What do you get if you cross a Renault Megane with an MX-3?



  • **A scuff:

    This is the sum-total of damage to Red, my 98R V6 after I was shunted at 25mph by a 2000/W Renault Megane hatch.

    The car in front of me and I both stopped at a zebra crossing as some dogwalkers crossed it. As they were halfway across I became aware of the Megane who, apparently, hadn't seen the bright red car in front or its brake lights (I tend to rest my foot on the pedal if I'm in a static queue on a low speed road and there are no cars behind me).

    Now I always leave about a 15 foot gap in such a situation and, as I realised he just wasn't going to stop, I was moving into that gap as quickly as I dared. He spotted me and slammed the anchors on, but he only had about 0.5s of braking time before the inevitable - given his braking and my acceleration, I'd put it at a 20mph impact.

    The force of the impact knocked my glasses off. I did the usual safety procedure (pull to the side, hazards, get witnesses) and as I got out and saw the front end of the Megane - stoved in like a good 'un - I feared the worst.

    And then I saw that. And that really is the complete total of the damage - I've given the car a thorough investigation and there's nothing. Even the bumper itself is still securely attached.

    Incredible.**



  • lol…that's impressive

    Glad you and the car are the ok :) Would have looked alot different with a fiberglass bodykit!



  • **No doubt!

    The guy who hit me couldn't believe it. The witnesses couldn't believe it. I couldn't believe it.

    Best. Crash. Evar.

    (not from his point of view, mind :D )**



  • Nonetheless, make a big claim!! :D



  • What is is about rear ending mx3s! seems to have happened to a lot of us on here!

    glad you and the car are ok, Hope your whiplash doesnt kick in tomorrow!

    they seem to stand strong from rear end shunts, mine just dented the bumper, everything else ok.



  • @a6d73d31ab=jamesmx3:

    What is is about rear ending mx3s! seems to have happened to a lot of us on here!

    **I'd just hazard a guess that mine was kinda difficult to see, what with it being bright red on a dead straight road on a clear sunny day.

    Or something…**

    @a6d73d31ab=jamesmx3:

    glad you and the car are ok, Hope your whiplash doesnt kick in tomorrow!

    **I've been through the drill before - I've got a sore neck and it'll be stiff through tomorrow and Wednesday which I can milk for sympathy and servitude. :D

    Mind you, at least last time I did something to chuffin' deserve the whiplash!**



  • How ironic!

    no-one ever saw me in my bright red mx-3, i had to go around with my lights on during the day in an attempt to avoid people pulling onto roundabouts in front of me



  • @a2213bd862=Unicorn:

    How ironic!

    no-one ever saw me in my bright red mx-3, i had to go around with my lights on during the day in an attempt to avoid people pulling onto roundabouts in front of me

    **Oh, preaching to the choir. I even got to the point where I'd drive (in town, I hasten to add) at night with either sidelights or no lights at all - because at least then people would notice a car driving round without headlights on and not pull in front of me. I used to take avoiding action 3 times a week or more (though this was when I lived in Ashford).

    That said, I've since got better at reading other drivers and engineering extra time and space so I don't have to avoid anyone - and it's for this reason I had the gap in front of me and was accelerating when I was hit. And possibly that's how everyone's got out of it unscathed, save for the Megane itself (a Renault engineer friend tells me that the model in question is designed so that the front end crumples in impacts above 15mph - and that above 25mph the engine mounts will sheer to move the engine under the car to protect the passengers. So my 20mph impact guess looks pretty reasonable :lol:)**



  • **I wandered round today and spoke to the Megane owners again.

    Apparently it's a write-off…**



  • Must not be worth much then! Guess it's:
    bonnet
    bumper support
    rad cracked
    head light brackets cracked
    front frame bent

    unlucky!



  • It didn't twig at the time because the damage is so beautifully symmetrical, but the frame is bent at the front - it's obvious if you look at where the headlights and bumper don't meet any more, but it's so perfectly even on both sides it didn't occur to me :lol:



  • **Update on Red.

    We've had her on the ramps and, though the mechanic said to be completely sure ideally she should go on a jig, we couldn't see a damn thing wrong with her. I've given her a couple of decent length runs - full tank of petrol used on both Friday and Sunday - at "higher" speeds and down some fun little country roads I'm familiar with and there's no hint of wobbling, crabbing, shaking, slipping (except when I want it to)… In fact no ill-effects that I can identify, and since I've owned her 6 years now I think I'm best-placed to notice anything up.

    I went round to see the Megane driver - they weren't in, but it seems that the passenger also broke her foot in the impact... I passed on the recommendation of an MX-3 for their next car.**



  • Mazota got rear ended last year, cracked bumper…



  • this shows how crap french cars are :D



  • you were very fortunate… it's strange you had that little damage on the mx-3 :o


 

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