Beached Bus

[michaeldterry]

Michael, send me those little parts that fell off because you didn't have enough composure to raise the bus before you backed off and I will make you your trophy for OKC.

JIM

Jim - I just might take you up on that! (after all - I 'earned' it fair and square!)

[rfoster]

Michael:

I Feel your pain! Been there and done that. Now everytime you look at your bus - that is all you see. Some how the painful memory continues to resurface.

Once upon a time I left one of my bay doors open and pulled out of the garage. The door did NOT make it. I told some of my POG buddies. Next thing I know I am being presented with a dented piece of stainless with a turkey on it at a Rally.

Guess it's your time now.

[phorner]

Man, I feel for ya, Michael. It hurts just looking at the pictures.... and it's not even my bus!

Once you've gotten over the shock and the hurt, you'll probably see that the damage isn't quite as bad as you feel it is right now.

Hopefully, the repairs will end up making your baby even more beautiful than before..... and if this is as bad an experience as you have during your bus ownership, well, consider yourself lucky. It always could have been worse.

Look on the bright side..... the paint wasn't even scratched!

Good luck with your repairs.

[michaeldterry]

You guys are being much kinder than I had expected! Thanks for having mercy on me! I promise that I feel bad enough already!

[tdelorme]

Michael I know well the sick feeling you went through and it's gonna take time to get over it. My deal was four months ago and I still get a sick feeling in my stomach when I think about it. I hope your insurance company is as easy to work with as mine was. The repair was twice the cost I expected, so grap a seat when the estimate comes in. Make the repair facility give you in writing the time it will take them to do the job. My four or five week verbal estimate turned into eleven weeks. Any new stainless will come unpolished so make sure the shop knows how to polish them. Hang in there, it's just a machine and it can be repaired.

[truk4u]

Michael,

I wouldn't let anyone touch that except Prevost. You are about to learn how much your Insurance Carrier knows about a bus. Insist on the manufacturer making the repairs and estimate.

[michaeldterry]

Michael,

I wouldn't let anyone touch that except Prevost. You are about to learn how much your Insurance Carrier knows about a bus. Insist on the manufacturer making the repairs and estimate.

Thanks for your guidance, Tom!

[edsaylor]

Michael:

Sorry to hear of your situation. Custom Colors in Port St. Lucie, FL is a super Prevost repair center. They are one of only 5 approved by Prevost in the US! Liberty uses them exclusively. Several years ago I was caught in a hail storm in Texas. There was extinsive dammage down one side and the back doors. Liberty told me that was the only place to take it. Larry Gorman is the owner . phone 772/335-0515. They did outstanding work and dealt with the insurance company. The coach looked new when I got it back. Good Luck.

[Will Garner]

Michael,

Your experience is not unique to this community. I think at one time or another we have all dinged or coaches, some more dinged than others. I think the Sevierville award was for damages approaching $35,000. I think it was something about backing into the corner of a building and tearing up the rear cap. Of course the rear cap had a beautiful custom graphic paint job which jacked up the final bill.

I'm guessing your bill will likely come in under $10,000. So looking at it that way your deductable is a mere 10% of the total. Besides, you are stimulating our depressed economy by providing work for some "qualified" body shop.

As for the stainless parts, contact IBP in Apopka, Fl. Phone number is (800) 468-5287. Ask for Al Renfola, he is my source for dinged up stainless, OK I'm on my third repair job using their parts. Their parts also come polished ready to mount. Also, if that is rust I see on that one panel then that area has likely been hit before and a cheaper chromed panel was used as a replacement.

Trust me, I feel your pain. It does get less painful as time goes by. So hang in there!

[JIM CHALOUPKA]

Michael, if you ripped that capped pipe stub out of the Aqua-Hot you may have doubled your repair bill, now that we have seen what Prevostbrad has come up against in pricing the unit.

So Sorry, JIM