedly transported to her new house last night.  She has off street parking in the alley behind and I assume she had it put there.

Can you PM me some contact info so I can put her in touch?  Thanks again.

ddavidv said:

There is no such thing as "classic car inspection".  It's pass/fail for anything that doesn't have an antique tag. 

+1 its the same safety inspection but no emissions. Pa will be more strict than De by a lot unless you have a "friendly" inspector. 

What I was saying is there isn't a specific inspection for classic cars. It's just the same required annual inspection, just without emissions. OP made it sound like it was a special inspection and it's not. And, the car has to be tagged as a 'classic'. Just being old enough doesn't allow it the exemption. 'Antique' tags exempt it from all the inspection nonsense. 

Duke said:

In reply to Byrneon27 :

That would be fantastic, thank you!  The car was supposedly transported to her new house last night.  She has off street parking in the alley behind and I assume she had it put there.

Can you PM me some contact info so I can put her in touch?  Thanks again.

 

717-968-6083

Awesome, I will pass that on. Thank you!