WARNING: Be REALLY careful - Ice on the roads

[helpimonfire]

As most of you know, I recently got rid of my Fiat and bought a Renault... I know some of you won't care but oh well...

Basically, I had tonight off work, I went to see some friends and had a good time. I started my journey home at about 11:15pm. It's an enjoyable road to drive, but as I knew the conditions were a bit dodgy I was careful.

Not careful enough though On one of the tighter corners of this route, I hit a patch of ice. And that was it, It was out of my control from there. Car span, went into the kerb backwards, destroying one of my nice alloys and busting up part of the suspension. I then ended up in the middle of the road trying to work out what happened.

Phonecall home in quite a state, my dad heads out to see me, I give the AA a call... Due to it being an accident they charged me £104 for recovery Waited around for the best part of an hour for the recovry truck to arrive. Then there was another hour of phonecalls and other assorted **** to get the car back to mine.

2:15pm and I finally get back home. But there's more fun to come, we had to get the car off the truck. due to the bent suspension the wheel was firmly stuck to the chassis. Oh dear. Lots of effort later, the car is back on the ground.

I've yet to ring my insurance company, that's tomorrows job for when I'm not quite so shaken.

Damage (to the car and my wallet) so far (that I can see):
Trashed alloy (probably £150+ from Renault)
Damaged Suspension (stubby axle I think they called it? - £ ?? )
2 new tyres (£49.50 a corner... So that's £99)
Recovery (£104)
Front bumper replaced/repaired (£ I daren't think about it)

I may be able to claim the recovery back from my insurance company. The excess is £135... I'm apprehensive about claiming, but I have no way of getting to work, which means no money. So I guess I'll be claiming. Luckily there was noone else involved.

Basically, I'm ****ed right now and I'm a complete state

 

[FuzzyPanda]

Sorry to hear it matey, hope everything gets sorted out for as reasonable a price as possible. At least you're ok though!

 

[J J]

Pics?

And oh sorry man glad your okay

 

[Renegade_8]

First of all, thanks for posting this. It could have been a lot worse, at least you did not get collected by Rumanion Camion going Sofia or bust on Red Bull and Uppers. By the time labour is added in I imagine this will not be cheap, and the cost if you claim in lost NCB sounds scary as well, still at least you are still here to settle up. I once went off on black ice with a thin layer of melted water on top, the car just slid down the camber and ended up in ditch with full lock on in the other direction. apart from some scratches on the roof where it went under a barbed wire strand in the hedge there was no damage and one of my Dad's lorries pulled it out using it's crawler gear as though the car weighed nothing. I learnt a lot from that, you can sometimes guess where it will be icy, under trees where it may be damp and shaded , on bridges where the air gets all around the road or where I crashed, the last place the sun reaches in the morning. If the tyres suddenly go quiet it's a clue as well, it means no grip.I will try and find a link and post it as it's useful to have this sort of thread on the forum. (oh, and it's a stub axle, because with independant suspension they only go a little way rather than right across the car connecting the wheels, just to help you sound techie to the garage). Sorry to go on a bit
I searched on tips and black ice, this was no 3 of 2 million hits
http://www.howtodothings.com/automotive/a3240-how-to-drive-on-black-ice.html

 

[centaur]

Pics?

And oh sorry man glad your okay

Say it like you mean it at least! :devil:



Yeah, sorry to hear about your plight. Hope everything is sorted out soon, and without too much expense

 

[faster4_tec]

so no protected no claims then???

TBH if your excess is £135 and your 25+ I wouldn't worry about it too much. maybe talking a couple of hundred a year for two years then you'll be back where you started.

if I was to have an accident, its £350 and I would probably be uninsurable for the forseeable future (5/6years??)


so your are damn lucky

 

[helpimonfire]

My excess is £135 and i'm 19, my renewal won't be cheap next year

 

[Liam]

Sorry to hear this, ouch, sadly there cn be lots of damage you can't see, like the brakes, chassis etc etc.

Hope it's just light damage.

Liam

 

[helpimonfire]

Sorry to hear this, ouch, sadly there cn be lots of damage you can't see, like the brakes, chassis etc etc.

Hope it's just light damage.

Liam

My neighbour who's a mechanic, had a look and he says it's fairly straightforward to repair. replace the rear axle, new alloy and 2 new tyres. job's a goodun.

So i won't be claiming on my insurance. the fact i was on hold for 3 and a half hours and still didn't get through just made me angry

 

[faster4_tec]

rear axle???

it doesn't have one


it'll have two stub axles protruding from some sort of trailing arm or beam (like a ford ka).

both of which could have transferred the force into the rear subframe, which is not such a compliated job, except the bolts ALWAYS rust on, and the actual part itself ain't cheap. they may have to remove petrol tank etc

 

[helpimonfire]

rear axle???

it doesn't have one


it'll have two stub axles protruding from some sort of trailing arm or beam (like a ford ka).

both of which could have transferred the force into the rear subframe, which is not such a compliated job, except the bolts ALWAYS rust on, and the actual part itself ain't cheap. they may have to remove petrol tank etc

I was on the phone at the time so I only heard bits I'm leaving it in his hands for now, I trust him and know he'll do a good job

 

[faster4_tec]

was/is he a renault mech???

I would reckon its only suspension componats that will be damaged.

your brake drum and that might be salvagable, if not they are quite expensive for the entire unit. more than a whole new arm and bushings I would imagine.


anyway. nice one having someone like that who is willing, it tips the balance toward NOT claiming on insurance

 

[Helz]

Oh no, bad luck How are you feeling? At least things are looking up with repairs, looks like it will be cheaper and easier than initially thought

Oh, and thanks for the warning about being slippy out there, guess who went flat on her arse this morning on black ice on the drive?

 

[Jai]

guess who went flat on her arse this morning on black ice on the drive?

need it kissing better?

less 9" stilletoes, maybe more:

 

[Helz]

need it kissing better?

less 9" stilletoes, maybe more:

If you hadn't already suggested it, I'd tell you to kiss it for saying that :bang:

 

[Jai]

 

[faster4_tec]

its gonna be -2 in teh NE tonight apparently.

so moah ice

 

[The Negotiator]

And yet Fiat didn't bother to fit an external temperature gauge into my Brava...thanks Fiat

 

[faster4_tec]

volvo do :nerner:

 

[Helz]

volvo do :nerner:

Volvo make Bravas too? :chin:

Jai, if you're going to pick a handbag, at least pick a funky one