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What’s the best way to repair plastic interior boot panel?

P

Portland

Messages
14
Location
Hexham
Vehicle
T6 Ocean 150
The light gauge interior plastic panel that adjoins the rear cupboard of my Cali has been damaged. There is a split next to the wardrobe and a small puncture hole in the centre of the panel. The small puncture hole has some sponge coming through. Please see the attached photos. I have no idea how this happened. A possibility is it may have been damaged when I had a reversing camera retrofitted 3 months ago by an independent auto electrician. If it happened then, I’ve only just noticed it, which makes me think it must be something I have done! Unfortunately, the VW dealer declined to repair it under warranty, which I am not surprised about.
What would be the neatest way to repair this, other than covering with duct tape patches?
My Cali is 2019 registration. I’m not impressed with the quality of the internal plastics. They are far inferior to our Tiguan and I am sure other panels will break even with careful use. The dealer explanation is that they are light gauge to reduce the overall weight of the vehicle! What do others think?

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I would leave it as it is , it's in the booth and only you will see it .
Repairing it will make it worse .
New trim is the only way to make it new .
It can't stay as new for ever....but shame you only noticed it now as it could be damaged by the fitter of the camera as you say...
 
Better than carpet on the walls in my view.
 
Agree on the quality of trim panels.
Personally I wouldn’t worry about it, just poke the fluff back in and enjoy the van. If it really bothers you then I agree with hotel California that replacing the panel is the only way.
 
To be honest I would just leave it like this.

Maybe just try to straighten the break line, and push the foam back through the hole and fill the hole with some clear silicone?
More damage will occur the longer you have the van and the more you use it for carrying stuff inside.
After a while you won't even notice the damage anymore, apart from when you are on it.
Just wait a few years untill the grey fades to yellow due to the UV from the sunlight.
My right hand B pillar lining is broken due to taking it out one time too much by me, but it's only €75 for a new piece.
I might change it in the future, if it really falls apart, but for now, the damage is there, but I don't mind.
In the end, even a California is only a utensil, and if you use it, you can't keep it in mint condition, whatever you try.
You can only try to make things last as long as possible.
 
Thanks to everyone for their advice. I might apply a discrete length of duct tape to the split and a smaller patch to the hole. As everyone says, vehicles do not remain in showroom condition for very long and it won't be an expensive part to replace if more significant damage occurs.
 
Maybe start a sticker collection of places you’ve visited and put the first one over the damage :)
 
As long as they don’t all end up being VW dealership ones! Duct tape applied to crack and now moved on.
 
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