NOT a happy Christmas.
Discussion
My pride and joy ( was immac 4.3 Grif )is trashed at both ends after bouncing into armco on both sides of a dual carriageway slip road.Last night at 9.30.p.m.
One second enjoying the return trip from the Surrey TVRCC meet, the next fraction of a second and the car is being destroyed all around me.
Anyway the good news is I walked away physically ok, but what a massive shock, it just all seemed so unreal. One minute you are driving a car without even a finger print on it , the next second bits of Grif are spread over 100 yards of motorway.
Firstly a big thankyou to Nick (RO North Kent) who had both soothing words and organised for 2 guys from the Surrey meet to come out and help. To both Steve and Alan, who oversaw the recovery and generally hung around in the bitter cold , listening to the babblings of one very shocked Grif owner, in between police cars x 2 ( yes negative on the B test) fire engines x 2 ( oil and mud to be cleaned of motorway ) , motorway emergancy repair vehicles x 2 ( armco bent that will be 2 grand from your insurers sir ! )recovery vehicle x 1, quite a collection !!
Anyway, Grif is about to be taken from my home to Gatwick TVR (was Mole Valley)for assessment, so I will find out in the next few hours if a write off.
Any helpful comments on the next steps, particularly if you are talking from personal experience would be gratefully received.
One shocked but happy to be alive TVR owner.
MIchael
One second enjoying the return trip from the Surrey TVRCC meet, the next fraction of a second and the car is being destroyed all around me.
Anyway the good news is I walked away physically ok, but what a massive shock, it just all seemed so unreal. One minute you are driving a car without even a finger print on it , the next second bits of Grif are spread over 100 yards of motorway.
Firstly a big thankyou to Nick (RO North Kent) who had both soothing words and organised for 2 guys from the Surrey meet to come out and help. To both Steve and Alan, who oversaw the recovery and generally hung around in the bitter cold , listening to the babblings of one very shocked Grif owner, in between police cars x 2 ( yes negative on the B test) fire engines x 2 ( oil and mud to be cleaned of motorway ) , motorway emergancy repair vehicles x 2 ( armco bent that will be 2 grand from your insurers sir ! )recovery vehicle x 1, quite a collection !!
Anyway, Grif is about to be taken from my home to Gatwick TVR (was Mole Valley)for assessment, so I will find out in the next few hours if a write off.
Any helpful comments on the next steps, particularly if you are talking from personal experience would be gratefully received.
One shocked but happy to be alive TVR owner.
MIchael
Michael,
It was good to see you were OK - but the car did look pretty bad...
I'm pretty glad that I left my TVR at home - I'm surprised that you had an accident as you are normally a pretty careful driver but as you said last night - it went away quick .. one moment normal - the next bouncing from the armco.
If anyone wants to know why : the road had just been gritted and it was like marbles...
Even my shopping car (Focus) was all edgy and a bit loose.. be careful out there.
It was good to see you were OK - but the car did look pretty bad...
I'm pretty glad that I left my TVR at home - I'm surprised that you had an accident as you are normally a pretty careful driver but as you said last night - it went away quick .. one moment normal - the next bouncing from the armco.
If anyone wants to know why : the road had just been gritted and it was like marbles...
Even my shopping car (Focus) was all edgy and a bit loose.. be careful out there.
Which road was this on?
Could a complaint be made to the council/police about the road surface and the possible danger it poses?
I have to admit that my Griff always feels very sure footed, so I get a bit worried when I hear about this sort of accident as it seams to me that it could catch any of us unaware.
David
Could a complaint be made to the council/police about the road surface and the possible danger it poses?
I have to admit that my Griff always feels very sure footed, so I get a bit worried when I hear about this sort of accident as it seams to me that it could catch any of us unaware.
David
Sorry to hear of your incident - I know how that feeling of disbelief is, just glad you are OK.
I remember when I was out this time last year in the Tuscan being filmed for TV, that the cold and damp really took away the grip. That is in the absence of snow and ice - just a cold day. I set off from traffic lights and hit 50mph in 2nd, but the wheels started to spin. Fortunately, I was going in a straight line, so cooming off the throttle reined it all back in again. A bit scary though. It would be interesting to hear why you think this happened to you.
I remember when I was out this time last year in the Tuscan being filmed for TV, that the cold and damp really took away the grip. That is in the absence of snow and ice - just a cold day. I set off from traffic lights and hit 50mph in 2nd, but the wheels started to spin. Fortunately, I was going in a straight line, so cooming off the throttle reined it all back in again. A bit scary though. It would be interesting to hear why you think this happened to you.
David,
It was on the M25 slip road (A3 Junction) heading towards Gatwick (East)..
It's one of those concrete roads .. not the best traction in the world .. but TVR's do have more than enough power to provoke a tail slide in these kind of
conditions.
Bloody shame... that was one nice Griffith !
It was on the M25 slip road (A3 Junction) heading towards Gatwick (East)..
It's one of those concrete roads .. not the best traction in the world .. but TVR's do have more than enough power to provoke a tail slide in these kind of
conditions.
Bloody shame... that was one nice Griffith !
My Esprit was written off a couple of weeks ago. I contacted the insurance company who removed the wreck within half an hour of the accident.
The car was then taken to a yard where the insurance guys checked in out. Within 4 days they then sent me a letter asking for service history, purchase receipt, mot and any other work done. This I supplied and they then phoned me up last week and agreed to pay me the full purchase price of the vehicle. I am now waiting for the cheque and looking for a new car.
Rgds
Dictys
The car was then taken to a yard where the insurance guys checked in out. Within 4 days they then sent me a letter asking for service history, purchase receipt, mot and any other work done. This I supplied and they then phoned me up last week and agreed to pay me the full purchase price of the vehicle. I am now waiting for the cheque and looking for a new car.
Rgds
Dictys
Michael,
I'm so glad to hear that you are feeling okay. We were all stunned at the Surrey meet last night and I was so glad that Steve managed to find you. Cars can be fixed, you're still intact which is much more important. The road was like a skating rink last night. Alan took me home in the focus and the road surface felt none too clever.
The Griff will be out fighting again in next to no time.
I hope that you feel better soon. I've been there and it knocks the stuffing out of you.
All my love and best wishes,
Karen
Surrey RO
I'm so glad to hear that you are feeling okay. We were all stunned at the Surrey meet last night and I was so glad that Steve managed to find you. Cars can be fixed, you're still intact which is much more important. The road was like a skating rink last night. Alan took me home in the focus and the road surface felt none too clever.
The Griff will be out fighting again in next to no time.
I hope that you feel better soon. I've been there and it knocks the stuffing out of you.
All my love and best wishes,
Karen
Surrey RO
Glad to hear your ok Michael, even if the Griff isn't.
How do you think the person on the motorbike must feel then????
david010167 said:
I should have been at the Surrey meet last night, but met a friend who needed a chat as he had just hit a motorbike in his car, and he was quite shook up so I can only imagine the scare you had.
David
How do you think the person on the motorbike must feel then????
Sorry if my post came out odd, I did not mean any disrespect to the guy on the bike, I only knew how my friend reacted to the bike hitting him.
It appears from what I was told; that the bike pulled out from behind a queue of cars to overtake the cars in town. My friend was at the front of the queue turning right, the bike hit him square on to the front driver wheel and the guy on the bike went over the bonnet of car, the guy on the bike was taken to hospital, but was walking and talking, so I am hoping it was a precautionary meassure by the police.
David
>> Edited by david010167 on Thursday 18th December 13:53
It appears from what I was told; that the bike pulled out from behind a queue of cars to overtake the cars in town. My friend was at the front of the queue turning right, the bike hit him square on to the front driver wheel and the guy on the bike went over the bonnet of car, the guy on the bike was taken to hospital, but was walking and talking, so I am hoping it was a precautionary meassure by the police.
David
sagalout said:
Glad to hear your ok Michael, even if the Griff isn't.
david010167 said:
I should have been at the Surrey meet last night, but met a friend who needed a chat as he had just hit a motorbike in his car, and he was quite shook up so I can only imagine the scare you had.
David
How do you think the person on the motorbike must feel then????
>> Edited by david010167 on Thursday 18th December 13:53
Just back from Gatwick TVR, first glance is that repair v value will be a close call . For obvious reasons need to avoid it being classed as a right off. They will put it on ramps for a full detail inspection and estimate either today or Friday.
Guess I will be locked in battle with Ins.co re value.
I have the best service file from new, 20K worth of bills, looked after regardless etc, and is (was) generally regarded as one of the best 4.3's out there. Any comments on value ?
Michael
Guess I will be locked in battle with Ins.co re value.
I have the best service file from new, 20K worth of bills, looked after regardless etc, and is (was) generally regarded as one of the best 4.3's out there. Any comments on value ?
Michael
M J H said:
Any comments on value ?
I wouldn't like to venture a figure but there are (at least) two types of insurance policy. 'Market value' is basically trade - ie you won't be able to get a like-for-like replacement for the payout. 'Agreed Value' requires a third party valuation and should, in theory, pay whatever was agreed in the event of a write-off. Good luck and don't let the b@stards grind you down!
Check your insurance paperwork carefully. My paper work said that they would only pay upto the market value or the purchase price whichever was the lower.
I was prepared for a fight but they offered the full purchase price which I was happy with.
Make sure you do your research, find out at what price the griff sell at via as many sources you can. They will offer you a settlement figure and if you disagree then you have to prove to them that your figure is correct. A price from a TVR specialist would help your cause.
Rgds
Dictys
I was prepared for a fight but they offered the full purchase price which I was happy with.
Make sure you do your research, find out at what price the griff sell at via as many sources you can. They will offer you a settlement figure and if you disagree then you have to prove to them that your figure is correct. A price from a TVR specialist would help your cause.
Rgds
Dictys
Gassing Station | General TVR Stuff & Gossip | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff