| Monday 13th February, 2006 |
| All fixed at 19:56 GMT by dave |
| So it was all going
to be so simple.. take my car to the garage, meet the
Hertz guy there, collect the rental car and get to work.
Not so. I got to the garage nice and early as arranged and watched as she was taken off to be fixed. I imagine the feeling was something akin to watching a loved one heading into the operating theatre for cosmetic surgery; you know the results are going to be pant-stiffeningly fabulous but you can't help but worry! So all was left to do was get the courtesy car, no sign of Hertz yet so I settled myself in the airless, souless box affectionately referred to as 'The Waiting Room' and waited. And waited. And waited. Three hours later after
numerous angry phone calls to Hertz and apologetic phone
calls to work, it transpires that some genius at Hertz
had booked the rental for June (ah.. the change of year
trips so many people up in suprising ways!). Anyway,
the car finally turned up (a tank-like Ford Mondeo)
and off I went, only to receive a call later the same
day informing me that they'd given me the wrong car
and would have to swap it for a smaller one. They managed
that the next day and supplied me with a Corsa which
arrived containing Mr Charisma himself, who grunted
his way through the mandatory damage Despite my truly enjoyable
(!) dealings with Hertz, my beautiful car is now fixed
and gleaming thanks to the garage. They even threw in
a new badge and full valet! No complaints there! Good
old Accident Repair Centre! Oh, and a letter of complaint is currently winging its way to Hertz HQ. My only difficulty was in deciding just how many times the words 'rude' and 'incompetent' could be used without sounding like a broken record: I'm sure they'll get my point! |
| Tuesday 7th February, 2006 |
| Dad's Crash at 19:12 GMT by dave |
| A little off subject
but of interest none the less.. a word of warning to all
who live in the country! My father (who drives mostly no faster than your average tractor - sorry Dad but it's true!) set off to watch our local football team play last Saturday. He'd got about 30m up the road from his house when the car lost all grip, slid precariously towards a wall then veered the opposite way towards the hedge. At this point he was thinking "damn I'm going to hit the hedge, something else to sort out", and the next thing he knew he's hanging upside down trying to undo the seatbelt. Luckily the car coming the other way had plenty of time to stop, and a lovely couple dashed over to help him crawl through the wreck that was once a beautiful Jaguar. It was here he sustained his only injury; a minor cut on his finger from all the broken glass. The bank in front of the hedge had acted as a lever, flipping the car and rotating it 180 degrees. All this at approx 25mph and on a corner he's driven round hundreds of times.  The cause? The council has apparently been salting the road but not gritting, leaving a greasy surface. It's like driving on butter! With an event like this the whole village came out to have a look (rural Dorset.. not much happens!) and it came to light that this was the second time a vehicle had turned over at that same spot in two days, both drivers were thankfully unscathed. So
if your roads are all white - TAKE CARE! The incompetent
council may have just set you up for a spot of car ice
hockey! |
| Thursday 2nd February, 2006 |
| Wheels at 19:52 GMT by dave |
| Been looking at getting
myself some new wheels ever since I bought the car but
could never decide on what I want them to look like. It's
not really that I don't like my current wheels (BK Racing
299's) but the owner before me took no care of them and
there is considerable water damage under the lacquer which
really spoils the overall look of the vehicle especially
when its all beautifully clean and shiny. Been taking a look at the very helpful ST-205 alloys list over at... http://www.gt4oc.net/ ..to get an idea of what other people have fitted. The problem with the ST-205 it seems is a clearance issue due to the large callipers. Been looking at lots of different types, makes, designs and have decided that I really like the look of the "OZ racing F1 Evo cup". The picture to the right should give you a good idea of the overall look. I am going to Photoshop a photo of my car soon to give me a rough idea of what they will look like fitted. Dave |
| Wednesday 1st February, 2006 |
| Crash! at 10:21 GMT by dave |
| It's
February, and a brand new month brings new surprises!
While Walking out of Nursery after picking up my stepson
Ben last Wednesday, both of us stood in disbelief as we
watched a big MPV reverse straight into the front of my
car. Did... lady... crash into your car Dave? Ben repeated a few times before I could respond. Luckily, a mother of one of Ben's nursery friends got out quickly, realised what she had done and said lots of apologies. I had never done the swapping of phone numbers, addresses and insurance details before but there’s a first time for everything I guess. I waited till the next morning before I even really looked at the damage. Three dents in the front bumper, lots of flaked paint and a palm-sized dent in the front-right wing which has moved the panel down enough so that there is now a considerable gap between the panel and the bonnet. Three or four phone calls later, its all sorting itself out. She has admitted full blame for the incident and Esure, her insurance company are paying for all the damage. Apparently I am getting a brand-new front bumper and then they are going to panel-beat the wing. They also assure me that I won't be able to notice that anything had ever happened in the first place due to the quality of their work. So tomorrow, I am taking the car to the garage, getting a courtesy car through "Hertz" and if all goes to plan, will have the beast back by Tuesday next week. At least I get a brand-new bumper out of this! Dave |
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