So I need advice, the curse hits...twice....

[A Horse With No Name]

So I've been hit twice by the curse in two weeks....

My son has wrecked the Miata TWICE.

First time, he ran off a dark road when he missed a curve...hit a concrete culvert and ripped the front suspension out from under the car as he entered a bean field, broke the motor mounts, and twisted the cradle.

Called in a favor from a friend of mine who owns a body shop, had the front suspension replaced with a front suspension from a clean 66,000 mile donor car which we got for next to nothing...paid cash for the repair so my son's insurance wouldn't go up, he is going to pay me back.

Sooo...got the car back from the body shop Saturday, got an alignment, car drives much better, freshened the car up underneath and had things 97 percent back together. Son takes the car on a date Saturday night, finds another sweet young redheaded female to cruise around with top down (the car, not the redhead, or at least I hope-I'm to young to be a grandfather....).

So today before my son goes into work we had to drop back by the body shop for a minor trim piece to be installed...son got distracted by said above mentioned redheaded female (ironically named Ellen...wasn't there an Ellen or Elanor who was a famous Mustang that caused a fair amount of mayhem?) and didn't latch the convertible top properly.

He came around a curve in the rain in heavy traffic on a divided highway, the top blew up, he lost control, and hit the car front and rear on a concrete dividing wall. Wrecked it fairly good, and blew the drivers air bag, passenger bag was switched off...thankfully...

So...I am more worried about my son. He got his permit at 16 and drive for two full years on a permit, regularly, before he got his lic. I took the whole lic thing very seriously. He passed his test with a perfect score...and he is by far the best driver of all of his friends...even his friends parents say this. He's really discouraged about driving. My younger son was riding in the first accident, and I can trust him with my life. He said that they were only going about 35 miles an hour.

Ironically, a member of the local Porsche owners group was behind my older son when he had his second accident, Porsche guy wrecked a 914 in similar fashion when he was at a similar age. My son is really broken up about this, and feels just godawful. We've had a LOT of fun father and son with this car, auto crossing it, cruising around listening to music, et al. He can't stand the thought of it being written off, but it may be a goner.

Any advice on my son or my car would be helpful. My son is at work right now...and I worry about how depressed he may be really getting. I really am much more worried about him than the car...after this happened I just told him about how much I loved him and how much I respected him, but he's really, really down on himself right now.

HELP!

On the positive side, if the car is a write off, I can see a Cobalt SS TC, or a MCS taking its place in the driveway. But I don't want to think that way right now. I've had a blast racing this car...and it's been my fav. car owned to date. It would really hurt me to think of it being gone...

[Drew Dowdell]

get another similar vintage...

sounds like you already have a parts car lined up for your next miata.

[A Horse With No Name]

BINGO!

[FUTURE_OF_GM]

Why not buy it back from the insurance company and repair it? (Assuming there isn't any permanent damage)

We actually did that with one of our cars because it had sentimental value. Insurance companies are so wasteful; they'll write off a perfectly good car just because of its low value.

EDIT: I'm sure you know this, but check into the status of a repaired titles in your state first (to make sure you won't have any future insurance issues)

When I 'totaled' my last Focus, it popped the bumper cover loose, pushed the fenders back .5 inches, shattered the windshield and deployed the air bags... Insurance company totaled it... That's like a days worth of body work.

Tell your son not to sweat it... We all have bad luck sometimes and so far no one has been hurt. (which is the really important thing)

Edited September 20, 2011 by FUTURE_OF_GM

[A Horse With No Name]

Convincing him not to sweat it is the hard part, the insurance thing I can handle. Methinks it's going to get rebuilt, I may not even have to total it...book grand is still like eight grand, amazing in that I only paid 9 four years ago...

[ocnblu]

It needs to be partially disassembled to get a thorough estimate of the damages. Start there and keep an open mind.

[Camino LS6]

Maybe it would be helpful to sit down with your son and analyze exactly how the wreck happened so that he understands the mechanics of the event and can take that knowlege as something learned. If he can see it as a tool that makes him more ready for a similar circumstance, maybe the negative can become a positive.

But above all, he needs to get back on that horse.

[daves87rs]

get another similar vintage...

sounds like you already have a parts car lined up for your next miata.

This.

I was a good younger driver who made a few dumb mistakes while driving ( I took my parents nearly new at the time 93 Cavalier wagon over one of those concrete parking barriers....messed up a few things there...then- a few days later-mowed down ALL of our trash cans backing out of the driveway with my parents full size van....thought I was pretty dumb.......my dad told me I had to learn somehow, even if it took a car or too( though he was joking). Made me feel better.

Tell him not to fret....things happen. Plus, when he looks back, he'll have some good stories to tell....

[daves87rs]

Maybe it would be helpful to sit down with your son and analyze exactly how the wreck happened so that he understands the mechanics of the event and can take that knowlege as something learned. If he can see it as a tool that makes him more ready for a similar circumstance, maybe the negative can become a positive.

But above all, he needs to get back on that horse.

This, and chalk it up to some bad luck too....

[A Horse With No Name]

Maybe it would be helpful to sit down with your son and analyze exactly how the wreck happened so that he understands the mechanics of the event and can take that knowlege as something learned. If he can see it as a tool that makes him more ready for a similar circumstance, maybe the negative can become a positive.

But above all, he needs to get back on that horse.

Pretty much what I am doing....but excellent advice, thank you sir.

It needs to be partially disassembled to get a thorough estimate of the damages. Start there and keep an open mind.

Looks like it isn't hurt that badly and that it will be saved...but my son will be making regular payments to me for awhile...HIS idea, not so much mine....not tht I wouldn't have suggested it but...glad to see him wanting to take responsibility.

[RjION]

Buy aother Miata and send them both to driving school ........ Bob Bondurant or the like.

[A Horse With No Name]

Driving school would be an excellent Idea!

[Sixty8panther]

Good luck with your son, just remind him that some of the best drivers in the world have wrecked a car or two.

It happens. Sometimes when it rains it POURS.

That being said I'm going to sound heartless and cruel here but I think it's important:

Let go of that car.

Miatas, just by their nature and their "economy convertible sports car" origins are not

exactly high on the safety scale. Now that first wreck put stress and invisible damage

on the car's delicate crumple zones and chassis. Think about it, by the suspension,

engine mounts & cradle do not break easily, by the time they sustained major

damage their contact points, the uni-body rails and pretty much entire chassis flexed

and the torsional rigidity of the car was FOREVER compromised. Period.

You ever bend a paper clip back & forth a few times only to have it snap?

I mean I don't want to talk down to you Chris, you know all this.

All I'm saying is after accident number two I would NOT keep that car if

the insurance company tried to ram it down my throat. No amount of welding,

splicing of metal, bolting on of NEW parts, pulling of frame rails or alignment

by an laser-guided chassis straightener will make that car 100% okay.

I just got home from a three day, 700+ mile roadtrip in our venerable, 1991

Mercedes Benz 560SEC that has just turned 290,000 miles where about

a third of the driving was through the back woods, up and down mountains

and through the entire length of "Moose Alley" and we even went down a few

dirt / gravel roads and logging trails, usually just for a good photo op.

Trust me, I'm not some "Nervous Nelly" and I'm not trying to be a wet blanket

about this: dump the car. It's an issue of safety and peace of mind.

P.S. Seriously, with the amount of auto-crossing you do & such, get a roll cage!

[A Horse With No Name]

Car is not that seriously hurt...but not sure what is going to become of it.

...and I am thinking of getting a much more substantial car....

[Camino LS6]

Car is not that seriously hurt...but not sure what is going to become of it.

...and I am thinking of getting a much more substantial car....

I like the sound of that!

[A Horse With No Name]

I do too....just not sure yet!

[A Horse With No Name]

And for the roll bar thing...check...

Not my car, BTW....

[Turbojett]

Just tell him that things get away from you sometimes, and bad luck doesn't have a set frequency. sometimes, it can just happen one after the other. and we all have accidents.

I've spun out on the side of an icy mountain road; nearly crapped my pants thinking that I was going off the side, but all that ended up happening was needing new bumpers.

I've also curbed my car in a rain storm; I was probably only going less than 35mph too, but it was still enough to hydroplane. I had to replace the entire front-right suspension.

I'm still a pretty decent driver. but sometimes, even the best driver gets owned by the laws of physics, or even the law of Murphy.

In other words, $h! Happens.

[A Horse With No Name]

Crap happens indeed...I have to tell myself that when I get mad at myself for loaning him the car.

that being said, I need to find a beater for him to learn on...and for him to drive through an Ohio winter.

[Satty]

As far as winter beaters go, look into 90's Subarus, can't go wrong there, they run forever.

[Turbojett]

As far as winter beaters go, look into 90's Subarus, can't go wrong there, they run forever.

+1

And with AWD traction, he should be able to keep his butt out of various slings that might sneak up on him.

Edited September 25, 2011 by Turbojett

[ocnblu]

Learning to master RWD in any weather is something you accomplished, and your father accomplished, and so on. Giving up on RWD for your son who is learning yet is a mistake, imo.

Every chassis configuration has its minuses, whether it's AWD, FWD, RWD or 4WD.

A 90's Subaru sounds cool though, an Impreza wagon, sedan or coupe, if you can find one in good shape.

[Camino LS6]

Knowing how to do winter in a RWD car is a valuable skill...

[Turbojett]

<--So. Californian.

Our winter consists of rain, fog, and more rain.

I have driven my Camaro through snow though, the first time was in the mountains near [i can't remember if it was Big Bear or Mammoth Mountain] when I was 18--which is where the nearly spinning off the side of a mountain came from; and then a few more times on road trips going through Flagstaff, Oklahoma City, and north central New Mexico. On the road trips, I had to learn how to control the car on the fly out of necessity, as I wasn't expecting snow (It also taught me to check weather reports before I head out on a road trip). But those last three times, I was driving arguably better than the locals, because they were just zipping around like it was dry ground, and I saw several accidents and ditched cars.

Edited September 26, 2011 by Turbojett

[A Horse With No Name]

Knowing how to do winter in a RWD car is a valuable skill...

Doing donuts in the winter in RWD cars is probably why I autocross today...just never got over the thrill of the ass end swinging around...

The car that is....not mine...

[A Horse With No Name]

As far as winter beaters go, look into 90's Subarus, can't go wrong there, they run forever.

Already looking into them...plus they can run Rally's and Rallycross with the best of them

Central Ohio Rally Club anyone?

Already acquired a winter car...found a screaming deal on a decent clean white Astro cargo van...perfect for side work...hauling lumber (I enjoy wood working)...would tow a camper...or a Formula Vee or a Caterham Seven or another light competition style car quite well...

Learning to master RWD in any weather is something you accomplished, and your father accomplished, and so on. Giving up on RWD for your son who is learning yet is a mistake, imo.

Every chassis configuration has its minuses, whether it's AWD, FWD, RWD or 4WD.

A 90's Subaru sounds cool though, an Impreza wagon, sedan or coupe, if you can find one in good shape.

Methinks a Miata, Solstice, Vette or other RWD car in the garage of stang is pretty much a sure bet.

I've been without a RWD ar for four months of my 31 years of driving....so...RWD ain't goin nowhere!

<--So. Californian.

Our winter consists of rain, fog, and more rain.

But those last three times, I was driving arguably better than the locals, because they were just zipping around like it was dry ground, and I saw several accidents and ditched cars.

Amazing how many SUV's and FWD cars you see off in the snow...doesn't matter if it's Atlanta or Ann Arbor...the result seems to b e the same...

[Camino LS6]

I vote Solstice.

[GMTruckGuy74]

<--So. Californian.

Our winter consists of rain, fog, and more rain.

But those last three times, I was driving arguably better than the locals, because they were just zipping around like it was dry ground, and I saw several accidents and ditched cars.

Amazing how many SUV's and FWD cars you see off in the snow...doesn't matter if it's Atlanta or Ann Arbor...the result seems to b e the same...

With regards to 4WD/AWD SUVs, crossovers and pickups, I've noted in my experiences that people that own these vehicles think that: (1) they're invincible to weather conditions because their vehicle offers more driving wheels and need not adjust their speed or driving style, (2) rarely check the condition and/or air pressure of their tires (old & worn tires, even on a 4WD/AWD vehicle are no better than a RWD/FWD with new or new-ish tires) which tends to cause traction problems, and (3) have never learned to properly drive in unfavorable weather conditions with any kind of vehicle, let alone a FWD/RWD/AWD/4WD vehicle.

[A Horse With No Name]

Agree on how fe people check air pressure...

And I saw a blue Solstice GXP coupe/Targa this ayem....drove by too quickly for me to get a snapshot...but...awesome.

...and as afar as future GM iron, I actually like the idea of a Cobalt SS Turbocharged better....