[Closed] An empty car just crashed through my wall !

Get a bat or a pick axe handle and go mental on it. Then you can just claim it was the damage from hitting the wall, and get the fun of smashing up someone's car

Bet it won't cost £3.5k to replace ..... probably best to just sue everyone on the road in case.

That used to happen fairly regularly near my old house, I'd be walking down the road to the station in the morning and would find cars "parked" in the fence. Left on the hill with handbrake not on properly.

Yes their insurance will pay. Probably best to call the police so they can trace the owner.

Are the shit happens/chalk it up to experience/get over it/accidents happens crew on holiday or something ?

I find it amazing that folks park cars out of gear.

NO NO NO! It drives me MAD when people leave cars in gear, especially people who work in garages and around hire cars. It means I have to waggle the gear lever until I think I've found neutral then gingerly declutch, occasionally getting it wrong and stalling the engine.

Not time for a YPLAC sticker 🙂

I think you need a pic of the owner when they turn up OP.

Glad this is a semi-humorous thread and not a tragedy! I remember being told to always park in gear and wheels turned if on a slope to avoid run-aways.

edit: globalti. Surely, it's good practice to start the car with the clutch depressed anyway? and why gingerly? Clutch down, push gear stick into middle, turn key (clutch still down)... where's the hassle? You'd check to make sure the car was in neutral anyway.

Look on the positive side.... you'll be able to get rid of that awful fence at last!

Perhaps the driver Lost (their) Focus 😉

I did similar with my Defender - parked up on steep avenue, put it in 1st gear but forgot to put the handbrake on - it slowly 'wound' itself down the hill as the compression in the engine slowly leaked away over a few hours. had left some steering lock on and it ended up nearly sideways blocking the street! really popular that day!

Must try harder.... [img] [/img]

murf - Member

Lucky it didn't hit your Impreza, claim would probably have gone 50/50 then!
!

Bits of the wall did hit my car. Minor chips/dents. Anyway, the owner has shown up, very shocked and apologetic. He was visiting his dads house further up the road. It was kind of funny seeing the two of them standing in the middle of the road scratching their heads. No one was hurt anyway so not a big deal really.

Has anyone any experience of how long it might take an insurance company to pay out for something like this? I presume an assessor from his insurance company will be out to inspect the damage?

Are the shit happens/chalk it up to experience/get over it/accidents happens crew on holiday or something ?

Junkyard

Only appearing if the OP confirms a dog knocked it out of gear on exiting the car and therefore it was not the owner of the dogs fault this happened , then , and only then , should the OP be happy it missed his car and chalk it up to experience.

The owner (well it's actually his girlfriends car so he's gonna be popular tonight) said he had his daughter with and she was excited to get in to see her grandparents, so he parked up and just engaged the handbrake. He told me his dad constantly berates him for not putting the car in gear. I guess he will next time.

So what's the damage to the car? A scratched spoiler? They'll write it off....

Just a couple of minor stone chip type dents

Surely, it's good practice to start the car with the clutch depressed anyway? and why gingerly? Clutch down, push gear stick into middle, turn key (clutch still down)... where's the hassle?

honeybadgerx - Member
Must try harder....

I literally just walked past the aftermath of that we decided the car must have just knocked the railings over,would never have guessed it had wedged itself in like that!

Now you don't see it:

[img] [/img]

Now you do:

[img] [/img]

HTF did that happen 😯
How was there enough room the car to rotate so it ended on it's side. Especially considering the railings were involved in the mix

I got a job because my car rolled into some-one elses during the interview! I can't explain why it rolled, handbrake was on (even afterwards) & working as I lived on a hill, and I'd sat in the car for 10 minutes before the interview (had gotten in & out, to check with security I had the right place), so even now I can't explain why it happened. The interviewers were impressed with how I handled the situation.. being presented with a colour picture of my car embedded into one of the office workers cars (who I worked with for the next 5 years), I was a tad taken back but dealt with it...

I now put it in gear...

I find it amazing that folks park cars out of gear.

Pretty normal really. I've been doing it for 25 years and never lost a car yet. Clearly I must know how to use a handbrake.

I'd love to see your reaction when something that's actually amazing happens.

I find it pretty amazing people manage to hold driving licences without having seemingly read the highway code.

[img] ?w=255&h=453[/img]

MrsMC has phoned me to say that coming home in a blizzard to pick up LittleMissMC when the school decided to close, she left the front bumper on the verge at the end of our road. 🙄

She has just texted to say that it has now brightened up and all the snow has gone. I blame the teachers! 😉

Obviously I cannot mention that she chose to use the car without winter tyres today. Or the fact that we were going to take it to the local garages on Saturday to start looking at new cars to replace it 👿

^^^
Is that not how you are meant to park a Range Rove Evoque then? To be honest that's some of the more considerate parking I've seen from that model of car

she left the front bumper on the verge at the end of our road.

*Driving speed normally like you would....on a summers evening. Not on snow.

This is timely - I've just spent an hour or so pushing beemers up the street (with the owners' permission!). One parked up on the verge and 20 mins later rolled down the hill for 80 yards and re-positioned itself in a bush! Were it not for the small tree behind the bush, my neighbour would have had a draughty living room tonight!

Alarm went off and passenger window opened itself - very strange! Interesting to hear about the discs cooling idea further up this thread.

According to an update the bumper is still "sort of" attached. But she thinks I need to pull it off to make the car driveable.

Not too sure the integrated fog lights will appreciate that.

Anyway, I'm about to leave work to ride home - squinting - into the bright setting sun glaring off the roads. Then I can start duck taping the front of her car back together......

Is that not how you are meant to park a Range Rove Evoque then?

I find it pretty amazing people manage to hold driving licences without having seemingly read the highway code.

Incredible eh. And I managed to get my RoSPA advanced too 😉

Obviously knowing how to apply a handbrake properly, has saved me needing to take that particular piece of Highway Code "belt and braces" advice.

I do about 65,000 miles a year and have done for a long time, and visit customers all day long, so if parking in gear was the only way to avoid problems, then I guess I would have had plenty of problems before now wouldn't I.

nealglover - Member

I find it amazing that folks park cars out of gear.

Pretty normal really. I've been doing it for 25 years and never lost a car yet. Clearly I must know how to use a handbrake.
I'd love to see your reaction when something that's actually amazing happens.

Although its in the Highway Code for hill parking anyway, I was taught to always park in gear and not rely on just the handbrake. I can't think of a reason to not park a vehicle in gear.

In fairness, I've only got 22 years; so have a bit of catching up to do 😉

Not sure why you are arguing about its clearly better to park with handbrake on and the car in gear and the tyres towards the kerb

Whilst I am relived by the anecdote that you [ neal] have not had any issue with it clearly, as this thread shows, handbrakes do fail on occasions and these simple actions may prevent the terrible carnage of a ruined wall and a subsequent STW bicker.

Driving longer than both of you .......just

Got to agree with Junky here - is there anything to be gained by ignoring the HC advice to leave it in gear with the wheel turned towards the kerb?

Or is this just some kind of macho "I know better than the Highway Code" thing?

Clearly I must know how to use a handbrake.

Which is great - but someone could still shunt your car with theirs and send it rolling down a hill.

Post of the day.

I'm impressed that it only took 3 pages for the bitching to start.

I know it's cool to hate the RR Evoque but that isn't one 🙂

I know it's cool to hate the RR Evoque but that isn't one

yep, it's a RR Sport - and a white one! More fuel for the haterz!

My Dad taught me to drive 30 years ago. He insisted when I parked on a hill as well as using the handbrake I turned the wheels into the kerb and left it in gear (with a cloth over the gear stick to remind me). I taught my now 21 year old son the same. In the snow after Christmas he couldn't get home, leaving the car half way up the last hill. He got picked up for work in a land rover and I offered to collect his car later if the conditions improved. Imagine my delight to find it parked on a wide straight section with wheels turned in, in gear, and even a cloth in place! They do listen. However, sometimes old habits should die as technology improves. I was also taught to depress the handbrake button when applying it, and was taught to cringe when somebody didn't because apparently the ratchet could wear out. Maybe 60 years ago they did. (I still depress it and so does the boy).

My car has an electric automatic handbrake.

My role of 'driver parking car' has become deskilled as a consequence.

It's not fair.

[i]I can't think of a reason to not park a vehicle in gear.[/i]

tbh I never use a handbrake, but then I drive auto's and it ain't going anywhere in PARK.

Indeed it's not fair. The old ways will die out. I did teach him how to double declutch but I bet he can't remember that.

It does make hill starts towing a caravan a bit easier, it has to be said. But still.

My car has an electric automatic handbrake.

It's not fair.

Mine too, snowy car parks aren't nearly as entertaining as they once were

Graham

[i]The windscreen has been cleared so it has been used fairly recently.
They are probably sat in their house completely oblivious to the whole thing. [/i]

Elshalimo

The [b]sun[/b] could have [b]cleared[/b] the snow

Graham

Possibly, but the car further up the street still has plenty of snow on it

JY

Its in the shade

STW at it's finest
🙂

I once parked my car up a friends drive. Went to put stuff in it later, opened passenger door and the car started groaning backwards. Cue panic and leaping across the car inside to put hand on brake pedal. Then the dawning realisation as I lay across the front seats "what do i do now"? 😯