Some *******s have jumped on the roof of my 1999 XJR. You can hopefully see the extent of the damage in the attached photographs. The insurance company have called it a write off. Replacing the roof would be very expensive, and replacement roofs are no longer manufactured. I have found someone who thinks that he can repair the damage using paintless dent removal at a cost of £2,200. Does anyone have any experience of this type of issue, and whether or not the repair would be successful? Would trying to pop it out be a stupid idea?
Separately, after stupidly reversing with the window down, water came from the dent into the roof through the driver door window and got into the driver door window/wing mirror control unit, causing it to malfunction - the rear windows and wing mirrors went haywire. Does anyone know how to fix that?
I've seen those dent specialists do some amazing work, but not on an area so large and brutally beat. Its worth a shot nonetheless....
For the door/mirror issue, try a hard reset. Remove the battery cable terminals and touch them together for 30 seconds to bleed off any excess energy. Then let sit for a couple minutes and reapply the connections and see if that resolves it.
What total scum to do that. I'm so sorry for you. Years ago I had someone do that to my wife's Jeep Cherokee at a New Years Eve "celebration" they dented every panel on the car, and no-one supposedly saw a thing, and the police did nothing.
Regarding the paintless dent removal I've had some work done on my VDP (small door dings etc) and was pleasantly surprised how well it came out, I think the problem would be the creases, the paint will be cracked there so I don't believe the process would be "paintless" but I'm pretty sure it could be pulled out to a point where you could get it painted, especially as there's no sun-roof to mess with. Again I'm sorry you're a victim of this mindless vandalism.
good luck with it.
Clive
I was pondering...XX, I don't know what your DOT laws are in your country, but before attempting to have that fixed, see if they will allow it to be road worthy and if you can get it insured if repaired? There's no sense going through all that to find out a totaled vehicle with that damage cannot be made road worthy again.
There was no CCTV unfortunately, and the police are useless.
No one has suggested that the car wouldn't be roadworthy. It still drives well. Might the damage affect its structural integrity?
That is from what the insurance company has determined and what DOT will allow. All you have to do is call them and ask. It depends on your countries regulations.
For example: Bentley Continental has flood damage and is in the U.S. A car like that is considered unroadworthy because of its setup, even if the water just came up the the rocker panels. But a Chrysler 300 that may have been next to it, can get a salvage title and be put back on the road and insured. For the place its considered totaled...you can buy the Bentley and strip anything off of it and use it on another car, but that VIN cannot be re-registered as a whole car. I don't make the laws, I just read what they hand out at the auction sites....and these laws vary state to state here in the US. Some have ways of stepping around that for certain cars. I haven't the foggiest what your countries requirements are.
But why waste all that time, money and effort just to be turned down and have to scrap it. Whereas you could've taken that cash and used it for a down payment on another. Better to side with caution than throw chance to the wind and make the call.
iv'e delt with salvage cars before,and highhorse is right.as long as car can be totaled out and aloud to be put back on the road { local state laws } then push roof back up and go from there,pull headliner first,it may reused it if good before damage.the upside is no sunroof.years ago I cut off and replaced roof on a 96 xj6 and drove it for 8 years,steve.
