149 replies to this topic

[guywithvan]

damn! i only met you sunday and baby such a shame to see things like this happen,if you need any parts to get her on the road again if insurance allows then give me a shout i may be able to help.

hope it all gets sorted and baby gets another chance at life

[oli8925]

thanks. it will, whether that be the hard way or easy way...probably the hard way!

also, just a thought. has anyone got any advice concerning insurance? whats coming next? what i should do? this is my first accident so really have no idea.

[Bean]

Aw, nooooo!

Sorry to hear about the accident, Oli!

Glad you're OK though and hope it goes OK with the insurance companies.

[WiredbyWilson]

first off Oli find out if the guy with the van is happy for you to foot the repair bill, if the answer is yes then you don't have to contact your insurance - did you swap details at the scene? i assume you did. also im hoping you didn't admit liability? even if it was your fault I have always been advised not to admit liability at the scene.

sounds like there was other factors which caused the van to be stationery etc etc.

if it is a no go then you will have to ring your insurers and say you had an accident, they will either take details over the phone or send out a form for you to fill in.

as i said before, if you don't want baby written off then you can simply say you don't want to claim for your car - but the other guy can claim from you. it depends if you really do want to keep her (and to be honest with your excess and the small value they would put on her it is likely you would get very littel in the way of a payout).

a jig is a wondeful thing, you would be amazed at what can be repaired these days. I would say buy putting a chain around the subby and giving it a pull would straighten most of it out. but until you strip her youdon't know - again as and when you get to that point give me a shout and id be more than happy to help out.

if any of the above is not clear (more than likely) then text / call me. i have had a few accidents so know how your feeling

David

[Mini-Mad-Craig]

Unlucky mate, Brought a tear to my eye :S

[Angelic_Fruitcake]

Oh nooooooooo! I'm so sorry to hear that

The main thing is you're OK though. Good luck with the insurance people, hopefully you'll be able to get her all fixed up

[luvlygal]

Sorry to hear about your accident Good luck with getting her back on the road again

[Natalie]

Sorry to hear about this, Baby was stunning. At least you're okay though. Hope you can get Baby back to how she was looking.

[garrett3]

Sorry to see this, Always hurts to lose a friend

[Rosslin Racing]

sorry to see you had this happen, try and learn from it. any agreements you make make sure its on paper.
which road was it?

[oli8925]

thanks everyone, your support and understanding means alot. im not really friends with many car nut who see the car as more than just a form of transport, so i get a lot of 'just let go and find yourself another'. that will never happen

first off Oli find out if the guy with the van is happy for you to foot the repair bill, if the answer is yes then you don't have to contact your insurance - did you swap details at the scene? i assume you did. also im hoping you didn't admit liability? even if it was your fault I have always been advised not to admit liability at the scene.

sounds like there was other factors which caused the van to be stationery etc etc.

if it is a no go then you will have to ring your insurers and say you had an accident, they will either take details over the phone or send out a form for you to fill in.

as i said before, if you don't want baby written off then you can simply say you don't want to claim for your car - but the other guy can claim from you. it depends if you really do want to keep her (and to be honest with your excess and the small value they would put on her it is likely you would get very littel in the way of a payout).

a jig is a wondeful thing, you would be amazed at what can be repaired these days. I would say buy putting a chain around the subby and giving it a pull would straighten most of it out. but until you strip her youdon't know - again as and when you get to that point give me a shout and id be more than happy to help out.

if any of the above is not clear (more than likely) then text / call me. i have had a few accidents so know how your feeling

David

thanks david that clears things up a lot. as ive only just got home from work, the number for the 'vehicle manager' is an office number so is unavailable at this time. ill give the guy i actually hit a call in a bit to discuss a few things with him. we did swap details on the scene and i dont think i have admitted liability, although i cant remember what i said at the time. i just couldnt belive what id done to my car and not many other thoughts were going round in my head.

if i dont claim for my car, will they have no dealings with it then. eg they wont have to send round an evaluator and i wont have to buy it back off them? if so that is a very useful option. but id still have 1 accident and 1 claim on my insurance wouldnt i? i have £300 standard excess for being under 21 and i think £200 or £300 voluntary excess too. so basically id get very very little for her before id have to buy her back. to be honest in their eyes shes just a 20 year old base model mini with a few bits of rust. letting them get their hand on her isnt an option though. im still feeling a bit on edge now but as soon as i can confirm i am still the owner ill feel a huge sense of relief. im already making mental plans as to how to fix her etc. the first article in the first minimag i ever bought (june 07) is giving me hope!

thanks for the info. ill be doing my research into jigging, panels, flipfronts etc etc etc in the coming nights. last night i was looking into cheap runaround cars and decided i liked the look of a pug 106. if i need any help ill give you a shout dont worry.

also, as ive been running it round my head, something just doesnt seem to be right. the broken down lorry on the other side of the road, had been towed to that position, the towing vehicle facing in the same direction as my car. ive had my brakes lock a couple of times before, and from my experience, the car skips and swerves a bit. to put it simply, its not hard to notice. however yesterday was odd. when i came round the corner i didnt panic, there was no subconcious feeling of im not going to stop in time. and if there was, it would have been an emergency stop. natural reaction to whack both feet on the clutch and brakes as hard as you can. but i didnt use the clutch. as far as i can remember i was slowing down normally, staying in gear as you would do coming to a junction or any normal stop. also had i slammed on the brakes, i would have been lurched forward in teh car from the force of the brakes, even if just before they locked, i would have felt it. but it was entirely smooth, like normal controlled braking. its just all of a sudden i wasnt braking any more. and as i said, i can usually feel and hear it when the brakes lock up, but yesterday i felt and heard nothing.

now this may be an over the top conspiracy theory or me just trying to make excuses and persuade myself theyre true. but isnt it possible that from the broken down lorry, while it was being towed on my side of the road just before the 'truck and van repair centre', some diesel was dropped onto the tramac? had i run over this patch of diesel, it would have had the same effect as driving on an ice rink. therefore i had no chance of stopping in time and it would have felt silky smooth. only thing is if that had happened, would i have left 2 lines of rubber down the road?

i would really like to go back and investigate somewhat but without wheels i cant. it sounds a bit ridiculous but its been ticking over in my head because something just doesnt seem right

Edited by oli8925, 04 September 2008 - 05:57 PM.

[taffy1967]

Well I'd go and check the road if it was me, but I'd also want to know if my brakes were up to spec.

Perhaps one or even both the rear cylinders were leaking fluid on to the shoes? It's possible and it can have a dramatic effect on your brakes without you even realising it until it's too late.

So check the road and whip the drums off if you can.

Well that's what I'd do unless I knew those brakes were in A1 condition that is?

[WiredbyWilson]

if you are thinking of claiming off of the recovery lorry etc etc etc in relation to spilt diesel that will mean getting your insurance involved on your behalf = losing baby as a write-off.

so sadly oli i think it is gonna be a case of swallowing hard.

i know what it is like in your situation, but i am lucky enough to have family and friends int he repair trade so was able to call in a few favours when i hit a stationery car in my rover metro - the bonet folded in the middle - wasnt good .

i would ring the guy and see what he says. depending on that you may have to ring your insurer and say "i have had a accident, *give details* and then say you do not wish to make a claim for your own car." they should then just ask for the other parties details and let them deal with it.

if the insurance company has not paid out on your car, nothing in their eyes or anyone elses has changed = you still own the car.

again, i probably sound like a broken record, but when its all sorted I happy to pop up in the evenings and help you get all the broken bits off and see what the real damage is.

David

[oli8925]

thanks taffy ill check. it was regularly checked. no more than a month ago the system was bled and less than a week ago the drums were checked and tightened. but you never know what could happen in a few seconds. cheers

[oli8925]

thanks david.

ill talk to the guy after ive eaten and then talk to my dad about not claiming etc and post back from there. then i should know what route ive taken