Chip and crack in panoramic roof

[familymangreg]

Hi all,

On the return leg of a journey today we suddenly spotted quite a large crack (3 - 4 inch visible) at the front of the panoramic roof, pretty much dead centre. I know there are reports on here of roofs cracking and being replaced under warranty, and I immediately thought thats what it was, but on closer inspection, there is a chip in the middle of the crack with 3 other cracks heading out from it.

I'm guessing its probably been done by a stone, but it surprises me that a stone would have enough downward force to do this, and we never heard anything while travelling. Maybe something off a roof could have done it overnight, and we just didn't spot it earlier.

Anyway, just wondering if anyone has had any experience with replacing a roof under insurance? Will the entire pan roof be replaced or can they replace just the front section? Any thoughts on cost?

Picture attached. The crack goes right to the font, but you cannot see in the picture for the frame.



:wq

[nu11eaf]

Originally Posted by familymangreg

Hi all,

On the return leg of a journey today we suddenly spotted quite a large crack (3 - 4 inch visible) at the front of the panoramic roof, pretty much dead centre. I know there are reports on here of roofs cracking and being replaced under warranty, and I immediately thought thats what it was, but on closer inspection, there is a chip in the middle of the crack with 3 other cracks heading out from it.

I'm guessing its probably been done by a stone, but it surprises me that a stone would have enough downward force to do this, and we never heard anything while travelling. Maybe something off a roof could have done it overnight, and we just didn't spot it earlier.

Anyway, just wondering if anyone has had any experience with replacing a roof under insurance? Will the entire pan roof be replaced or can they replace just the front section? Any thoughts on cost?

Picture attached. The crack goes right to the font, but you cannot see in the picture for the frame.



:wq

You must be gutted, and I bet it costs a fortune to replace so will have to be an insurance job, I know the feeling, my last new car only had 400 miles on clock and my windscreen got cracked and had to be replaced.

[Lexman8]

Not good news. Have you seen this post: https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showthread.php?t=270598

The OP's insurance excludes a pano roof and I suspect it's expensive to replace. Must check my insurance.

EDIT: My Direct Line insurance appears to cover a pano roof; i.e. I can't see an exclusion clause.

[Wobbly]

When I put my V90 onto my existing policy I spoke to a particularly chatty guy at my insurer. Because the VRN wasn't showing on the system he wanted me to run through all the options that the car had, describing problems with claims for kit that the insurer didn't know existed on the car. Apparently it doesn't always reflect reality, and if something is missing it may not bet fixed.

It's worth running through the spec when adding the car to a policy.

[familymangreg]

An update on this issue.

I checked my insurance policy with the NFU and confirmed sunroofs were covered under glass damage, along with windscreens and all other glass. I then spoke to our local NFU office who confirmed there would be no issues in covering as a low excess glass claim, £50 if I were to use an NFU approved glass repair/replacement service or £70 to use my own garage. Clearly I went with the £70 to have my dealer do the repair.

I spoke to my dealer who wanted to see the car to be absolutely sure what was required. A few days later I took the car in and the dealer confirmed the whole panoramic roof would need replacing, which wasn't going to be a cheap job, with the roof itself costing well into 4 figures and them needing up to 2 days of workshop time to replace it.They were also concerned that the roof my take unto four weeks to come from Sweden. I left the garage the contact details of my local NFU office and policy number.

A few days later, the garage called to say their parts department had been speaking to Volvo and found they could get just a replacement for the front section of the roof which was cracked, and it was a much smaller job to replace. The cost of the panel was about £680 and the entire job came in at around £900v and something (can't remember the exact figures).

The garage had also spoke to my insurers and started the claim. We book the job in for the following Friday, the car was picked up, job done, software updated (though not to the new look Sensus, I'll update on another thread, its done now), and returned to us that evening, cleaned inside and out and with a tin of mints!! All I had to do was pay the £70 excess to the garage on the day.

Once again fantastic service from my local dealer, I really can't fault them, they just picked up the job and dealt with everything for me.

:wq

[AB-UK]

Kudos to your insurer too!

[familymangreg]

Originally Posted by AB-UK

Kudos to your insurer too!

Although the policy isn't extortionate, I'm sure I could find cheaper online, but the trouble is you never know how good an insurer really is until you need them. I took the cheap online option for home insurance once, then had a bird come down the chimney and practically destroy the living room. My insurers classed it as an 'act of god' and refused to pay out as I didn't have their Premium Home Cover.

With the NFU, I can speak to the local team in an office just around the corner from my work, and they offer that personal service that is becoming so rare these days. Well worth the small premium.

:wq

[Driver Dave]

Exactly why I insured both home and car with NFU - any problem I can go into the local office and speak face-to-face rather than someone in a call centre.

I also gave them a copy of my cars specification even datailing what the "packs" include so they know exactly what they are insuring.