Shortest life of car?

[Maxf]

I remember reading (a long time ago, when I was a kid) that a Maclaren F1 was written off on the way home, during it's first journey. Something makes me think it was the boss of BMW at the time who crashed it.

I cant find anything online though - anybody remember this, or is my mind playing tricks on me?

[Morningside]

I know someone who was delivering a brand new Volvo from one dealer branch to another she managed to roll it(!)
Customer not happy and she was sacked that day.

[Dalto123]

Many moons ago my dads collegue bought a lovely new E36 BMW 3 Series coupe. Sadly he never got to drive it because it 'fell off' the back of the truck it was being delievered on onto the motorway.

[Kickstart68]

Hi

Not written off, but maybe should have been. Someone we knew bought a one year old early 911. First weekend driving in Ireland the front suspension mounts collapsed due to loads of rust. Also knew someone who ran a car dealership. There ~2 year old kid was in the dealership, got into a car and turned the key that had been left in it, with the car launching through the front window and about 2 feet onto the ground. Think it was repaired.

LuS1fer said:

Ah, anyone remember the Honda motorcycle lousy reliability years? 70s and 80s.
Friend bought a CX500 and it didn't even make it home - Honda fitted incorrect big end shells to early CXs.

Know someone who worked in a Honda dealer when the CX500 first came out. They said they had rented garages all over town stuffed full of bikes waiting for warranty repairs.

All the best

Keith

[a11y_m]

Fiat Punto 1.1 SX. Bought new in 1996 as a second car (for use by mum). Dad/me collect it from dealership and head "around the block" for a quick drive, my dad driving. Rear-ends a queue of cars at traffic lights less than 10min/3miles from garage. IIRC ~£1.8k worth of damage to the Punto and a further ~£2k to the other 2 cars. We arrived home with my mum waiting to see her new car for the first time. That took some explaining.

Wasn't the shortest life as it was repaired and went on to be crashed again a year later, unfortunately as a result of youthful exuberance on my part...

[750turbo]

Mikeyboy said:

750turbo and the OP, why bother to get these cars repaired they have supplied you with defective goods. Get them to actually REPLACE THE CAR. Its your right and doesn't show up when you want to sell the car as one that has had all sorts of work done on it just to make it move

And yes 750turbo i'm aware its your colleagues car.

I think in my case this is governed by the Lease Company (GE Capital from memory). They actually seem to be a bloody nightmare to deal with, on all levels from what I have heard.

As long as we are not left carless, then they really do not seem to care.

I opted out years ago so do not need to deal with all this nonsense now.

Edited by 750turbo on Friday 2nd December 18:59

[750turbo]

Just remembered this from around 10 years ago...

I was working in Germany, not far from the MB factory in Sindelfingen, staying in a local Hotel.

One weekend there was a MASSIVE thunderstorm, and loads of the MB's at the factory got panel damage from hail stones. MB arranged for Dent Devil (I think they were called that) repairers to fly in from USA to help repairing the damaged panels.

It seems that whoever was checking the work done, was very pernickety, as there was a load of moaning by the yanks at the bar in the evening.

Now would you buy a new car if you had known that it already had extensive panel damage repaired?

(Also I have to add, I have NEVER stayed in a place with so many, ill mannered, selfish cocks in my life!)

[Morningside]

Kickstart68 said:

Hi

Not written off, but maybe should have been. Someone we knew bought a one year old early 911. First weekend driving in Ireland the front suspension mounts collapsed due to loads of rust. Also knew someone who ran a car dealership. There ~2 year old kid was in the dealership, got into a car and turned the key that had been left in it, with the car launching through the front window and about 2 feet onto the ground. Think it was repaired.

LuS1fer said:

Ah, anyone remember the Honda motorcycle lousy reliability years? 70s and 80s.
Friend bought a CX500 and it didn't even make it home - Honda fitted incorrect big end shells to early CXs.

Know someone who worked in a Honda dealer when the CX500 first came out. They said they had rented garages all over town stuffed full of bikes waiting for warranty repairs.

All the best

Keith

I remember an old saying at the time:

Go yonder on a Honda and come back by bus.

[busta]

I did my work experience at Lotus around the time the S2 elise was first released. One chap in the factory told me that a lady had bought a new elise and asked to collect it from the factory, fresh off the production line. As she drove out of the factory gates, she lost control and hit a tree on the opposite side of the road. The car was recovered, stripped of all it's broken bits and put straight back on the production line for a second lap!

[General Price]

stu67 said:

Many moon's ago had a couple of very short life cars, luckily not owned by me. I worked for VW up in Milton Keynes and would get a new company car every 3-4 months dependant on milage.
1. Golf V5, dead gearbox M1, the car only had about 100 miles on it and at the time VW couldn't get a spare gearbox
2. Passat 1.8T, picked up from depot other side of MK coming back through town center somone T boned me at a roundabout
3. Wife had Polo lease car, thought I'd use it the day after I picked it up and a beer lorry ran into the back of me whilst I was stationary at jct14 of the M1. Had to climb through what was left of the front screen, unrecognisable as a car! 42 miles on it.

Must remember,never accept a lift from stu.

[Dave_]

Ok so not a car but i seen a cummins truck engine seizing on the production line!

The oil nozzle failed and nobody knew , started up and seized about 7 minutes later with no oil in it.

Winner surely?

[2DDav]

750turbo said:

Just remembered this from around 10 years ago...

I was working in Germany, not far from the MB factory in Sindelfingen, staying in a local Hotel.

One weekend there was a MASSIVE thunderstorm, and loads of the MB's at the factory got panel damage from hail stones. MB arranged for Dent Devil (I think they were called that) repairers to fly in from USA to help repairing the damaged panels.

It seems that whoever was checking the work done, was very pernickety, as there was a load of moaning by the yanks at the bar in the evening.

Now would you buy a new car if you had known that it already had extensive panel damage repaired?

(Also I have to add, I have NEVER stayed in a place with so many, ill mannered, selfish cocks in my life!)

Similar thing happened to Vauxhall a few years ago. A load of cars were sitting at the docks (Zeebrugee IIRC) and there was a bad hailstorm which resulted in a lot of them being written off before they had even been shipped.

[Citman]

Surely the almost 2,900 cars lost when the cargo vessel carrying them, the MV Tricolor, sunk in the English Channel in 2002 wins by virtue of the sheer quantity of "delivery miles" vehicles lost...?

http://jalopnik.com/MV-Tricolor/

[Fastdruid]

Citman said:

Surely the almost 2,900 cars lost when the cargo vessel carrying them, the MV Tricolor, sunk in the English Channel in 2002 wins by virtue of the sheer quantity of "delivery miles" vehicles lost...?

http://jalopnik.com/MV-Tricolor/

If we're playing that game then I believe the Cougar Ace tops it with 4703 cars on board. All scrapped.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cougar_Ace

[pacman1]

http://www.motorauthority.com/news/1060424_car-tra...

[ShampooEfficient]

Twincharged said:

Pah, you call that a Golf crash?

This is a Golf crash:

Christ on a bike.

[Liquid Knight]

My neighbour bought his daughter a Ford KA for Christmas. Had it delivered Christmas Eve on a flat bed and had just six miles on the clock when a drunk driver being chased by the Police went through his wall and wrote off all four cars on his drive (wifes 206CC, sons 106GTi and his Nissan Skyline).

Bricks from the wall went through three of his house windows and some even ended up in the greenhouse at the end of the back garden (300 Yards over the house). The drunks car ended up ballanced on top of his garage where his three (ZZR1100, ZX10 and XLH883) and sons (R1) bikes were kept.

Edited by Liquid Knight on Sunday 4th December 14:59

[Madmatt74]

Liquid Knight said:

My neighbour bought his daughter a Ford KA for Christmas. Had it delivered Christmas Eve on a flat bed and had just six miles on the clock when a drunk driver being chased by the Police went through his wall and wrote off all four cars on his drive (wifes 206CC, sons 106GTi and his Nissan Skyline).

Bricks from the wall went through three of his house windows and some even ended up in the greenhouse at the end of the back garden (300 Yards over the house). The drunks car ended up ballanced on top of his garage where his three (ZZR1100, ZX10 and XLH883) and sons (R1) bikes were kept.

Edited by Liquid Knight on Sunday 4th December 14:59

• Singing*

5 broken cars
4 broken bikes
3 smashed windows
2 chasing plod
and a drunk driver stuck in a tree!

[Madmatt74]

Didnt japanesse factories get flooded in the Tsunami?

Cant think what Jags they were but around the D Type era that got burned in the factory.

Cant imagin many Delorian's rolled of the production line working!

[PKLD]

A little update:

Car failed on Thursday and was phoned by a mechanic on Friday saying it was ready for me to pick it up. I said that I'm expecting it to be delivered to me as I'm working all weekend. Said I'd have to talk to sales as he couldn't organise that.

I then phone the girl who sold me they car but she had been told nothing about it. After telling her about the car failing all she said was 'well its fixed now though - benefit of having a warranty.' WTF?!

I asked her to get it to my house (less than 3 miles from the dealer) but she couldn't as it has to be one of the service guys.

So I collect it last night and they hadn't even bothered to wash it despite it being ready since Friday morning. I asked what I was getting as a gesture of customer service and she blanked me and looked at me as if I was an idiot and how dare I ask such a thing.

I said that even though I don't want to I will reject the car unless a small gesture is made. She said that she'd have to speak (her words) 'to the big boss' what you mean the dealer principle? Regional manager? Service manager UK? Sales director UK? 'big boss' WTF?

So PH what should I reasonably expect/ask for?

1. Nothing - they've fixed it as per warranty
2. Free first service (about £200 I think)
3. Mats & wee daft accessories that I wouldnt pay for but would like if free (worth about £100)
4. Be more of an arse and reject the car (which I don't want to do as when it's working it's been exactly what I want)

Edited by PKLD on Sunday 4th December 15:54