hi, after some advice, managed to crack the rear grp panel on my swift freestyle 545 2010, just been to dealer for service he says new panel needed £2000 plus, says rear panel is bondered on has to be cut off as its not screw or anything, caravan medic says he can remove rear panel,awning rails, repair respray in 12 hours for a total of £600 he has not seen damage just photos, all it is,is a 4 inch crack in rear panel and a bit of hair line cracking round handle, i know dealer wants to make as much coin as possible,, but how can caravan medic get the rear off if its bonded on?
there are people who can do sonic repairs to abs,hard to find though.one guy did my bumper when the towbar fitter cracked it and there was no evidence of repair when he had finished.
------------- the only silly question is the one you do not ask.
I believe the panel is GRP, which I understand is easier to repair than ABS.
I have a number of small cracks in my 2011 Challenger GRP panels, which the dealer is going to repair at the time of my next service.
Previous Challenger's rear panel had an argument with a concrete bollard, and because the damage wasn't severe, it was easily repaired, along with the adjoining half-length of awning rail - cost was in the region of £700, but once repaired, was as good as new.
Yes the rear panel is grp, carnt see how the rear panel can be removed? Any ideas how much my insurence will go up for such a big repair £2000 plus,? I would rather it be repaired , but then again I don't want any comebacks with water ingress ?
Am insured with c&cc, had a blow out a couple of years ago causing £2400 worth of damage. Insurance premiums didnt change from before the accident till present. Suppose its down to which insurance company you have...Agree with others, think its still possible to repair at less cost...
Sorry, can't advise you on how much your Insurance would go up, but to be honest, I would be very surprised if the crack was anything other than a simple GRP repair. My mishap turned out to be a repair that was totally impossible to detect.
Caravan dealers are no different to car dealers - if they can foresee an Insurance claim, the ££££ sign swirls round like a halo.
Yes , I am with the c&cc club, I brought up a couple of times about the repair and come out with all sorts of stuff, awning rails need to be replaced as they carnt be used again, panel has to be sawed off, even got a fitter involed,I just want a prober job, don't want water getting in, van also paint sealed .
imho,because of resale value in the future i would go with the insurance repair.with the insurance paying they will need to give the repair a warranty.let the CCC sort it for you.
------------- the only silly question is the one you do not ask.
depending on how handy you are and your personal tool supply ,some isopon p38 and p40 should do the repair easily .it will just need sanding down after repair and respraying .if you not handy yourself anyone that does car body repairs could do it in a couple of hours ,self repair if hole not to big around £20-£30 quid all in ,car body shop about £100 at a guess .
caravan dealers seem to think we all have MUG written on our heads
Quote: Originally posted by the black fox on 13/9/2012depending on how handy you are and your personal tool supply ,some isopon p38 and p40 should do the repair easily .it will just need sanding down after repair and respraying .if you not handy yourself anyone that does car body repairs could do it in a couple of hours ,self repair if hole not to big around £20-£30 quid all in ,car body shop about £100 at a guess .
caravan dealers seem to think we all have MUG written on our heads
When was the last time you bought automotive paint materials? We were paying more than that 20 years ago.
if it is indeed a swift challenger backpanel, then it will be almost impossible to get off in one piece "almost", with a lot of time and swearing than can indeed be removed.
however if your van is only on an 2011, id advise against a bodge job and make sure your repairer is qualified and knows what they are doing and you should be ok.
when you say back panei is it the whole back or light box i damage my liht box and got ioff with some mig welding wire and a couple dits of wood it is thin and gentle cuts through sealent
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Topic: rear panel repair
