Bullet hole in roof travelling in France

[Ali&Nig]

Our first post, we picked up our Cali in Aug 14 and this is our third trip to Europe, we drove from Roscoff to Vendee coast and heard a loud noise, we pulled in at tourist office nearby to find a bullet hole in our roof, luckily it missed us. We had to drive back to the nearest police station in Pornic, and made a complaint 'danger to life' it was awful, however the bullet hole went through the roof and dented the frame and the roof still goes up, but we don't know what to do about the insurance, or can it be repaired? We come home on 10th July.

 

[T6 CFO]

Firstly thank goodness it was just the Cali. Let's trust this was an accident and you and your Cali were not the targets. Have the local Gendarme given you an idea?

As for claiming on the Insurance as can't see it being an issue. Just going to have to offset it against losing or not your no claims. Going to depend on your circumstances.


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[Seaview]

What a terrible thing to have happened to you I can't imagine the shock you must have had when you realised It was gunshot.

I would suggest you call your insurers and they will advise you on what to do.

 

[AlanC]

How frightening for you both. I am glad no one was injured, a very close thing though.

I would give your insurance co a call now, if you haven't done so already, just to log the claim. Arrange to follow it up fully on your return.
The hole should be repairable by a decent body shop.

Hope you have recovered and get home safely.

Alan

 

[snowy55]

How awful.
Were the police concerned?
Was the bullet still under the roof?
Put some tape over the hole to stop the rain coming in as a temporary measure.
Enjoy the rest of your holiday.

 

[Hotel California]

No good at all!
The bullet must surely have made damage to the canvas ?
Did you opend it yet?

 

[Martin]

Where on your journey did this happen?


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[Geezso]

Unfortunately the insurance will potentially record this as a fault claim. Thankfully no one hurt but seems awful strange. Was a bullet recovered?

 

[WelshGas]

Our first post, we picked up our Cali in Aug 14 and this is our third trip to Europe, we drove from Roscoff to Vendee coast and heard a loud noise, we pulled in at tourist office nearby to find a bullet hole in our roof, luckily it missed us. We had to drive back to the nearest police station in Pornic, and made a complaint 'danger to life' it was awful, however the bullet hole went through the roof and dented the frame and the roof still goes up, but we don't know what to do about the insurance, or can it be repaired? We come home on 10th July.

View attachment 14958

Any competent body shop should be able to repair that.
Is the canvas bellows damaged.?
Replacing the canvas could cost £600 + and the body repair a few hundreds.
So it really depends on the damage done and your Insurance excess.

 

[motacyclist]

If it hit the frame then hopefully it didn't damage the canvas. If the frame is OK I'm sure that hole can be repaired fairly economically by someone like Chipsaway.

Or, you may be able to hide it by adding a pinstripe just above the moulding (after sealing the hole with filler).

Personally I would avoid claiming on the insurance if possible, as they will claw it all back with loss of NCB and loaded premiums on the Cali and your other vehicles over the next few years.

What a terrible experience.

 

[Ali&Nig]

Thank you all so much for your support, it was horrible at the time. We have logged it with our insurers but don't really want to claim as it is a £400 excess plus as you say ncb in years to come. It hit the roof just above the awning rail and went through the roof and then hit the aluminium frame, only a slight dent, the canvass is fine and disappointing that the bullet dropped out although we have a flat piece of lead recovered from the roof gutter. the tourist board said it was probably a hunter but the police didn't seem to think so, we were travelling from St Navaire to st Gilles croix de vie which is not a hunting area. So we are now enjoying the sunshine and will investigate a repair when we get home, what a close one but safe and sound.

 

[Hotel California]

Guess you are the first Cali beeing shot....hope it never happens again on any Cali.
Enjoy your vacation!

 

[snowy55]

Enjoy the sunshine

 

[Velma's Dad]

a flat piece of lead recovered from the roof gutter

I suspect that actually was the bullet, or part of it. They are typically very soft and deform if they hit anything solid. You might want to keep it as a souvenir but on the other hand you might not, given it's been an unhappy experience.

Glad you're both safe and sound.

 

[GrannyJen]

A horrible experience

It leaves you thinking "what may have been"....

I hope that you had a good experience with the gendarmerie or police nationale.

A small consolation, welcome to the most exclusive club in the club.... Cali owners being shot at

Seriously, I hope that you can put it behind you, get the hole fixed and enjoy France.

 

[Geezso]

Hopefully the insurers don't penalise you, even a notification of incident can make your premium rise as statistically there has been a claimable incident. I know certain companies will count this, like Aviva. Although ncd is unaffected risk is increased.

 

[WelshGas]

Hopefully the insurers don't penalise you, even a notification of incident can make your premium rise as statistically there has been a claimable incident. I know certain companies will count this, like Aviva. Although ncd is unaffected risk is increased.

I can understand in the case of a car accident etc:, but I don't think being shot at would be part of the usual vehicle insurance risk assessment, unless of course you have a giant bullseye on the side.

 

[Geezso]

I can understand in the case of a car accident etc:, but I don't think being shot at would be part of the usual vehicle insurance risk assessment, unless of course you have a giant bullseye on the side.

For them the likelihood of any sort of claim that would require payout regardless of specifics would supercede the details of the accident. Is it fair no, do they do it, yes. A notification that is not claimed against will show as a non fault claim on the system. Hence impacting on future premiums.

 

[Julian_Camper_Man]

I suspect that actually was the bullet, or part of it. They are typically very soft and deform if they hit anything solid. You might want to keep it as a souvenir but on the other hand you might not, given it's been an unhappy experience.

Glad you're both safe and sound.

Firstly - thank goodness all are ok!!!
Secondly - suggest you keep all evidence and escalate the incident to the UK police and the national police HQ
There is no need to remind everyone how deadly this incident was and it doesn't matter if it was an accident or deliberate, the Police must treat this as a deadly threat to human life

 

[Martin]

.

 

[Leffeblonde]

Firstly - thank goodness all are ok!!!
Secondly - suggest you keep all evidence and escalate the incident to the UK police and the national police HQ
There is no need to remind everyone how deadly this incident was and it doesn't matter if it was an accident or deliberate, the Police must treat this as a deadly threat to human life

Appreciate I have come to this a bit late but would like to add that you should definitely report to UK Police also. They may not have jurisdiction but recording the incident may add to a trend that we are not aware of. Looks like you had a lucky escape. If this was in the UK this would be a major incident.

 

[kave]

I dont know much about guns, but isnt the bullet hole very small? It is of great importance what kind of veapon where used, ie rifle or small gun.

 

[Leffeblonde]

I dont know much about guns, but isnt the bullet hole very small? It is of great importance what kind of veapon where used, ie rifle or small gun.

Doesn't look that small, but difficult to tell without any scale in the photo. Any firearm can be lethal, even an air rifle. I don't think it matters whether it was a rifle or a handgun, a .22 or .45, it was a lethal weapon discharged at, or in the direction of, a moving vehicle. Maybe us Brits are a bit more sensitive to such things given the restrictions on gun ownership in the UK.

 

[Harrythecat]

You're not the only one to have problems with being shot at in France this summer although this one was in the South East:

https://www.rt.com/news/345487-bus-tourists-shot-france/

With regards to the UK Police you might let them know for info, but they have no jurisdiction in France and can effectively do nothing. I would hope your recovered lead went to the gendarmes as it was probably the cause of your problem? It would at least serve to potentially identify the calibre and type of ammunition were they motivated to have it forensically examined.

 

[Skylark2.0]

Shocking! B5:7%*+$ %<ll!
What a bizarre experience.
I am pleased you are unscathed.
A bit lower and a bit quicker would have had a much worse result.
You have to report it to the authorities andinsurance.
The frame that took the blast must have some twist in it.
How much does a new roof cost...