Berlingo Tailgate Replacement

[davehills]

Hi All,

Someone ran into my Berlingo while parked, pushing in the rear tailgate. The surrounding structure looks Ok, as does the rear bumper (Tow-bar!). I haven't yet tried to open the tailgate in fear that it might not shut again! However, is there the possibility that something else has been damaged?

I want to get an idea of costs before deciding what to do..it's a 51 plate and I'm concerned the insurance company might write it off without a second thought.

My gut feeling is that it's too big/deep for one of the paintless dent removal guys to sort out. How big a dent can they generally deal with and how good are the end results?

How much would a tailgate cost to replace with new and have sprayed the correct colour (Gold)? I presume new glass would need fitting too?

Does anyone know where I could get a second-hand tailgate in the correct colour, preferably in the south of England. Gold seems to be fairly rare and haven't yet found any spares for sale from the usual suspects.

[Tomcat3]

Hi there your best bet is to use a site like this http://www.breakerlink.com/index.php#.VM3eGGdybIU
or one like it and put in the details of what you need and let the breakers come to you. I take it you don't have the details of the scum that did it so it looks like you are having to fork out to fix it yourself. Or have a look on fleabay and put in citroen berlingo breaking spares repairs and see what comes up. I would of thought a whole tailgate would be about 100 quid or there abouts. Thinking about it I was in A5 French car breakers just north of Dunstable last week and they had half a dozen berlingo/partners in there in various states could be worth giving them a ring.

[davehills]

I do have the details of the person and he was apologetic so want to sort something out that is 'fair' to him but likewise doesn't leave me out of pocket. 

I'm personally reluctant to go the insurance route. I had a 205 many years ago which someone drove into whilst parked, causing a similar amount of damage. The insurance company wrote the car off because they were fearful there'd be hidden damage and the costs could escalate beyond the cost of the vehicle. However, my insurance went up considerably in future years despite having a protected no claims bonus as they deemed me "a greater risk" despite not being in the car and sat on the bog at the time of the accident.

In any event I can't find a new tailgate on the body panel websites I have looked at so it's either obsolete or a Citroen only part.

However, I digress..

I want to get things sorted fairly quickly and getting hold of a gold tailgate seems to be very difficult and quite frankly I shouldn't be the one going to the effort of trying to track down the part. 

Tailgates seem to go for about £140 plus delivery down this way and I have been led to believe about another £100-150 to have fitted once locks, number plate etc are sorted. Would this be correct?

Edit: Just checked in daylight and the paintwork is damaged and also the "eyebrow" containing the numberplate lights is mullered.

Edit #2: Exhaust is bent and also the tailgate won't open, suggesting the internal mechanism is broke. Obviously I don't know whether this has broken the part of the lock screwed to the load bay floor or damaged the floor itself. (Q: How can I open the boot to check? I don't think the internal panel is removable with the tailgate closed!)

Ho hum.


 

[Tomcat3]

At least the driver owned up and I can understand you want to be fair but it costs what it costs if you don't want to stick through his or your insurance. You have nothing to lose by cutting a hole in the tailgate inner panel to open up the tailgate as if you replace with secondhand one it will be on there. Why not take it to a small crash repairers and let them have a look at the damage and let them have a look and give you a price using breaker parts, I have done this before to keep costs down. Another option is to stick it through the insurance which may declare it an uneconomic repair and right the car off. If its basically a sound car and you like it, you can come to an agreement with insurance to keep the car and they pay you out. Then you get the car repaired, it may need an sva to check its ok at the end.
Try A5 breakers as my last post as I think they had a gold berlingo when I was in there last week but I may be wrong as it was chucking it down.
Just found this on fleabay in York http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2002-CITROEN-B...43ae415cc6

[davehills]

Thanks for that, especially the ebay link-I will drop them a line and find out if they have a tailgate.

What you suggest is exactly what happened last time round - I came to an arrangement with the insurance company that they paid me a sum of money (Essentially the max they were willing to pay for repair) plus I got to keep the car. This was fine but what I didn't bank on was my insurance premiums going up over subsequent years due to the perceived increase in risk from their point of view. End of the day they clawed back most of what they paid out.

[ffrenchie]

 If its basically a sound car and you like it, you can come to an agreement with insurance to keep the car and they pay you out. Then you get the car repaired, it may need an sva to check its ok at the end.

If they write it off cat C it would need a new mot and VIC check, if it's cat D it can go straight back on the road SVA is now IVA and is for home built, modified or imported vehicles and costs a lot of money nowadays. Don't put yourself out to save the other party grief, it is their responsibility. Take it somewhere and get it looked at and tell them how much, insurance would supply you with a loan car and sort it for you so let them know how much and what standard you want it repaired to and let them sort it.

[davehills]

 If its basically a sound car and you like it, you can come to an agreement with insurance to keep the car and they pay you out. Then you get the car repaired, it may need an sva to check its ok at the end.

If they write it off cat C it would need a new mot and VIC check, if it's cat D it can go straight back on the road SVA is now IVA and is for home built, modified or imported vehicles and costs a lot of money nowadays. Don't put yourself out to save the other party grief, it is their responsibility. Take it somewhere and get it looked at and tell them how much, insurance would supply you with a loan car and sort it for you so let them know how much and what standard you want it repaired to and let them sort it.

I strongly suspect it'd be CAT D as I can't see a dented tailgate being a safety issue.

I'm not worried about giving the other party grief, I'm after the least hassle route for myself.

[mikep1973]

You might be surprised. Local repairer quoted me £990 to repair my Mk1 Focus back in 2011. As I'd only paid £550 for it and it was a bit scruffy, I was sure they'd write it off, but no, they repaired it. Berlingos hold their value well, and a good repair place should be able to pull a dent out and repaint for a decent price. I'd let the insurance sort it out. If they write it off, buy the salvage back for very little and get it repaired yourself.

Sent from cold, windy place.

[davehills]

You might be surprised.  Local repairer quoted me £990 to repair my Mk1 Focus back in 2011. As I'd only paid £550 for it and it was a bit scruffy, I was sure they'd write it off, but no, they repaired it.  Berlingos hold their value well, and a good repair place should be able to pull a dent out and repaint for a decent price. I'd let the insurance sort it out. If they write it off, buy the salvage back for very little and get it repaired yourself.

Sent from  cold, windy place.

My sister was quoted £1300 for a rear bumper for her Polo. No damage to anything else from what I could see.

PDR place say the dent is "too big" and that it'd "never look right" if the dent was pushed out so looks like a new tailgate. Haven't been able to find a second-hand tailgate of the correct colour and the other driver hasn't responded to an email I sent so I'm going the insurance route.

[davehills]

Just an update - It's with the repair shop now. No indication of price nor what they plan to do. Been given a very nice VW Golf as a hire car, which I'm happy with.

The 'erbert that caused the damage never responded to my emails. He originally said he'd pay for the damage out of his own pocket due to his massive excess and his wife. Let that be a lesson if you damage someone else's car and don't want the insurance involved (or the wife to get angry)....be nice to them and reply to their messages!