Some bollix tapped my car without leaving details, it's pushed the tailgate out of shape ,now I can't open tailgate from outside, I have to use internal release, funny thing is the boot lights stay on, which will run down the battery, so took them out,I can't release the catch at all with them out.

 

any advice?

Any cctv in the supermarket carpark? Worth getting in touch as they might have caught in on cam. Then tell your insurer and let them chase it up?

I was more interested in getting the rear tailgate lock to work, at the moment I have to crawl in to use the emergency release, I had to remove the boot lamps to stop them running the battery down, because the tailgate won't close proper the lamps stay on.

Weirdly, with them removed I can't open it at all.

I wonder if they damaged the lock mechanism so the car thinks the boot is always open?

No, it seems the lid won't fully close, it engages the lock enough to secure the lid ,but it won't fully engage it. It sort of half locks it,just as if you lightly close it.

I can't open it from the outside, unless I crawl in and release the internal lock.it won't do that with the boot lamps in circuit, I have removed them to save ruñning battery down.

 

If the lid isn’t lining up then you need to open the boot and remove the internal trim. You will see the struts that hold the lid on with two bolts on either side. Loosen the bolts on the side that isn’t aligned and move slightly to line it back up. If you’re lucky you can see were the bolts had been prior to the shunt. 

With the boot lid aligned, if it still doesn’t close check the locking mechanism and see if it has moved from the previous bolt position. 

The problem seems to be the gate has been pushed out of shape,paint has been cracked on the edge just below the glass, so tailgate is bent out of true, it might be possible to bend it back ,but I don't want to lose the rear screen doing it.