damaged new van :(

[Paul_5099000]

well how upset am i !!!

turning my yr old twin compass rallye off a pitch at the weekend and i over cooked the turning circle. Resulting in the back of the van swinging out a little too far and clouting the power/water stantion !

Result ? two gouge lines down me new van *sob sob sob*

one is a 12 inch or so dent (not torn into the sidepanel)

the other though has torn the panel about 4 or 5 inches.

Obviously an insurance job...the van side is made up of 2 full length panels...upper and lower...and i guess a full lower panel will be required....anyone any idea how long these things take to arrive from suppliers etc....anyone done this and can make me feel like im not the only prat who pranged his new van *sobsobsob*

Paul.

 

[Damian]

Paul, sorry to hear of the accident.

As far as repairs go, dont expect a quick fix, spares from manufacturers are notoriously long winded affairs, as they do not make th epanels themselves, but buy in "Job Lots" to suit production runs, so you may have to wait until they next order.

Some may be quite quick, about 6 weeks, but can take anything up to 18 months!!!

Then there is the time scale to get the van repaired, fitting it in with the workshop load.

Biggest thing right now is to make sure the damage is watertight to prevent further interior problems.

 

[Damian]

Forgot to add, yes I have done similar, still waiting on the repair to be done, and thats from Feb this year!!

 

[Paul_5099000]

shame

what ive done is covered the actual tear with electrical tape...this should stop damp....and i have 2 walk past my van with my eyes shut now

sigh

 

[Ewan_5130997]

Hi Paul

I did something similar last October. Had to wait till January for the panel to arrive from Bailley

 

[Paul_5099000]

Hi Paul

I did something similar last October. Had to wait till January for the panel to arrive from Bailley

was the insurance ok with it all ?

 

[George2]

Hi,

I did some similar damage to my Sterling Trekker in August last year, it's not due in for repair until 9th June, and the repair will take 3 weeks. They are re-skinning the entire side, also damaged a window which is being replaced, but 10 months seems a long time to wait. Fortunately the van is usable, having taped up the torn side and the broken window, but it's had plenty of curious comments on site.

Insurance (CaravanGuard) were no problem at all.

The parts actually arrived at the dealers several months ago, but they just didn't have an opportunity to actually do the repair until now. They originally wanted to wait until July/August but that would have really messed up our holiday plans.

I really want to see what the repair will be like, has anyone any experience of having a van re-skinned, is it noticeable ?

George

 

[Robtel]

Paul,

Did something similar with a gate post and my year old Bailey last October. Between waiting on parts and then the repairer getting a slot to fit it in meant it was not repaired until late January.

Robert

 

[Hamer_5041128]

Sorry to hear of your problem. I would ask your dealer to contact Compass regarding availability of parts, and then you will have an idea when the repair can be carried out. Notify your insurance company immediatly.

When this happened to me a few years ago, a tanker made a hole in the side of my new Bessacar with its wing mirror one hour after collecting our new cravan from the dealer, i returned immediatly to the dealer and they were most concerned to do a temparey repair to make the caravan waterproof. I rang the insurance company from the dealers and got the go ahead for the repair. The dealer Golden Castle and the insurers the Caravan Club were excellent and the repair was done in 6 weeks.

I hope you receive the same worry free service.

Hamer

 

[Paul_5099000]

thanks for all your comments..

the insurance are sending me out the claims form and im seeing the repair man next week....ill keep you posted....

like i said ive taped up the "torn" bit with electrical tape to stop damp getting in..do you think this will be good enough ?

regards

Paul.

 

[Damian]

Paul, as long as its waterproof it should be ok.

I have covered the damage to mine with Duck Tape, as it is the best to use and wide enough to give a good overlap of the damage.

 

[jmg12]

We done the exact same thing with our Abbey Spectrum last october we took it back to the abbey dealership and they said they were not prepared to reskin the sides they said they would only fill it and paint it which I am not very happy about because I have seen some of the dealer repairs where they have resprayed a section of the side and I usually sticks out like a soar thumb . The dealer told me the caravan would just get written off if we refused this type of repair and its not like the caravans that old its only 4 years old.

 

[George2]

We done the exact same thing with our Abbey Spectrum last october we took it back to the abbey dealership and they said they were not prepared to reskin the sides they said they would only fill it and paint it which I am not very happy about because I have seen some of the dealer repairs where they have resprayed a section of the side and I usually sticks out like a soar thumb . The dealer told me the caravan would just get written off if we refused this type of repair and its not like the caravans that old its only 4 years old.

Linda,

How big is the damaged area, see my post above, my van is/was 4 years old when I damaged it and the insurance company are paying for it to be re-skinned. The damage to mine is about 12inches long, to parallel cuts about 3 inches apart, a broken window and damaged lower awning rail. The insurance inspector came to look at it after I got a quote, he questioned some of the stuff they wanted to replace, but ok'd it anyway. I would be surprised if the wrote of a repairable 4 year old van.

George