Transporter vs Transit

I have only had my TDI Transporter for three weeks and some idiot has already dented it with a shopping trolley Yesterday I had only driven for five minutes when I had to pull up behind a Post Office van, I heard that dreaded skidding noise behind and glanced in my rear view mirror to see a large white Ford Transit (The scurge of British roads!) bearing down on me. I braced my self against the headrest and waited for the inevitable......... CRASH! I jumped out and ran round the back. How much of my beloved TDI could be left after such a noise? Increadibly the tow bar had taken most of the impact, it's thick steel bent like a banana. The bumper is out of line, and the tailgate has a dent but it could have been a lot worse. Having exchanged details I drove off not looking too bad, with the Transit driver still sweeping up large pieces of his vehicle
Does anybody else have any "crash stories"?


Mickey,
The bugs were on the inlet side of my MAF sensor. So you must be right - The air filter has been badly fitted at some time. (VW dealer) But why does the MAF sensor need a screen at BOTH ends? I notice that it is the "hot wire type" Do you know of any test that I can apply to this? I have already checked the supply voltages going to the MAF. They are correct.



[This message has been edited by Brodie (edited October 10, 1999).]

Yeah, tow hitches are great. In my last accident two years ago I was helping my fiance (now my wife) to move house. My old Peugeot wagon was loaded to the roof, the car was very heavily loaded. A woman crashed her Ford Fiasco into the back of it, probably at 10mph. The car was fitted with a tow hitch, with one of those industrial ball and pin things which sticks out a good 6". The hitch punched right through the fancy (expensive looking) colour coded front bumper, and bent the box section behind that (which is structural part of the shell). I nearly got her radiator too, if the back of the car hadn't been so low... I'm sure that one of her headlights didn't quite look right either, suggesting some more misalignment. My car would have needed a new bumper bracket and a rear light. The tailgate also had a crease in it. However the insurance company said that the car wasn't worth repairing, they gave me the value of the car, and let me keep it too. I drove around with a bent bumper bracket for the next six months till I scrapped it (engine got smokey, no compression on one cyl).
BTW I always carry a camera in the car in case someone crashes into me. I had a nice photo a Fiesta imbedded in the back of my Pug. It meant that there were no hassles with the insurance, and I got my money, no arguments. Those cheap throw-away cameras are ideal for this purpose.

------------------
1996 Passat Tdi estate (wagon (variant))
See my Peugeot / Passat site

Christi, great idea about the throw-away camera in the car! I'm going to go out and get one today after work.

In fact in last accident I even claimed the cost of the film and developing as an uninsured loss from the woman that hit me.