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How can you drive into a parked car...


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Went to Wisbech today to visit the Peckover house gardens. Lovely house and gardens and interesting old port town.
Parked the car (Golf GTE) on a side road, came back 90 min later to find the rear bumper broken and a red BMW half across the pavement.
Seems the BMW was going too fast, couldn't stop and crashed into the back of my Golf and then went over the pavement into a wall. It seems he tried to reverse away but couldn't turn the steering, so dumped the car. No driver to be seen, car left where it was.
The Golf is fine just a damaged bumper (I think) no other visible damage, but the BWM was undrivable with the wing pushed into the front wheel, and bonnet bent and front panel distorted..
All I can think is that the rear of the Golf in very heavily engineered, its a hybrid so the battery is under the floor of the boot, so maybe its designed to protect the battery. You don't want a lithium battery being smashed open....
Police called, but didn't turn up, important incident number obtained and hopefully they will go after the BMW driver for not stopping after a RTA. 
Still really pissed off as the car has only done 20k miles and I know it will cost me thru the insurance and I am very fond of the car.... I hope they don't find any more damage under the car. Seems to drive ok.
Just glad I hadn't taken the Herald today as I expect it would have written off....

Mike

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Edited by mpbarrett
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My daughter did check the DVLA it is MOT'ed until Feb 9 and Taxed until April. Unless it has been stolen (or claimed to be stolen...) ...

I am slightly worried about how much damage has been done to the Golf that not visible... Will have to wait and see....

Mike

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Seems like a lot.  Even allowing for expensive paint being among the consumables, and £100/h Labour, they seem to charging for about 3 man days. Which is a long time to paint and fit a bumper.

Is the other guys insurance paying?

You’ll get stung on renewal either way unfortunately 

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+1! And potentially NCB hit.

Couple of years a ago a hire car I had in France got nudged whilst parked. Small Ford. Rear indicator cover cracked and some surface scratches in bumper. Apparently a new bumper was required and as confirmed by someone knowledgable on another site, sufficient quantity of paint to respray the car three times over! I queried all the costs and advised my excess insurers that I had done so. Answer was they couldn't care less as they made so much profit from selling the insurance!

Miles

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Our daily drive, a 15yr old Audi Allroad recently blew the oil cooler "O" rings and dumped 9ltrs of oil very quickly, big Red flashing oil can on the dash display! Cost of new part about £5. Labour to get at said oil cooler and replace seals, just short of £800! Had to take the whole of the front off the car to get access.

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1 hour ago, John I said:

Had to take the whole of the front off the car to get access.

This is true.... but it is designed that way and is not especially hard or time consuming to do, especially when you are an Audi tech who probably has to do it several times a day, every day.  After a bit of practice I could get the front off my A8 in about 10 minutes, including getting the headlights out.  I've not had my hands on an Allroad (they contain the V6 TDI I've sworn to avoid!) so I don't know how much deeper the cooler is embedded.  Usually though the engine oil cooler is a liquid/liquid one and either between the oil filter and the block or bolted to the block.  It is the latter on and A8 and a 5 star swearathon due to access issues, but the V6 TDI looks like it ought to be easy.  Autobox fluid cooler is usually part of the radiator.

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This unfortunately is a V8 and they dress the engine then put in the mounded space they call an engine bay, can't even get your hand down the sides it's so tight. Oil cooler bolted onto engine very low down on drivers side, and yes it's a wet/wet cooler so four coolant hoses to come off as well. Lovely job to get grazed hands and wet as all the cooling system/rads have to come off!

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Yes very expensive, but it has done more damage, as I expected, under the car than I could see/notice including the exhaust, metal work/structure behind bumper and the corner of the rear hatch is bent. An impressive 2 pages of proposed work.
The car was parked close to the kerb if you look at the rear wheel the car has moved about 3 inches from the kerb so it has had a very heavy impact.
They are also doing an a alignment check before they start the work to see if the car is or isn't bent...

Yes its being claimed off the other guys insurance, and my insurance company has approved the cost of the work, and yes I expect it  will cost me lots in the future... :( 

But at least my Herald has passed her MOT today with no advisories. I did 3200 miles in her last year mostly from being thrashed around Scotland :)

mike

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Sounds like the good old trusty Herald is in for some unexpected miles! Modern cars are great but they are so tightly put together that the damage gets transmitted through many parts. Hope the other driver gets his dues for wandering off without leaving you his number:down: Fingers crossed it all gets sorted quickly.

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1 hour ago, John I said:

Sounds like the good old trusty Herald is in for some unexpected miles! Modern cars are great but they are so tightly put together that the damage gets transmitted through many parts. Hope the other driver gets his dues for wandering off without leaving you his number:down: Fingers crossed it all gets sorted quickly.

thanks.
all a bit stressful, you get all the comfortable words from the insurance companies but you have to be aware of being ripped off...
We will see :)

Mike

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1 hour ago, John I said:

This unfortunately is a V8 and they dress the engine then put in the mounded space they call an engine bay, can't even get your hand down the sides it's so tight. Oil cooler bolted onto engine very low down on drivers side, and yes it's a wet/wet cooler so four coolant hoses to come off as well. Lovely job to get grazed hands and wet as all the cooling system/rads have to come off!

Didn’t know you could get the Allroad in V8 form back then. That certainly explains it. One of the legendary “features” of the V8 and an example of the sort of application where the use of plastic (the o-ring holders) is a bad idea

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