You may have read earlier that Vanessa’s cherished van Priscilla (also known as P) was stolen. Fortunately the thieves didn’t have any success but they managed to crash her and do quite a lot of damage in the process. To make matters worse, the recovery company used a forklift and ruined the propex heater and damaged the fuel tank. Not a good day for poor old P. Fortunately the recovery company were very open and honest after a letter of complaint and investigated and accepted the damage was theirs.
I’m sure like most of us, although you hope to never use your insurance, when it is needed it can fill you full of dread. Much to our surprise the experience with our specialist camper (cherished vehicle) insurance underwritten by Aviva was in fact relatively painless and positive. The assessor knew about T25s and understood their value.
They agreed to fix P and not write her off, much to our relief. She was a good solid van until the crash. Secondly as an added bonus, they allowed us to find a repairer to get the quotes for the repairs. We chose the local Voodoo Works guys in Marsh Farm, Bulkington who are also really great guys, with a strong attention to detail and eye for quality. Once Aviva had confirmed the repairs were allowed, V also decided to get a few other jobs added on at her own expense whilst P was already in. To ensure the repairs matched that included paying to extend the respray in the original paint.
The damage was the entire length of the van. The whole thing was upsetting for V to see her bus damaged, but they also caused havoc inside, with every lock broken, the steering jammed, indicator stalks broken off, panels torn open, wires hanging loose and windows taken out (to get in). The thieves were very determined and it’s amazing no-one saw them. It is suspected wanted the van for breaking or for ringing. Recent news indicates the police have some positive leads which is nice to know.
As you can see below P has been refreshed with her original VW Marcella Red. Next steps are some rewiring, windows back in (with tints) and extensive security upgrades.
So onto the repairers themselves.I really cannot thank these guys enough. Russ, Nick and team are clearly passionate and dedicated to restoring and repairing VWs. They work crazy long hours to ensure their customers are over the moon with the results which we were. Highly recommended!
All in all it could have been worse, yes a painful experience but it hopefully will all come good in the end and P will be back to her old self soon. One things for sure she won’t be parked in the road ever again.
Sanded down and panels being repaired.
