Crashed The Is This Morning

[VLM]

I lost control of the car today, spun, hit a lamppost backwards.

I totally and utterly blame a tyre...yesterday my rear offside tyre looked soft, I checked the pressure with a gauge I carry in the car, 15psi, checked the spare – 31psi – put the spare on. Spare is a Fullrun, looks new.

This morning, exiting a wet roundabout at normal speeds, the back spun out. I couldn't control it, went sideways, full brakes (I was aware that the ABS was not pulsing, presumably it thought the car was stopped), then along the grass/gravel verge backwards, grass and stones flying past the windows, and bang... stopped. Got out to see the lampost on its side.

Rang 101 on the mobile, Police came, who were very helpful and corteous, did the obligatory breath test etc, waited for the recovery vehicle and then dropped me off at work. Recovery driver managed to drive it up the ramp but car was crabbing
sideways about 20 degrees. A total loss I'd think you'd agree.

I'm a tyre snob. I had (or did) have Vredestien Quatrac 3s on back, their grip was excellent, almost sucking the road. The front (Goodyear Efficientgrips) always gave way first, even under power. So this useless get-me-home Fullrun has cost me the car.

I'm evidently not the only one to dislike Fullruns:

http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Tyre/Fullrun/HP199.htm

As fellow car enthusiasts you will understand the annoyance of losing what is an excellent car, and one that will become a minor classic in time. Mine was 100% stock OEM, unmodified in excellent condition, just 55kmiles. I'd got it mechanically perfect, it was just needing a little cosmetic on the front, planned for this spring. It was a lovely precise drive, and powerful enough for me.

Well the car did well in it's final milliseconds, all doors opened and shut afterwards, airbags did not deploy as going backwards I suppose. I'm really not sure what the impact speed was, probably about 15mph at actual impact. I have a little whiplash I think, sore lower abdomen and lower left back (seat bolster I think), left shoulder, left wrist. Nothing too bad, I'll check in with a doctor tomorrow.

Interestingly no other drivers stopped. A van driver laughed and pointed as he went past. Thanks. You do feel a right twit.

[steve2006]

Sorry to hear of the accident,main thing is you're OK apart from a few aches and pains.

I've got to ask however, how did your tyre get from its normal pressure to "looking soft" and at "15PSI" ?

When did you last check your tyres?

[VLM]

It looked soft/low yesterday - put the gauge on it to find it was 15psi. Found a nail in it. So I changed the wheel in a car park and put the spare on, which was at 31psi, and drove home last night.

I was going to get it repaired tonight - nail was in the centre tread.

[scudney]

Sorry matey, what a shame,glad your still in one piece,at least car can be replaced

[Stuno1]

Gutted for you chap. Glad you are ok.

Stu

[Funky_Monkey]

What a horrifying and sad story :(.. What sort of speed were you going through the roundabout at?

I've got some goodyear eagle F1s on my rear and the grip in the wet is amazing, can quite easily do 20-25~ round sharp roundabouts even on drenched roads.

But hey this is what insurance is for I guess, anything salvageable? For spares or to sell?

[asharb123]

Sorry to hear about your accident especially seeing the pictures. Main thing is you are ok. Unfortunately most people seeing the accident would be thinking he must have been going at some speed to have done that, rather than loosing grip. Fingers crossed that the insurance may think differently and repair the car. If not make sure you get a good settlement figure and who knows find another one.

[paul_tomo]

Such bad luck the main thing is you are ok, looking at the damage (qualified panel beater) id say it would be a total loss, your insurance company will try and offer you pennies for it so insist that the assesor comes out and has a look at the car because its in good condition other than the accident damage that way you should get a bit more case for it

[VLM]

The police didn't say anything, but they've seen it all before and no doubt thought quiet road, guy just taking it too fast, classic oversteer single-vehicle accident.
Obviously I was going too fast - too fast for that tyre for sure. I was going the speed most people go round the roundabout. I was in fourth gear at 20 mph, and the skid happened accelerating out the other side at I reckon 30mph in 4th. It's all slightly downhill. Usually the road is busier and I'm in lane 2 in third at that point. I was not pushing it. If the tyre was on the front it would have run wide and with lane 2 being empty I would have got away with it.

I've been beating myself up about how I drive. Am I a twit? I've a wife and three kids, no claims is 15ys+. I drove to work yesterday in my Volvo, taking every corner nice and slow. Nice set of Bridgestone A001s on the back of that. Never ever budged.

[IHgs300]

Sorry to see the pictures but at least you are ok. Regarding the tyres, I have heard loads of horror stories regarding fullrun Tyres.

I myself had 2 fitted on my old vectra. After seeing some bad posts on them, had mine checked after only 4 months of normal use and both inner walls had cracks in them.

So you can probably say it was most likely the tyre you had on spare.

[BarneyTT]

Sorry to hear of your bad news Dan, gutted for you but at least you came out of it without any serious injury just a shame the same couldn't be said for your car. Can't believe no one stopped to help but sadly the driver pointing and laughing doesn't really surprise me, being a somewhat old git, I have noticed a distinct and negative shift in some peoples attitudes to their fellow human beings these days.

Not a fan of "budget" tyres myself so I can understand how you feel about the Fullrun, especially not good news on a rear wheel drive car.

Chin up fella, hopefully all will come good in the end for you.

[Sidleybird]

That is seriously bad luck mate! But, as others have said, at least you came out of it with no serious injury and no other vehicle was involved. Car is def. a write off. Try to get as much as you can out of the insurance co. They may well let you buy it back for not very much. I should imagine that, if you have the time and space to strip it, you could sell the parts easily enough for decent money: wheels, interior, engine (55k is nothing), etc. Still gutting though - I know how I'd feel! Just try and remember how much worse it would have been if it had been the police knocking on your wife's door! Hope things work out for you,good luck.

[VLM]

Got the insurance cheque through. After some discussion, and pointing out it had the Aero pack on it, the valuation came out at £3100. My excess had to come off that. The assessor apparently said the car was top book. Insurance was with Tesco, who I have to say were very good in all respects.

Fortunately there happens to be two temporarily spare cars at work so I've been knocking about in an A4 TDI and a Touran. A4 very competent but uninspiringly remote control. Still the 55mpg is impressive. Took a while to get used to 6th gear = 1000rpm at 40mph. Some difference from the IS.

Still looking for a replacement, obvious choice is another IS of course. Flirting with the idea of a Merc C class, but for sure the IS will be a lot less trouble by the sounds of it. Besides I like to keep a low profile. Plus the IS is about the last 6-cyl car you can buy. My budget could just stretch into new IS territory. I'd want the 250 petrol - no offence to diesels, I've had several in the past, but these days they seem to be trouble as they get older. I've said I want at least 5 cylinders, or a turbo, preferably both (I'll be changing my Volvo when the time comes to the V70 T5 - or the Subaru Legacy Outback 3.0 flat 6 - but I digress)...

Interestingly my insurance claim does not seem to have made much difference to my insurance premiums - I tried a few cars out on Confused.com. A Saab 9-3 Aero (210bhp) added about 10 quid.

[matt-c]

Wow, that sucks. Like everyone else has said, the good thing is you're ok. But it still sucks!

My biggest fear if getting a flat is on which side - my spare, stupidly, is a directional tyre! IT's brand spanking new (was put on before I bought the car - seller made a point of showing me it's brand new, still with the coloured markings on it) and it was only when I was removing it some time later to try and get 8 wheels and tyres in the car (they all fit - just!) when I noticed it's directional! So if I need to change the passenger side, I think, it's fine. But if it's the other side - not so good!