Where are you?  It's really going to depend on how much you want to spend, and depending on where you are you will have different costs and expertise to tap. 

You have a shorted wire in the driver's door wiring that needs to be sorted out, and fixing the damage will include painting the entire front and the driver's door. That was not a hard enough hit to affect wheel alignment.  

The front and door will look really good, and the rest of the van will look even worse in comparison.  The whole thing needs a repaint, including the top. Doing that right involves a lot of work, and those bumper parts are stock, but no longer available.  You'll need to find used parts or remove the whole collection (and sell it) when you repaint and convert to different bumpers.

If you live where there are a lot of Vanagons (like the west coast), you'll have more experienced shops for repair and restoration to compare. 

Stuart

-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of PB
Sent: Thursday, February 19, 2015 6:24 PM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: What should I know before getting accident repairs done?

Hi, everyone,
My Westy suffered a minor fender bender while parked in my own yard.  It
was hit by an "unnamed" family member who didn't look it the rear view
mirror while backing up.  UFM (Unnamed Family Member) has good insurance
and there's no issue with having it repaired.  (UFM actually did much more
damage to his own rear bumper!)

Besides the body damage, my automatic door lock now keeps locking and
unlocking repeatedly.  I am able to open and close the door between locks
and unlocks.  When the door is closed it stays locked, so it looks like
there's some electrical damage done.  I also don't know if the wheel
alignment has been knocked askew, or if there was any damage underneath.
Prior to the accident I was originally thinking of removing the skirt,
which was broken in the accident.  I just never got around to it.  Is the
skirt part of the original equipment, or is that a 3rd party accessory?
Where would the body shop get the parts?

Even before the accident, there were a few things I wanted to have done.
Other than what's displayed in the photos, there are no dents or scrapes.
But I do have some annoying peeling clear coat.  Is it possible to have it
redone without a whole major paint job?  Also, my shiny burgundy colored
top has turned cloudy whitish.  Would I need to get it repainted or have
the top buffed out?  I know there's a fiberglass cleaner that can be
applied, and you can buff it out and it will look like new, but I can't do
that myself.  (Neither can UFM!)  So I'm wondering how to get the top shiny
like it was in 2007 when I got my Westy.

Is there anything I should know about dealing with body shops?  I don't
have to pay anything unless I want work done that was not part of the
accident.
Thanks! :)
Patti
90 Westy Automatic

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<http://s74.photobucket.com/user/edtech2000/media/WestyAccident2015-02-19143434.jpg.html>Patti's
Westy (1)
<http://s74.photobucket.com/user/edtech2000/media/WestyAccident2015-02-19143434.jpg.html>
Patti's Westy (2)
<http://s74.photobucket.com/user/edtech2000/media/WestyAccident2015-02-19164933.jpg.html>
Patti's Westy (3)
<http://s74.photobucket.com/user/edtech2000/media/WestyAccident2015-02-19164956.jpg.html>
Patti's Westy  (4)
<http://s74.photobucket.com/user/edtech2000/media/WestyPeelingClearCoat2015-02-19143458.jpg.html>
Patti's Westy
<http://s74.photobucket.com/user/edtech2000/media/WestyTop2015-02-19143530.jpg.html>
(5)

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