I should take this opportunity to update this thread as there's been a lot of 'radio silence' lately on this thread and my YouTube channel.
Going back to the middle of August, roughly 2 weeks after I lowered the Caddy and installed all nice shiny alloy componentry in the front end, while travelling home from an evening out visiting family, an unlicensed and uninsured driver in a Subaru ran the turning arrow at an intersection and accelerated into the right front corner of my Caddy.
In the aftermath of the accident with the other driver’s family we came to the agreement they would pay for the parts required to repair my van.
After receiving the quote for damaged parts they quickly changed their attitude, and thus have reneged on their agreement to pay for the damages caused.
As a result, the matter was referred to my insurance company and I've been completing the necessary steps in their process to have my claim heard.
The big issues arise because my Caddy is insured 'third party, fire and theft' due to its pre-painted condition, coupled with the other driver driving unlicensed and uninsured, my claim falls under a different policy that limits the payout to a maximum of five thousand dollars if approved.
The parts bill for my Caddy is over double that amount.
Because of how much of the repair won’t be covered by insurance, the funds I had been saving to paint the van will disappear very quickly, all in an effort to get it back on the road.
This has been a devastating blow.
All the work I’ve carried out while the van is off the road follows, it will be the last update I have for some time until the matter with insurance is settled.
As previously mentioned I have had the chance to give the alloy sub frame the same treatment as my alloy control arms.
Because of the tied position of my brake callipers, my flexible brake lines decided to start splitting.
I’ve taken the chance to re-build and replate the callipers for that factory fresh finish.
Here is the front callipers post sand ready to zinc plate.
A friend then sent me a link to a mk3 caddy life being wrecked
As we don’t get the Touran in Australia and anything MK4 Life is usually worth too much money to wreck, this was my only chance to secure an armrest centre consoles, rear quarter trims and sliding door trims.
Unfortunately, due to the era of mk3 life, all these trims are the bright grey. Bit of plastic dye goes a long way
All fitted up.
I do need to modify the other side’s sliding door trim to go on the no sliding side, Not sure how I’ll go about that quite yet.
So very happy with my very shabby armrest console, coming from a mk5 golf it’s the small things you miss in the standard caddy
I’m waiting on the trims for the round holes, a replacement set of rear air vents as they’re missing altogether and eventually to re trim the top of the armrest in leather to match the seating.
If you'd like a separate thread on the topic see the link below
viewtopic.php?t=51197
I will take this moment to thank those on this forum and in this community, who contributed advice and information along the way, without who- I couldn’t have gotten this far.
I was hoping to have the van entered in a large and exclusive car show in final painted condition for February 2023. But having spent my paint funds to repair the damages to the van, the deadline will most likely pass me by. it's a shame as the event is by invitation only and after trying to have a vehicle in the show 3 shows running over the last 6 years it's quite the honor to be invited.
Hopefully my next post is more positive.
Cheers