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Tree: 1 --- Speed6: 0

7K views 90 replies 52 participants last post by  HAL20XX 
#1 ·
So I wake up this morning to find my car not in my driveway. It managed to roll down my driveway and slam into the neighbors tree across the yard. Someone parked in my regular spot last night which forced me to park in a spot of the driveway that has a moderate incline. Obviously the pressure applied to the rear brakes wasn't enough.

I only looked at the damage for about 1 second because I was so pissed. All I know for sure is that my spoiler is absolutely fubar, there's a dent in the back of the decklid, and I believe the bumper was messed up too. I noticed it at 7:30 this morning and have refused to go back out to survery the damage yet (I spent the majority of the day killing people and cars in video games to blow off some steam). I'm sure I'll have the gory pics up tomorrow...

Has anybody had anything like this happen to them? I'm most interested in how insurance companies handle something like this. I'm sure buying replacement parts for this car is going to kill my pocketbook.

f#$@ f@$# f$@#... :swearin:

I suppose on the lighter side of things, if that tree hadn't been there, the name of this post would have read, "Ravine: 1 --- Speed6: 0.
 
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#2 ·
Awww..Man that is so Weak. Sorry this happed, hope the resolution isn't too painful >_<

Was your Barking brake fully engaged???? that's what it's there for, i also heard parking the car in gear would cause issues like that not to occur....
 
#5 ·
I normally don't put it in gear when I park because I'm notoriously forgetful when I start it back up haha. Now I'm wishing I had. I pulled the e-brake the same amount I typically do. I guess I just wasn't thinking about the incline. Plus, I used to park my Honda there all the time but there's also a good 1000lb difference between the 2.

I already picked up snows and I've used them a whole hour. I bet if there had been snow on the ground like there usually is here in Michigan it probably would have substantially slowed the car down.

For a quick reference, I've had car problems around x-mas time for some reason. X-mas day 1999 my Mazda MX-3 blew it's motor. A year later on X-mas eve I was T-boned not more than a 1/4 mile from work in a brand new car. Now I get to add the 23rd to the curse.
 
#7 ·
I normally don't put it in gear when I park because I'm notoriously forgetful when I start it back up haha. Now I'm wishing I had. I pulled the e-brake the same amount I typically do.
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Lol I usually don't leave it in gear for the same exact reason. But whenever I'm on even a slight incline, I make sure the e-brake is pulled all the way up and I try to leave it in gear. But good luck with the replacement parts. I guess your friends and family don't really need those Christmas gifts -- you could always return them and pocket that cash!
 
#8 ·
Damn. The same thing happened to me at Joe's Bar on 12 mile. My car rolled back into a Silverado. The ebrake slipped! My bumper reflector fell out...couldn't find it. It was so embarrasing. My car was in the middle of the parking lot against another car!
 
#9 ·
I normally don't put it in gear when I park because I'm notoriously forgetful when I start it back up haha.[/b]
I did that one or twice when I first started doing it, but when you stall out when you start up it makes you remember for the next time! Plus, you just get used to it after a while, you should start doing it! It would have saved your MazdaSpeed6!

Jeez with your luck, I would put my car into hibernation, the week before Christmas now until New Years! Hope everything turns out well.
 
#10 ·
you might want to move the car, instead of playing video games all day?

Similar thing happened to a buddy, but he passed out in his driveway, and his foot must have slipped off the brake. That caused him to roll into the neighbors car. :nono:
 
#11 ·
Maybe Harry Caray's putting a Xmas hex on you for the avatar ;)

Just kidding, that sucks - sorry man! Least you weren't like a neighbor of mine who had the same thing happen, only his driveway slants towards his house so when he came out in the morning his car was halfway into his garage door!!!!

Hope it works out, drink a beer, that seems to help in the short term :D
 
#12 ·
Same for me e brake slipped but only got scuffs on my back bumper from the car across the street. I pulled uo my e brake and was on a 20 degree incline in my driveway. I got out went inside my house at some food, then i randomly walked to my front window and was like wtf who moved my car thought someone was F'ing with me at first. :swearin: I dont leave it in gear. but now i pull of my e brake to the max now and it is fine now.
 
#13 ·
you might want to move the car, instead of playing video games all day?[/b]
:laugh: Oh man! I hope that I didn't come across as though I hadn't even moved the car yet! That would be too funny! Although I have to admit, the first thing I thought when I saw it hugging the tree across the street was, "Damn, even now it still looks badass!".

And I agree about my "luck". From here on in I'm not even walking anywhere for Christmas. I'm staying in my house and will officially become a Scrooge. However, I forgot to mention that the neighbor with the tree also owns an Audi dealership. I think I would have passed out if I saw my car making out with an S4.

The damage isn't as bad as I thought but that doesn't mean it won't be costly. As I see it, through insurance or out of pocket a new spoiler and bumper (plus that flat black aero-thing-a-ma-jig) are in the plans. The decklid has a small dent but minimal scratches and it looks easy enough to bump right out. I doubt it would even need paint.



How do I remove that badass muffler tip? It ripped right off of the plastic shroud but it took the plastic clips with it so it's too large to just slide right out.






Thanks everyone for your comments. It's nice to know you have friends in unexpected places :thumbup:



EDIT: Oh, it's in 1st gear as of now.
 
#14 ·
Whenever I park my MTX pull the emergency brake up and then throw it into 1st just for that reason. If the emergency brake slips, then the engaged gear won't let the car roll down the hill at all. Better to be safe than sorry. Hope everything works out for you.
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First off sorry to hear about this incident HAL2...

Secondly, I heard keeping the car in first is not good for the transmission. Is that true? If it is should we only put it into first on inclines to prevent this misfortune from occuring?
 
#15 ·
:laugh: Oh man! I hope that I didn't come across as though I hadn't even moved the car yet! That would be too funny! Although I have to admit, the first thing I thought when I saw it hugging the tree across the street was, "Damn, even now it still looks badass!".

[/b]
That must have been a slow roll, looks like there's barely an incline, which I guess is good as it would have been worse with more speed built up :)
 
#16 ·
That must have been a slow roll, looks like there's barely an incline, which I guess is good as it would have been worse with more speed built up :)
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The angle of the shot doesn't really show the incline. It's bad enough that if there's snow on the driveway it's nearly impossible to get a 2WD car up it. But yes, very lucky it didn't roll any faster.

Now that I think of it, I remember hearing it hit the tree the night it happened. :(
 
#18 ·
Bummer about your car, dude! I'd be really upset if that happened to my ride! But you're lucky that tree was in the way, or you'd also be paying to replace the neighbors' fences! If you have collision/comprehensive, your insurance should take care of it. It'll probably be in the neighborhood of $1500 to fix.
 
#19 ·
Your insurance company will treat it as a collision claim. It's a single vehicle accident. You'll have to pay your collision deductible and it may affect your premiums in the future (chargeable claims history affects premiums).

The best thing to do is talk to your insurance agent about the premium cost to you over the next couple of years and decide whether it's worth claiming.
 
#20 ·
Ouch. $1500?

I'll be seeing my uncle tonight who has worked in the insurance field for 20 some odd years. A quick call to him and he told me that sometimes in a single vehicle accident insurance companies will waive the deductable and it won't necessarily force premiums up. But you're right, I'll have to see what they say about it before I do anything.
 
#21 ·
Bummer about your car, dude! I'd be really upset if that happened to my ride! But you're lucky that tree was in the way, or you'd also be paying to replace the neighbors' fences! If you have collision/comprehensive, your insurance should take care of it. It'll probably be in the neighborhood of $1500 to fix. [/b]
I think it'll actually be more than this because i just had an estimate on my car two days ago for replacing the bumper alone and it was 1400 :(

Also, in the owners manual, it suggests parking the car in gear during very cold weather to prevent sticking of the ebrake, so i guess mazda thinks its ok to do so.

I hope all goes well with the repairs.
 
#22 ·
You should always put the car in 1st gear and engage the parking brake when parking. Many state laws even require that the car be placed in first gear when parked (i.e you can be found criminally negligent if your car rolls and kills someone and it's found the car was not in first gear while parked).

The parking/emergency brake is used primarily when parking on inclines/declines, although in a manual transmission it can be used as frequent as you want, although it does wear the cable eventually.

I don't understand why leaving it in 1st is such a pain because you forget. In order to start the car you have to apply the clutch regardless if the car is in gear or not don't you?
 
#23 ·
I don't understand why leaving it in 1st is such a pain because you forget. In order to start the car you have to apply the clutch regardless if the car is in gear or not don't you?
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What's the first thing you do after you start your car? I usually let off the clutch - hence the car would lurch since it's in gear. For whatever reason I've also become accustomed to first letting off the e-brake before even starting the car. I know, backwards but it's too late for that. I just don't want this to turn into a, "You should have done..." post. It already happened. It's embarassing and depressing enough. Now I just need to worry about repairing it.
 
#24 ·
I don't understand why leaving it in 1st is such a pain because you forget. In order to start the car you have to apply the clutch regardless if the car is in gear or not don't you?
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That is what I was goin to say. I figured I would read to see if anyone said it first.

And, from what I have heard, never had it happen, if there is enough of an incline, the weight of the car will overcome the friction of the engine and roll even if the car is in gear.
 
#25 ·
sorry to here about your car hall30, it could have been alot worse
 
#26 ·
Merry Christmas? LOL Sorry to hear it man. Let us know the final repair costs. I'd be curious since I saw the pics.
 
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