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chrisinhouston · 12-18-2014, 08:50 AM

Well last week we went to my wife's company Christmas party at one of the higher end hotels in Houston and since the company was picking up the valet parking I turned my Land Rover over and commented to the valet that it had a very high clearance so he should be careful where it was parked. He said he would put it in the oversize lot instead of the garage. Got it back after the party and headed home only to notice when we got there that the roof rack was damaged, my kayak supports which stick up higher were bent over and all scrapped up as if it had been forced under a garage roof.

Called the next morning and the head of the valet service said he would review the security footage. Called me back a few hours later apologizing and saying the valet had in fact tried to enter the garage and when it got stuck he even got out and climbed up on the back bumper to ascertain the damage. He sent me an email to return with info on me and the vehicle and asked for pictures. I got up on a ladder next to it and took several shots, then took them into PS to circle the areas of damage and write out on each image what the damage was.

So, last night I got an email back with a copy of a claim report to their corporate HQ, this is a large valet nationwide service. The report basically said the rack was bent and damaged badly.

Since it is a custom made roof rack I put together out of parts from several suppliers I'm wondering what the outcome will be. It isn't like I can just take it to Land Rover for repairs or get someone to fix it. I am hoping they will just cut me a check that would cover a nice new one, there are some pretty neat models made, much more like the ones used for long term off roading and safari type adventures. They run between $900 and $1300 which doesn't seem out of line for an insurance claim where a Land Rover is involved!

12-18-2014, 08:50 AM	#10481
chrisinhouston Professor Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Houston TX Posts: 1,857	Well last week we went to my wife's company Christmas party at one of the higher end hotels in Houston and since the company was picking up the valet parking I turned my Land Rover over and commented to the valet that it had a very high clearance so he should be careful where it was parked. He said he would put it in the oversize lot instead of the garage. Got it back after the party and headed home only to notice when we got there that the roof rack was damaged, my kayak supports which stick up higher were bent over and all scrapped up as if it had been forced under a garage roof. Called the next morning and the head of the valet service said he would review the security footage. Called me back a few hours later apologizing and saying the valet had in fact tried to enter the garage and when it got stuck he even got out and climbed up on the back bumper to ascertain the damage. He sent me an email to return with info on me and the vehicle and asked for pictures. I got up on a ladder next to it and took several shots, then took them into PS to circle the areas of damage and write out on each image what the damage was. So, last night I got an email back with a copy of a claim report to their corporate HQ, this is a large valet nationwide service. The report basically said the rack was bent and damaged badly. Since it is a custom made roof rack I put together out of parts from several suppliers I'm wondering what the outcome will be. It isn't like I can just take it to Land Rover for repairs or get someone to fix it. I am hoping they will just cut me a check that would cover a nice new one, there are some pretty neat models made, much more like the ones used for long term off roading and safari type adventures. They run between $900 and $1300 which doesn't seem out of line for an insurance claim where a Land Rover is involved!