Damage to my pride and joy

[FrintonMike]

Prior to taking the caravan to the local dealer for it's annual service I was washing it and too my horror there is damage to the to offside rear pannel. It looks as if some thing has backed into the van.
The dealer has given me an estimate of £864 labour plus parts. As the parts include a new ABS back panel the cost is going to be well over the £1000 mark. The only good news is that I posted the claim form to the Caravan Club insurers, Devitt, on Monday and the assessor phoned me on Tuesday to arrange to see the van. he came on Thursday and has authorised repairs.
The dealer says there is no sign of damp but he has put mastic over the damage to make sure damp does not occur before the repairs take place
Good service from Devitt's but we are now in the hands of Swift to supply the parts so I do not expect repairs to take place this side of Christmas. I will have to log onto Swift Talk to see if I can find out the time scale for a replacement back panel but from reading other postings on Swift Talk the parts service is not too good.

 

[otherclive]

Sorry to hear of the damage to the van, but your insurers response is A1. Always pays to have a reliable insurer for when the worst happens.

 

[TD42]

could you not purchase new panels from an indipendant such as http://www.caravanpanels.com/epages/62058741.sf/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/62058741/Categories/parts16/_Back_Panels
http://www.panelworks.co.uk/

from my experianxe you are looking at 3+ months for delivery from a caravan manufactorer

 

[Big S]

Sorry to hear of your mishap Mike.
I had an accident earlier this year and as yourself am insured with the CC. I was also very impressed with Devitt's who processed my claim within the week which included a visit from an assessor. This was at the same time as the Aberysweth floods and the assessor had been out there five times in the previous seven days to assess the damage to the numerous caravans that were damaged in the floods.
Can't say I was similarly impressed with Swift though! Took them over three months for two side awning rails and a new wheel arch. When I contacted Ash at Swift after a couple of months, he chased up the order for the parts and I had a couple of emails from the staff at Swift and the parts were eventually delivered to my repairer.
You will need to be patient and I certainly wouldn't expect the parts to be delivered before Christmas. As long as the dealer has ensured that rain cannot get into your van then at least that is a start and will rovide peace of mind in the short term. I'd start chasing Swift up if you haven't heard from them by the end of January though.

 

[Raywood]

Sorry to here of the problem, I damaged our caravan on the overhanging porch some years ago. We were also insured with the caravan club and agree there service is excellent. I would not risk leaving them for a few pounds saving. Problem was the accident was late March and the parts took until October to arrive although I did wonder if the dealer simply waited until he was quiet to take it in.

 

[FrintonMike]

TD42, thanks for your reply. Both websites are very interesting and I may use them in the future but at the moment as the repair is going to be between £1500 and £2000 I will leave it to the insurers.
I have asked Swift, via Swift Talk, for time scales for delivery of the back panel and as soon as they reply I will post again but like you I feel that repairs will not be done until about february, or if we are unlucky March.
The damage has been sealed by the dealer and there is no sign of damp so we will continue using the van for touring. We are away 2 weeks this month, 1 week in January, 1 week in February and two weeks in March so any repairs will have to be fitted in between the times we are away