Hello everyone as you can see I have just joined you and look forward to finding out more about you and the lovely area in which you live. I have a dilema on my hands and would like your advice please. I along with my wife and grown son have been living down here in the Costa Blanca for 6 years in a largely expat environment and have built up a nice business which is doing really well, I am a mobile motor body repairer, I worked in the UK at this for over 35 years so I know what I am doing. Unfortunately for them but good for me I have many repeat customers my client base is largely by recommendation although I do advertise in our local paper. I am sorry if this is long winded but I hope you will bare with me, you see we are looking for a change and as me and her indoors are avid fisherfreaks we are seriously looking to relocate to your beautiful neck of the woods but alongside the fishing I will still need to make a living for a few years so my question to you all is this, do you think my services would be needed in your area. I am not one of these paintless dent bods, I am a professional panel beater,sprayer and I either do the work at your home, work or if need be at my premises, you do not have to lose your car to the garage for days on end. Anyway please have a think about it and let me know your thoughts, and any advice you may have will be greatly appreciated.

From the number of dented cars in Tortosa  i think there will be plenty of work to go around especially as the locals are taught to bump park by their driving instructors, if you park in the local supermarket and don't leave your car 10yds from any other car then you always come back to a dent in a door or a bumper and there are plenty of panels scratched by olive and carob trees which are so precious because of their hugely profitable crop  ::) ::)that they are not pruned on tracks and roads, so frankly yes I think you would find work here as if you take a car into a local dealer for accident damage they charge you a fortune and usually do a crap job with filler and don't even prepare the surfaces before spraying I speak from experience having pressure washed off the paint on a plastic bumper, Sorry to be a grump but I haven't had a good moan for a long time on the Forum!! ;D ;D

well done hazelnut thanks for that and your entitled to have a moan especially when the Spanish Garages charge such a lot for as you say a crap job, funny it must be something they are all taught as they also do crap jobs down here too.  I know that the cost of a repair is always a concern and the reason I can keep my prices down is I don't have any overheads as in the upkeep of a professional garage, I have all the tools and equipment which come with me. Don't get me wrong I certainly don't wish car damage upon you but maybe I will be seeing you sometime. ;D

Good to see you back Stu.  You been on yer hols (I'm told Catalunya is lovely at this time of year) or did you develop grump withdrawal symptoms ?  ;D

Hi Bigyin
Yep had a self imposed ban on moaning and will not be back with avengeance as some people seem to think that telling the truth will put tourists and potential buyers off coming to the area, I class rose tinting the facts as lying and pulling the wool over peoples eyes, and it would be putting myself in the same boat as a dodgy estate agents selling a property with those favourite phrases of electricity and water close by could easily and cheaply be obtained and as for planning permission!! of course you will get it they just love you restoring old building on the campo here to live in!! ::) ::)

With the delicate touch of a blacksmith.....nice one.Welcome back to the fold.
Did you manage to find the volume control for that shirt of yours.........

Have a look at Stu's "For Sales".  He's got a ridging Azada thingy that might be what you were after.

I did that but the furrows wouldn't be wide enough.I needed a wider ridge......

Just want to say a very big thankyou to the person who pm'd me (you know who you are) I can't pm you back because I haven't posted 10 times yet, but your message was very informative and just what is needed when making such drastic decisions.