Caddy 09 rad damage

[hoach]

A stone has gone into the radiator of a 2009 VW Caddy.

The engine has blown as a consequence of an inexperienced driver.

The radiator s so exposed to this type of damage there must be many more out there, I would like to hear from them.

Warranty refuses to help (Vindis)

Insurance company has refused to help!

£5000 to repair!!

Can anybody help, advise?

[va1o]

Blimey that does not sound good! I think you will be best of going through a independant VAG outlet, and sourcing an reconditioned unit to replace the engine with.

[Andyuk911]

I think you need to speak to your insurance company again ... why are they saying damage to the vehicle is not covered ?

[AdrianR]

I had this happen on the wife's Clio while I was driving on the M25, fortunately I noticed the temp gauge had shot up and pulled over. Car had to be recovered by tow truck and have a new radiator but otherwise it was none the worse for it.

Guess the issue is that if you miss the symptoms of no water and keep driving then the engine will give up, i.e. the stone damaged the radiator but the driver damaged the engine.

You could always sell it as is. Someone working for themselves will fix it a lot cheaper than VW are quoting so you may get more than (prior value - repair cost) for it and use the cash to buy a new one.

AdrianR