Just a day after my wife explains to Chris that bad things happen in 3s and that all my MINI accidents are finished since I've had the 3 incidents already - I did it again.

I was involved in another incident involving bent sheetmetal, cracked paint, broken plastic bits and a broken MINI emblem.

This incident involved another large vehicle, a Dodge Ram, extended cab. I happened to be in a turn in our parking lot and hit some ice and my turn suddenly straightened out and I met the Ram, behind it's rear wheel.

There was no one around and I didn't know whose truck it was, so I resorted to leaving a note. I've never had to do that before and felt weird doing it. But I knew it was better than NOT doing it, so I proceeded.

The damage is once again in the center of the hood and also down on the right bumper, in front of the passenger side wheel. I had to break some parts off to keep them from rubbing on the wheel. The hood is displaced a bit to the side and is a pain to open. It won't latch on both sides. Strangely enough, the large headlight managed to escape without breaking. The radiator is bent a little at the top, but not broken - whew.

I had an estimate last night and will get another one tonight, but it looks as though the damages will be close to the tune of $3,000+. OUCH.

It should be repaired relatively quickly, but my pride will take longer I fear. It's awful driving around with a bent up MINI. I get looks and pointing fingers like when I first got it, as it may be the first bent up MINI they've seen. Not exactly how I like to drive around...

No airbags went off. In all of my accidents with the MINI, luckily none of them have been fast enough to deploy the airbags. Which is good I guess, but also makes me wonder, do they work? I'm sure there is a magic combination that one must attain to get them to deploy. I'm grateful that all my accidents have been below 20mph or so and haven't needed the bag protection.

Until I get the final estimate, I'll be driving around in a bent up MINI, wondering if the person I hit works next to me and will come over and demand that I buy them lunch for the next year or if they will decide that their damage is minimal and just shake it off....who knows. Time will tell. Hopefully this will be my last incident for some time.

Adam

 

Well,

I dropped of the MINI at Hamline Autobody this morning. Hopefully it understands why I won't be around for several days. Hopefully it won't get too depressed if it has to sit around waiting for parts to arrive, knowing that it could be out motoring.

My loaner car for the time period happens to be...get this.... a GMC Envoy. Of all cars, I happen to be stuck with an SUV! I was about to get a Focus, but then the lady realized that she needed the Focus for something else. GRRR

So I transferred my stuff from the MINI to the Envoy and hoped that it wasn't looking when I jumped in and drove off. If it had seen me I'm sure it would have broke down and leaked some fluid for sure.

Now I play the waiting game. Hopefully parts won't take much time to arrive so that we can be reunited soon. In the meantime, I'll hog the road I guess and wonder why someone would drive something so soft,boring and slow handeling.

I'm supposed to be getting some pics of the damage soon. I'll let you know when those get to me.

Adam

 

Sorry to hear about your bad luck. I'm sure your MINI will be thankful when it's all done! No more funny looks or snide comments in the parking lot.

 

LOL - thanks. I'm sure it was embarassing for my wife when I dropped her off at the bus stop in the morning and the whole line looked over at the banged up MINI.

 

eek! mushed MINI and an SUV to boot. Of all SUVs to get, the Envoy isn't a bad one though (did I just admit that?!) Hope the MINI is back in working order soon :smile: ... and I assure you, those airbags work juuust fine

 

Thanks! When I get banished from the land, I'll be sure to use your name as well so I'm not alone -

Have I mentioned how much gas this thing uses?!!

 

my previous car was 14-16mpg gas guzzling Oldsmobile Bravada. You can go broke just driving around town. Hoping for speedy MINI return for you...

 

I received some pictures from Ted at Hamline Autobody this morning. You can survey the damage yourself here:

Amazing how fast $3,400+ adds up!

 

oh dear Poor Cooper. I could show you some pictures that would make you feel better relatively speaking at least

 

Hey Adam! That Tow Hook Stayed Intact! It helps with safety, like the reason I told you to put on!

 

LOL - yeah, maybe I should sharpen it a little then I could leave a little more damage *next* time!

 

Friday evening I picked up my MINI from Hamline Autobody. Boy did it look good! It brought me back to the first day I picked it up! It was clean, the wheels were clean and it wasn't all bangedup anymore. I was FOR SURE all smiles on the way home.

They seemed to have done a pretty good job of puttin' it back together. He said that they had some issues with a fog lamp and that I got an updated set, as they don't make my original set any longer.

It seems to run fine and looks great with the new nose. However, the fog lamp he was having problems with still doesn't work and the right headlamp seems to shine farther ahead than the left one.

All in all we're glad to be back on the road. It's kinda weird, but I missed the "harsh" ride that so many magazines whine about while I was rollin in my Envoy.

Plus, now when I drop Tracy at the bus stop, people will see the fixed MINI instead of the big ole Envoy!

Thanks Hamline Autobody!

 

Hey, welcome the Mini back for me! Now we need to find a grinder to make that tow hook sharper to leave more damaged! Wanna meet up for lunch!?! I wish. Keep us posted, I still like to hear how things are going. How about that Toys for Tots?