Snow - 1 Marauder- 0

[Mr Johnson]

As many of you know we had some light snow here earlier today and as I was returning from lunch turning into our corporate office drive, a slow downhill right hand sweeper, the tail twitches, I catch it but slightly over-correct, and the next thing I know I'm a passenger as my car does a 180 and hits the curb flush with the right rear tire. Long story short it looks like the entire rear axle is broken. Right rear wheel sitting ****-eyed in the wheel well and no drive. :bigcry:

Only 2K miles on the car and this. I was doing about 15-20 MPH when I must have hit the ice under the newly fallen snow that started the spin. No other cars involved, nobody hurt but I feel like an idiot. (Though as I'm sitting there about 5 minutes later another FWD spun in the same spot and came *this* close to hitting my car). I was a warning sign for all the rest of the cars though. They crawled through there. 45 minutes later the snow was cleared, salt was on the road and it was mainly wet. Crappy timing... :depress:

Oh well... gotta see what the insurance says.

[jgc61sr2002]

Mr Johnson - Sorry about the damage to your Marauder. Glad to see no one was hurt. :(

[JET]

Man that totaly sucks. Sorry to hear it.
:(

[TAF]

Sorry to hear this...I've been through it myself. Mine totaled over $10K in damage though and it was an 18 wheel truck that took me out in the rain.

What I can tell you is...right now, you are mad, embarrassed, :censored:off, etc. You think you may not ever get this out of your head when you look at your car again...

You will...it will be fixed....and out of your mind...back to the pleasure of owning and driving one of the best things (and kept secrets) to come out of Detroit in YEARS!!!

[MapleLeafMerc]

I've been there too, Mr J- Like TAF says, it tears you apart initially, but you will get through it. At least you're OK; your MM will return!

Good luck with the adjusters.

[Petrograde]

Sorry to hear that! Like jgc said.... good part is no one was hurt!

hey,.. look at the bright side..

You can take this opportunity to install some 4:10 gears and TCE brakes!

Tom

[Lowell]

These cars are pretty good in the snow. You probably had the same type of snow that we had in Saginaw yesterday. Traction was not good. I had a close call comining home from work. My sympathies are extended. When you get the car back, you will find how durable these vehicles are, takes a licking & keeps on ticking. :beer:

[mad man]

You guys drive these cars in the snow and cold no way . :depress: Thats what thay make imports for.

[MMdriver03]

Sorry bout car..........Snow tires ???

[Mr Johnson]

Thanks for the kind words guys. :beer: I know I'll get over it. I'm much calmer today than I would have been 10 years ago. Like you all said, nobody hurt and the car will be fixed.

It was a freak snow/ice situation. The MM really was pretty good in the rest of the snow we've had so far.

Can't wait for repairs to start.

[ADE 1000]

Mr. Johnson,

Sorry to hear what happened. :bigcry: I thought my Marauder handled yesterday's snow pretty well. It was much worse when I went out for lunch at around noon compared to coming home in the evening. At this point, I don't regret not getting snow tires. Although seeing the chrome rims and the rest of the car caked in salt is painful.

Hope you get your car back soon in good order. Are you taking it back to Westgate for repairs?

[CRUZTAKER]

Sorry to hear about that type of damage. Drive train and axle damage sucks as sometimes it's hard to locate all the hidden damage.

No tires work on ice all too well, although my studded Kellys actually resist tail spins and donut attempts.

Some folks say these cars are ok in the snow on stock tires.....they're not. Period.

If you intend to drive this beast, particularly in your area, get some snows...it's a cost effective, easy mod, that will not only protect you and your car, it will potentially protect those around you.

My car is a sheer blast in snow up to 10 inches with my setup. The 4x4's can't even hop me from a traffic light in heavy, heavy snow.

[Mr Johnson]

I took it to Joe Rizza in Naperville. Here's some pics I snapped today.

[marauder307]

There, but for the grace of God, go I. We've been very fortunate thus far in STL; had some snow, but avoided getting really clobbered. I'll echo everybody else's words about the good luck of nobody else getting hurt or damaged.

We're supposed to get an ice storm tonight in STL. Fortunately, I don't gotta go anywhere tomorrow...

[Bigdogjim]

Glad your OK!

This will be a distance memory very soon.

God luck with repairs.

[jefferson-mo]

I took it to Joe Rizza in Naperville. Here's some pics I snapped today.
OUCH!:eek:

[MapleLeafMerc]

Mr Johnson, I hope you are back on the road soon. Please give some consideration to what Barry said about snow tires. I know they don't make the car go faster, but they do provide a measure of security and peace of mind for those of us who get to enjoy our cars all year. A spinoff benefit is that you keep miles off the factory tires.

You can go cheap with black wheels, or you can make an investment in better looking alloy wheels, but for us snowbound types, it's a mod that should be at or near the top of the list.

Good luck!

[O's Fan Rich]

But, when I had my paint fixed there was another MM in the shop that had the rear axle way off center from a curb slide. The shop manager told me that the mounts are designed to break on that type of impact in order to minimize damage to the axle and frame. Of course his wheels were toast. But the guy who should be in the know said it looked worse than what it really was.
Hope I was of some comfort.

[Dr Caleb]

Some folks say these cars are ok in the snow on stock tires.....they're not. Period.


I have to agree with you here. And stress your point - I drove my car last when the temp approached freezing before halloween. It was like my tires were solid hard plastic. Scared the carp out of me.

I would not drive this car on stock tires anytime temps approach freezing.

That being said, I hope you are up and running soon Mr J!

[Mr Johnson]

Thanks again guys! I've had winter tires on my previous RWD cars and know that they are a great help. Honestly though the KDWS were doing *really* well this winter. I really feel like I just blew it though.

In any case the shop manager didn't seem quite as phased by it all either. You know "a lick of paint here... a lick of paint there" kind of attitude. Seemed pretty comfortable with the work that needed to be done. Getting all new parts and the total comes to about 4K in damages :depress:

Here is to hoping I'm on the road again soon.

[MapleLeafMerc]

I have to agree with you here. And stress your point - I drove my car last when the temp approached freezing before halloween. It was like my tires were solid hard plastic. Scared the carp out of me.


Don't be koi, Dr Caleb :lol:

[jefferson-mo]

Those Crazy Canadians:lol:

[schuvwj]

Mr Johnson I am sorry to here about the damage to your Marauder.
We had 6 inchs of snow in the last two days here. I put two 70 lbs bags of sand in the trunk. That really made a difference. no problems now!