Wetpants Trashed My Van

[JK-Electrical]

I was manoeuvring into a bay in the car park of my local Screwfix on Monday morning when a white transit van that was parked in an adjacent bay suddenly began to reverse at speed. My van was positioned approximately 45 degrees in relation to the Transit when impact occurred. The door-hinge of the Transit's back door caught the side of my van and ripped a gaping hole above the off-side rear wheel arch.

My insurance company has estimated the cost of repairs to be somewhere in the region of £2500. I've only had my Caddy six weeks, and what took me almost two months of searching to find, took wetpants only 7 seconds to trash. When wetpants isn't installing hot water pipes directly on top of cables or installing a boiler directly in front of a consumer unit, he's ripping holes in the side of your van. I despair.

 

[static zap]

Life has a habit of kicking you down ,
especially when having a good week !

 

[LankyWill]

That whole side panel can be replaced, if you get yourself to a good body shop they will be able to sort that out easily. It’s a bummer for you, I’ve got a caddy as well and they’re such a nice van.

 

[Octopus]

Did Mr Wetpants admit it was his fault?

 

[JK-Electrical]

Did Mr Wetpants admit it was his fault?

He did indeed. My apprentice was present at the time and witnessed the statement.

 

[telectrix]

obviuosly contact you insurance co. get a hire van through them, get the caddy fixed, let your insurers pay up and do the donkey work recovering costs from wet-pants' insurers.

 

[Wilko]

It does amaze me so many drivers like to reverse at speed, like Tyrone in Snatch. Thankfully you were not standing there !

 

[The Ghost]

There may be CCTV of the incident at screwfix

 

[telectrix]

missed opportunity there. could have sold wet pants a reversing camera, including £500 fitting.

 

[buzzlightyear]

the body shop needs a lot of foam and poly filler for that hole .
i would have asked the wet pants
How do you stop the water coming in ..!and not coming out .

 

[Deleted account]

Accidents do happen, look on the bright side. The guy was good enough to accept liability. So no problems.
That's what insurance is for.

 

[buzzlightyear]

That whole side panel can be replaced,

me think not ,they have too wield a piece in. cause all VW caddys one side panel goes from the back to the drivers side . they might right it off like the titanic .

 

[LankyWill]

me think not ,they have too wield a piece in. cause all VW caddys one side panel goes from the back to the drivers side . they might right it off like the titanic .

Me think so I’m afraid as I’ve had the whole side panel replaced on my caddy. Any body shop worth their salt can easily fit a new side panel.

 

[buzzlightyear]

Me think so I’m afraid as I’ve had the whole side panel replaced on my caddy. Any body shop worth their salt can easily fit a new side panel

the side panel is spot welded to the inside of the roof and under the floor panel . I would not like that done by a body shop .if its cut and shut I will not take it out on the road . and a have a caddy .

 

[Deleted account]

Cars and vans are designed ----. Shirley it would be better for future proofing to attach body in 3 or 4 removable bits.

 

[LankyWill]

the side panel is spot welded to the inside of the roof and under the floor panel . I would not like that done by a body shop .if its cut and shut I will not take it out on the road . and a have a caddy .

What do you think a body shop is? It’s the same as coach workers. They deal with body work I.e panelling and painting, which is exactly the part I have described. Are you backwards or just being difficult?

 

[static zap]

Cars and vans are designed ****. Shirley it would be better for future proofing to attach body in 3 or 4 removable bits.

Assembly cost savings , Crumple zones , and side impact strength - have messed up the bolt it on strategy !

 

[Deleted account]

. Are you backwards or just being difficult?

Really?

 

[LankyWill]

Really?

What? The blokes an argumentative bellend, he’s just difficult for the sake of being so.

 

[telectrix]

problem with removable bits ( assuming you mean bolted on) is that you can't achieve the structural strength as with welding. a lot of vehicles do have bolted on outer wings etc, but these do not form part of the integrity of the "cage".

 

[telectrix]

What? The blokes an argumentative bellend, he’s just difficult for the sake of being so.

Yahoo. handbags at dawn.

 

[suffolkspark]

Theyll write that off surely? Its either A cut out the crumple and weld a peice in and fill and spray the whole side, or replace the whole side panel from front to back, either option is probably gonna cost more than a third of the value of the van and thats the cut off before writing off isnt it?

 

[telectrix]

bring it here. a tin of silly foam, followed by some fibreglass filler, quick paint job with some dulux. £100.

 

[buzzlightyear]

you are backward and just being difficult

I have corrected for you .maybe w88ky will ring up VW and ask them what they think .

 

[pirate]

Whatever the outcome, that is what insurance is for...by which I mean "deferred payment" obviously, because they will always recover from you in higher premiums...
However, JK, my sympathies...it's always a bummer when your vehicle gets damaged, and you always end up out of pocket, no matter what. Such a shame...idiots on the road! and a plu...well, one of them, anyway...even worse!
Insurance is just a game, never forget that.
I know there's another thread about cyclists, but I can't be bothered...
make them have compulsory insurance too!
Hope you get it fixed ok, JK...and don't let your insurers dictate the bodyshop either...they have no right to do so.
I could go on...................
thankfully, I won't!

 

[Squid]

I'd be quick and run a couple of T+E's though that hole as tomorrow morning there will be two 22mm copper pipes in that gap.........

 

[pirate]

Just to lighten the subject, I had a motoring accident a couple of years back, in a Tesco car park. I had carefully parked miles from anyone else, and had an easy, shallow reverse into the "out" lane.
I reversed, slowly, and... CRASH!
Now, I know he hadn't come from in front of me, in the sun, indeed he had driven across the spaces and came at me from an angle from behind (!) and the photos I took clearly showed he was straddling the white line...insurers said it was my fault, as I was reversing! No argument, no review, my fault!
Anyway, the other guy went totally nuts! Shouting and waving his fists etc. My car had a dented rear bumper, his was wrecked...gashed from front to rear, and subsequently written off! In a car park incident? At 5 mph? Anyway, I digress...
I waited for him to calm down, then when he was less agitated he told me this was most inconvenient cos it was his wife's car and she was starting a new job tomorrow and what was she going to say???
He phoned her, to come and collect him, and the 2 kids, and she obviously gave him grief because he started ranting again, almost to the point where I thought he was going to deck me.
We had already exchanged names and adresses etc but I hadn't looked at the details thus far...however, as he went off on one I looked at his scribblings, just as his wife drove up...

Name: Michael Crawford

He said, "this is my wife"
I said "Mmmm...Betty?"

"no, Sharon!"

Probably just as well, really...

Maybe the younger ones on here won't get this.

Apart from that, it took me 2 months to get a satisfactory result from my insurers, after the bodyshop they insisted on broke my car twice...

Then I got a court summons, because the aggrieved owner of the other car wasn't happy with her settlement...

Oh, it went on for ever!

Net result, I was declined by my insurers at the next renewal, so I went elsewhere, and the premium was £690.
Next year, the premium was £330...why? Because the company I was now with had been taken over by the company I was with before, and they had "re-aligned their risk strategy", so now I was a preferred customer...
SHEESH!

 

[buzzlightyear]

I'm still waiting for the insurance to sort my claim out after numb skull hit me .and a have a caddy van not a hole like JKs van hit by a iceberg.

 

[Deleted account]

The blokes an argumentative bellend,

Really?

 

[Squid]

Just to lighten the subject, I had a motoring accident a couple of years back, in a Tesco car park. I had carefully parked miles from anyone else, and had an easy, shallow reverse into the "out" lane.
I reversed, slowly, and... CRASH!
Now, I know he hadn't come from in front of me, in the sun, indeed he had driven across the spaces and came at me from an angle from behind (!) and the photos I took clearly showed he was straddling the white line...insurers said it was my fault, as I was reversing! No argument, no review, my fault!
Anyway, the other guy went totally nuts! Shouting and waving his fists etc. My car had a dented rear bumper, his was wrecked...gashed from front to rear, and subsequently written off! In a car park incident? At 5 mph? Anyway, I digress...
I waited for him to calm down, then when he was less agitated he told me this was most inconvenient cos it was his wife's car and she was starting a new job tomorrow and what was she going to say???
He phoned her, to come and collect him, and the 2 kids, and she obviously gave him grief because he started ranting again, almost to the point where I thought he was going to deck me.
We had already exchanged names and adresses etc but I hadn't looked at the details thus far...however, as he went off on one I looked at his scribblings, just as his wife drove up...

Name: Michael Crawford

He said, "this is my wife"
I said "Mmmm...Betty?"

"no, Sharon!"

Probably just as well, really...

Maybe the younger ones on here won't get this.

Apart from that, it took me 2 months to get a satisfactory result from my insurers, after the bodyshop they insisted on broke my car twice...

Then I got a court summons, because the aggrieved owner of the other car wasn't happy with her settlement...

Oh, it went on for ever!

Net result, I was declined by my insurers at the next renewal, so I went elsewhere, and the premium was £690.
Next year, the premium was £330...why? Because the company I was now with had been taken over by the company I was with before, and they had "re-aligned their risk strategy", so now I was a preferred customer...
SHEESH!

How could he not have seen you........

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