Hi all,
I’ve always liked the K11 series of Micra’s. I owned a black 1.3 GX a couple of years ago & only sold it because it was getting a little rusty. I’d lightly modified it with wider 100NX alloys, a set of lowering springs & a strut brace – all of which transformed the ride & handling.
After the bad winter we had last year my wife decided that she’d like something more practical, & better in 3 feet of snow, than a Mercedes 280 SLK! So I started looking for another K11 & found a low mileage (29,000 miles from new) Y reg 1.4 on Ebay. I went to have a look & it was in very good condition & drove very well so I duly bought it. The Merc was more or less mothballed but kept taxed. MOT’d etc as we did still intend to use it on high days & holidays. I’d bought an Astra sri 2.2 that I was happy with so all was well with the world …….. or so I thought!
Last Monday, coming home from work, the exhaust on the Astra made a bid for freedom & parted company with the rest of the car
I bodged it up & gingerly, & noisily, managed the 10 miles home. I laid it up on the driveway thinking that I could use the Micra, wifey could use the SLK & I could start pricing up exhausts for the Astra. I bought an stainless steel exhaust for it that night off the Z22SE forum.
On the way home from work the very next day, whilst driving the Micra, someone rear-ended me while I was waiting at a roundabout. There didn’t initially appear to be much damage – knackered rear bumper & a slightly damaged rear hatch – so we exchanged details & I drove off home. I didn’t go above 40mph but the car seemed to drive fine apart from the steering wheel being slightly out of whack in the straight ahead position. I looked more closely when I got home & the spare wheel well/boot floor had been damaged in the impact to the extent that the spare was jammed in & couldn’t be removed. I rang the insurance company & was told that the car would probably be a total loss due to its age rather the damage caused in the accident. The car would be picked up by a salvage company & taken away to be inspected by an engineer. I was told not to drive the Micra in the meantime so my wife & I car shared the next day – fortunately the Astra exhaust was delivered to work so I booked the following day off to fit it & to be in when the Micra was picked up. The car was confirmed as a total loss yesterday.
I have to say that the insurance company (Admiral) have been excellent throughout but the company they put me in touch with about getting a courtesy car (Albany Assistance) have been absolutely ruddy useless. The accident happened early last week & they’ve only just been in touch with the offer of a courtesy car – it’s a good job that my wife & I had other cars we could use.
It’s a sad end to what was a great little car
I’ve always liked the K11 series of Micra’s. I owned a black 1.3 GX a couple of years ago & only sold it because it was getting a little rusty. I’d lightly modified it with wider 100NX alloys, a set of lowering springs & a strut brace – all of which transformed the ride & handling.
After the bad winter we had last year my wife decided that she’d like something more practical, & better in 3 feet of snow, than a Mercedes 280 SLK! So I started looking for another K11 & found a low mileage (29,000 miles from new) Y reg 1.4 on Ebay. I went to have a look & it was in very good condition & drove very well so I duly bought it. The Merc was more or less mothballed but kept taxed. MOT’d etc as we did still intend to use it on high days & holidays. I’d bought an Astra sri 2.2 that I was happy with so all was well with the world …….. or so I thought!
Last Monday, coming home from work, the exhaust on the Astra made a bid for freedom & parted company with the rest of the car
I bodged it up & gingerly, & noisily, managed the 10 miles home. I laid it up on the driveway thinking that I could use the Micra, wifey could use the SLK & I could start pricing up exhausts for the Astra. I bought an stainless steel exhaust for it that night off the Z22SE forum.On the way home from work the very next day, whilst driving the Micra, someone rear-ended me while I was waiting at a roundabout. There didn’t initially appear to be much damage – knackered rear bumper & a slightly damaged rear hatch – so we exchanged details & I drove off home. I didn’t go above 40mph but the car seemed to drive fine apart from the steering wheel being slightly out of whack in the straight ahead position. I looked more closely when I got home & the spare wheel well/boot floor had been damaged in the impact to the extent that the spare was jammed in & couldn’t be removed. I rang the insurance company & was told that the car would probably be a total loss due to its age rather the damage caused in the accident. The car would be picked up by a salvage company & taken away to be inspected by an engineer. I was told not to drive the Micra in the meantime so my wife & I car shared the next day – fortunately the Astra exhaust was delivered to work so I booked the following day off to fit it & to be in when the Micra was picked up. The car was confirmed as a total loss yesterday.
I have to say that the insurance company (Admiral) have been excellent throughout but the company they put me in touch with about getting a courtesy car (Albany Assistance) have been absolutely ruddy useless. The accident happened early last week & they’ve only just been in touch with the offer of a courtesy car – it’s a good job that my wife & I had other cars we could use.
It’s a sad end to what was a great little car
