Crash Damage

[Mickm0812]

Hi Everyone
Whilst I was out of the country one of my neighbours crashed into the side of my Cali, which was parked on my drive, on a motor scooter he'd just taken delivery of. As you can imagine I'm devastated and was wondering if anyone has any advice. Do you think this can be repaired back to original condition? it's my pride and joy and has been cherished, not a mark on her and only 27000 on the clock, 64 plate. He's offered to pay without going through his insurance but I think he will be in for a shock. Does anyone think it may be written off? thanks in advance guys, i'm not to clued up on these sort of things

 

[westfalia]

Oh dear..

You are right by saying he might be in for a shock, its an insurance job.

A new side panel can be grafted in, there are some pics of one being done
before on here somewhere.
If its a Beach then its little bit easier.

 

[Ting Tong]

OMG terrible poor you! I’m no expert but I’m sure that will need the whole side of the van cutting out and replacing along with the door and sill. There was someone on here recently with less damage to that panel and figures of £8k were mentioned without any door. It’s a kitchen out job too I hope he’s got VERY VERY deep pockets or good insurance! Then the question is whether you’d want a van that had been so extensively pulled and repaired, Don’t be fobbed off and good luck. Keep us posted. Best wishes

 

[Loz]

!! What was his Motor Scooter? A Hummer?

 

[Mickm0812]

Oh dear..

You are right by saying he might be in for a shock, its an insurance job.

A new side panel can be grafted in, there are some pics of one being done
before on here somewhere.
If its a Beach then its little bit easier.

Its a cali so kitchen side

 

[Mickm0812]

OMG terrible poor you! I’m no expert but I’m sure that will need the whole side of the van cutting out and replacing along with the door and sill. There was someone on here recently with less damage to that panel and figures of £8k were mentioned without any door. It’s a kitchen out job too I hope he’s got VERY VERY deep pockets or good insurance! Then the question is whether you’d want a van that had been so extensively pulled and repaired, Don’t be fobbed off and good luck. Keep us posted. Best wishes

Thank you for your reply to be honest I don't think the van will be the same after repair, and possibly lose value due to the insurance work. Do I have a say in all this as to wether its wrote off or not??

 

[Ting Tong]

Thank you for your reply to be honest I don't think the van will be the same after repair, and possibly lose value due to the insurance work. Do I have a say in all this as to wether its wrote off or not??

That’s up to his insurance company (if his new scooter was insured) to decide. You do have a choice where it will be repaired and you’d want that done at a VW dealer. You should also have it independently assessed eg by VW Cali expert and can use the assessment to resist their repair attempts in the hope they pay you out. Speak to your insurer immediately and you may have Motor Legal Protection MLP cover to help you.

 

[Mickm0812]

That’s up to his insurance company (if his new scooter was insured) to decide. You do have a choice where it will be repaired and you’d want that done at a VW dealer. You should also have it independently assessed eg by VW Cali expert and can use the assessment to resist their repair attempts in the hope they pay you out. Speak to your insurer immediately and you may have Motor Legal Protection MLP cover to help you.

Thank you

 

[WelshGas]

Knowing the value of a California SE I would be extremely surprised if that was a Write Off job. In order to maintain the VW 12 yr Anti-Corrosion Warranty it would have to be repaired by a VW approved Repairer.

 

[Meoncoast]

I had a £6k claim on our SE. Had a lot of issues with the 3rd party so - pushing for a cheap repair, cheap hire runabout - saying it is a 5year old van! I went through my own insurance CMHC. Sorted via VW approved body shop under my policy and van back on the road while the 3rd farty still fuffing around. Appropriate hire car & out of pocket expenses claimed back by my legal cover part of my insurance. + repair costs.

on a motor scooter, he'd just taken delivery of

My worry would be due to the above and his offer to "pay" was it insured at the time of the accident. If you use a VW approved body shop the repair will be as good as new. On our repair, I asked will you use a new skin on the tailgate I don't want it pulled out and filled. I was told to be accepted as a VW approved repair it would be a new tailgate factory treated inside the panel as on a new van. So I think you are looking at a whole new side panel - kitchen out etc. as others have already mentioned.

 

[Calimili]

Horrible..! Very sorry.
I don't think it will be a write off. It's a door and a panel to be fixed or replaced. If they replace both the door and the panel you will have it (almost) like before. Let's see if the frame at the bottom of the panel can be restored. The good part is that it is not a crash that would compromise the handling, the main frame etc, it's just cosmetic.
But it will be very expensive that's for sure. Not sure how well you trust your neighbor, but would he fork out 8-10k without being difficult ?
And you need a VW/California expert to dismount your kitchen, not a general bodyshop, so your neighbor will have to fork out more as the hourly cost of a professional VW would be twice that of a regular bodyshop. That might end up causing a disagreement with the neighbor. Good Luck!

 

[Borris]

What a prize chump! How did he manage to do that?

Unfortunately, he has chosen the most expensive side to crash into, including the door and sill for good measure. Whatever you do, make sure the repairs are carried out by a reputable authorised VW repair shop that has experience with repairing Californias. Don't let the insurance company fob you off with a cheap one with no experience just because it's on their list. I'm sure it will return just as good as it was before. I'm less certain about your future relationship with your neighbour though.

Good luck.

 

[Ting Tong]

This is the one that I mentioned £6500!

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[Loz]

I'm got a great fan of accident management companies, but in this case, I would call VW Ensurance and they will get it sorted.https://www.insurewithvolkswagen.co.uk/ensurance

 

[Mickm0812]

Thanks Everyone

I will be back in the uk on Saturday, my wife is taking the van to VW this morning to let them have a look. I will keep you all posted

 

[TripleBee]

New door, new side panel (or at least bottom half) and the 2 trims between.
the 2 side windows will have to be cut out. Trims on the inside and kitchen unit removed. Might even take the floor out to weld everything back in place.
Not a write off, but good luck if you want to pay it like that.
Insurance for sure.

 

[No_heroes]

Looks brutal. Keep it formal and let the insurers deal with it- don’t even bother taking it to VW. Let the insurance company handle it and you just relax. These things can be so stressful but with a good insurer everything will work out.

What a bloody idiot neighbour you have though. They need a gentle reality check.

 

[Richard Hurst]

Ouch I really feel for you and his pocket when he finds out the true cost of his error. Reminds me of this -

 

[Elizabeth Silman]

Its a cali so kitchen side

So sorry for you! I had a not quite so bad dent repaired recently and that was over a thousand. They managed to do it without dismantling the inside. Definitely go through insurance. This will be an expensive job and if the kitchen has to come out make sure the repairers know what they are doing. Best of luck.

 

[Erbster]

Thanks Everyone

I will be back in the uk on Saturday, my wife is taking the van to VW this morning to let them have a look. I will keep you all posted

I pranged our then new Cali O. I refused the body shop my insurance offered and insisted on a VW approved shop (involved tail gate and wanted to ensure double glazing, chair pocket etc properly dealt with). Both my insurance company and the repairer were excellent. Good as new.

I was surprised that my local VW van centre was not a VW approved body shop, as I expected, but send bodywork to a Jag dealership in their group.


caliventures364847572.wordpress.com

 

[Luigi1]

Hi Everyone
Whilst I was out of the country one of my neighbours crashed into the side of my Cali, which was parked on my drive, on a motor scooter he'd just taken delivery of. As you can imagine I'm devastated and was wondering if anyone has any advice. Do you think this can be repaired back to original condition? it's my pride and joy and has been cherished, not a mark on her and only 27000 on the clock, 64 plate. He's offered to pay without going through his insurance but I think he will be in for a shock. Does anyone think it may be written off? thanks in advance guys, i'm not to clued up on these sort of thingsView attachment 49408

 

[Luigi1]

Hi
Had mine hit by a HGV on M6 1st Aug- one month old and 600 on the clock. It looked horrendous with all n/side Panels and rear door damaged. Lots of ‘experts’ saying it was a write off. Not even close. 18k of work but all minor bodywork. Every panel is being replaced along with internal furniture. It soon adds up!
Go through insurance, get it properly assessed and I went via my commercial dealership to get a VAG commercial specialist. My insurer didn’t have a VAG approved repairer who would do it as too ‘specialist’. The garage I have used are excellent AND GLAD I sought commercial VW dealership advice

 

[aileen]

I’m sorry to read about the accident. An Italian woman rear ended my Cali on 10 June this year. It caused a lot of damage to the left side and needed a new door, Bumper, side plus inside Structural damage. I live in Ireland and neither Italy or Germany wanted to write off a right hand drive vehicle so my insurance had it transported to a VW recommended repairer in Dublin. They estimated damage at €13.500 and my insurance assessor agreed to have it fixed. Just last week, after all this time without it, I was informed that it would be written off as they found more structural damage near upper back inside and they’ve offered me €27.000 which is not enough to buy a 2013 Cali. I thought that I should get “like for like” as I was definitely not at fault and the Italian lady said so to her insurance. I love my camper and now don’t know what to do Can’t afford so much extra, there’s no Cali’s available in Ireland except 2018/19. Those in UK are £36000 to £40.000 plus VRT
A mess. Good luck with yours, at least the neighbour is close

 

[BikerGran]

I’m sorry to read about the accident. An Italian woman rear ended my Cali on 10 June this year. It caused a lot of damage to the left side and needed a new door, Bumper, side plus inside Structural damage. I live in Ireland and neither Italy or Germany wanted to write off a right hand drive vehicle so my insurance had it transported to a VW recommended repairer in Dublin. They estimated damage at €13.500 and my insurance assessor agreed to have it fixed. Just last week, after all this time without it, I was informed that it would be written off as they found more structural damage near upper back inside and they’ve offered me €27.000 which is not enough to buy a 2013 Cali. I thought that I should get “like for like” as I was definitely not at fault and the Italian lady said so to her insurance. I love my camper and now don’t know what to do Can’t afford so much extra, there’s no Cali’s available in Ireland except 2018/19. Those in UK are £36000 to £40.000 plus VRT
A mess. Good luck with yours, at least the neighbour is close

Tell your insurance company it's not enough! The rule is, never accept the first offer cos it's always a try-on!