Van repair estimate seems steep!

nobbysn*ts

bigjl wrote: »

It is a brand new or nearly new van.

If somebody hit your new or nearly new van would you want a cheap £200 repair whichwould leave the panel full of filler?

Or would you want the panel fully replaced with new and repaired in such a way as residual values are maintained?

Who knows? They still have to mitigate their losses though. It's not a licence to print money.

keith1950

Or would you want the panel fully replaced with new

To supply a door, swop over all the bits and pieces on it ( window, window regulator etc. ) , paint and fit it would probably cost at least £1000 if not more.

So they appear to be quoting for a repair which will include labour of at least £300 to prep and paint the whole door. Some paints can cost up to £200 depending on the make/colour. Then there's the cost of filling in/ repairing any deep scratches/ indentations so £500-£600 isn't an unreasonable price for a " proper " job.

arcon5

keith1950 wrote: »

To supply a door, swop over all the bits and pieces on it ( window, window regulator etc. ) , paint and fit it would probably cost at least £1000 if not more.

So they appear to be quoting for a repair which will include labour of at least £300 to prep and paint the whole door. Some paints can cost up to £200 depending on the make/colour. Then there's the cost of filling in/ repairing any deep scratches/ indentations so £500-£600 isn't an unreasonable price for a " proper " job.

LOL
:rotfl:

arcon5

Op certainly don't accept this without one hell of a fight. They are clearly and utterly taking the p*ss here.

Write a formal complaint to them and demand prove of their losses firstly then see how they respond. Then go from there.

garethw08

arcon5 wrote: »

Op certainly don't accept this without one hell of a fight. They are clearly and utterly taking the p*ss here.

Write a formal complaint to them and demand prove of their losses firstly then see how they respond. Then go from there.

Thanks a lot. Will do.

bigjl

arcon5 wrote: »

Op certainly don't accept this without one hell of a fight. They are clearly and utterly taking the p*ss here.

Write a formal complaint to them and demand prove of their losses firstly then see how they respond. Then go from there.

Just to put your comments into some form of context.

Have you or indeed do you currently work in the bodyshop?

To repair a door will rewuire the door to be stripped out to allow access behind.

Then the panel beater has to make the repair.

We don't know if the dent was on a crease or swage line making it more complicated.

The proper way to repair this damage is to replace the door skin which takes timw and costs money.

Most van doors in moderm vans are an awful lot larger than a car door.

£200 would quite simply be a bodge job.

£500 is a reasonable price for a job that would see the vehicle off the run for at least 2/3 days.

OP is fortunate they haven't billed for lost revenue.

I am still surprised at the number of people on this forum that have little idea of what things cost to repair.

And straight away think somebody is screwing them over.

If the hire company had charged the whole £1000 excess i could understand

But half that is not unreasonable.

Norman_Castle

facade wrote: »

You are by no means alone.
Another sharp practise is to "notice" a minor scrape at return time that is not in the damage log/collection report.
When the hirer complains that they couldn't possibly have done it, the reply is "It could easily have happened when you were not in the vehicle"

Some hire firms have a reputation for this.

A friend returned a van with previously noted damage which was a scrape along the side and a tiny amount of damage to the rear light cover which was clearly part of the same accident. As the light cover damage wasn't noted they demanded he paid for a new rear light cluster. If he delayed he would be charged for loss of use for the van.

I expect that rear light had been paid for repeatedly by a succession of hirers.

mcjordi

Norman_Castle wrote: »

A friend returned a van with previously noted damage which was a scrape along the side and a tiny amount of damage to the rear light cover which was clearly part of the same accident. As the light cover damage wasn't noted they demanded he paid for a new rear light cluster. If he delayed he would be charged for loss of use for the van.

I expect that rear light had been paid for repeatedly by a succession of hirers.

which is why you check the hire vehicle over carefully. and point out and note any damage

garethw08

bigjl wrote: »

Just to put your comments into some form of context.

Have you or indeed do you currently work in the bodyshop?

To repair a door will rewuire the door to be stripped out to allow access behind.

Then the panel beater has to make the repair.

We don't know if the dent was on a crease or swage line making it more complicated.

The proper way to repair this damage is to replace the door skin which takes timw and costs money.

Most van doors in moderm vans are an awful lot larger than a car door.

£200 would quite simply be a bodge job.

£500 is a reasonable price for a job that would see the vehicle off the run for at least 2/3 days.

OP is fortunate they haven't billed for lost revenue.

I am still surprised at the number of people on this forum that have little idea of what things cost to repair.

And straight away think somebody is screwing them over.

If the hire company had charged the whole £1000 excess i could understand

But half that is not unreasonable.

Do you think I would've posted in the first place if I had any experience in the body repair trade??

I have just been to my local body repair shop to ask him for advice and he said that taking the door off is a 5 min job as there is only one score holding the handle on. He scratch/dent was not on a crease it was on a smooth piece next to the front wing.

The bill is £595 so that's a little more than half 😉

I also noticed they haven't added VAT to the estimate and the guy I seem said that normally means they have no intention of doing the job! Surely they can't take my money then not get the job done.

They have got me over a barrel because they could come back and say they will add VAT if I kick up a fuss?

shaun_from_Africa

garethw08 wrote: »

Do you think I would've posted in the first place if I had any experience in the body repair trade??

bigjl's comment about working in the body repair trade was aimed at arcon5 and not at you gareth.