I had a major incident today!!

[kwala 0]

Well here's a little story that dosen't end well!!

 

Had to go to the Post Office today, so instead of just poping into town, I decided i'd take The Vr6 for a little spin before the bad weather arrives, as I hadn't driven it for a few weeks. Decided to drive to a little village post office about 5 miles away. Took it really steady on the way there just to warm the engine up, never taking it above 2500rpm. Left the post office, was cruising up a hill in 4th gear doing about 40mph, thinking to myself how well and smoothly the Rado was running. Got it onto the Dual carridgeway, got up to about 80mph overtaking someone, and .....................................................................................WHALLOP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

The Fucking bonnet flew open........ :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: ............. smashed into the windscreen with some unbelieveable force!!! Knocked the rearview mirror off, the cover for the sunroof motor and the rooflights out of their housing!! God knows when the last time I opened the bonnet was!! I hardly ever drive the bloody thing!!

 

I think i may, need to see a doctor about my nerves though!! Because concidering what just happen, how suddenly, and the fact i was doing 80mph whilst overtaking, I was more relaxed than a man who had just ejaculated!! LOL. I couldn't see forwards obviously, and had no rearview mirror to see behind!! Driving using only wing mirrors is quite challenging!! Anyway slowed down pretty sharpish, and rolled onto the grass verge. Oh, by the way the girlfriend was in the car, and not very impressed I can tell you!!

 

The bonnet is mangled, Winscreen mangled, plastics around the wiper arms are broken, and even worse the roof and sunroof are dented, not sure if the roof is pushed in structurally , would need to take the headlining out to have a look. I Havn't called the Insurance company yet!! Would they Just simply write it off, if the roof has been damaged anyway? I have never made a claim before!

 

Problem is I don't want the Insurance company to write it off!! I have had the car 9 years and I know everything that has been done, and needs to be done. I had been planning on keeping it forever!! I have actually been saving to get the bloody thing fully resprayed next spring, and was thinking Chains, tensioners,and head rebuild, the year after. In the past year i have put in a full heated leather Interior, added a set of 16" Audi speedlines and new tyres, A new Bluetooth head unit, and have a Moonroof waiting to go on, and replacement heater controls on route!! £££££'s!!! I still have all the original parts I replaced IF things turn out badly I'll just replace them on the car. So, IF i could get a bonnet myself, would the insurance company let me use this and the moonroof i all ready have?, or would they just write it off anyhow? What value do they price on a 93 VR6? £2K+? and at what % of the value do they write it off? Is it worth reporting if i can get a bonnet, as the only difference in price on the respray would be knocking out the dents on the roof?

 

Any advice would be greatly appreciated guys.

 

Anyone have a late Vr6 bonnet in moonlight blue pearl? A driverside wing would be good too as I have a spot of rust!! or Plastics for around the wipers?

 

Oh, a word of advice check and lubricate your bonnet catches!!

[VR6 0]

Wow I bet that needed a change of underpants!

 

The good news (for you at least!) is that there are tons of cars being broken so parts are fairly easy to come by. Saying that, damage to the roof is never a good thing but might be something a body shop can sort for you.

 

If you're planning on keeping it long term, you might be best to get an insurance payout, have it registered as a write off, then buy it back and repair using the payout + maybe some of your own funds. Registered write offs are mainly bad for when you come to sell so my thinking is, why not just use the insurance money you're entitled to and get the car fixed to enjoy for the next 10 years or so.

[davidwort 0]

:shock:

seen it happen on a crappy old polo with a siezed bonnet catch but never heard of it on a Corrado, I've driven at over 100 and then noticed the bonnet jiggling on it's safety catch, really surprised yours let go.

[kwala 0]

:shock:

seen it happen on a crappy old polo with a siezed bonnet catch but never heard of it on a Corrado, I've driven at over 100 and then noticed the bonnet jiggling on it's safety catch, really surprised yours let go.

 

 

Not as surprised as me!! :D

 

I will definately be doing maintenance and checks on bonnet catches from now on!! Had the Bonnet cable replaced years ago, was one of the first problems iI had with the car!! WD40 should get them a little less stiff!! My car often see's 100mph, although that is about as fast as I drive it these days, and not very often!!! I did once hit 145 on the clock when I first got the car!! Imagine things would have turned out a little differently at speeds over 100mph. The force of the impact was pretty impressive at 80mph, as the state of the bonnet would testify!!

[Supercharged 2]

Heard of it happening but assumed it was not closed properly...

 

The C has 2 catches plus that middle latch but then again it is a seriously heavy bonnet compared with a Golf.

 

That middle catch is less than £10 from VW, well worth getting a new one if the spring is getting tired.

[Kevin Bacon 5]

The middle latch's sole job is to prevent what happened here! I've seen a few corrados were the middle latch hasn't been lubricated and it doesn't 'latch' onto the slam panel when opened or closed.

 

This is why hinge and latch lubrication is part of a car's servicing :D

[Supercharged 2]

The middle latch's sole job is to prevent what happened here! I've seen a few corrados were the middle latch hasn't been lubricated and it doesn't 'latch' onto the slam panel when opened or closed.

 

This is why hinge and latch lubrication is part of a car's servicing :D

 

That's a very good point Kev - I wonder what percentage of people who service there own cars actually go through the ELSA checklist and actually lube all the locks with the correct stuff plus the sunroof guides, check underseal etc...

 

That VW lock stuff is the nuts - the only time I have had a frozen lock on a VW was the year I forgot to use it!

[Kevin Bacon 5]

I do mate, frequently! Tailgate hinges, bonnet hinges, door hinges, all 3 bonnet latches, boot lock and door locks!

 

What's this VAG lock stuff mate? I just use white grease :D

 

Oh and I also spray VAG wax on the bottoms of the doors and all other panels that are hidden from view, but open to the elements.....and I cake the stuff onto the radiator support as they always rot through.....

 

Should turn this into a servicing thread, LOL!

[Josh Waddi 0]

Well here's a little story that dosen't end well!!

 

Had to go to the Post Office today, so instead of just poping into town, I decided i'd take The Vr6 for a little spin before the bad weather arrives, as I hadn't driven it for a few weeks. Decided to drive to a little village post office about 5 miles away. Took it really steady on the way there just to warm the engine up, never taking it above 2500rpm. Left the post office, was cruising up a hill in 4th gear doing about 40mph, thinking to myself how well and smoothly the Rado was running. Got it onto the Dual carridgeway, got up to about 80mph overtaking someone, and .....................................................................................WHALLOP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

The **** bonnet flew open........ :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: ............. smashed into the windscreen with some unbelieveable force!!! Knocked the rearview mirror off, the cover for the sunroof motor and the rooflights out of their housing!! God knows when the last time I opened the bonnet was!! I hardly ever drive the bloody thing!!

 

I think i may, need to see a doctor about my nerves though!! Because concidering what just happen, how suddenly, and the fact i was doing 80mph whilst overtaking, I was more relaxed than a man who had just ejaculated!! LOL. I couldn't see forwards obviously, and had no rearview mirror to see behind!! Driving using only wing mirrors is quite challenging!! Anyway slowed down pretty sharpish, and rolled onto the grass verge. Oh, by the way the girlfriend was in the car, and not very impressed I can tell you!!

 

The bonnet is mangled, Winscreen mangled, plastics around the wiper arms are broken, and even worse the roof and sunroof are dented, not sure if the roof is pushed in structurally , would need to take the headlining out to have a look. I Havn't called the Insurance company yet!! Would they Just simply write it off, if the roof has been damaged anyway? I have never made a claim before!

 

Problem is I don't want the Insurance company to write it off!! I have had the car 9 years and I know everything that has been done, and needs to be done. I had been planning on keeping it forever!! I have actually been saving to get the bloody thing fully resprayed next spring, and was thinking Chains, tensioners,and head rebuild, the year after. In the past year i have put in a full heated leather Interior, added a set of 16" Audi speedlines and new tyres, A new Bluetooth head unit, and have a Moonroof waiting to go on, and replacement heater controls on route!! £££££'s!!! I still have all the original parts I replaced IF things turn out badly I'll just replace them on the car. So, IF i could get a bonnet myself, would the insurance company let me use this and the moonroof i all ready have?, or would they just write it off anyhow? What value do they price on a 93 VR6? £2K+? and at what % of the value do they write it off? Is it worth reporting if i can get a bonnet, as the only difference in price on the respray would be knocking out the dents on the roof?

 

Any advice would be greatly appreciated guys.

 

Anyone have a late Vr6 bonnet in moonlight blue pearl? A driverside wing would be good too as I have a spot of rust!! or Plastics for around the wipers?

 

Oh, a word of advice check and lubricate your bonnet catches!!

 

 

Hi Mate

 

Working in insurance i would say most damage to roof instantly make the car a write off, unless theres no dents and just paint work. the way the industry is if the costs are 70% of the vaule (that being from the glasses guide - who do not consider any mods, maintenence ect) then they will write it off.

 

I would say buy a breaker and DIY it if you want to keep the "total loss" marker off the vehicle.

 

Cheers

[kwala 0]

Hi Mate

 

Working in insurance i would say most damage to roof instantly make the car a write off, unless theres no dents and just paint work. the way the industry is if the costs are 70% of the vaule (that being from the glasses guide - who do not consider any mods, maintenence ect) then they will write it off.

 

I would say buy a breaker and DIY it if you want to keep the "total loss" marker off the vehicle.

 

Cheers

 

 

That was what i was thinking. Price of getting a bonnet, and plastics is not too much. As i was planning a full respray only difference is the cost of knocking the dents out!! I dont think the roof is actually distorted structurally, but there are a couple of small dents deffinately!!

[Mawrick 0]

yea WHAT is that VW lock stuff ??? - part number?.

[kwala 0]

I've seen a few corrados were the middle latch hasn't been lubricated and it doesn't 'latch' onto the slam panel when opened or closed.

 

This is why hinge and latch lubrication is part of a car's servicing :D

 

I would say that is 100% what happened. I would 100% recommend that people check their's out, It is not a good experience.

 

It had never really occured to me to check before yesterday. I had always assumed it only happened on bonnet's that hadn't been shut properly.

 

My bonnet hasn't been up in months, I doubt I have clocked 1500 miles in the last year, so opening the bonnet is a pretty rare thing unless it needs screenwash. Last thing I fixed under the bonnet was a burst Rad hose, but that was in the spring sometime, and nothing has been done on the car at all since having it polly bushed last winter!! I would say that 99.999999% of garages, whether dealers, or specialist's wouldn't look at the bonnet latch. I'll be looking for a garage that does!! Just show's that these small, seemingly "POINTLESS" thing's are pretty damn important on older cars.

[VR6Pete 0]

Just doing a quick search because my bonnet latch doesnt spring anymore, the last thing I want is this to happen!

 

Does anyone have the part number, and price for a new bonnet latch? :)

[Callum33 0]

Really wishing I hadnt read this before my long drive tonigt with no grille to reduce air pushing up underneath the bonnet, but glad your ok and doesnt sound too bad considering how bleeding heavy C bonnets are!

[leeeeshad 0]

Just doing a quick search because my bonnet latch doesnt spring anymore, the last thing I want is this to happen!

 

Does anyone have the part number, and price for a new bonnet latch? :)

 

the hook part that attaches to the bonnet is 535823507 according to vag cat