(G) Motorway wipeout - Component failure - PLEASE READ!!!

January 1999 in my Uno 45S going up the A303 dual carriageway. After overtaking an artic. lorry at about 85 the car started to veer uncontrollably. I thought we were gonna get tramped by the lorry but I managed to get the car to veer to the right hand barrier, We hit it, bounced off it spinning anti - clockwise back and forward across the carriageway hitting each corner of the car as we spun round before coming to a halt.

We escaped without injury, and unbeliveably the car looked hardly damaged, though well twisted at the front.

THE MORAL OF THE STORY IS - my L/H tied rod had broke at the ball joint on to of the hub carrier - SO PLEASE PEEPS KEEP AN EYE ON THEM - Next time someone might not be so lucky.

BY THE WAY - I SWEAR I OWE MY LIFE TO THE STRENGTH OF THAT LITTLE UNO

whoa! the uno is a solid looking car and that's what i primarily like about it. gives you that secure driving feeling versus those asians compact cars we have here.

now its time to check mine...thanks for the tip!

drive safe everybody!

thats for the urgent update...6 years after it happened

uno a solid car??

Dunc

did you see that bit on one of the car shows, i think pulling power, where they set up a motorway pile up, an uno at the back with a merc going into it at about 50mph, the merc squashed the uno to less than the length of a smart car, then rode up over the top...i love my uno but i'm under no illusions that if involved in an accident i'd be lucky to crawl away let alone walk away,

850kilos of italian made, early 80's designed car, built with soviet steel, without decent galvanising or rustproofing that has seen the ravages of time for upto 20 years does not make the best safety cell, every uno i have seen in a scrappy coz of a rta has been well and truely mangled, once there is a baby turboned, there will be no uno....

Turboned - 6 yr delay you say?? - Not long had a pc and internet.

As for the safety issue - I was merely posting a thread of what had happened to me, and that I was lucky to escape uninjured.

For someone who is getting rid of the uno when kids come along for safety reasons, why not now if you feel that worried?? Plus you seem to have owned a fair few might I add...

Hang on, did I miss something who mentioned kids?

Can’t you all play nicley

baby turboned = kids

as i've said elsewhere, i love my car, and all the other unos' i've owned, however that doesn't preclude me from being a realist, in a smash, even a relativly light one, the uno which by current safety standards is nowhere (no star NCAP) would provide only the most basic protection, only really relying on the integrity of the chassis to aid the occupants, now i can accept taking that risk for myself, but not for when i have i kids, thats what i was saying, the turbo will eventually become my fub car, but not what i'd happy hooning about in with my kids

Sorry Lads, TBH I missed "baby turboned" in the above post.

me