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MG MGF Technical - AHHHHHH! My F has died! :(
| Hi all... It finally happened... My F died... I was travelling down the M1 on my way back to London (just after Junction 13), and I hit a thin layer of water... One minute I was going in a straight line, the next minute I was spinning out of control, aquaplaning as tho the F was made to waterskate... Did a complete 360 degree spin, smashing my F against the barrier in two places, 50yrds apart... Entire front left and rear left corners have been completely pulvarised... damage to the left hand side of the exhaust, cracked rear left alloy, broken rear left driveshaft, smashed front left lights, destroyed front and rear bumpers.. - and this is the damage I can physically see... Cant wait to hear the damage report from the mechanics... Oh well... At least neither my passenger or I were hurt at all (I made sure that when she lost the rear, I managed to keep her against the barrier, and away from the cars in the other lanez!).. In fact, there's absolutely no damage anywhere else on the vehicle except to the front and rear left corners... The airbag didnt even need to pop out! Quite an experience tho (it only happened about 11hrs ago!)... So, should my insurance declare her a write off, and I can convince them to sell her back to me for cheap, does anyone know of any good bodyworkers that could fix her? Engine, gearbox, electrics, all major parts (except for that rear left driveshaft) are still perfectly fine... It's actually pretty minor damage considering what happened... Was only doing about 80mph when I hit the barrier too... I warn everyone - be very careful in the wet - it's very easy to lose the rear - even if you are not turning! Shash |
| Shashi Dookhee |
| Shashi Very sorry to hear about that. You and your passenger are okay and that's what counts. Similar thing happened to me but at lower speeds, definite change of pants time! Out of interest, what tyres did you have fitted? Ralph |
| Ralph |
| Shashi Sorry to hear of the accident - but again the *F* shows that it can look after its passengers and I am pleased to hear that you and your passenger were not hurt. Good luck Ted |
| Ted Newman |
| Thank goodness you are both okay. Send pictures to Paul's 'Crash test dummy' site! Plenty of people who could rebuild the car for you- are you sure it is a write off? If so, then there is a very good place in Cambridgeshire- also I am sure that B&G and Mike Satur could offer you good advice. |
| Rob Bell |
| Thanks guys... As for my tyres, they were almost brand new (about a couple months old?) Good Year Eagle F1's (215/45ZR16)... I was going to put the Bridgestones on, but hadnt gotten around to it yet... S. |
| Shashi Dookhee |
| Dear Shashi Sh*t man, I am really sorry to hear about your crash. I am glad you are both okay. I haven't seen you on the BBS for a while. Well I hope you have more luck with your insurance. Kindest Regards Sunil |
| Sunil |
| <<Sorry to hear of the accident - but again the *F* shows that it can look after its passengers >> But it's not so good at maintaining a straight line!! |
| John |
| Shashi, Sorry to hear about you accident and good to hear that no one was injured Regards, John |
| John |
| F1's are reputed to be excellent tyres- especially in the wet. Probably just one of those things that, no matter what, would have happened. Good luck with your dealings with the insurance parasites. |
| Rob Bell |
| Shashi, I had done the same crap about 6 month ago with to much speed in the wet, but rolled over the car beside a motorway without barrier. *total loss* Sorry about it. Sad to hear. One question to get a better feeling related to the tyres which are (IMO) told to be very good. >Good Year Eagle F1's (215/45ZR16)... I was going to put the Bridgestones on, but hadnt gotten around to it yet... So were they nearly worn ? How much profile ? Anyway, hope you get all following insurance things sorted. Rgds Dieter |
| Dieter Koennecke |
| Hi Shashi. I'm glad you and your passenger are ok but that might seem to be of no condolence at the moment for you have lost a friend and i can relate since i have been there. How old was the car? From your description you gave then i would imagine the car to be a right-off although i'm not sure what your insurance will do as most will repair the car if it's under 50% of the value, Any higher and they replace her - But it varies. Best of luck! Keep us updated! |
| Matt |
| Shashi, As everyone sorry to hear of the accident but very glad to hear you and your passenger were unharmed (and other road users!) Just one little thing is bugging me, sorry this I'm not being nasty by this either but.... "Was only doing about 80mph when I hit the barrier too... I warn everyone - be very careful in the wet" .... don't get me wrong plenty of us drive too fast at times etc. - how many threads have we and about speeding where road conditions etc. come up. Anyway, I'll shut up and just say again - glad you are okay and hope you get it all sorted swiftly. :) |
| Paul Lathwell |
| Glad you're OK. The F is a pretty strong car! As a matter of interest, what were your tracking settings? You cracked an alloy - front or rear and was the tyre deflated before or after the incident (if before it is more likely to be 'shredded'. N837 OGF |
| Hugh |
| Sorry to hear about the accident and glad you're OK. I had a warning once on a wet and greasy roundabout. Fortunately neither the F nor girlfriend and I were injured but I realised how easy it is to loose the rear. As a result: * I changed the tyres * I booked a skid pan training course for my grlfnd and me * I calm down my right foot when the road is wet I hope this is enough to prevent any spin. Take care Jerome |
| Jerome |
| Jerome, "* I booked a skid pan training course for my grlfnd and me" that is a very good idea, I plan to do this sometime in the future as well. In the mean time, I just treat the back end with respect when the road is damp. Steve. |
| Steve Childs |
| Shashi - sorry to hear this, and glad you're both OK. 80? Must have been majorly scary; you did well to keep it against the barrier. My F was fixed in January, after a frontal impact, by a company called UK Accident Repair Centre, in Maidstone (Kent). Basically, all of the front down to and including the sub-frame was replaced, and they did a fantastic job: they were helpful on the phone, paid attention when I told them about the coolant re-fill, and the whole experience was as good as it could be hoped to be. AND the car was great. I'd recommend them to anyone. The labour estimate was £1395.29, and I think the bits were about £3-4K. E |
| Ed Clarke |
| >Anyway, I shut up ... Paul, as sad as it is. But following also what Jerome mentioned. http://www.lame-delegation.de/mgf-net.de/kaputt/lhcp_2326.jpg resulted in this http://www.lame-delegation.de/mgf-net.de/kaputt/kaputt1.jpg (the wreck I purchased) Just a reminder to all who mean. ... can't happen to me ... :( |
| Dieter Koennecke |
| Thanks all... I'm still waiting for the insurance garage to get back to me.. I've been calling them everyday... They said that they wont be able to estimate until tomorrow, and then the Insurance's own engineer will need to inspect her, which wont happen until Friday - if I'm lucky... Her tyres were brand new almost (as I mentioned), so I'm not sure what went wrong... She had a service only 3 weeks ago (24K service - but she only had 22K on her)... She was 3yrs old... The garage said they arent sure whether the insurance company will choose to repair or write off cuz there is a lot of damage... In fact I think I might prefer write off as I also have "shortfall insurance", so if the insurance company only pays out a small amount, the shortfall will pay me back the difference from when I bought her... I know if they repair her she'll never be the same :( I didnt think 80mph was all that bad, considering I was on the M1 (70mph limit), and it was 2:30am in the morning... Oh well! I'll keep you guys posted as to what happens, and thanks again :) Shash |
| Shashi Dookhee |
| Shashi, bear in mind that if you do buy her back, after the ins. company writes her off, she'll be worth a hell of a lot less 2nd hand. A future HPI check would flag it as an insurance write off. Steve. |
| Steve Childs |
| Shashi One thing to check, if you have F1's was that when your car was serviced that they didn't take the wheels off and accidently swap them over, so the rotation was wrong, this would have the effect of drawing water into the tyre instead of expelling it..... garage once did that to me, and it took me a while to notice.... -matt M66 MAT |
| matt |
| I also would suggest that you don't admit to the insurance co the "rate of progress" you were making. If you are illegal (as you are at > the speed limit) they could try to say "insurance void" to you.... Neil. |
| Neil |
| >I didnt think 80mph was all that bad, considering I was on the M1 (70mph >limit), and it was 2:30am in the morning... I was referring more to the fact that it was wet, but still I see no need or point in continuing as the damage has been done regardless. Best of luck with repair etc. :) |
| Paul Lathwell |
| Bad luck, and glad no one was hurt. It doesn't matter how good your tyres are, if the quantity of water exceeds that which can be displaced by the tread then lift-off will occur. Obviously speed comed into the equation but who's going to go and measure the depth of water laying on the carriageway?. I had a run in with a bus almost two years ago. I was speeding, but the circumstances were favourable. Nevertheless, the bus turned right in front of me from the oncoming traffic. recently a rep from my insurers came to see me as it still has not been resolved - i told him that i was going faster than the limit, but he said don't worry, it was clearly not my fault. I might suggest that if the drainage it not up to scratch on a particular part of a motorway, then you cannot be to blame if you take off at a reasonable speed - hell, what would have happened if an emergency vehicle had hit the same bit of road at a speed of 100mph plus?? Nick |
| Nick |
| Matt, you're right. It happened to me too. They (Rover) changed the rear tyres for new ones but fitted them the wrong way ... (despite the arrows on the side of the tyre) They corrected it right after as I realized it when collecting the car ! |
| Jerome |
| Shashi- Awful to hear about your accident. I'd be devastated. Also your keyboard appears to be faulty- It keeps typing the number "80" when, in fact, you meant to type "60" because that was actually the speed you were going. Wasnt it. Cheers! Lurker G. |
| Growler |
| Losing the back when your doing around 70mph must be really scary. Another possibility is the tracking was wrong even though the tyres were not worn out (yet). If the toe settings where incorrect, this could cause your accident. Did you ask for different settings yourself? Dieter can provide more info about this from his own experience :( David |
| David |
| <<Also your keyboard appears to be faulty>> It keeps typing "she" instead if "it" too!! IT is only a car mate! |
| Dave |
| Dave, Notts >>It keeps typing "she" instead if "it" too!! IT is only a car mate! Where's your soul and compassion. Shashi has just lost a good friend. On a slightly different point, when my partner had an accident which was not her fault, and the 3rd party claimed she was speeding, both the police and the insurance companies said that speeding would not void the insurance. It might lead to the driver being prosecuted for driving without due care, or dangerous driving, but it did not generally count as negligence. Now my partners accident involved another driver pulling of a driveway without looking so the circumstances are different, but.... Anyway, you would be safer, if only from prosecution and points on licence, to suggest you were travelling at or about the speed limit. Sorry to hear about the car. Best of luck David |
| David Mills |
| Sorry to read this. But feel lucky Shashi, I know some people who had less luck at even lower speeds. an F is £20K, a (healthy) life is priceless, and to some point a wheelchair is also way too pricey. |
| Dirk |
| Hi all, Thanks for all the tips... I have no intention of telling the insurance company the speed I was doing (even tho it wasnt much over the limit).. The police officers I called when the accident happened didnt even ask me how fast I was going... but "implied" that I was doing over the limit... His exact words were... "... if you had been driving within the limit ..." ;p I wish I had my F back... I miss HER! :( Still no word from the engineers.. Spoke to them on Friday and all things are pointing to "beyond economical repair", but wont know for sure until Monday... As for tyres, I'm pretty sure that they were at the correct rotation... and my tracking settings were all "Rover standard" (and she'd been in for a service only 3 weeks prior, so shouldnt have been off at all - but I did take her to Park Lane Rover/MG, and they dont have a good track record!)... I think it may have been down to just plain old aquaplaning.. Oh well... I'll keep you posted as to what the final outcome is... Thanks! Shash |
| Shashi Dookhee |
| Hi all, The "verdict" has come through, and they have deemed her "beyond economical repair". Apparently, they stopped counting the repair costs when it reached £12,000, LOL! (and they hadnt even started on the suspension yet!). The only "good" thing to have come out of this incident is that they are paying me out about £1000 MORE than I originally paid for her 8 monthz ago! (due to Rover making a mistake and having to sell me her for about £3000 less than they were supposed to - long story!). Anywayz... I've now decided that, as much as I love the F, I will be a purchasing brand new Audi TT Roadster (225bhp model). I think I'll feel just a wee bit safer with the 4-wheel drive, and German construction ;) Talk to you all sooon.. Thanks Shash |
| Shashi Dookhee |
| Shashi Dookhee, Greater London, WROTE: < Anywayz... I've now decided that, as much as I love the F, I will be a purchasing brand new Audi TT Roadster (225bhp model). I think I'll feel just a wee bit safer with the 4-wheel drive, and German construction ;) > Never forget, the safest part of any car should always be the nut immediately behind the steering wheel. Volvo mentality, 4-wheel drive, German construction? (Princess Di?) are all meaningless myths if that most important of nuts is not secure! Safe MotorinG, whatever you drive. John. |
| John McFeely |
| Shashi Sorry to hear about your bump. Glad you're OK though. Stefan |
| Stefan Gibney |
| You and your passenger walk away from an 80mph crash unhurt and you think you need the safety of German construction? Did you not read all the stories about the people who did not walk away from the Titty crashes in Germany and over here? By the way Titties are made in Hungary! Good luck Patrick |
| Patrick |
| LOL! Well... Patrick... The TT has rollbars... The one thing I was worried about after it happened was that had my F flipped, would I still be here...? No doubt, I love the F (and will might buy one again sometime in the future as a fun car!), but without rollbars a flipped F seems like it could be disasterous... The TT, with rollbars, should protect me at least a bit in such an event... and the 4-wheel drive should help with better traction should I hit another "puddle" ;) And the construction on the TT (regardless of where it's made!) cant be contested with! Oh, and I know about the TT problems with stability... But that was fixed in the new ones! Almost all cars have teething problems when first released... ;p Thanks again all for all your kind comments, etc, and I will still come here regularly... :) Shash |
| Shashi Dookhee |
| Shashi, you missed a lot of stuff in your short BBS live ;-) >Almost all cars have teething problems when first released... ;p Special with not experianced drivers :) Some came to death cause lack of .. Anyway, I wish you all the best with the A3 on different chassis = TT, but leaving the (nearly) true roadster live. Cheers Dieter |
| Dieter Koennecke |
| The F screen surround combined with the bonded screen offer quite some protection, Gareth flipped his F over six times and walked away without a scratch (see Crash test Dummies http://www.dotcomoff.demon.co.uk/ ). I have heard of several cases of people walking away from a serious accident in an F. As far as I can tell, Dirks reference to the F had nothing to do with his statistic. Suggesting that the MGF relates directly to fatal accidents is completely misleading and untrue. Dirk, I really find it hard to believe that you could go this low. Any way you can suggest a problem with the MGF, valid or invalid, you will. People must be informed with facts not biased rhetoric, otherwise they are unable to make sensible decisions that effect them, shame on you. Why do people feel safe in a car with a roof and no roll bars. In the case of an accident where a car with a roof rolls over, you have a good chance of the roof collapsing in, so in fact the difference in protection is quite small. Many other open top sports cars have no roll bar behind the seats, some that do, don't rely on them in an accident because they are more for visual effect than for real protection. |
| Tony Smith |
>As far as I can tell, Dirks reference to the F had nothing to do with his statistic. Suggesting that the MGF relates directly to fatal accidents is completely misleading and untrue. Dirk, I really find it hard to believe that you could go this low. Any way you can suggest a problem with the MGF, valid or invalid, you will. People must be informed with facts not biased rhetoric, otherwise they are unable to make sensible decisions that effect them, shame on you. Tony, I didn't get the feeling that Dirk was suggesting anything of the kind. I believe he meant it as a general comment about people not being so lucky in a car (any car) accident. ...But then, I might be wrong. Marc |
| Marc |
| And anyway, no-one who's been killed in an F has ever posted here, have they? ;-) E |
| Ed Clarke |
| Tony, knock it off, you start to see ghosts everywhere. I referred not to MGF but to people I knew personally or in accidents I saw with my own eyes, who got killed: Porsche Carrera, Ford Scorpio, MG Metro (...), Vauxhall/Opel Kadett, BMW 5 series I was especially thinking of a good girlfriend who got killed at only 30mph, just sliding off the road (icy road), straight into a trench filled with water and car flipped over because of the steep trench. Couldn't get out and only head was (upside down) in the water. She drowned in a gruelsome way I heard afterwards (she ripped he own nails apart onto the doorpanel)... R.I.P. So I will NOT take any criticism nor jokes about such events, so if you still haven't understood me, I'd given you a nasty kick if you were present giving me such a "People must be informed with facts not biased rhetoric" reply! F U ! Whether you drive a Ferrari, MGF, Mini or Honda, death makes no difference. Hopefully it won't happen to anyone on this BBS, not even you... peace |
| Dirk |
This thread was discussed between 23/04/2001 and 11/05/2001
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