LagondaNet

[Francis]

This morning being May 12th 2008 I tought it good to bring my Alvira to the mechanic that changed my rack and pinion last June since the new rack and pinion he installed was leaking oil.

So I dropped Alvira at 8 AM and gave him instructions to cover the seats because the leather was new and be gentle because the stearing was a bit hard probably because of the leak for mentionned...

At 10 am I called Daniel the mechanic back to let him know that I found the bill and that the work was done in June so it was still under warranty with him. Then he dropped the bomb on me. Just look at the pictures, I can't talk any further....

www.fddl.ca/download/photos/


He backed the car into a wall.....

[Mitrovic]

Dear Francis

My sympathies to you! Horrible!

This looks like a pretty heavy impact! How was he able to do something like that?

Keep us informed what is going on.

In thoughts with you

Zoran

[Francis]

He told me that one of his employee was positioning the car to be lifted and he reversed the car to line it up and the gas pedal got stuck. I say bull shit!
He was alone in the garage when I dropped it and I think that he was the one that backed it up agaist the back wall...

The car had no plastic cover on the inside as I had asked him to install prior to getting in it. So to me the attitude was there. Yes, Yes, Yes, in front of the client and F**K You when i leave the shop.

The back wall was only 20 feet in bask, in fact it is hard to line the car up to the lift, you need to do it in 2 or 3 steps, that is why I did not drive it on to the lift...

To do that type of damage, he must have hit the wall going 30 mph and in 20 feet space, that is hard to do.

The only way to do that is to floor the gas pedal and keep it there until you hit the wall. And I did not se any brake marks on the floor.

So he was driving it like a cow-boy in a space not much longer than the car... He under estimated the lenght of the car and shortened it by 6 inches...

I am still in shock, Bill the paint guy had done such a wonderfull job on it he worked literally all winter on it, I paid thru the nose for that paint job. It was brand new looking. Now it's a VGA...

VGA stands here in Quebec for vehicule gravement accidente. or badly damaged car and if I call the insurance on this, the VGA status will be applied, and you know what that does to the value of the car...

[Francis]

Not that it is a secret anymore...

Daniel the turd told me that he would have it fixed with in the next two weeks... I will be in Florida until next Wednesday May 21st and then I will make a four day dash in Vienna to be back in time for Grand-Prix week-end here in Montreal... do you think that it will be fixed by June 6th? I don't think so.

Maybe I should bring a baseball bat and experiment on his head to see how hard I need to hit to do the kind of damage he did...

Francis,

A slightly hangered Lagonda lover...

[Mitrovic]

I fully understand your distress and that you are angry on this mechanic. I would be too. And may be you should have somebody to check the progress of the work while you are away.

However, there was also an accident some 2 or 3 years ago where a mechanic run a Lagonda straight into the wall of his shop in the USA. The car was damaged beyond repair. There was a web page with images and you could download all the scanned manuals. Does anyone remember the web address?
And there was also this lovely LXB Tickford Lagonda which also struck a wall.

Might it be that it has something to do with the stuck cruise control which can happen and which has produced two high speed incidents I was told about. Mr. Roos had this experience, too so he disconnects the cruise control in every Lagonda he is servicing.

Let us all be positive and hope that the repair goes smoothly.

Zoran

[Lagondanet]

Francis

I am very sorry to hear this after all of the work you have had done and hope it can be repaired soon to your satisfaction.

You are not alone. I know of other owners who have suffered similarly, and some self inflicted.

The car Zoran was talking about:

http://www.entrex.net/_aston/aston.html

The LWB Tickford, one of 4, was I thought shunted by a van & the owner did not have it insured!

[Lagonda87]

Francis,

Very sorry to read/see the bad news about your car

I hope it will possible to repair the car!!

I can see the panel around the gas doors is wrinkled ? Does the damage extend to the roof as well ?

I don't know if replacement panels exist, or if they must be made by hand. Doesn't look like something your mechanic can fix in a few weeks time

Best regards,

Soren

[Francis]

the damage extend to the other side of the left gas lid almost to the rear door. the roof does not look affected but the roof mounting at the base of the rear window is no longer flush to the window finishing bracket. the plastic rear lights are curved but not cracked, maybe they will be salvadged.

[Francis]

Here is what I just sent the Aston Martin dealer's part department here in Montréal:

Ari,

Some idiot mechanic rammed my Lagonda into a wall yesterday. See pictures attached. www.fddl.ca/download/photos/

I will need for you to look up some parts to see if they are still available. Can you tell what is available and give me a price plus ETA on delivery?

22.10379 Valance rear LH
22.10367 Bumper mounting
62.1744 Rear wing panel LH
67.18717 Boot lid and frame assembly
78.11038 Finisher rear wing LH
78.11037 Finisher raer wing RH

two choices here:
European rear bumper (original on my car LOOL 13207)

72.10003 Rear bumper
78.12732 Rear under Valance
69 2472 Big head fixing M5 X 20
37.12670 Reflector two of them

Or if not available:
American rear bumper

72.17827 Rear Bumper
78.17865 Rear under Valance
69 2472 Big Head fixing M5 X 20
78.17867 Reflector two of them

[Francis]

The estimate on parts alone from the dealer is $20 900.00....

[Francis]

Does anybody knows who owns 13467? this could be a great donner car for me.

[Mitrovic]

Bill Morrow has a parts car. The car is in Florida and he is willing to sell the car.

I will send you his Email by private mail.

Zoran

[billmorrow]

i apologise in advance for the language i am about to use..!

BS..!

to the mechanic who crashed Francis's car and blamed the car, i say B U L L S H I T T T T . . . . !!!

the cruise control is not at fault..
these things happen when you mash down on the gas pedal thinking its the brake pedal..

remember those audi cars of a few years ago which would experience sudden and mysterious accelaration for no apparent reason..
the reason is plain for ALL to see who would open their minds to human nature..
yes, human nature, not mechanical malevolance..

if all you owners of these lagionda cars would take a moment to look at the mplacement of the brake and gas pedals in the lagonda and the positioning demanded of the drivers feet vis-a-vis to most ALL other automobiles you will see that the b rake is where the clutch would normally be and the gas pedal is where (guess now before i say it) where the BRAKE is normally kept..

anyone getting into a lagonda who is NOT familiar with this odd and unsafe pedal positioning can easily make a mistake and when pushing on what they take to be the brake but is actually the gas, guess what happens..!?
the car "mysteriously" takes off on its own while the idiot at the wheel, madly pushing, in panic, on what they assume to be the brake, but which is, in reality, the gas, crash into various walls, posts and the like..
ALL THE WHILE cursing this inanimate object for doing what they are, unknowingly, telling it to do..

i experienced something of the same while in nice, france, driving a rental opal..
having parked on a slight slope in front of the hotel, i got out only to see this car start rolling toward a potted plant..!
i jumped back in and planted my foot on the brake..!
the brake turned out to be the clutch and the little opal rolled into the plant and knocked it over with the only damage being a small amount of dirt on the cement driveway and a red face for me when i realized what i had done (or not done)..

SOOO, let me advise all who own a lagonda NOT to let others drive their toy car without training AND the new driver leaving his checkbook with a blank signed check in it until it is returned intact..

blaming this sort of crash on the lagonda is, well, again, BS.. pure BS and if anyone wants a sample, send me a stamped, selfaddressed box and i will send, from the ranch, some real bullshit that you can then smear on the face of the dumbass mechanic..

FWIW, i think i would find a new mechanic FAST..!!
_________________
Bill Morrow, kept by parrots
Sysop - forum.thinkpads.com
*
She was not what you would call refined.
She was not what you would call unrefined.
She was the type of person who kept a parrot.
~~Mark Twain~~

[Mitrovic]

Bill

What happened really to Alvira we don't know, but it is hard to trust the mechanic after this incident!

But, the question is now how is Alvira again to shine in its beauty.
What about your parts car, Bill, may be it could be a donor?

Regards

Zoran

[billmorrow]

zoran..

in the years preceeding the opal incident in nice, france i had been averaging 45,000 to 50,000 miles driven each year for the preceeding 20+ years..
and before that i was always well "wheeled" with every type of car available in the US..
i started driving at about 15 and got my first driveing permit at 16 in about 1953.. thats 55 years and at least 2 million miles or more..

thats a lot of driving..
there are a few things i can do that come naturally..
drive a car and ride a horse are two of them..

when i make the dumb mistake of pushing the clutch on an opal thinking it should be the brake and wondering why the car kept rolling i should be retired from the roadways for the safety of others..

but at least i realize what happened and when i drive the lagonda i usually "two foot" it..
one for gas and one for brake..
a bad habit..
and i do NOT let anyone else drive my lagonda.. ever..

the whole point is that this mysterious sudden and unilateral acceleration of a car is neither sudden or unilateral..

it is an experienced driver who put the key in the ignition, started the car, shifted into gear whereupon the car, idling at 1100 RPM, "jumps" a tiny bit and the now somewhat disoriented person over-reacts and stomps on the gas pedal thinking its the brake..
PANIC MODE..!
i learned NOT to panic when things go wrong when i was captaining my motoryacht.. i was the ultimate responsible person with 4 birds, a wife and three crew depending on me and when the wind is blowing you one way and the tide is pulling you another way and the channel markers are not there and the fog is thick you simply need to learn not to panic..
in the above case, the radar and my calm head got us all through..

hysterical people tend to be blind and unreasonable..
and they continue to do that which they think will stop whatever is causing their hysteria..

pushing the wrong pedal is not uncommon and taken together with the VERY non-standard placement of the brake and gas pedals in the lagonda i am surprised so many of these cars are still surviving..

its too easy for a hysterical mechanic to blame the car, which can not defend itself.. the insurance company does not care, they pay the claim and move forward..

as for Francis and his Alvira, we have spoken and he agreed to purchase my crashed car for the parts..
the body parts he needs are intact including the two rear doors, which will upgrade Alvira to roll down rear door windows..
the price is the same i paid for that car including the delivery charge..
_________________
Bill Morrow, kept by parrots
Sysop - forum.thinkpads.com
*
She was not what you would call refined.
She was not what you would call unrefined.
She was the type of person who kept a parrot.
~~Mark Twain~~