...which is why I've never allowed a valet to drive my van. All kinds of stories about them burning out glowplugs because they don't wait until dash light goes off before starting (diesel Sprinter). Stories like above where they speed off into the low clearance garage. Various vehicle abuses and body odor/cigarette smoke remaining in the car, etc.

If I can't park it myself I go elsewhere. some of the Las Vegas casinos are accommodating, allowing me to park in the VIP/racebook areas; others not so much. At least they all have some high clearance parking SOMEWHERE.

 

I'm on my 3rd cargo van. The first two were standard Chevys but I had Qualcomm domes and covered Fantastic vents. When leaving my vans with a shop and even my regular mechanic, I always stuck a Post-It Note on the steering wheel stating the vehicle height.

 

When leaving my vans with a shop and even my regular mechanic, I always stuck a Post-It Note on the steering wheel stating the vehicle height.

I go a step further and take a quick phone photo of the the steering wheel note with the current odometer in the background. That and my dash cam video and audio.

 

I think the problem is that I have such low expectations of valet parking attendants and automobile dealers that my vivid visions of them abusing my vehicle becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy.

If only I can learn how to channel that visualization power in a positive way with my stock portfolio....

 

Had a friend of mine who does paint & body work look at the pictures. He said Ford probably has a roof panel that starts at the top of the window and goes all the way to the back of the Transit. You would have to have the solar panels removed and the complete roof panel would be cut off and replaced with the new panel. Headliner would have to come out. New panel would be welded in and painted. Doing this would be the correct way to make it look close to the factory installation.

 

My sympathies about the damage, that's a real shame. When I lived in New York my Audi was driven into a post by a valet. After doing some research I took it to C and D Auto in South Hackensack, NJ. They aren't cheap but they do things properly there. And I guess price isn't a concern since you aren't paying. The owner Matt spent a lot of time explaining everything to me and even showing me how they corrected some sloppy work they found from a previous job that was done on a door panel. I was very happy with the quality of the work and the communication, I recommend you at least give them a call.

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

 

4. Is it my decision to get compensated for the cost of replacing the roof but opt to have the old roof banged out?

I believe that in most states you are allowed to pick your own body shop. Most body shops can work with your insurance company. You should be able to opt to have them send you a check, but it is quite possible that the check will not cover the repair. If you take the check and the van to a body shop, insurance companies will usually work with the body shop and cover any additional costs. However, if you do the work yourself and pocket the check, then you get nothing more from the insurance company.

Oh, and the check is based on their estimate of how much it will cost to repair the damage and may have little or nothing to do with how much it really costs to repair the damage. And, they are going to take the lowest cost method of fixing the damage, not the method that produces the most complete or most aesthetically pleasing result.

I am in the middle of an insurance claim, where I and another driver backed into each other in a parking lot. Both insurance companies agree that the fault was 50/50, and have agreed to pay half. The problem is that our insurance company (State Farm) estimated the repair at about $100 more than the other guy's insurance company. So, when we go to have the bumper fixed there will be some discussion somewhere on that one.

Good Luck!

 

It's a little late, but I would NEVER valet something that big. Next, consider contacting Sportsmobile and see what it would cost to put a pop-up on it.


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Sorry to hear about the latest accident. You're having some bad luck with other people driving your van. After hearing your 2 stories, I'm going to try my best to never let anyone else drive mine.

 

Ouch, that's painful to look at! My sympathies. No experience or advice on the repair, though. That's a great-looking solar array. Geez, can you imagine the look on that doofus' face when he crammed your van?

 

Any frame/A & B pillar damage?
You'll want to have the body shop look for hidden damage, especially around the door frame and windshield

Did airbags go off?

Good luck!

 

Rick,

First thing you do is go get one of those giant bandages made, and slap it on the dent >

Only advice I can give is to see who your dealer would use, they should have a data base of good repair shops and maybe who your ins. company would recommend.
From the pictures, it doesn't look like any rips in the metal, how much damage to inside liner?

Good luck, keep us posted.

Semper Fi

 

Bummer about the damage, hope it is fixed to your liking.

That is a pretty awesome looking solar setup. Can you tell us more about it? Is there a build thread?

 

Thanks all for your reply and sympathy! (Sorry Homer!)

1. No A pillar damage from what I can tell
2. Air bags did not go off. Guess that it was relatively low speed and the bending roof absorbed a lot of the energy from the impact
3. Thanks for the tip about looking for hidden damage
4.No visible inside damage but have not removed the front headliner yet.
5. I am concerned how that headliner and the two black Styrofoam pieces will come off and go back on without half the plastic clips being damaged
6. Yes the guy was a doofus, but the worst part is that he didn't even admit he did it or apologize to me.
7. My dealer has their own internal body shop which I am getting an estimate from in addition to one other independent shop that does custom truck work
8. I like the bandage idea (I need one for my head)
9. I hate valets. Homer was parked outside there was no reason to drive her inside. The guy was taking a "short-cut"!
10. Solar set up discussion and more photos are available in another thread. Here's the link...
http://www.fordtransitusaforum.com/....com/ford-transit-general-discussion/7969-solar-panels-flexible-vs-rigid-2.html

Rick

 

Sue the kid personally as well as the company for negligence.

 

OMG, so sorry for you. I have been so scared of doing that. I can tell you that it wont be an easy fix. All the big dents should mostly pop out but all those little scratches from the sharp concrete will take time. And all those really sharp corners are always hard to fix, look like all four channels and the drip rails were damaged. Unfortunately it will never be as good as new. Unless they spend tons of time on it I dont think they will hammer out everything which means they will fill whats remaining with bondo. Then theirs blending paint so hopefully you dont have to remove the solarpanels, it looks like its far enough away. And then depending on how good or not the job was done will be how long it will last. Good luck.

 

I'd hammer it out myself and use the insurance to pay down the van bill.

 

the roof panel http://parts.autonationfordwhitebea...ford/transit-250/base-trim/3-5l-v6-gas-engine/body-cat/roof-and-components-scat

 

I'm sure the valet feels horrible, how could he not? And I bet he never makes that mistake again!

 

Salvage

Early on in my search for a Transit I found many salvaged units (I gotta a friend, yada yada yada) there was a high roof that was driven to a medium roof (see what I did there?). The vehicle was declared a total loss. Granted, there was some A-pillar involvement but the damage was really not that much worse than yours.

I considered buying it ($11000) and fixing it ($5500) but at the end of the day I really didn't want a high roof. It was a nice van, in dark blue and ALL the toys.

Best of luck.

 

Wow, you guys are really fantastic! Seriously good information and empathy, and at this point I can use both, (and a lot of beer)

1. I will give C and D Auto in South Hackensack, NJ a call tomorrow - Thanks for the tip!
2. Thanks too for the schematic, part numbers and pricing for the roof panels
3.Since the vehicle is practically new (one year old and <8k miles) the insurance company really should pay for a brand new roof, right?
4. Is it my decision to get compensated for the cost of replacing the roof but opt to have the old roof banged out?
5. Yes, I am sure the valet feels bad. Actually I was an Alfa Romeo mechanic back in my early 20's and crashed a customer's car on a 5,000 mile test drive after routine servicing. Amazingly the guy forgave me, we became friends and I became his personal mechanic after that. That guy is going straight to heaven. That guy's behavior was what motivated me to take this incident in stride.

Rick

 

Hi Rick,

Sorry your HR was smashed, it is your option to get an estimate and take the check for the amount of that estimate. The catch there of course is if there's more damage that banging/priming/painting alone will not fix.

A great example of more damage is I ran into a snow mound with my 2010 Acura with a decent thwack, no airbags deployed and there was a good size dent in the bumper but nothing else. It took over 3 months for the car to be fixed, and insurance had to pay more than 13k because one of the roof ribs popped loose. The whole roof (alternator, fog light lens, head light lens, bumper cover and bumper support) was replaced and I was able to trade it in without an issue afterwards.

Depending upon how the Valet Company's insurance works/who they are, they may fight tooth n nail to not replace the roof. Roof replacement depends heavily on what the body shop's opinion is of the damage as well.

If it makes you feel any better our Transit got rear-ended by a 17 year old kid that was initially stopped but started to go when no one else was. Our damage was only estimated at ~$250 + kids car seats (~$1300)

Good luck.

 

Thanks for the warning about the possibility of hidden damage that a quick repair job might not uncover. Sorry your Transit got hit, no matter how serious or minor it is, it is never a good thing.

 

Do not settle for just the repairs as now your vehicle will have a bad carfax report so the value of your vehicle is worthless when it's time to sell.......in the buyers eyes that is. Is it worth bringing a diminished value claim against the at-fault driver...or the insurance company?

 

The scary thing about this is there are a number of situations where CarFax may not necessarily pick this up. Where this was a 1 vehicle accident it depends if a police report was created or how insurance reports the incident.

I didn't check the credentials of this source (shame on me) but here's a site describing how or why things are missed by CarFax:

http://www.appeal-democrat.com/carf...sh-histories-insurance-claims/article_869d89c8-7f24-5d40-acd5-0d8535de4e1b.html

The example I gave previously of my Acura MDX that had 13k in damages when all was said and done may be one such example. The dealership gave me a decent bit over the 17k value (NADA) of that car in 'Pretty Good' condition 18 months later.

Back to the hidden damages my initial quote for the rear-end collision on my Transit was $250 (bumper cover), now we're upto 872.30 parts+238.50 labor and 4.80 in materials --- 1163.84 (impact bar, parking sensor, and something with the tow hitch).

It's crazy how a small rear-end collision could already cost ~$2400 including kids car seats. I often wonder why these collision places both offering estimates at all...

 

rickhoran

Here is a guy in Texas who handles diminished value for a lot of customers in Texas. He might have some tips for you and may be able to represent you in your dealings with the insurance company. His name is Kirk Kyker and his website is www.diminishedvalueoftexas.com

 

Thanks everyone for your continuing suggestions, especially on diminished value.

It looks like I will be using a local body shop that does a lot of work with the Ford dealership that services my Transit. The proprietor seems committed to a factory quality repair job that includes the installation and painting of new sheet metal and anything else that is found to be damaged.

Just going off photos I provided they have provided an initial estimate of about $9,000 but that includes the middle roof panel that will probably NOT have to be replaced. But,additional labor will have to be ADDE to cover the removal and installation of the internal components (ceiling liner, curtains, etc.) and the solar panel assembly on the roof. Bottom line will probably be close to the original estimate, unless they find other stuff that needs replacing.

After the parts arrive the repair will likely take at least a week. What a pain!