Yesterday I was out for a drive along Bryson's Rd, Warranwood. It had just rained and i was about to learn an important lesson.

It happened on this descending, blind corner type thing (kinda like the first half of the 'corkscrew' at Laguna Seca). The surface is pretty poor - the bitumen is missing on parts and the glazed tar is showing.

I was on the brakes, and it was downhill so the rear of the car was pretty light. As i came around the apex there was a Landcruiser coming up the other way - he was just over the line in the middle of the road. I jerked the wheel to avoid him (mistake #1) causing the rear right to lock and the tail of my car to slide out. Then i over corrected it (mistake #2)and it started fishtailing. The car ended up going sideways into a tree on the edge of a gully.

Luckily my 2 passengers and I walked away without a scratch and after we got it towed from the embankment i drove it home.

It could've been so much worse - apparently 1 car a month goes off the road there. The last one missed the trees and ended up on its roof in the bottom of the gully~ I drive down that road often, but usually in the Rav which has better traction in the wet, and never noticed how bad that corner really was.

My poor baby ;


The chassis sill will be hard ( = expensive) to fix;


As will this;


Hopefully this can be beaten out and bogged up alright;


Could anyone hazard a guess as to how much they reckon this'll cost to fix? I don't think the chassis is bent - the alignment was still good and the car wasn't crabbing on the way home. How much would a complete door (w/ trim) cost? All the electrics in mine still work so hopefully they can be salvaged.

[Updated on: Thu, 20 May 2004 07:51]

Had a couple of quotes done today - $5000, $4800 and one waiting to come through on fax. It'll be off the road for atleast a month. I'm taking it to a friend of a friend in Dandenong some time this week, hopefully it'll be a bit cheaper .

I'm not sure what to do - what would the car be worth as is? Should I sell it for what i can get for it and get another car? Could I save some cash by buying a donor car for around $1000?

So should've shelled out for the comprehensive in hindsight. *sigh* I'm so heartbroken!

[Updated on: Mon, 19 April 2004 09:54]