nstrug
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| posted on 9/9/09 at 06:29 PM |
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Disaster
I've already posted this on the Dax forum but thought I would repost here as there is a much larger readership.
----posted on dax forum----
I had an accident today. Lost the back end on a greasy, slightly damp roundabout. and hit a traffic island with an 8" kerb - I was only doing
25-30 but a massive lump of granite kerb took it's toll :cry:
Luckily me and my passenger are ok.
Damage is pretty serious, probably a write-off.
There is some minor stuff (bent wishbone, crushed exhaust)
But the worst of it is the n/s lower sill rail (by the seat) has been bent in by about 2", and the n/s crosspiece that runs between the lower
sill rail and the inner rail has bent down by 1". The lower side intrusion bar is bent too. From the rear, it looks like the whole chassis is
twisted.
The engine hasn't moved at all and all other damage is very minor.
I'm guessing the insurance company will write off due to the bent chassis?
I can post photos tomorrow probably.
I'm too numb to even talk. It just feels like a nightmare.
I haven't called the insurance company yet and was planning on bringing the car home myself with a dolly tomorrow (it rolls fine). Will this
invalidate my claim?
How do I approach the insurance company? I've never had an accident in my life.
I'm in a state of complete shock.
----end of post----
Following this post I looked at my insurance docs and found I can't claim in any case as my insurance has small print excluding driving to or
from my place of work.
The parts list is fairly minor (1 wishbone, maybe a wheel, the exhaust, nosecone).
The real problem is the chassis. Is it even possible to repair spaceframe chassis, or should I just order a new one from Dax?
I will get the car home tomorrow and take some photos (if I can face it) at the weekend.
I'm just so SO heartbroken 
I've never had so much as a parking scrape in over 20 years of driving.
Also, what are the registration issues if I replace the original chassis with an identical one? My understanding is that I can retain the
registration.
I think that replacing the broken bits (including the chassis) will cost me the best part of £1500. The real problem is not the money, it's the
time and feeling an absolute damn fool 
Nick
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l0rd
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| posted on 9/9/09 at 06:34 PM |
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Sorry to hear that. I am sure that someone will be able to tell you what you can do.
At least, you and the passenger are ok.
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snapper
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| posted on 9/9/09 at 06:36 PM |
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You weren't going to work, you were popping round to the garage to fill up.
If your policy is parts then a new chassis is a part and you can just add all the other bits to it.
Get positive, and the problems will be solved, I now you feel awful and a rebuild will take time but you have most of the things you need right
there.
All the best.
I eat to survive
I drink to forget
I breath to pi55 my ex wife off (and now my ex partner)
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Dangle_kt
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| posted on 9/9/09 at 06:36 PM |
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How would the insurance company know you were going to work?
I'd delete all these posts (on dax forum too in case insurance does some digging) and claim you were on a leisure drive. If they discover your
work collegue was in the car, then its easy to explain that they are your friend to, and you were taking them for a spin
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l0rd
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| posted on 9/9/09 at 06:37 PM |
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Can i quickly ask what would the case be with DVLA?
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Ben_Copeland
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| posted on 9/9/09 at 06:53 PM |
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If the chassis is bent they will probably right it off... Do you want to go through IVA etc again.... You can repair the chassis easy enough.
Everything else is replacable.
I'd fix and put back on the road.
Ben
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CRAIGR
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| posted on 9/9/09 at 07:04 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by Dangle_kt
How would the insurance company know you were going to work?
I'd delete all these posts (on dax forum too in case insurance does some digging) and claim you were on a leisure drive. If they discover your
work collegue was in the car, then its easy to explain that they are your friend to, and you were taking them for a spin
I'm with him ^^^^^
Edited to add gutted for you also.
[Edited on 9/9/09 by CRAIGR]
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shaun fulcrum
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| posted on 9/9/09 at 07:12 PM |
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I know that racers usually cut out the bent bits and weld in new bits. sounds obvious but if it works on the race track surely good enough for road
driving?
Correct me if i'm wrong.
Shaun
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eznfrank
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| posted on 9/9/09 at 07:15 PM |
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Well, I'll go against the flow and applaud you for being honest and fair and admitting that you weren't covered as you were driving to
work. Not many people would do that.
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JoelP
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| posted on 9/9/09 at 07:29 PM |
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they usually allow a perminant place of work dont they?
Anyway, theres no way they can prove you were driving to work. You could say you were driving to the chip shop and then walking to work from there.
However, if you dont feel confident having them on then dont try, as bad liars never suceed.
They may write the car off but in reality its a fairly easy fix and probably only a DVLA inspection, not a full IVA test.
Might be worth just doing it yourself though on the sly, as you would have to disclose this accident to your other insurers, ie tintop, and it may
affect those premiums.
Look on the bright side, its a chance to rebuild the car as you want it now, with more experience, and no need to do it to IVA spec.
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l0rd
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| posted on 9/9/09 at 07:32 PM |
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I remember a while ago, i read that there was a damaged westfield but one that had an early lotus 7 chassis before they had problems with caterhams.
I believe that the person took it to westfield and was lucky enough as westfield had one chassis left in stock from that era which they stamped it
with his damaged VIN number and swapped the parts?
Correct me if I am wrong. My memory sometimes is playing up.
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001Ben
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| posted on 9/9/09 at 08:11 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by CRAIGR
quote:
Originally posted by Dangle_kt
How would the insurance company know you were going to work?
I'd delete all these posts (on dax forum too in case insurance does some digging) and claim you were on a leisure drive. If they discover your
work collegue was in the car, then its easy to explain that they are your friend to, and you were taking them for a spin
I'm with him ^^^^^
Edited to add gutted for you also.
[Edited on 9/9/09 by CRAIGR]
I am with them too. If you can't afford to repair, delete these threads and contact your insurance!
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wrigglypig
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| posted on 9/9/09 at 08:53 PM |
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As Joel says a permenant place of work is included, if not I'd be hitting the deleate button big time. Good luck in whatever you choose,
I'm Gutted for you
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nick205
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| posted on 9/9/09 at 09:11 PM |
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Can't be sure without seeing the damage, but steel space frame chassis are usually repairable.
My first thoughts would be to contact Dax with photos and see what they suggest. They may be able to repair on the their jigs and ensure everything
is correct. Alternatively, speak to someone like AB Performance who prepare and repair race chassis on a regular basis. They should also be able to
advise.
Whatever you do, do it quick as if you do end up having to report to the insurers you can't leave it very long.
The self loathing is always the worst element of such an "event" and the damage usually take less to correct than you first think.
Good Luck and don't beat yourself up over it 
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BenB
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| posted on 9/9/09 at 09:22 PM |
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Considering how far the insurance companies go to avoid paying up in the event of a fair enough accident I think it only fair that you do your best to
play them at their own game and work on the principle that unless they can prove you were going to / from work you weren't.... I'm
normally quite pedantic about these things, honesty etc but insurance companies rack me off. They take your money for years without complaining but
then when you need to claim.......
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ReMan
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| posted on 9/9/09 at 09:36 PM |
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VERY few allow a commute on the insurace, I paid extra for mine to include it.
Honour an integrity, whilst nice, should be forgotton and deleted along with this thread.....
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bi22le
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| posted on 9/9/09 at 09:44 PM |
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I am going through the same situation with my MAC 1. I think mine will be a right off due to the total cost of all the parts. As far as I understand
there is no problems with replacing your chassis LIKE FOR LIKE and transferring you VIN plate.
Im glad you are ok and good luck with the insurance. Mine is going ok at the mo but Im still unconvinced of a good service untill I get a good pay
out!
Track days ARE the best thing since sliced bread, until I get a supercharger that is!
Please read my ring story:
http://www.locostbuilders.co.uk/forum/13/viewthread.php?tid=139152&page=1
Me doing a sub 56sec lap around Brands Indy. I need a geo set up! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHksfvIGB3I
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nstrug
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| posted on 9/9/09 at 10:40 PM |
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Thanks for all the supportive messages.
Feeling a bit better about things now. I went to the pub with Poppy, bro and sis in law and now feel a lot better.
Bumped into a chap at the pub who works for Mclaren, he's put me in touch with Gartrac (just down the road) who he reckons could give me a fair
assessment of the chassis and whether it is repairable or not.
Regarding insurance, I've decided not to get them involved, which is actually a weight off my mind.
A work colleague went out to photograph the roundabout (it's on a private estate) for evidence, and found some pretty interesting stuff -
grease, oil, screws, nylon rope fragments, plenty of loose gravel. I don't normally go out that way but they were operating a diversion
today.
My o/s front tyre was completely collapsed after the spin which may have been part of the cause - I will inspect tomorrow to see what caused the
collapse. The o/s was completely untouched in the accident, so the only reason for the collapse would be a puncture or rolling off the bead
(unlikely).
Again, thanks for the support.
Still gutted, but a few pints and being in my local surrounded by my favourite people has really helped.
Now at home with a cup of tea and being cuddled by Ted (a German Shepherd Dog before you all start to wonder.)
Nick
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nstrug
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| posted on 9/9/09 at 10:48 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by eznfrank
Well, I'll go against the flow and applaud you for being honest and fair and admitting that you weren't covered as you were driving to
work. Not many people would do that.
Actually, I wasn't driving to work. I'd already got to work, and was taking a mate out for a lunchtime run.
Luckily, he races karts, so he's incapable of telling whether he broke any (more) ribs in the crash or not He's also very kindly
offered to help in the strip-down and rebuild.
Sometime you forget just how nice most people are, including the 2 builders who helped me push the car back to work so I could park it in the covered
carpark, and the other guy at work who is lending me his towing dolly, and the other guys at work who went and took photographs of the scene.
Tomorrow, I'm hoping to get lots of hugs off all the admin girlies...
Nick
[Edited on 9/9/09 by nstrug]
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Guinness
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| posted on 10/9/09 at 06:28 AM |
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Sorry to hear of your misfortune.
I hope it all comes back together better, stronger and faster than ever before.
Mike
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Gergely
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| posted on 10/9/09 at 07:29 AM |
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Sorry to hear what happened.
Many of us have gone through similar moments (engine failures, accidents, etc), the important thing is that you are both fine. You will feel better
about the accident soon.
(I still haven't been able to watch the onboard footage of our engine throwing a rod it hurts so much... but the car is now back on the road
with a new engine).
Good luck with the rebuild, get working on it and you will soon forget the accident if you focus on the job ahead.
Gergely
Our build pictures
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bigpig
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| posted on 10/9/09 at 07:42 AM |
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As others have said, you may be able to repair more of the chassis than you think.
If I recall, you didn't need to SVA (ask Hellfire I think he did a chassis swap), if it is an original manufaturer replacement chassis as there
is no design change. As said you may need a DVLA inspection if its a new chassis number.
If the chassis is not twisted along its length then it you could have some tubes removed and replaced.
If you want to look on the good side, if there are little bits you were not happy with during the build or things that you could have done quicker the
2nd time around, at least you'll get to do them this time.
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nstrug
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| posted on 10/9/09 at 09:28 AM |
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Going over the details of the accident, one thing really stands out which is the rapid deflation of the FR tyre. This was the wrong side to be in
contact with anything at all and it looks like a straightforward puncture.
On close inspection, the roundabout has screws, nails, gravel, builder's sand and diesel in abundance. It also has a seriously dodgy camber
change where it has been partially resurfaced.
Playing amateur accident investigator, rapid deflation of the FR destabilized the car. This, combined with the adverse camber and the surface debris,
caused the spin.
There are no tyre marks at all on the road, which I think probably lends further credence to the theory.
I checked with site maintenance when the road was last swept and they said that they don't keep any records.
Nick
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bigpig
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| posted on 10/9/09 at 02:25 PM |
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I would suspect records arn't kept of cleaning, but perhaps they have records of any complaints about the surface. Local councils do on public
roads. The reason for this is in case there is a subsequent accident.
I would have thought on a private estate they have a responsibility to keep the road safe from diesel spills screws e.t.c same as petrol stations. Of
course it depends on how regularly they do inspections and if there have been other accidents on the roundabout or punctures.
I think though you are getting into the realms of legal things.
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nstrug
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| posted on 10/9/09 at 04:35 PM |
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In my office alone, two incidents on the same roundabout:
* One puncture due to large piece of rebar embedded in tyre
* Another chap's car written off after a metal ramp plate covering road works flipped up as he was driving over it and almost pulled his Civic
in half.
As I say, I don't normally drive that way, but there was a diversion due to building work.
Nick
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