1970 Westfalia Rolling Resto

[buggyfan]

YES its him ,but we prefer to call him THE FIG

[Blitzkrieg]

^^^

[ChrisG]

Got some cash together and the next few months the body will be sorted! I am planning to keep it a similar colour probably.
The last few days I have been thinking how I could make my bus original ( as in not the same as everyone elses) & have come up with a few idea's but not sure what I think of them. I havn't decided yet if this is a good plan but have a few months to think about it. What do you guys think? any idea's lurking around?

[1972]

What kind of ideas are you looking for (Paint and so on?)

[ChrisG]

I like the look of being lowered, but I'm all for practicality & have been on quite a few camping trips with a fully packed bus when the bus would be too low.

An alternative could be black with a cool set of mags. Maybe bbs or fuchs or something like that further down the line

[1972]

I like the look, but I'm all for practicality & have been on quite a few camping trips with a fully packed bus when the bus would be too low

CG well if you ever need pics of anything let me know and I will go thru my stash of pics to see if i have it.

[Nigel A. Skeet]

Got some cash together and the next few months the body will be sorted! I am planning to keep it a similar colour probably.
The last few days I have been thinking how I could make my bus original ( as in not the same as everyone elses) & have come up with a few idea's but not sure what I think of them. I havn't decided yet if this is a good plan but have a few months to think about it. What do you guys think? any idea's lurking around?

Here are some for you to consider:

[dubster]

Chris you can always post a nice pic of the bus here and ill photoshop it for you the way you want...

[ChrisG]

Thanks dubster.

I have run into a problem! On the way home justnow someone wasn't watching and smashed into the back on my bus. The bumper is screwed and the engine is making very very whack noises and is not driveable. The wheel on the back left is now also touching the wheel arch. I am actually lost for words, I am so frikken pissed off.

The lady said "I thought you were gonna go through the stop street because there wasn't any traffic" so she rammed into the back of me. Lucky it wasn't too bad.

Back the the point: I'm not tryna rant I just need some advice with regards to Insurance. She is insured and it should cover all damages. I just need to know what do you guys think the problem is with the wheels touching the wheel arch, is there gonna be any major structural damage?

And how is the insurance gonna value an early bay bumper! and engine lid?
Anyone who can shed any light please do.

Thanks alot,
Chris

[Dutch_Diver]

Chris,

I'm really sorry to hear your bad luck. Glad you are OK.

On insurance. If you haven't got guaranteed or agreed value insurance then you are going to be hit. On MO Esurance original quote was low but when I asked them if I had an accident what would they pay, they told me R20k for her. I bought her originally for R44k

I then took a policy increased the premium and agreed the value they would pay. I guess you are going to be offered next to nothing. It might be worth asking the lady to agree a value outside the insurance companies? Don't know if that happens here but does in the UK as the premiums go through the roof after a claim.

As for damage, the rear arch rubbing the wheel sounds bad. Structurally then are pretty strong but you might need a rear quarter panel to repair. As I mentioned when we met, you finding another shell and moving all the mechanics and interior across might be the best answer, especially now with crash damage.

Sorry Mate

[beetlefanatic]

HI Chris, sorry to hear about your trouble. The bus was just coming along nicely. Hope you get it sorted.

[Ron&Gill]

I feel like ranting!!! Why don't people look where they are driving, ffff....kkk.

I'm really sorry to read this Chris. I don't know where you stand with insurance, but you have to claim off your own, her's will not cover you, only refund your insurance what they pay you. Now I really feel like ranting... Bastards... I hate insurance companies...

Good luck, pal...

[fig]

Sorry to hear about that Chris. Bad luck!

If you are insured, claim from your own insurance and ask the woman who hit you to copver your excess. If you aren't insured, claim from her insurance. To do that she will need to admit liability.

I have made claims against other parties' insurance companies on a number of occasions. So long as their client admits liability things are quite straightforward. They will not agree to repair the damage; they will rather write the bus off, and they will value it around R5k. To ensure you get a good payout, start collecting adverts for similar buses for sale in the price range you think yours is worth. When the insurance company makes its lowball offer, politely refuse and point out that you had a running, roadworthy vehicle before the crash and they need to put you back in the same position. Show them the ads for the value you are claiming and that should be anough to get them to amend their offer. Do not allow them to deduct the wreck value from the payout, but obviously insist that you will keep the wreck and use the money for repairs.

Good luck! If you are polite and firm and you justify your claim you should be able to persaude them to pay you out in full.

Re the fender touching the wheel, it's probably just the rear side panel having concertinaed from the impact, but you should check wheel alignment to be sure.

I still have an engine hatch for you, and I can source a rear valence and maybe even a rear bumper.

[ChrisG]

Thanks guys. She is insured and so am I. I would rather want to claim from here insurance so my premiums don't go up because all of our cars are insured in the same name.

If anyone has any bus ads that they have saved on their pc or anything like that it will be greatly appreciated. I either want to get my car back to how it was or get the money to buy another one exactly the same, nothing more, nothing less.

I have a feeling I am gonna struggle to get my 40k worth of spending back! If anyone has a similar bus and has had a valuation done that shows the vehicles is not worth a small amount, but rather 30-40k could you please send me a copy because that could help alot.

Thanks again & I will keep you updated

[buggyfan]

hi chrisg sorry to hear about your bad luck .

i went looking at a westy shell for you this afternoon that theyll accept round about 5k for it but unfortunately its rusted on the doglegs and butchered for a wc conversion