The awful sound of metal scraping against metal, the creaking as part of your bodywork becomes indented and deformed.

A moment of horror as you step out of the car hoping for the least possible damage to have been inflicted on your beloved Crossfire.

The stare of death you bestow upon the truck driver that has caused this travesty - not to mention the tirade of verbal abuse!

The hurt and sorrow as you see your car injured, and realize how much it will cost to put her back together again - because the truck driver is from Poland and the insurance will probably never pay out.

My car got hit, passenger side rear quarter panel and some rear bumper damage. Need to check the wheel out property to make sure it's not been affected.

Kew Bridge Road, 2 lanes, as I drove past the HGV he moved into my lane and clipped me from the back. Clearly his fault, the damage on my car clearly illustrates this.

I hate Monday's

 

Are you ok at least? I am so sorry about the accident.....

 

I'm okay,

Just hope the insurance company can sort this out, otherwise I am going to be out of pocket for something that I had absolutely no control over!

 

I gather you obtained a proper police report of the incident, assigning blame to the black beard Polack that struck you. Otherwise, dealing with the insurance issues can become tortuous.

Good luck and may you never again hear that dreadful sound.

 

I called the Police to the scene as the driver claimed to speak no English, then tried to flee the scene! All the Police did was to facilitate the exchange of details. I was provided with information regarding the company the driver works for, his full name and the registration details of the HGV. What I find most frustrating about this is the fact that I pay taxes to live in this country, further taxes to drive in this country, I've not been involved in a car accident in 8 years and now I find myself in a position where I feel it is most likely that I will be forced to pay for the damage to my vehicle after being hit by a foreign HGV!

In this country we must have valid insurance in order to drive a car on the road, and no doubt if this HGV had been registered in the UK I would have no headache in having the claim settled, so why of all the big trucks in London, did I have to get hit by the foreign one!

Also, I know that if I had been driving the Ford Mondeo (other car) I wouldn't be any where near as annoyed or saddend - I guess a parent CAN have a favourite child!

 

Amit sorry to hear about your unfortunate incident, am sure you will get her back looking pristine again, at least you were`nt injured, best of luck with the insurance company (hope you declared your mods) , see you at a meet sometime next year when this will be just a bad memory...chris

 

Sorry to hear about the car, but glad you're ok.

I'm sorry to inform you that it can't possibly have been the Polish lorry driver's fault - he was probably only on the internet, talking on his mobile to his wife in Poland, while swigging a bottle of vodka to celebrate the near end of his solid 72 hour shift with no sleep!!

 

Thanks Chris,

the insurance company are aware of most of the mods, may have to remove one or two bits before an assessor has a poke around. That said, I'm not holding my breath on it - I reckon I will have to have it fixed myself - or I could get a giant sticker and put it over the dent!

Hey Andy,

The guy was an absolute clown! I know a lot of Polish people, and I have nothing against them - it's just that these huge foreign HGV's do seem to be driven by individuals that are unable to demonstrate the due care and attention required to manoeuvre such a beast through the streets of London.

About to drive back home now - lets see what else I can get hit by - but this time I'm hitting back!

 

Sorry to hear about your accident! How infuriating! Glad to hear you aren't hurt, though.

Take heart! I was hit by a French lorry driver a couple of years ago - not in the Xfire thank goodness. Sounds similar, he smashed into the rear passenger door after drifting out of his lane. His insurance company did pay out - not Polish I know but still, it may be of some cheer to you. I did suddenly remember from my school days how to say (shout?) "sh*t head" in French that day .....

 

Sorry about the property damage but perhaps the lorry driver or his father flew a Spitfire. Gary

 

Sorry to hear of your accident, or better said, attack on your Crossfire. Many of us are emotionally attached to our cars and I can tell from your description of the event you are one. Here's hoping that your favorite child is restored to her original beauty and that someone other than you foots the bill. Best of luck to this end.

 

Hi Amit
Its called sod's law..as perviously mentioned..us xfire drivers love and protect their Xfires.

Hope all goes well with claiming and fixing, and look forward to touching base in the near future.

Cheers

UKKen.

 

Thats really bad news, hope you get it sorted. Has your ins policy got legal cover - you may have to chase this hard to resolve it. By law, the trucker should have had a multi language insurance document with him, as our truckers do going to continent.

Unfortunately the UK police have no interest in RTA's unless an injury has occurred, or they have a good chance getting a prosecution out of it.

 

Sorry to hear about this and I'm so glad you survived the lorry.
Hopefully you can get this repaired easy enough...good luck.

 

Sorry to read this Amit glad you were not hurt.

If, a big IF I know, the truck operator is a reputable company, you should not have to much trouble with your claim, that is if you have evidence of the driver admitting fault or reliable witnesses. Without this you could well find yourself on a very sticky wicket. I have heard that once drivers return to there home countries they tell there employer that you hit them and drove off, making it there word against yours, very messy!!!

Fingures crossed all goes well.

 

Thank you all for your advice and kind words, they are greatly appreciated - you guys are the best!

I looked at the damage again this morning - it wasn't just a bad dream!
It should be straightforward to have repaired. There is a dent on the passenger side rear wheel arch, paint has been scraped along the wheel arch and also on the side of the bumper. I will try to post pictures.

The dent will need to be "pulled" and it will need filling, sanding, priming and painting, I reckon it should cost no more £300-£400 to have done properly.

I have been advised by my insurance company that they will "keep me updated" - which sounds a little ominous, so I will give it a week or two and see what happens.

It doesnt feel right to be driving around in a damaged car, I also find myself very cautious of vehicles with foreign number plates now!

 

Very sorry to hear of your accident, I had two over the last two years, both decided in my favour as no fault. Just be careful your insurance company doesn't try to write it off, I have some experience of issues around sourcing body panels and general issues around supply of parts if that applies to your accident. PM me if you start getting any grief and want to know more of my experiences.

 

Thanks Paul,

I've now heard from the insurance company, they've advised that they will be liasing with the Motor Insurers Bureau to get more info on the truck that hit me. I have to decide within 30 days if I want them to fix my car, and it is unlikely they will have found out anything more about the truck by then. All in all it seems as though I will be taking the hit on this, as I initially suspected - I have come to terms with it. I've managed to get hold of a bumper and I know a good bodyshop in my locality that I will get a quote from.

 

Sorry to hear about your bad luck. I have worked, and still work on both sides of this. 30 yrs of law enforcement background, and driving the big rigs for longer than that. I can tell you it is no different here in the states. Trucking firms hire some really bad drivers, that make it bad for all the rest of us who try to do things professionally. As for the police, we would have done the exact same thing, which was to exchange info. But, in the states, if the other party doesn't pay out, they can lose their authority to operate, which would put that trucking company out of business. Hopefully the UK has a similar law....good luck, all will be better once she is fixed up.