Tales from beyond the grave AKA Dan & Emma's Black Xantia, pug 206HDi, Daniel's 206 Verve 1.4i, GTi180 plus XUD9TE 206!!

Tell us your ongoing tales and experiences with your French car here. Post pictures of your car here as well.
ekjdm14
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Re: Tales from beyond the grave AKA Dan & Emma's Black Xantia, pug 206HDi and now, Daniel's 206 Verve 1.4i...

Unread post by ekjdm14 »

Insurance company rip-off is more or less complete, the offending car was "stolen" (the son of the owner, yeah) so his insurance won't entertain a claim, our insurance has £900 worth of excess (we're careful drivers, no need to worry about excess we won't cause any accidents!) so not worth the claim even if they wouldn't hike the premiums for years after. (They'll probably load the premiums even without a claim as we'd done the "right thing" and notified them of the crash, wish I hadn't.... So, we're left with a ruined 206 and one other with a ruined bumper and no recompense whatsoever.

We've looked into claiming through MIB (not men in black though) but as we had fully comp ourselves they're no help either. All we can try to do I think, is to find out who this son of Mick Jennings is and attempt legal action against him for the damage. No doubt anything he owns or earns will be signed over to Daddy though so as likely as o-negative from granite at this point.

This only leaves recourse to less savoury methods of getting satisfaction and believe me I'm seriously considering just that... Just to clarify, I'd never hurt anyone, but if drivers of "stolen" vehicles don't have to recompense their victims then just you wait till he gets HIS shiny new car. Sorry to be saying this & in an open forum also, but the legal/"justice" system of this country is an utter joke & this just brings home how damn MUCH of a joke it really is.
'95 Xantia LX 1.9D-auto, Black, 118k
'97 306 XS 1.6i, Blaze Yellow, 24k
'96 ZX SX 1.9TD, White, 87k
'09 407SW 2.0HDi, Black, 120k
ekjdm14
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Re: Tales from beyond the grave AKA Dan & Emma's Black Xantia, pug 206HDi and now, Daniel's 206 Verve 1.4i...

Unread post by ekjdm14 »

On the plus side mind, I now get to practice my best bodywork skills since it looks like I'm just going to have to roll the old sleeves up and fix the car to the best of my abilities, it won't be pretty underneath but I do have a rear beam in the garage from when I rebuilt one to swap into the grey car so new bearings in that & a rear quarter-cut from a scrapper plus a bumper, tail lights and headlamp we should be up and rolling again (just have to switch back to the steel wheels for now, got a set with good tyres still).

Not impressed, rather peeved and quite upset is putting things VERY 4King lightly!
'95 Xantia LX 1.9D-auto, Black, 118k
'97 306 XS 1.6i, Blaze Yellow, 24k
'96 ZX SX 1.9TD, White, 87k
'09 407SW 2.0HDi, Black, 120k
Hell Razor5543
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Re: Tales from beyond the grave AKA Dan & Emma's Black Xantia, pug 206HDi and now, Daniel's 206 Verve 1.4i...

Unread post by Hell Razor5543 »

It is a shame you didn't have the cars insured with the Mafia! :D Their policy (which they also print on a windscreen sticker for you) is "Toucha ma car, they smasha your face!".
James
ex BX 1.9
ex Xantia 2.0HDi SX
ex Xantia 2.0HDi LX
ex C5 2.0HDi VTR
ex C5 2.0HDi VTR
ex C5 2.2HDi VTX+

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Zelandeth
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Re: Tales from beyond the grave AKA Dan & Emma's Black Xantia, pug 206HDi and now, Daniel's 206 Verve 1.4i...

Unread post by Zelandeth »

...?

So we know the car involved...we know who was driving...and there's nothing to be done from their side to repay your losses?!? Sounds to me like you need to track down a lawyer to go after them through the courts...

Have to wonder why I've been worrying about fitting dashcams now...

Sadly though hearing of nonsense like this happening to parked vehicles all the more frequently is one of the main reasons that when we were looking for this house we discounted several quite nice properties because they didn't have sufficient off street parking.

The company I have the van and Invacar covered by flat out won't even provide cover if the vehicle is parked on street overnight.
Current fleet:
07 Volvo V70 SE D5, 88 Renault 25 Monaco, 85 Sinclair C5, 84 Trabant 601S, 75 Rover 3500, 73 AC Model 70.
Gibbo2286
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Re: Tales from beyond the grave AKA Dan & Emma's Black Xantia, pug 206HDi and now, Daniel's 206 Verve 1.4i...

Unread post by Gibbo2286 »

If the son is under 18 i.e. a minor you can probably sue his parents regardless of whether they gave him permission to use the car, ask a lawyer, maybe the local Citizens Advice Bureau.
Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new. (Albert Einstein)
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Pug_XUD_KeenAmateur
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Re: Tales from beyond the grave AKA Dan & Emma's Black Xantia, pug 206HDi and now, Daniel's 206 Verve 1.4i...

Unread post by Pug_XUD_KeenAmateur »

Random thought....

So you've got a mechanically good but heavily damaged 206. Can you find a mechanically bad 206, HG Failure case maybe; with a reasonable body for sale and do the necessary swapsies?
Puxa
ekjdm14
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Re: Tales from beyond the grave AKA Dan & Emma's Black Xantia, pug 206HDi and now, Daniel's 206 Verve 1.4i...

Unread post by ekjdm14 »

Pug_XUD_KeenAmateur wrote: 22 Nov 2019, 12:07 Random thought....

So you've got a mechanically good but heavily damaged 206. Can you find a mechanically bad 206, HG Failure case maybe; with a reasonable body for sale and do the necessary swapsies?
Thanks for the comments all, we've been through every avenue including a claim through MIB but we're just going to have to do as mentioned and (if we can afford, or get no-win no-fee) take action against the son ourselves for compensation.

In the meantime though some good news, this thread really is becoming "from beyond the grave" yet again. We've located & bought a near identical parts car for £200, it's a mechanically abused 2004 86k mile 1.4HDi with sill rot, whining gearbox but a straight body where it matters, good engine and replaced turbo (ideal spares for the grey 206 or we can recoup some cost selling that) in the exact same (uncommon) blue colour, same alloys, ABS and everything with damage to the left quarter panel and door which we don't need!

Really couldn't have asked for a better match so the bumpers/bonnet/headlamp/tailgate/back light/axle/hubs etc are all simple bolt off/bolt on jobs & I just need to pull/jack the internal "C pillar" of the '06 car into shape, slice off the quarter panel and take a cut out of the diesel one to replace it. If I'm careful about my cut lines and welding we might even get away just blending in the paint for the moment and look half decent, seriously cannot believe how this week has turned back around again. Still furious about the insurance situation, but at least we can save the car as it's our lad's first car and he's not even had a lesson in it yet!

I have to thank whoever is looking out for us as we were gutted, much better now.
'95 Xantia LX 1.9D-auto, Black, 118k
'97 306 XS 1.6i, Blaze Yellow, 24k
'96 ZX SX 1.9TD, White, 87k
'09 407SW 2.0HDi, Black, 120k
ekjdm14
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Re: Tales from beyond the grave AKA Dan & Emma's Black Xantia, pug 206HDi and now, Daniel's 206 Verve 1.4i...

Unread post by ekjdm14 »

And 3 hours later, the front end looks like nothing ever happened! :D Actually only about 40 minutes work to swap the bonnet/headlamp and grille, front bumper has survived with minor scuffs that'll polish up OK, all bolted up nicely just a small striker plate adjustment it'll be good as new.

Only hope the rest of the work goes as well, I'm thinking as the car is unrecorded & still MoT'd till March I might just bash out the rear quarter and patch the tears for now, get the bumper/tailgate maybe & lights fitted and throw it through a test when it's due and make sure there's nothing horrendously painful to fail on & then pending the result of that do the switcheroo with the sheet metal in spring when I can paint it halfway decent.

Next on the list is the axle swap, I'm told the axle on the parts car was a refurbished one last year although I could hear a bush knocking when transporting it home so who knows, got to be better than one swingarm and no ARB though. Simple enough on these though, 2 handbrake cables, 2 brake pipes, 2 ABS wires and 4 bolts the whole thing will come out wheels & all, and roll it under the '06. Here's hoping for a dry few days then!
'95 Xantia LX 1.9D-auto, Black, 118k
'97 306 XS 1.6i, Blaze Yellow, 24k
'96 ZX SX 1.9TD, White, 87k
'09 407SW 2.0HDi, Black, 120k
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van ordinaire
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Re: Tales from beyond the grave AKA Dan & Emma's Black Xantia, pug 206HDi and now, Daniel's 206 Verve 1.4i...

Unread post by van ordinaire »

Impressed what you've achieved so far - & your determination to make the best of a bad job.

A claim against the driver shouldn't be too difficult or expensive. A couple of letters, issue what used to be called a summons, but County Court terminology has changed in recent years. I think most of it can be done on-line now. It is important, though tedious, to stick to deadlines, both those set by the Court AND yourself, e.g. if you give the other party 28 days to reply & they don't, you MUST follow it up on the 29th day. Get a copy of any police report concerning the accident & find out what is happening about any proceedings re the theft/TDA/TWOC.
Citroens:-
'81 2CV Club :cry:
'05 C15 :!:
'97 Xantia Exclusive estate [-o<
others:-
Jeep XJ Cherokees x 3 :?
'96 Cadillac Eldorado
'99 Cadillac STS :|
& the numerous "abandoned projects" #-o
ekjdm14
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Re: Tales from beyond the grave AKA Dan & Emma's Black Xantia, pug 206HDi and now, Daniel's 206 Verve 1.4i...

Unread post by ekjdm14 »

van ordinaire wrote: 23 Nov 2019, 19:59 Impressed what you've achieved so far - & your determination to make the best of a bad job.
Well, to quote a lad walking past "If life goes to sh!t sometimes you just have to eat sh!t soup"... :rofl2: It's uncanny though that this parts car has been apparently listed for sale for a few months with no takers (not to mention the guy never just scrapped it, the yard is 5mins walk from where it came from) and turns out to be a colour match and identical wheels. I almost feel bad breaking this one as it's diesel with digital climate control and electric everything/6 disc changer and all, but the damage on it is into the B pillar and sill so makes sense as the petrol '06 is the more viable shell. Mind you, if I get a new VCI that actually works I can add those to the '06 I think anyway as it already has AC and electric windows so just the climate. mirrors and CD to add on. Getting ahead of myself now though, slide hammer ordered and should be here by next weekend so the suspension bits and wheels are the priority for now :)

Hopefully this thread can maybe inspire some others feeling beaten, to never let the b*stards grind you down and let karma deal with things a bit.
'95 Xantia LX 1.9D-auto, Black, 118k
'97 306 XS 1.6i, Blaze Yellow, 24k
'96 ZX SX 1.9TD, White, 87k
'09 407SW 2.0HDi, Black, 120k
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Pug_XUD_KeenAmateur
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Re: Tales from beyond the grave AKA Dan & Emma's Black Xantia, pug 206HDi and now, Daniel's 206 Verve 1.4i...

Unread post by Pug_XUD_KeenAmateur »

Great news! If the HDi is still a runner, get a video of it running so's you can show the engine running for sale purposes... including stuff like Dash Warning Lights (hopefully not lit) and Mileage. With a pic of the damaged B Pillar; will show its been scrapped for non-mechanical reasons.

And beware of that Striker plate adjustment. I had exactly the same thought after a prang in mine and ended up making a mess of the front of the bonnet trying to get it to shut.... ultimately turned out I'd overlooked a slightly bent bit of front end beneath one headlight; which I pushed out easily with my finger; enough to **** up the Bonnet fit though.

Not sure if you'll need it with a Slide Hammer, but I was impressed with the cheap panel-beating kit I bought on eBay a while back, about £14 I think.

...and if 206 Rear Bushes are as 'impenetrable' as 405 ones, don't give yourself the aggro of swapping one shot axle for another, 206's are common as muck in my local scrappy; you'll likely find similarly.

My (limited) experience of legal action has shown me that actually, even if you can't get proper representation; its really not that difficult to represent yourself. The Public Gallery at your local Court-House, if there is one, is always open to anyone; if you want to get a flavour of how things work.
Puxa
ekjdm14
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Re: Tales from beyond the grave AKA Dan & Emma's Black Xantia, pug 206HDi and now, Daniel's 206 Verve 1.4i...

Unread post by ekjdm14 »

Yeh I do wonder if the slam panel was damaged at all since the bonnet basically just bolted right on and seems to fit well apart from when fully closed. Not a huge job to swap from the donor though & I might use the AC condenser if it's any good too as the '06 has had a leak since we got it. The bushes don't worry me on 206 axles, it's the swing arm bearing shaft that's the pig on these, I have a feeling it's only a shock bush though from the noise it made.

The HDi engine starts/runs OK although I think it's been neglected over it's life as I can't see why else a sub-90k French diesel (that's NOT a 1.6!) would have already had a turbo and injectors replaced, plus it has a nasty tick in the top end now I listen closer. Could be a stuck lifter in which case I have the spare head from the GP fiasco on hand so can swap that, but having seen the pitting on one cam lobe on that engine (which I believe has been very well maintained) I have to wonder if there's a wiped camshaft to blame. Either way, there's plenty of saleable spares including the BSI/ECU/lock set, drivers door, window regulators and the like to get some cash back & if I don't feel the engine is trustworthy enough to sell in good faith then it'll remain in a corner of the garage attached to the 'box as emergency spares for the Grey 206.

Still waiting to hear back from the 5-0 as to what's going on with the driver/so called thief and when his court date is etc but things will get straightened out in the end.
'95 Xantia LX 1.9D-auto, Black, 118k
'97 306 XS 1.6i, Blaze Yellow, 24k
'96 ZX SX 1.9TD, White, 87k
'09 407SW 2.0HDi, Black, 120k
ekjdm14
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Re: Tales from beyond the grave AKA Dan & Emma's Black Xantia, pug 206HDi and now, Daniel's 206 Verve 1.4i...

Unread post by ekjdm14 »

Gah wet weather & lots to do since getting the parts car. I'm practically champing at the bit to get under there and drop the axle out so I can get the '06 car solidly on 4 wheels again ready to start bending things back the right direction, not to mention mobile since it's "interesting" shunting in/out of the driveway with it's derriere gently swaying in the breeze.

Think I probably will pull the slam panel off and switch it with the parts car once it's back on the road as it shuts well enough for now & I'll work it in with fixing the aircon. Still no word from the chocolate teapot *ahem* I mean the police.
'95 Xantia LX 1.9D-auto, Black, 118k
'97 306 XS 1.6i, Blaze Yellow, 24k
'96 ZX SX 1.9TD, White, 87k
'09 407SW 2.0HDi, Black, 120k
ekjdm14
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Posts: 1878
Joined: 19 Jan 2015, 18:42
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Re: Tales from beyond the grave AKA Dan & Emma's Black Xantia, pug 206HDi and now, Daniel's 206 Verve 1.4i...

Unread post by ekjdm14 »

It's just occurred to me that I've not yet posted photos of the damage or of the parts car. I'll try and amend the situation tomorrow before I do too much more!

For now, as it was a nice afternoon I jacked up the parts car and zipped the axle complete with alloys out from under it along with the bumper. Then spent an enjoyable half hour or so knocking the rusted-solid bearings out of & loosely reassembling a scrap axle from the back of the garage for the parts car to remain mobile on. I set the torsion bars really high so it looks like a monster truck now haha just wish I could raise the front a similar amount & I'd be tempted to put knobbly tyres on it and do some green laning in it when I'm finished with the parts!

Next job is swap the snapped axle from the damaged car and remove the bumper, slide hammer arrived today after a postage mix-up so bodywork can commence as soon as it's back to the requisite amount of wheels.

Oh, and the police are still useless...
'95 Xantia LX 1.9D-auto, Black, 118k
'97 306 XS 1.6i, Blaze Yellow, 24k
'96 ZX SX 1.9TD, White, 87k
'09 407SW 2.0HDi, Black, 120k
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van ordinaire
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Re: Tales from beyond the grave AKA Dan & Emma's Black Xantia, pug 206HDi and now, Daniel's 206 Verve 1.4i...

Unread post by van ordinaire »

How, even these days, the police can just ignore an RTA caused by a "stolen" car - when the driver's identity is known is beyond me. Get down the nick & raise Cain, keep demanding to see more senior officers - if all else fails go direct to the Commissioner to make a formal complaint about failure to properly investigate a crime.

Puxa's idea about sitting in the Public Gallery of your local* "Hearing Centre" - as the MoJ prefer to call them now - is a good one BUT only in the unlikely event it ever gets that far.

* could be further away than you'd chose to travel.
Citroens:-
'81 2CV Club :cry:
'05 C15 :!:
'97 Xantia Exclusive estate [-o<
others:-
Jeep XJ Cherokees x 3 :?
'96 Cadillac Eldorado
'99 Cadillac STS :|
& the numerous "abandoned projects" #-o