Disappointed.........

[jonnyboy]

Hi all.
Mrs JB was involved in a fairly nasty smash on Thursday in the Galaxy. Rear ended and pushed into a towbar equipped car in front. From the culprit's damage I estimate he was doing 40 ish on impact as his car was totalled. Ironically the Galaxy superficially looks lightly damaged, under the surface though it's a different story, boot floor rippled etc. She's not too clever with seatbelt bruising and neck and back problems but it could have been so much worse, my God am I thankful the car and it's crumple zones did their job and she should be reasonably ok long term. Hugely impressed.
Using a claims management service we were promised a 7 seat auto as a courtesy car but they had no stock. I got home Friday to see a B180 auto on a 60 plate on the drive which we've got till tomorrow. Through circumstances we've not had a decent newish MB for a while so I was looking forward to checking it out.
I am pretty uninspired by it to be honest. I do feel like I have a neutral ish viewpoint. Seems to me to be a very compromised design. Yes there is loads of space inside and yes it looks very nice BUT there seems to be little in the way of sound deadening for the torquey little oil burner. Brakes seem a bit lacking in feel, steering is good. Ride quality for me is poor, and i am used to Discovery's and vans! Ford's own offerings seem so much better in the ride quality department. To be fair it could be partly down to the big AMG's on it (weird for a rental??).
My biggest gripe though is the rear view mirror. Seriously! The rear screen is small and the front screen is very raked back which undoubtedly gives a sporty look and a sense of space inside. The issue is that the RVM is massive, and hung so low you effectively only have the drivers side of the windscreen to see out of, apart from the small strip of screen under it that is visible. I thought it was just me being silly so spent some time with seat position etc, still no joy so I had a couple of friends over, never said anything but they had the same unprompted gripe yesterday as well. I went shopping yesterday and nearly ran a pedestrian over who stepped into the road from my left as I just could not see him at all.
Unbelievable. Simply unbelievable.

 

[neilrr]

Why are you using a claims management service?

 

[MicB]

So long as Mrs JB is OK.....but surely you should simply let your insurers deal with everything......that is what they are there for.

Mic

 

[MD5]

Sorry to hear it, John. Hope she makes a quick recovery, and please send our best wishes.

 

[Druk]

Likewise me John. ^

 

[Peter DLM]

That B-Class is a very old design, so won't bear scrutiny to the Galaxy in any way, shape or form.

Hope wifey is ok

 

[markjay]

Glad to hear she's OK.

As for Claim Management companies... we had a 'free' hire car from one such company some years ago, and then got chased by them after the insurer refused to pay them the cost of the hire car citing some technicality. Luckily I managed to get them off my back due to some other technicality, but it was a close shave.

And, as you are claiming of the other party's insurance, you'll be surprised as to how quickly and efficiently the insurers respond to 3rd party claims - nothing like the service you would get when claiming against your own insurer.

Said that, I read that car manufacturers' own accident management schemes are the odd ones out and are actually quite good, and in fact endorsed by the insurance industry.

HTH, and a speedy recovery to Mrs. jonnyboy.

 

[trapperjohn]

Hi John.

Hope the Mrs is better soon and no has lasting ailments. Tell her I said hello.

Not a bad choice the Galaxy then all ends up. I shall take that into account as my lad chooses his new to them vehicle. What me influence him? Well the odd conversation may point him in the right direction.

Would it be possible for you to project what sort of injuries may have been sustained by say a 9 year old who may have been sat in the rear most row of seats, fully strapped in of course. Off the wall question I know but just thinking is all............ Plus what was the make and model of the vehicle that rear ended her.

Again all the best to the Mrs for a speedy recovery.

 

[PXW]

Sorry to hear this John. Speedy recovery to Mrs JB.

 

[st4]

Most importantly the main thing is your Mrs is ok. I wish her well with her recovery.

Is the B not the same as the A but longer. The A didn't seem to have this issue and IMHO had great seating with a massive range of adjustment. I found mine very comfortable and a pleasant wee car, but I'd still have a Golf over one on balance.

The car will have AMG wheels etc for resale and ease of sale value. Hire cars seem to be quite high spec models these days.

 

[flango]

Glad she is OK and glad the car design and crumple zones did their job, at the end of the day though it's only a piece of metal and can be replaced, which our loved ones can't.

Wishing her a speedy recovery

 

[SL300-24]

Glad the Mrs is okay John...hope it all works out for you.

 

[LTD]

Glad to hear your wife is here and on the mend.

The Galaxy did it's job.

Just be grateful the B Series is there.

It could have been a funeral car.

 

[A210AMG]

Your wifes ok, you have wheels dropped off and too most people quite a nice car.

Yet your hot happy with the rear view mirror?

I'm biased as we had the old A class and now my wife has a B class.

I have no problem driving it and quite happy jumping out of my E class into hers. Like any car you get used to some changes.. not everthing is the same in every car. Many many cars have different odditys that in a day ok may drive you mad as its change to what you know. However like anything over time you just get used to it. Only the other day I had to move my Brothers passat CC from his drive. Never sat in it before but he was out and I needed to get a trailer out. Its parked on a Steep drive. Button near gear stick is the handbrake and even though auto did not hold it on the hill in reverse...odd but I'm sure you get used to it.

Main thing is all is ok and hopefully you get a car you like tomorrow.

 

[jonnyboy]

Am using a claims management service specifically because she was hurt otherwise i would have just taken advantage of the other party insurer's offer to repair. Conflict of interest there. CMS have already got authorisation from other partys insurers so we are okay there. I didnt really fancy paying the excess hence not involving my own insurers, its an open and shut case really.
I'll grab some piccies of the galaxy before it goes off to be repaired.
John, the pics will answer you but "fine" is the correct descriptive word!
With regards to the "B", its weird. After driving it for a few miles it seems to "settle", hard to describe really. I did the same journey back and forth twice today and drove differently and in differing positions as a test. my conclusion was that the "B" was happier on the dual carriageway than around town, felt nice on cruise at seventy, although I reckon nicer still off the AMG rims. That bloody mirror though! Dangerous IMHO. Don't et me wrong, a courtesy car is wonderful, and it's an MB (no doubt the advantage of having an autobox-only licence is the proliferation of autobox cars being premium brands....), i was just staggered at a terrible piece of design in terms of safety.
And to all, thanks, will pass on to Mrs JB who is about to receive a nice relaxing neck rub to help out.

 

[poormansporsche]

As a Mk3 Galaxy owner myself glad to hear it did its job well in protecting Mrs JB But dont know if you have ever noticed the quality cardboard floors behind the front seats !! We wouldnt have known about them apart from the isofix car seat we bought not being compatible due to the floor !

 

[A210AMG]

Funny enough I had to drives my wifes this morning and dropped it off 20 odd miles away up the road at the indy..

I made notice of the rear view mirror and honestly see no issue with it? We even have seat covers on the back seat and the rear headrests up to protect them from the kiddie seats. I think you must just get used to it?

48mpg also on 50% 30 zones and 50% 50 / 60 mph zones.

I've just driven back in the CLK they gave me, I think its a CLK200 Kompressor and managed 25.6mpg cruising at the same speeds.

Off topic but did anyone see top gear dropping 3 series and a saab ? the saabs was so strong...

 

[camerafodder]

Glad she's OK John.