RIP my beloved punto

[Steve]

yes, it is the big car drivers that are a disgrace. BMWs, Mondeos, Jaguars, they know who they are. Even saw a Hummer carving up the traffic on the M18 a couple of weeks ago. (I bet Big_Spark drives a Mondeo or similar paperclip-salesman car )

Here is the junction in question:http://www.multimap.com/map/browse.cgi?lat=53.5305&lon=-1.1886&scale=10000&icon=x Bear in mind back lane goes uphill towards cusworth, so people on long lane going up there tend to be doing near the limit thru the junction (50-60mph)

i was heading from long lane onto back lane, no need to give way. other guy was coming from sheep walk lane onto long lane. He was meant to stop and give way to me.

I will post before and after pics of the car when i have been to remove my stereo kit from it tomorrow. Will try to find the other car (taken to same place) too and see the difference in damage.

If it is not repairable (i envy anyone who can repair it), i will be getting a small diesel car, since i do a lot of miles recently and could do with the economy, though the thought of paying 95.9pence for a litre is daunting to say the least.

 

[AdamW]

Yes, but it's what you get out of that litre! Although Punto's are very economical aren't they? I test-drove a 1.2 16V once, amazing engine for the displacement. If they had stuck a 1.6 badge on it I wouldn't have questionned it!

To be honest you might not find any cost benefit from a small diesel over a Punto, increased purchase cost and roadtax might offset the economy gains.

 

[Steve]

Mine WAS a 1.2L 8V model, bottom of the range, but still quite nippy if you have a heavy right foot! Got 38mpg out of it conistently, though this nearly doubled (55mpg) on the motorway! I could run a diesel on veggy oil if the desire ever struck me to save more money and clog my engine up!

Yes, tax is dearer on "heavy oil", but i thought second hand diesels were cheaper (im not getting a new one) due to lack of demand? What about insurance?

 

[Spark123]

yes, it is the big car drivers that are a disgrace. BMWs, Mondeos, Jaguars, they know who they are.

And those who just won't fit in a small car

 

[Big_Spark]

yes, it is the big car drivers that are a disgrace. BMWs, Mondeos, Jaguars, they know who they are. Even saw a Hummer carving up the traffic on the M18 a couple of weeks ago. (I bet Big_Spark drives a Mondeo or similar paperclip-salesman car )
.

What were you saying about sterotyping Crafty...I do love it when people fall into their own trap...

As for what I drive..98% of my driving is done in my work vehicle, a VW Transporter Van..and no it is not white either.

The other 2% is done on either shanksy's pony or a Mountain Bike, as I object to paying our for a vehicle I hardly drive..so the Mercedes I had I sold as an unecessary expense.

As for driving record, I passed my test 22.5 years ago, and in that time I have driven in excess of 2.4 Million miles (Call me sad but I keep a log!) and in that time I have been involved in 8 accidents.

1 accident was a 50-50 blame, a truch pulled out in front of me but as I was going too fast through the mountains I was unable to stop and drove up it's rear!!...I learnt the hardway.

Of the other 7 accidents, in one I was a passenger when the car I was in was hit from the side.

2 involved drunk drivers
1 involved a Motorcycle that glanced off the nearside wing after attempting to overtake..and getting it horribly wrong.

And three involved being hit from the rear by idiots who failed to see on all occasions that I had stopped at traffic lights.

Now don't get me wrong, I make mistakes like all drivers, and have had a few near misses, a couple which I must put my hands up for, but I am sorry to say, many of those who drive small cars are a bloody menace..like BMW drivers!!

 

[ohmygodwhathaveyoudone]

i was driving down the road yesterday at the speed limit (50mph)when all of a sudden a small blue car overtook me and jammed his brakes on to avoid a car coming in the opposite direction,then he leapfrogged the car in front of him and had to jam his brakes on again to avoid a car that was turning left .when the road cleared he booted it again with his 3" exhaust belching blue smoke (he probably could'nt hear the sound of his engine screaming and the pistons bouncing of the bonnet either)so in a moment of maddness i thought right you stupid little s**t,i'll give you a nice surprise.as his car pulled away again i let him go then booted it and was 1" from his bumper in about 2 secs and when he saw me in his rear view mirror he was shocked to say the least,(as i did'nt have a load exhaust he did'nt hear me coming).there was no other traffic on the road at the time and i know 2 wrongs don't make a right but the way he was driving was complete madness.he seemed to slow down after that and i turned of and carried on my journey.
the car he was driving was a .
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1.1 citreon saxo.big surprise.NOT.

 

[AdamW]

Oh god, I saw someone in a Mk 2 Fiesta who must have had a deathwish driving like that. If cars coming the other way all start tilting nosedown under braking then you know your car is not capable of the manoeuvre!


Jim, that's only 7 accidents you described But an average of 1 accident every 300,000 miles, that really can't be bad, that would be 1-2 in a lifetime for an average driver.

 

[Steve]

as promised

before: after
asked the guy at the yard whether it is repairable, he said no. Hire Car company delivered a brand new nissan micra an hour ago, charging it to other guy's insurance until i get money for and buy a new car. so its back to work tomorrow! Proper solicitors claiming for injuries sustained by my dad and me, from other guys insurance.

 

[JulieL]

Have you thought that some people may only be able to afford a small car?

Also it depends on priorities. I love cars so I will always be someone who spends a good deal of money on a new car... but then other people would prefer to buy lots of designer clothes and have a little shopping car.

To be honest I'm sometimes (not often) envious of my friends and their 60-70mpg little diesels... If I had one I would spend £600 a year less on petrol! Might not sound a lot but that's equivalent to an instant £1000 pay rise.

By the way I was driving round North London today and all the BMW drivers seemed to be having a day off from the behaviour you describe, for once

Actually Adam, I was thinking of families on limited budgets who don't have a choice - those who genuinely can ONLY afford a small car

 

[AdamW]

What really surprises me is that the glass is all intact! If the pillars had buckled, the glass would probably have shattered.

This demonstrates how stiff the passenger compartment is, and how well the crush-zones do their job.

Amazing.

 

[Big_Spark]

Jim, that's only 7 accidents you described But an average of 1 accident every 300,000 miles, that really can't be bad, that would be 1-2 in a lifetime for an average driver.

Adam, I suggest you count again, I was a passenger in one which makes eight.

However I have only been the driver in 7.

Never worked out the average before, so here goes..

Logged Mileage at Home tomight..... 2,481,827

Total Accidents where the driver = 7

So average is 354,456.7 miles per accident..

Never gave it any thought before, according to the Office of National Statistics, the average driver in the UK drives some 278,904 miles in their life, and has an average of 6 accidents (didn't specify whether injury or not), this makes an average of 46484 miles per accident...

I don't think I'm anything special as a driver, I make mistakes like all of us, I am human despite the rumours, however I think because I am always looking at least 5 vehicles ahead and have good reactions I am able to avoid be caught up in other peoples accidents....

 

[Steve]

To say all the force is concentrated on that one corner, i was pretty amazed too. All windows intact, all doors still open (except the bonnet for obvious reasons!)

My only worry now is how much money i'm going to get for a new car.

I also found out why my wrist got burnt. As the crash happened, i had the steering on full right lock. The way the airbag emerged was (with the steering wheel "normal") downwards - it formed a flap hinged at the top. Being on full right lock, this flap actually hinged on the right, and the airbag deployed straight at my left wrist, presumably it was also very hot, or the blast of hot air from the ignitor hit me. Picture explains better!

 

[Mudster]

I've only had one accident in the 19 years I've been driving, and it was my fault.

Pulled up to a give way junction, one car infront of me, looked right, road was clear

looked at the car in front which started to pull out....

Looked right road still clear...accelerate..BANG...guy had changed his mind...

But still my fault....

At the time I had a 4.6 V8 Range Rover, and the car I drove into was a Rover Sterling, I destroyed the entire back end of it to the extent it had to be towed, my Range Rover needed a new bumber, grill and lights.

But I wasn't wearing a seatbelt, and I can't of hit this car at more than 10 miles an hour - but accelerating....

My head smashed the windsreen...I didn't go through it, but I butted it at a furious rate and enough to smash it.

I've worn my seatbelt ever since, even on the shortest journey.

And now sat at a junction I wait for th car infront to actually leave before I even look right.....Lesson learnt....

 

[AdamW]

I also found out why my wrist got burnt.

Something to do with the pyrotechnic gas generator? Airbags are deployed through squib, in fact as far as I know airbag inflators are the only explosives you can bring in and out of the UK without declaring.

 

[ohmygodwhathaveyoudone]

I also found out why my wrist got burnt.

Something to do with the pyrotechnic gas generator? Airbags are deployed through squib, in fact as far as I know airbag inflators are the only explosives you can bring in and out of the UK without declaring.

so on nov 5th we can all set off our airbags.