Omega Owners Forum
Chat Area => General Discussion Area => Topic started by: humbucker on 17 March 2008, 20:09:39
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OK, so I'm driving home and, not for the first time, one of those council gritter machines comes by and absolutely blasts the front and side of the car with grit. Every time it happens I tense up and go mental, absolutely petrified that The Mothership is going to look like she's been attacked with an air rifle.
Mrs ilovemyelite holds her breath expecting me to explode or break down in tears hahaha!
The roads surrounding home are fairly narrow country roads too so nowhere to hide.
I know they're doing their best to keep me from driving in the river after skidding on ice at night (!) but even so, I'd still like to haul the driver out of his cab and lob him in the river myself.
Furthermore, I started thinking. Let's say half the paintwork HAS come off the side of the car, would you be within your rights to try and claim damages off the council?! Anyone tried this before?
I hate gritters. Period. Bah. >:(
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OK, so I'm driving home and, not for the first time, one of those council gritter machines comes by and absolutely blasts the front and side of the car with grit. Every time it happens I tense up and go mental, absolutely petrified that The Mothership is going to look like she's been attacked with an air rifle.
Mrs ilovemyelite holds her breath expecting me to explode or break down in tears hahaha!
The roads surrounding home are fairly narrow country roads too so nowhere to hide.
I know they're doing their best to keep me from driving in the river after skidding on ice at night (!) but even so, I'd still like to haul the driver out of his cab and lob him in the river myself.
Furthermore, I started thinking. Let's say half the paintwork HAS come off the side of the car, would you be within your rights to try and claim damages off the council?! Anyone tried this before?
I hate gritters. Period. Bah. >:(
Dont know but the grit driver would have been in the river, i would have followed at a distance then attacked ;D ;D when he got out.
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OK, so I'm driving home and, not for the first time, one of those council gritter machines comes by and absolutely blasts the front and side of the car with grit. Every time it happens I tense up and go mental, absolutely petrified that The Mothership is going to look like she's been attacked with an air rifle.
Mrs ilovemyelite holds her breath expecting me to explode or break down in tears hahaha!
The roads surrounding home are fairly narrow country roads too so nowhere to hide.
I know they're doing their best to keep me from driving in the river after skidding on ice at night (!) but even so, I'd still like to haul the driver out of his cab and lob him in the river myself.
Furthermore, I started thinking. Let's say half the paintwork HAS come off the side of the car, would you be within your rights to try and claim damages off the council?! Anyone tried this before?
I hate gritters. Period. Bah. >:(
Dont know but the grit driver would have been in the river, i would have followed at a distance then attacked ;D ;D when he got out.
Bully so that Gritter drivers and RAC windscreen fitter men ;D
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OK, so I'm driving home and, not for the first time, one of those council gritter machines comes by and absolutely blasts the front and side of the car with grit. Every time it happens I tense up and go mental, absolutely petrified that The Mothership is going to look like she's been attacked with an air rifle.
Mrs ilovemyelite holds her breath expecting me to explode or break down in tears hahaha!
The roads surrounding home are fairly narrow country roads too so nowhere to hide.
I know they're doing their best to keep me from driving in the river after skidding on ice at night (!) but even so, I'd still like to haul the driver out of his cab and lob him in the river myself.
Furthermore, I started thinking. Let's say half the paintwork HAS come off the side of the car, would you be within your rights to try and claim damages off the council?! Anyone tried this before?
I hate gritters. Period. Bah. >:(
Dont know but the grit driver would have been in the river, i would have followed at a distance then attacked ;D ;D when he got out.
Bully so that Gritter drivers and RAC windscreen fitter men ;D
No, gritters and Autoglass man.. ;D ;D ;D ;D
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OK, so I'm driving home and, not for the first time, one of those council gritter machines comes by and absolutely blasts the front and side of the car with grit. Every time it happens I tense up and go mental, absolutely petrified that The Mothership is going to look like she's been attacked with an air rifle.
Mrs ilovemyelite holds her breath expecting me to explode or break down in tears hahaha!
The roads surrounding home are fairly narrow country roads too so nowhere to hide.
I know they're doing their best to keep me from driving in the river after skidding on ice at night (!) but even so, I'd still like to haul the driver out of his cab and lob him in the river myself.
Furthermore, I started thinking. Let's say half the paintwork HAS come off the side of the car, would you be within your rights to try and claim damages off the council?! Anyone tried this before?
I hate gritters. Period. Bah. >:(
Dont know but the grit driver would have been in the river, i would have followed at a distance then attacked ;D ;D when he got out.
Bully so that Gritter drivers and RAC windscreen fitter men ;D
No, gritters and Autoglass man.. ;D ;D ;D ;D
Lmfao ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
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inspected car in daylight this morning. definite evidence of stone chips from last nights 'attack'. called council's highways division and lodged complaint, requested speedy response. let's see where it gets me. >:(
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inspected car in daylight this morning. definite evidence of stone chips from last nights 'attack'. called council's highways division and lodged complaint, requested speedy response. let's see where it gets me. >:(
Good for you pal. I know you can claim for damage as a result of pot holes etc, & there's more spent each year in compensation claims than in repairing the roads :-? :-?
Just bloody typical.
You've just made me remember when i was 18, we lived in Yorkshire & my dad had a new Morris Ital van. I followed a Gritter at what i thought was a safe distance & some thing flew out & shattered the windscreen, i had to drive for about 7 miles peering through a small piece that was less cracked than the rest.
But that was in 1984 & now they wouldn't get away with showering vehicles with grit the size of marbles. WOULD THEY :-/ :-/
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Morris Ital van. I followed a Gritter
Surprised you got home before it rotted away. It it was anything like my Ital, that is...
Kevin
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Morris Ital van. I followed a Gritter
Surprised you got home before it rotted away. It it was anything like my Ital, that is...
Kevin
Hi Kevin.
We didn't keep it long enough to find out, very reliable though :y
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Got a call back from Highways Division of council; they asked me to clarify what happened. Explained again that
i was chased for miles by a rogue gritter driven by a maniac who was wearing a t-shirt bearing the slogan 'i hate omegas' there is damage to the paintwork.
Guy I spoke to said that he's going to check all the information on the truck ie. speed of delivery of grit, type of grit, speed of vehicle etc etc electronic-taco data etc. They're going to send me out a claim form to request reimbursement of costs for repairing. I'm a bit worried about corrosion on chipped paint cos of the weather so I might get a touch up stick and take a photo or two of chipped bodywork first to send with claim form.
I figure I might as well request reimbursement for full respray on wing and drivers door against council insurance.
Watch this space. While the forms are coming out to me today I imagine the process, notwithstanding the bank holiday weekend, will take a while to complete... :(
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Got a call back from Highways Division of council; they asked me to clarify what happened. Explained again that i was chased for miles by a rogue gritter driven by a maniac who was wearing a t-shirt bearing the slogan 'i hate omegas' there is damage to the paintwork.
Guy I spoke to said that he's going to check all the information on the truck ie. speed of delivery of grit, type of grit, speed of vehicle etc etc electronic-taco data etc. They're going to send me out a claim form to request reimbursement of costs for repairing. I'm a bit worried about corrosion on chipped paint cos of the weather so I might get a touch up stick and take a photo or two of chipped bodywork first to send with claim form.
I figure I might as well request reimbursement for full respray on wing and drivers door against council insurance.
Watch this space. While the forms are coming out to me today I imagine the process, notwithstanding the bank holiday weekend, will take a while to complete... :(
The bodywork shop will probably do that any way as opposed to just blow ins, especially if it is a metallic, you may even get the full side re-painted :y
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I wouldn't count your respray before its agreed....
The kit used by the council up here, probably in common with those up and down the country, is all computer monitored. ie location via GPS, times via Greenwich clock, grit flow though a counter, direction of travel, route followed etc etc etc.... You may (or may not) come unstuck saying it was at such and such a location at so and so time whilst the telemetrics on the waggon back to base place it several streets away..
Not saying or implying anything whatsoever, simply indicating that the Council chappy said he will ceck the on board stuff and take it from there....
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I wouldn't count your respray before its agreed....
The kit used by the council up here, probably in common with those up and down the country, is all computer monitored. ie location via GPS, times via Greenwich clock, grit flow though a counter, direction of travel, route followed etc etc etc.... You may (or may not) come unstuck saying it was at such and such a location at so and so time whilst the telemetrics on the waggon back to base place it several streets away..
Not saying or implying anything whatsoever, simply indicating that the Council chappy said he will ceck the on board stuff and take it from there....
we'll have to see what happens. the road in question is a country b-road with nothing coming off of it for about 4 miles so its likey they will be able to place it on the right road providing i havent got my times muddled up...!
i have no doubt they will do everything they can to wriggle out of it but im determined to give it my best shot. why should i have to pay out for corrective work simply because the driver was too inconsiderate to pause hammering the road for 2 seconds, especially as he could see me coming for hundreds of yards and i was the only other car on my side of the road... with nowhere to hide!! i realise they're trying to do a sterling job and all, but really, common sense tells you if theres a car coming the other way that is going to be right up against you that maybe you should cut some slack and ease off the bombardment!
>:(
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an update on this for those interested...
i wrote a letter to the highways agency along with the claim form, a batch of 'before and after' photos, illustrations etc etc and they politely wrote back to say they'd received it.
a week or two later i got a call from someone from the highways agency who wanted to come and inspect the car for damage to determine whether i was trying to pull a fast one or not. so he visited me at work.
he concluded that the damage to the wing, door, grille and wing mirror was definitely caused by a gritter on account of the fact that the chips in some places span 6mm, the exact size of the salt stuff used in the gritter. also you could see the direction of the 'attack' from front drivers corner across front of car.
he said he was happy for the council to accept liability and that i should be hearing from them shortly. i asked 'what now' and he said they'd probably simply write to me with an offer of reimbursement in the form of a cheque as the council 'have a reserve of cash put by to compensate members of the public' for things like this.
i called this week to say i still hadn't heard back and was told that they are a very small team and so havent had a chance to respond. they are going to be getting in touch this coming week apparently.
while i'm not picking up the phone to the bodyshop just yet, things are looking pretty good on this front. i am going to be dead chuffed if they come up trumps as i was / am so unhappy about it. as you can see from the photos on the following thread, the condition of these body panels was fantastic before this!!
http://www.omegaowners.com/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1204376087
anyway, i'm glad i complained and am looking forward to hearing from the powers that be with regard to compensation...
more to follow when i hear back...
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Although you have not received compensation yet It's obviously looking good for you, and just proves that with perserverance you can achieve your aims against all the odds. Well done! :y :y
I know many years back how difficult it was to obtain compensation from local councils when just your windscreen was smashed by the road menders grit, so you certainly have a result if they have admitted liability to damage by a gritter. :y
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Good result thus far -- let's hope they come up with a decent offer !!!
I had a similar run in when a grass cutter shot a stone through my windscreen a while back --- couldn't prove they had "fired it" though, so had to get a replacement myself !
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Nice one .. proves it pays to complain :y :y :y
As long as the "offer" truly reflects the cost of repair .....
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Nice one .. proves it pays to complain :y :y :y
As long as the "offer" truly reflects the cost of repair .....
we'll see....! i gave them the highest quote i could get my hands on. guess where. ::)
yup, vx. figured i could give ridiculously high quote to council so that when they knock me down i end up with the right amount at reasonably priced bodyshop. of course if i'm lucky they might give me the full amount quoted at vx and then i'm quids in too! somehow i doubt that's going to happen!
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the latest update...
so after a month of chasing the highways agency and then them trying to get the council to call me back i finally got hold of the claims handler at the council offices today.
she said the council will "reluctantly" pay for the damages to the car based on the quote i provided to them previously. i was told by the highways agency that the council claims dept would send a cheque, but they said this is not an option and that they will simply settle the bill from the bodyshop i get the repair work completed at.
this, in many respects, is a proper result. they are going to fork out for the damage they caused to the car. but...
...i had supplied a quote from vx bodyshop, stupid expensive, thinking that even if they tried to knock me down then at least i would still have the right amount to go get the work done at a decent bodyshop. im left thinking if i had a cheque i could get a lot more done, possibly a full respray for not a lot more than vx have quoted for minor damage to wing and door!
::)
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Far me it from me to suggest anything slightly devious .... :)
but can't you get you friendly body shop to do the work you want, at the price of the Vx quote, and bill for just the wing & door, as agreed ...???
:y :y :y ;D ;D ;D
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:y Sounds like a plan.... ;)
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Far me it from me to suggest anything slightly devious .... :)
but can't you get you friendly body shop to do the work you want, at the price of the Vx quote, and bill for just the wing & door, as agreed ...???
:y :y :y ;D ;D ;D
it has crossed my mind... i need to find a decent bodyshop though, don't really know of any round here. couple of phone calls to be made methinks...
the quote i had from vx came to £700 for repairs to o/s/f wing, o/s/f door, grille and paint blending into adjacent panels. it is effectively stone chips, albeit a fair few of them.
seemed a lot to me, but then again im no expert when it comes to bodywork. anyone have any thoughts on this? one forum member told me he had his entire omega sprayed for just under a grand...
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Far me it from me to suggest anything slightly devious .... :)
but can't you get you friendly body shop to do the work you want, at the price of the Vx quote, and bill for just the wing & door, as agreed ...???
:y :y :y ;D ;D ;D
it has crossed my mind... i need to find a decent bodyshop though, don't really know of any round here. couple of phone calls to be made methinks...
the quote i had from vx came to £700 for repairs to o/s/f wing, o/s/f door, grille and paint blending into adjacent panels. it is effectively stone chips, albeit a fair few of them.
seemed a lot to me, but then again im no expert when it comes to bodywork. anyone have any thoughts on this? one forum member told me he had his entire omega sprayed for just under a grand...
Are, they giving you the cheque or paying the garage direct, the answer could be your answer. ;) ;)
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initially i had been told it would be a cheque, but they said today the bodyshop will send the invoice to the council and then they will pay them directly. bah.
i know i shouldnt complain, but it just seems such a shame to fork out all that cash to vx when theyre not really that bothered either way when i could probably get a lot more done elsewhere.
:-/
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initially i had been told it would be a cheque, but they said today the bodyshop will send the invoice to the council and then they will pay them directly. bah.
i know i shouldnt complain, but it just seems such a shame to fork out all that cash to vx when theyre not really that bothered either way when i could probably get a lot more done elsewhere.
:-/
The most obvious place that springs too mind is Gladwins at Warboys....from what ive heard there pretty good and well they have been there donkeys years so might be worth a look.
Failing that maybe Greenwoods in Ramsey...im sure either would write out a receipt that favours you. ;)
Oh and its nice too know why my council tax has gone up again..... ;D ;D
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......
the quote i had from vx came to £700 for repairs to o/s/f wing, o/s/f door, grille and paint blending into adjacent panels. it is effectively stone chips, albeit a fair few of them.
........ one forum member told me he had his entire omega sprayed for just under a grand...
For comparison I've just paid out £750 to have various scabs repaired on all four doors, & he also did little bits & pieces in front & rear wings so he spray into them. I believe he removed all four doors to do them properly, ie the driver's door had a repair on the front edge, just above the nudge strip. A lot of money to spend on a T reg car ...... :-/
Just need another couple of hundred to do the bonnet & front bumper.
;) ;) ;)
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I bit of a trek for you i know but... Suffolk Resprays in Ipswich would be able to help!
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......
the quote i had from vx came to £700 for repairs to o/s/f wing, o/s/f door, grille and paint blending into adjacent panels. it is effectively stone chips, albeit a fair few of them.
........ one forum member told me he had his entire omega sprayed for just under a grand...
For comparison I've just paid out £750 to have various scabs repaired on all four doors, & he also did little bits & pieces in front & rear wings so he spray into them. I believe he removed all four doors to do them properly, ie the driver's door had a repair on the front edge, just above the nudge strip. A lot of money to spend on a T reg car ...... :-/
Just need another couple of hundred to do the bonnet & front bumper.
;) ;) ;)
:o :o :o :o That is a lot!!! Why is it so dear???
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.......
:o :o :o :o That is a lot!!! Why is it so dear???
Mainly time. But paint itself isn't cheap - especially metalic.
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I bit of a trek for you i know but... Suffolk Resprays in Ipswich would be able to help!
you speak from experience? have you used them before?
thanks for suggestions of bodyshops everyone, will be making some calls shortly...
:y
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Although you have not received compensation yet It's obviously looking good for you, and just proves that with perserverance you can achieve your aims against all the odds. Well done! :y :y
I know many years back how difficult it was to obtain compensation from local councils when just your windscreen was smashed by the road menders grit, so you certainly have a result if they have admitted liability to damage by a gritter. :y
ok an update on this for anyone thats interested or anyone thats thinking about similar action...
after MONTHS of toing and froing [sic] things have come to a close. almost.
after the guy from the highways agency came along and accepted liability (see previous post) and the council "reluctantly" agreed to pay up things went decidedly quiet... i was chasing and chasing and chasing a response from the council but they werent returning any calls and didnt want to know. in addition to chasing them direct i was chasing them through the highways agency, who in turn were getting frustrated, but to no avail.
finally the council get in touch. the manager of the insurance claims division has now got involved and doesnt want to pay, despite the agreement i already had. he's concerned about paying out so much in damages for a car that 'might not be worth spending the money on'. i, of course, go mental at them and so they agree to send ANOTHER assessor out, this time an independent, who is charged with working out whether the car is worth more than the cost of the repairs. i point out just how much work has been done on the car, the condition of it, and the money spent on it in recent months and am told to 'argue my case' when the assessor turns up.
a week or so later assessor turns up and before he even gets to the car says 'i think we both know the answer to this one'. fearing a slightly ambiguous comment i ask for clarification and he says he has no problem confirming that the council have to cough up. he then takes some time to look over it, under the bonnet etc, sees it gleaming, comments on how much he likes the car and wanders off.
council go quiet AGAIN. finally i get a response and am told, once again, that the council will pay out. this time they have sent me it in writing and have given approval to my preferred bodyshop to go ahead and bill them! hoorah!
car is booked in for respray of bonnet, drivers door, drivers wing, drivers door mirror, blending etc this tuesday and i should get her back at the end of the week. hoorah!!
the original incident was beginning of march, its now beginning of september (almost). its been a pain in the ass but persiverence seems to have paid off. *sigh of relief*
hopefully that's the end of it... :P
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Repaired just in time for them to do it again this winter :P
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Result :y
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At last the saga draws to an end ... well done for sticking it out ... :y :y
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Most excellent result well done.
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Well done for your perseverance :y
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Nice one, glad you have got it sorted. :y
Do you have any pics of the damage?
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Great result and justice has been done!! :) :) :y
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Great result and justice has been done!! :) :) :y
'...and justice for all'
thanks for the kind words all. she goes into the bodyshop tomorrow so hopefully by the end of this week that'll be the end of it.
Repaired just in time for them to do it again this winter :P
!!!! :D i think i'd implode!
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update!!! whoo hoo car back and repaired/resprayed! pics up in the gallery here:
http://www.omegaowners.com/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1220886721
:y :y :y :D :D :D
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Result :y :y :y :y :y
Nice one ;D ;D
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update!!! whoo hoo car back and repaired/resprayed! pics up in the gallery here:
http://www.omegaowners.com/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1220886721
:y :y :y :D :D :D
That looks as good as new! :y :y I am really pleased for you. :D ;)
Just stay away from those bloody gritters!! ::) ::) :D
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thats good news geezer, about time- but they dont hurry with compo do they !! ;)
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thats good news geezer, about time- but they dont hurry with compo do they !! ;)
tell me about it; over 6 months if memory serves, got there in the end though!! :y
might have to call em again in a few weeks... 'so anyway i was driving my cavalier when...'
;D ;D ;D
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That's a good job --- hang on -- I'm just going to nip out and look for a gritter to follow :D ..... maybe not ::)
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bugger
just got the car back from the bodyshop, respray as detailed in this thread.
coming home on thursday night, not one but TWO gritters hammered the car.
chipped grille and bonnet. i better get well versed with the touch up stick i guess. or is it a case of 'here we go again'...!?!
sheesh :(
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Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Not again!!!!
>:(
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Hell there keen in your neck of the woods havnt seen any up here yet! ::)
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We have had them last few nights, not tonight though, warm as toast tonight. :y
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it wouldnt be so bad but theres a chance that the 5 million tonnes of salt they chuck on the road at the sight of a cloud will rot the car from the ground up anyway
maybe i just have to accept it as a fact of life living out in the sticks? or maybe i should drive something i dont mind getting battered in the winter
*sniffle*
went to the art shop and bought a fine brush to have a go at the chips with. can't believe it. bstrds!
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it wouldnt be so bad but theres a chance that the 5 million tonnes of salt they chuck on the road at the sight of a cloud will rot the car from the ground up anyway
maybe i just have to accept it as a fact of life living out in the sticks? or maybe i should drive something i dont mind getting battered in the winter
*sniffle*
went to the art shop and bought a fine brush to have a go at the chips with. can't believe it. bstrds!
You seem to have been unlucky, but when would you have them grit the roads? I would be the first to complain if the gritters had not been out, living in the country myself. Only ever got splattered by a gritter and that was in London many years ago.
I believe councils are cnsidering a different way of salting the roads, using a saline solution, that would be even worse for rotting cars, even if it did not leave the odd mark on a car. :)