Well, I was anticipating my next post was going to be "before and after" pics of my 2" OME install. The "after" pics had a ton of brake dust on the wheels, so after returning to town Wednesday after a 2 .5 week trip, off to the local car wash I go Thursday morning.

Well, first and foremost, it's a good thing nobody was hurt, as the potential for loss was significant given the circumstances.

Second, my wife and I are very disappointed our new addition has been sent to the body shop. We searched long and far for the perfect Rover to pop up, and when it did, we did not hesitate and it arrived in our drive.

The car wash attendant claims he got into the vehicle as it was coming out of the wash, put the Rover into drive, and it just took off at full accelleration. Frankly this is BS. I was one of the first on the scene to help the driver and the vehicle was not reving out of control as described. After the fact, the manager of the place asked me, almost right away, if the vehicle had any "surging" issues. Emphatically NO.

Police/fire/EMS arrived and the driver was transported to the local hospital where he was cleared of any injuries, except for maybe his pride. Honestly this is the most important thing.

Police took accounts, scene was secured, tow trucks arrived. The manager of the place assured me they would take care of everything. Offered a rental vehicle, but I passed as I did not need one and this will likely cost them enough the way it is.

The thing that gets me, though, is as I was leaving the place I was walking away from the manager who just commended me on my professionalism regarding the situation, and then he interjects "oh, and by the way, Rovers do have surging issues..." ...really, did he just say that? I'm being understanding of the situation that they just &$%*ed-up my Rover, save them unnecessary expenditures for a rental, and then he tries, for a second time, to backhandedly imply my vehicle was at fault??? ...really, did he just do that??? Yes, he did.

As it stands now, they will "take care of everything"... My abused Disco is currently awaiting evaluation at the local body shop that does all of the body work for Land Rover here in town. They checked for any codes when they dropped off the vehicle and there were none, except for some misfire codes from after the impact.

Anyone want to guess on the eventual cost to repair? What will be the liklihood of getting back to the pristine pre-impact operating condition is was in before this little mishap. We all know how prone these vehicles are to various gremlins... Does this herald the inevitable arrival of eternal gremlins that will plague my beloved Disco until I decide to sell it???

FWIW, if anyone experienced with Disco repairs wants to post a "guestimate", please feel free. As for the extent of the damage, check out the pics. Airbags did not deploy as the post and tree it struck were both offset and not dead center. Coolant and steering fluid on the ground, no engine or gear oil that I could see. Engine runs, as they did back it up twice at the scene, once to get it off the pole and once to line it up for the tow truck. And BTW, there was no "surging"...

BTW - for those of you interested in a 2" lift, I cannot say enough good things about OME . Pony up the $600, you will not regret it. Lucky8 took care of me and I would recommend them without hesitation (no affiliation). Some of the pics demonstrate the lift - try to look past the recent subtle bodywork "mods"...

 

I'd say it's totaled. I'd also ask the manager to present proof of "known surging issues" with any vehicle, much less the Rover. I'd also ask if the driver was drug tested. Quit being nice - these guys are douchebags.

 

OMG !!!!
I guess I dont have ALL the bad luck...........glad you all are ok.
Should we send flowers to the wash attendant's funeral......of course by now I'd bet he's not a wash attendant THERE anymore !

good luck on the re-fab

 

thats a total fer sure

 

Wow, he hit a Land Cruiser too?
That guy wont be working any where ever for a nice long time.
See, this is why I dont wash my truck, so these things dont happen.

 

Awww man, not the "T" word...

As for the known surging issues, I think he was grabbing at straws looking for an out...

As for being "nice", I appreciate your comment and could not agree with you more. I'm not the person that lays down and lets someone walk on me... however, there is an appropriate way to present yourself and behave in a situation like this. But man, when the manager tried for a second time to put the blame on me... dude, that really pissed me off...

I'm not litiginous (I'm no fan of lawyers - thats putting it VERY nicely), but if there is any attempt at any funny business, I'll do my very best to expose it to the detriment of their company...

 

Highlander actually, and only 30 days and 900 miles old per the proud owner. Man did it do a number on the passenger side...

The next item on my "to-buy" list was an ARB Safari bumper... I wonder how much damage I could have avoided on my Disco if I would have acted on that impulse...

Then again, there is no telling what shape the Highlander would be in if I had done that...

Still wishing I had that ARB right about now...

 

Sorry to see / hear your misfortune

This is why Im not a fan of ANYONE driving my car, for washing it or anything else for that fact, as things like this can potentially happen.......

I hate to say this, but I think its a def write off (totalled over there) imo.
from the looks of the pictures theres to much damage to the inner wings to be an "economical repair" imo..............shame, as it looks very tidy.....pre dum**** driving it.....

 

Agreed... I was hoping with the lack of an airbag deployment and more of a body panel "scalping" of the front end, there would be a potential for a repair... seems the potential for that is low at this point...

Damn, she was mint too... hate the thought of rolling the dice and looking for another one...

 

Really sorry to see/hear of your troubles. It's very obvious the attendant had put his foot on the gas pedal rather than the brake pedal when shifting it into drive. After the rover took off like a bat out of hell, I'm sure he panicked and couldn't react in time. Wouldn't surprise me if he was high or something. Did he have white powder on his lips like Tyrone Biggums?

It will be totaled for sure. Sorry to hear of your loss. The OME does look great.

The surge comment is bull$#!t. By maintaining your civility after a comment like that, you walked away the better person. It would have taken me a lot not to have turned around and knock his block off. What a douche.

Don't lose sleep over it or let it bother you in anyway, it was completely out of your control.