Having the Paint Protection Film installed involved leaving the Bugeye in the care of Ceramic Pro of Sarasota for three days. We weren’t real comfortable with the extended stay but we were at their mercy. Their installer did a superior job in installing the film; however, someone apparently man handled the drivers door which resulted in damage in two places on the “A” pillar. While relatively small, fixing the damage required taking the car back to our painter Gabor Fodor for some bodywork and paint.

“A” Pillar paint damage

Initial Sanding

Filler Added

Painted and Job Complete

Gabor did an outstanding job. Literally impossible to see that a repair was made. We then re-installed the driver’s door and headed home.

Beautiful craftsmanship

But wait, the title of this post states “two steps back.” The first step back was the paint correction. The second step back was electrical. On the morning that we drove the Bugeye to the paint shop we discovered that the battery was almost dead. As things turned out, the brand new “upgraded” Lucas alternator sourced from British Parts Northwest gave up the ghost after only 140 miles!

Dead Alternator!

Clearly another example of Chinese junk. Sorry, but there is no other way to describe it. Fortunately, we had a spare and we installed and tested it in short order. We are now charging the battery as an alternator should.