A light crash test

Demetris

Demetris

Well-Known Member
Last Saturday, the driver of another Rover (414 HH-R) was too busy with his mobile phone to see where he was going. Apperently he went to the opposite lane, where exactly i was in the unfortunate position to drive my Rover. Thankfully the speeds were low in the first place but he didn't manage to stop completely and the bump was felt very well. As you can see in the attached photos the bumper mountings took all the impact and deformed as they should. However, the bumper went a little more backwards so i also have a slightly bent front valance and wing. Actually the wing was also pushed back a little, enough to prevent the door from opening. Not exactly what i needed at the moment, but it could be alot worse. Hopefully with some dismantling of the front end, it will not be too difficult to bring everything back to shape.
 

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Aaaargh!
So sorry to see this. There is nothing worse than your pride and joy getting dented! I had similar happen to me 18 months ago, and the wing shunted backwards as well. Easy enough to move forward, just the less-than-ideal cosmetics that are so gut-wrenching!
Hope you can get it easily sorted.

Michael
 
DaveHerns said:
People using their mobiles while driving should get a 3 month ban , doubled if they hit a P6
Click to expand...

Totally agree with your ideas, but I'd give them a hefty fine and 6 month ban.

I'd also suggest public flogging as punishment for hitting a P6, and/or a stiff custodial sentence.
 
:( Bad luck Demetris. I hope you can get your car repaired without too much difficulty. WIll the other driver's insurance pay for the cost? I suspect that mobile phones are the cause of many accidents. In the UK it is an offence to use one (unless it is "handsfree") while driving. Even at that, almost everyday I see drivers using phones.
 
Oh Dear.

Looks like this thread is going to be an education is what to look for under the surface when repairing crash damage. Not an education any of us wants to have to use, but useful anyway.

Are you going to do the repairs yourself, Demetris, or have you a body shop you trust that the insurance can pay for?

I bet a head on view of another Rover lead to a cleaning bill for your drivers seat! It would mine! Glad you're OK.

Chris
 
DaveHerns wrote,...
People using their mobiles while driving should get a 3 month ban , doubled if they hit a P6
Click to expand...

I am right with you Dave, but let it be 12 months instead!

Sorry to hear about this Demetris, hope it all comes good without too much fuss.

Ron.
 
Thank you all for your kind comments.

Although it doesn't seem very serious (some people would just touch up the wing) i want to take it back to where it should be and this means taking care of lot's of small things that were affected. The insurance of the other party will pay of course, but i don't know yet how much. The car has to be seen by an evaluator of the insurance of the other party, and he is going to decide. The problem is that over here, in order to receive payment by the insurance you have to involve a garage. You cannot justify cost of work done by yourself. On the other hand i don't trust anyone going anywhere near it. It's not just a plastic bumper that you can replace with a new one, it requires detailed work, and even decent professionals just don't bother, because their time will not be paid. Thankfully, there is a way around it. I can find a garage to get involved to the estimation and issue an invoice for the cost of the work, i will pay the VAT to the garage, and he will let me do the work. It will take some time though...
At the moment i could do without all this hassle, but anyway...

Chris, i wasn't scared at the moment, i managed to stop ( i was moving very slowly anyway) and i thought of reversing but there was another idiot behind tailgating me. I also said very loudly some very bad things about the other and his family at the very moment (my father that was at the passeger seat felt very uncomfortable for this) but the fact that the other accepted immediately his fault and seemed genuinely sorry about the incident, cooled me down very quickly.
After all, there was no human injury inolved.

Now, does anyone have any unwanted, straight, front left (passenger side to you) bumper brackets from a 4 cyl P6?
Just PM me.

Demetris
 
DaveHerns said:
Swearing in front of your parents !!!
Click to expand...
I'm trying to imagine some of the words that Demetris used but I don't speak Greek :) . If it was me, I would probably have said &***!" or ??£$%&!! or even !!*!!%$£""! :shock:
 
Look at it this way, minor damage and no injury....You were very lucky! A good P6 is difficult to replace, and a couple of broken legs take a long time to heal!
 
Last week i started to repair this.
Underneath it didn't look too bad, but there were signs of a previous crash that it hadn't been repaired properly, so it was a good chance to sort it now. We had to resort to a press to pull out the front end, but in the end it took its proper shape. Also i had a chance to admire the Rover design of the front end. It was obvious that it was designed to deform without casing damage further back.

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But somehow painting just a wing and the front undertray wasn't good enough, since all panels had big or small issues.
So i ended up in this:

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I am happy with the quality of the work so far. Tomorrow i start the reassembly.
 
What an out come, from a small accident to a full repaint and some :shock: and why not if you can take an advantage of a situation with out to much added cost or time, well worth killing to birds with one stone so o speak. Sure its going to look just great Demetris. All mended and shiny.
 
This looks good Demetris. Can't wait to see what your car looks like when the work is finished.
When you say, "we", does this mean that you are doing the work yourself with some assistance?
 
It is slowly taking shape and i like it! Hopefully by tomorrow afternoon i will have finished the assembly. Although it needs plenty more time to adjust the doors and window frames properly. My main involvement was dismantling and assembly. And this brought the cost down to a very reasonable level. I left the sanding and spraying to the professional. Also a very professional approach was needed to pull out the front end with the proper tools. I just made sure that the critical measurements were according to the workshop manual. The panel beating was done by a 70 year old, obviously old school but also talented chap, that pulled out a rather big dent in one of the rear doors using a heating - beating - cooling procedure. It took him about an hour, but in the end, barely any filler was used in the door skin. I just had the pleasure to watch.
A couple of naked photos for today, just before i started the reassembly.

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It lookslike a few of us have been here lately....... Looking good Demetris, bet you can't wait to get back on the road!
 
A bit of work involved, but overall a very good outcome from what could have been a horrendous accident.

I don't recall seeing a decent shot of your interior before, Demetris. Is that London Tan? Not a colour I've seen often.

Chris
 
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