Irony

[StuK]

I picked my car up from Daytona Coachworx today - I had the front left wing resprayed to take a rather big scratch out of it. The wing has come up really nicely, very red, but unfortunately really shows how orange the rest of the car is. Dave at Daytona said that he would rather keep the car for another few days to blend in some of the other panels (bonnet and doors). However, I said that I wanted the car for the Porsche & polo event this weekend, so we agreed that I'd bring it back in for some more paint work in the near future.

Now for the ironic bit - it was a bit wet on the way home, and guess what, yep I lost the back end coming off a roundabout. I felt it oversteer off the roundabout, tried to control the slide but then lost it the other way. I managed to spin through 180 and hit the plastic bollard on the central reservation on the exit to the roundabout. At one stage I thought I was heading into the traffic queuing on the other side of the roundabout, but fortunately I stopped short of them.

So, what's the damage - well luckily the newly sprayed wing is untouched, but I've got some scrapes on the bumper and bonnet from the plastic bollard (they may polish out, but I was probably looking at a respray here anyway), I've cracked the number plate and made quite a bit of a mess of the front valance/splitter (I think I'm probably gonna need a new one). I also seem to have bent the undertray as it has come off on the front right hand corner and I can't get it back into place.

So some superficial damage, but i'm worried about whether I've done anything more significant. There is a kink in the area to the left of the radiator and I don't know if this is structural.

So, it looks like I'm not going to Kirtlington this weekend, but I don't know what to do now. Should I take it to my local garage 1st thing tomorrow for them to assess the damage, or do I take it to the nearest Porsche indy which is a bit further away (either RPM where I've had it serviced before, or I believe there's somwhere near to Bedford - that would be closer to me)? Help please!

 

[DivineE]

RPM are superb from what I've seen of them. Sorry to hear your troubles, brave move mentioning it on a public forum as some people can be funny about their mistakes but we all make them. Glad your putting the work in and get it sorted. You may think its stupid but a lux can be written off for a scratch nowadays.

 

[Riverside]

P6000's & wet roundabouts [] Been there []

www.carlimits.com Andy Walsh does a Beyond The Limit Car Control course that will help you avoid expensive mistakes if you go over the limit.

 

[Peter Empson]

[] Really sorry to hear that, the roads are rather slippy out there at the moment.

Another vote for RPM, better safe the sorry, but the chances are it'll be fine.

I might have a (white with fogs) front valance spare if you need it, but will need to check the shed to see if I've still got it.

 

[StuK]

Cheers guys

I'll give Darren or Ollie at RPM a call tomorrow morning and will probably try to take it along to them early next week. I suspect that I may then be back on here with a long list of spares requests (and a front valance is definitely gonna be one of them)!

And thanks for the driver training link Riverside, as if my pride wasn't hurt enough!

 

[pauljmcnulty]

Sorry to hear this, it is ironic as I never had that scratch done myself, seemed like tempting fate! [&o]

The Bedford indie is Auto 2000. Parts should be easy to get, people like Elliot and Alasdair here, or try SAR near you.

 

[peanut]

sorry to hear that Stuk. I wrote off my beloved Lux a few years back in the same way. All that diesel on the roundabouts with rain over the top is like ice.

I'm surprised that the paint didn't match though.? there is no excuse these days with the water based paints. They should have sprayed up 2-3 test swatches to check against your car before spraying anything. ?

My local body shop matched my Dove Blue so perfectly I defy anyone to tell the part that was sprayed .

 

[StuK]

I've spoken to Darren and Ollie at RPM, they're going to have a look at it next Saturday morning, so fingers crossed that the damage is all superficial.

I reckon there must have been some oil or diesel on the road (don't they always say that?), cos the roundabout was in a 30mph zone and there was a car in front of me, so I could not have been doing much more than 15-20mph when the back end went. The annoying thing is that I dealt with the first slide and corrected it with the steering, I think my mistake must have been thinking that I could then escape unscathed by getting more power down. Next time I feel the back end getting a bit playful I'll try to keep my right foot quiet!

Anyway, I hope those of you going to Kirtlington tomorrow have a good time, I'm sorry I can't be there as I really enjoyed it last year, but I have no means of getting there now as the wife has the family car tomorrow.

I'll probably be back on here after next weekend with a list of spares that I need!

 

[Riverside]

Cars respond harshly to harsh inputs, if your inputs are smooth it won't surprise you diesel or no diesel.

Catching the first slide is easy, just let go of the wheel & the car will do it for you[] Winding the lock back off again quickly enough is the tricky bit & that only comes with practice.

If the car slides (and you don't want it to) dip the clutch to take power out of the equation, so the slide doesn't get worse.

 

[sulzeruk]

Sorry to hear about your misfortune Stuart, I have a lovley red front valance for a Lux here going cheaply if you need it, need the space in the garage.
Alasdair

 

[StuK]

ORIGINAL: sulzeruk

Sorry to hear about your misfortune Stuart, I have a lovley red front valance for a Lux here going cheaply if you need it, need the space in the garage.
Alasdair

Sounds great Alasdair, could you please PM me to let me know how much you want for it etc. I'll probably come back to you with the list of other stuff i need once the guys at RPM have had a look at it next weekend.

 

[DivineE]

ORIGINAL: Riverside

Catching the first slide is easy, just let go of the wheel & the car will do it for you[] Winding the lock back off again quickly enough is the tricky bit & that only comes with practice.

Cannot agree more, no amount of carting experience helped me when I was on the roads and faced this unprepared on not with the safety of knowing your on a track. Controlling an unexpected slide (and the panic that goes with it) is a whole different ball game. Only much practice can help you there. I wrote off two cars and had countless 'moments' before I started to feel able to control the onset of panic and do the right thing. I'm still far from invulnerable a have had my heart in my throat a few times over the past 12 months.

p.s. Personally for me at the minute, knowing the costs and that Rick (or his wife) would probably hunt me down and kill me if I destroyed WUF helps lighten my boots slightly.