So, this week I finally got my roof bars, roller and ladder setup installed, using Ulti bars equipment. Got it all working and secure and used the ladder at work for the first time.
My van itself is less than a month old, brand new, and I went to pick up a Disklok for the steering wheel today. On the way home I stopped off at a local shop, and although the car park is massive and has no ceiling, there was a height restriction, which I drove through without thinking, and broke my Henchman ladder, ladder clamps, roof bars, roller, and bent the fixings in the roof and dented the back door. It was a 2m height restriction.
So, I am obviously feeling a mix of negative feelings right now, but need to sort it out. Does anyone have any idea what the best thing to do is, and what I'm likely going to need to get fixed? Do I claim on the insurance? Do I take it back to the dealer that I got it from and get them to fix it? (Wilsons in North Cheam) Do I take it somewhere else? It feels like I need to get the roof panel replaced and the back right hand side door. But I think the actual things that the roof bars screw into is bent, so is it worse than that? It's a brand new Renault Kangoo LWB 1.5 Diesel.
The bright side of this is that it happened pretty close to home in an almost deserted car park, so I could sort it out without too much pressure and didn't need to drive the ladder far home.
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Here are the photos of the damage.
take it to the local body shop let them have a look and a price to fix it might be cheaper than claiming on your insurance when you take into account the excess and your premium going sky high next time
I was thinking that the penalty of claiming on the insurance would be so high that it's better to fix without the insurance. Thanks for the suggestion.
Oh you must be feeling sick, every sympathy.
As far as the ladders, roof bars etc are concerned unless you have goods in transit / tool cover you won't be able to claim on insurance for the damage / replacement cost to these.
As far as the damage to the van is concerned you could make a claim but from you have described it does not seem too bad? I would suggest going to a body shop to get some idea of cost and practicality of repairing before making an insurance claim. It would be easy to source a used rear door and get it sprayed if yours is beyond economic repair. You will have to weigh up the cost of paying the insurance excess and the inevitable hike in subsequent insurance premiums if you decide to claim but my gut feeling is you will be better off sorting it yourself. Let us all know how you get on and best wishes.
Oh just seen photos, the roof damage looks like it will knock out?
Yeah, sick is the right word. But, I'm thinking it was always going to happen once, so, it happened in a situation that was easy for me to recover from, so, lucky escape. It's the day after now so I'm in resolution mode. I'll get some quotes and see how I get on. Yeah, the damage doesn't look that bad, but I'm just worried that I have made damage to the actual frame of the van, rather than just to the panels, which don't look too bad.
Made the same mistake once with ladder clamps the ones with the long threaded bars which add extra height to the van .
Went under an airport security barrier no problem without ladders but next trip clipped it with the clamp bars bringing it down but damage to both van and barrier minimal .
Beware also of reversing under trees with ladder clamps as damaged my van roof this way but managed to straighten the damage .
A couple of weeks ago scraped and dented my car wing reversing down a narrow lane at home which is a first .
I contacted chips away the mobile vehicle body repairer , sent a photo on line but damage too extensive for their service but they recommended an approved body shop but the most cost effective solution is to get a used wing off eBay or a vehicle breaker and have it re fitted , re sprayed .
With yours being a nice new van I can understand you feeling gutted and the temptation is to get in touch with your insurers for peace of mind knowing you will get the best job , You have to weigh up excess , poss no claims bonus unless it's protected and possibility of an inflated insurance premium , but you may get a courtesy vehicle if it's on your policy
Personally I would contact a body shop and pay for the work myself bearing in mind you might have to hire a van until work is complete although I am fairly sure this must be classed as a business expense .Alternatively perhaps you can do a satisfactory repair yourself which you can live with .
I did it years ago at Horton Rd carpark, so quite close to you I'm guessing. I had a Vauxhall combo which was fine going under the 1.8M until I put bars on. I clipped the hanging bar & had to reverse out, luckily it was just the bar that was buggered.
As others suggest ask a body shop for advise first, the issue being water ingress as the bolt holes will be damaged, plus fixing in new bars, but it could work out quite an expensive one. I feel your pain.