Son's Car Paintstrippered

[neelyp]

My son's car was vandalised last night. Some kind of paint stripper has been sprayed over the sides, bonnet and wheels.
Will the paint stripper knacker the tyres as well?

[Crusoe]

Most of those products make rubber perish too so yes I would expect door rubbers, windscreen surrounds and tyres to need replaced if they were sprayed. A visual inspection might be enough if they look ok then it might be alright.

[Carfiend]

If any ran under the bonnet then you will want to check coolant and breathing hoses as well. Maybe after finding the scrotes and giving them car battery shock treatment.

[neelyp]

Ok, so looking at complete bare metal respray, new alloys, tyres and whatever other bits of rubber it may have got onto, how much does anyone think this will cost to repair?
Or to put it another way, will it write off the car.
car in question is a 56 plate Fiesta ST.

[Oilchange]

Sorry about your problem.
This thread needs photos to really see the extent of the damage.

[Buzz word]

Go and check your insurance. I had my car keyed and vandalism was covered on the policy so I got it all sorted for the price of the excess. I not it could get expensive as I think paint stripper can be a pain to remove and can lead to problems if not properly cleaned as the repair comes straight off.

[Carfiend]

You need to take the paint back to the metal and give a full clean to all surfaces that were contaminated or the paint will not stick. This will run into several thousand for a proper job.

[TheRoadWarrior]

Why would you need new alloys? Shirly a respray would suffice if they're damaged?

[KB_S1]

Police involved yet?

[aww999]

Aluminium (as found in alloy wheels) is porous, so the paint stripper could soak into it, and then leach out over time destroying the new paint finish. A factory-standard repaint will be well over a grand, probably closer to 3k including the preparatory work. I would angle to have the car written off to be honest, what an absolutely pain in the proverbial for you.

[steelej]

Buzz word said:

Go and check your insurance. I had my car keyed and vandalism was covered on the policy so I got it all sorted for the price of the excess. I not it could get expensive as I think paint stripper can be a pain to remove and can lead to problems if not properly cleaned as the repair comes straight off.

Why would vandalism not be covered by insurance? Is that explicitly called out on your policy?

John.

[neelyp]

Thanks for all the replies chaps.
He has recently split up with a girlfriend who is an evil, devious bh. Don't think she would do it herself but would get someone to do it for her.
Hopefully the police should be landing on her doorstep about now.

We're pretty sure it's targetted at him, there were three cars parked in line and they left the other two alone (thankfully), for some reason they sprayed some on our neighbours pick up which was parked further up the street, but I reckon that's to deflect blame from themselves.

It's his birthday today as well, so it looks like a birthday present for him.

[neelyp]

steelej said:

Buzz word said:

Go and check your insurance. I had my car keyed and vandalism was covered on the policy so I got it all sorted for the price of the excess. I not it could get expensive as I think paint stripper can be a pain to remove and can lead to problems if not properly cleaned as the repair comes straight off.

Why would vandalism not be covered by insurance? Is that explicitly called out on your policy?

John.

Without checking the documents we don't think vandalism is covered on his policy, we hope it is but don't think so.
If this sounds vague, to explain, the car was parked at my house last night, not where he stays.

[Carfiend]

Snakes with tits.

[PaulG40]

Had this done to my GF's Pug 206 last year, as a revenge attack for reporting nasty scumbag neighbours who got kicked out and moved by the council.

She was fully comp, vandalism was covered. TBH we expected it to get written off but they didn't and it got repaired. It got bare metal resprayed; full LHS, boot, bonnet and roof, pretty much everything was replaced, i.e. bumpers, trims, etc and only the RHS of the car which wasn't touched wasn't repainted. Think if it would have cost more than 75% of car value (£2.8k-3k - 51 plate Pug 206 XS) then it would have been written off but as she had a massive excess (didn't read small print - £250 voluntary and £250 mandantory excess) it worked out just under that so repaired. Still, had a Ford Ka Courtesy Car to race around in, lol.

Annoyingly two weeks after they dropped the car off fully repaired and mint... the ex-neighbours came back and keyed the whole LHS of the car! Scumbags, the lot of em! She just wants rid of the car now, too many bad memories. It was her pride and joy too)

Edited by PaulG40 on Monday 19th July 11:17

[Buzz word]

steelej said:

Buzz word said:

Go and check your insurance. I had my car keyed and vandalism was covered on the policy so I got it all sorted for the price of the excess. I not it could get expensive as I think paint stripper can be a pain to remove and can lead to problems if not properly cleaned as the repair comes straight off.

Why would vandalism not be covered by insurance? Is that explicitly called out on your policy?

John.

Yes, it is specifically called out on mine. Insurance plus windscreen, vandalism and I pay extra for legal too. By that logic it sounds like a non standard extra to me. I know windscreen isn't always a given so wouldnt expect vandalism to be either.

[aka_kerrly]

steelej said:

Why would vandalism not be covered by insurance? Is that explicitly called out on your policy?

John.

Nearly all TPFT policies will not cover vandalism if there is no attempt to steel the car.

Only Fully comp is likely to cover vandalism but in most cases you still have to pay your excess. Direct line is one of the few companies that allow you to claim for vandalism without paying excess or it affecting your NCB.

OP - i dispise anyone who would rather destroy/damage personal property as a way of getting back at someone, it is by far the most pathetic thing you can do!

Dave

[Orangecurry]

(if covered by insurance obviously) angle for a write-off, then buy the car back (if you know it has good mechanicals) fit new tyres (for safety) and either forget the respray or paint it yourself.

What are the rates for buying a write-off back? And could he insure it again TPFT?

[moanthebairns]

I happen to be the guy who's motor was redesigned. Not quite the start to a birthday I had planned.
Just phoned the insurers and lucky I picked fully comprehensive and I am covered for vandalism, thank fk!

So I shall see what the insurer proposes but I have the feeling this is the end of me owning a motor I cherish as I can't and don't ever want to go through something like this again.

To think all they days parking miles away from shop entrances, clearing bird st of my car as soon as it lands and parking 3 miles from the curb has all been wasted.

Anyway I'm away to have another cry, watch toy story 3 and force birthday cake down my throat.

[Jonboy_t]

Orangecurry said:

(if covered by insurance obviously) angle for a write-off, then buy the car back (if you know it has good mechanicals) fit new tyres (for safety) and either forget the respray or paint it yourself.

What are the rates for buying a write-off back? And could he insure it again TPFT?

Not all insurers allow you to buy back your own car - I'm with Admiral and they wouldn't let me buy mine when someone wrote it off for me a few years back.

Might just be Admiral though?!