September 2022 – July 2023 highlights: More trips & breakdowns

I didn’t keep up-to-date with writing the blog after my Cornwall trip in the summer of 2022, at first because I was busy with a new job and various trips, and then in part due to a lack of enthusiasm following a number of car related disasters happening one after another. This post is a summary of anything noteworthy that has happened with the car since then, including a few fun trips, and a few catastrophes.

Goodwood Revival: September 16th

I went to the famous Goodwood Revival with a friend, as part of a birthday present. This is a classic car event on an enormous scale, located at a historic motor racing circuit and aerodrome on the outskirts of Chichester. There were lots of classic vehicles of all sizes and types, from small cars, to buses, old police cars, and even some WWII aircraft. As the owner of a Pre-1966 car I was able to park in the Revival Car Show with hundreds of other classics.

With perfect blue skies almost all day, it was a truly impressive gathering of thousands of vehicles, and almost everybody dressed in keeping with the era of the vehicle they arrived in. If that wasn’t enough, Alan Titchmarsh and Francis Bourgeois were in attendance.

York & more: 14th-16th October

In mid October I drove to York, via Nottingham, Pontefract and Drax, in a three day round trip. Almost immediately after setting off, right on cue, the driver’s side windscreen wiper blade started disintegrating, gradually becoming less effective at clearing the screen as i went. Gladly, it still just about did the job until I got home.

On the way back south I cut across from the A1 to the M1 via the A46, and stopped in at Rothley station on the Great Central Railway in the afternoon, for a cold drink and a break from driving, watching the steam trains go by for a little while before continuing home.

The Great Brent Cross flood of 2022: October 24th

I took some friends down to London, who had asked if we could go for a drive around the city in the Morris – I don’t mind driving in London, so was happy to oblige, and give a sight-seeing tour.

Whilst trying to leave the city late at night, we found ourselves in a traffic jam on the northbound carriageway of the A41, approaching the Brent Cross flyover. As we inched forward it became apparent that we were being herded towards the rising waters of the Brent Cross flood, which was the result of a burst water main. It was difficult to judge how deep it was in the middle, but with a high kerb on the left, a wall of traffic behind, a central reservation complete with barrier to the right, there was little choice but to plough on. All of the vehicles were merging as far right on the carriageway as possible, using the outermost lane to traverse the flood at it’s shallowest point, but as we got about half way through the flood water, I became quite alarmed as a knackered old volvo sped into the flood in the middle lane, hitting the water hard, producing a huge bow wave which almost swamped us. The engine spluttered, and for a moment I though the car was going to give up, but it made it through… unscathed? Well, not quite.

Manchester & the gearbox disaster: October 28th-30th

It can’t be said that I don’t put the Moggy to the test. This time I drove to Manchester to see friends. An ambitious trip, supposed to be some 400 miles in total, it wasn’t the furthest I’d taken the Morris to-date, but it was the furthest I’d been with passengers. The journey north was unremarkable, mostly on motorways, and was without issue. Manchester was interesting, and certainly somewhere I’d like to see more of.

On the way back a few days later, however, approximately 95 miles into the return journey the gearbox suffered a sudden catastrophic failure. With a loud bang the cabin filled with smoke, and I had to coast the car into the hard shoulder just before the toll plaza on the M6. It took approximately two and a half hours for the RAC to get a recovery truck to us, and upon it’s arrival we were informed it would only take us to the services down the road, where we would have to await a relay – the estimated time for which was over 8 hours.

In actual fact, after some complaining, we were provided an Uber to complete our journey, and the car wasn’t recovered to the garage for another 3 days.

The silver lining of course being that we did not have to pay the £7.10 toll.

Luckily the gearbox was under warranty from repairs made earlier in the year, so I had it recovered to Sussex. The issue was apparently the result of a seized bearing.

The windscreen, and a long wait for recovery: November 28th

In November the car was ready to be collected following the gearbox work. On the 28th a friend dropped me at the garage where work was undertaken, and I headed back home with them following, only for the windscreen to shatter 1 mile before I passed Cobham Services. I was in the middle lane, and the original non-laminated windscreen shattered so badly that I lost all forward vision. Luckily an observant truck driver that I was overtaking somehow saw what happened, and slowed to allow me into the hard shoulder. Frustratingly the hard shoulder disappears for approximately 200ft before the slip to Cobham services, but I didn’t feel it was safe to rejoin the fast flow of traffic without forward vision, so after a call to the highways agency on a roadside telephone I was escorted from the motorway, whilst hanging out of the side window to see.

I’d been looking forward to getting my car back, so this was already an annoying setback, but being only an hour or so from home, I was more annoyed that recovery took approximately 8 hours to commence, with me arriving home gone midnight.

Often the problem with the recovery process which causes it to be so long-winded is that there is a lot of disorganization and confusion caused by so many people being involved, each telling you something different, all of whom seem eager to get you off the phone. One can quickly find themselves talking to several operators from multiple companies, being passed back-and-forth between the breakdown cover provider and the insurer. Both will tell you it’s the other side’s problem. Eventually you might get through to a manager or someone who sounds like they’re taking charge, who will tell you they understand your frustration, and who will set out a game-plan, only for none of it to come to fruition.

In my case my insurer told me that I could have the windscreen replaced by a garage of my choice, but the recovery truck driver that turned up was from a third-party operator, and as they couldn’t arrange storage, told me they’d only take my car to my home address. A taxi had been called to return me home, so that my car could be taken elsewhere, so clearly there was some crossed wires somewhere. The manager I had spoken to at RAC insisted that after all of the unnecessary frustration they’d caused he’d call me back to make sure I was safely on my way home, but I never heard from him again.

The windscreen: January-July, and why you should avoid Autoglass at all costs.

Autoglass repair to a very low standard, Autoglass replace eventually.

I had the windscreen replaced by Autoglass and they did not do a good job. The chromework around the new windscreen was scuffed, and water seeped in. They showed little interest in rectifying it, and fobbed me off repeatedly until I threatened legal action.

As dull as this is, the incompetence of Autoglass is something to be marveled, which could only be achieved with a level of effort. The following timeline of events was interspersed by literally hundreds of phone calls, dozens of emails, and every time a promise to come back to me with an answer – which only one employee ever followed up on,:

• 28th November 2022 – The initial windscreen shatter on the M25.
• 2nd December 2022 – New windscreen installed, but the technician damaged chrome windscreen trim.
• 18th January 2023– My first complaint to Autoglass. It took me a while to realize the pool of water on the floor was caused by the window not being properly sealed, and poor weather meant that I was driving the Morris less at the time.
• Feburary 23rd 2023 – A seemingly fictional person called Craig Molloy calls me, apparently eager to talk about the concerns I raised, but then never responds to any email or phone call I make, and nobody at Autoglass knows who he is or how to reach him. I am still not convinced he’s real.
• March 1st 2023 – A second technician is sent out to seal the windscreen. He agrees with me that damage is present on the car, and that no sealant was used. He seals the windscreen by smearing silicone messily around the rubber, and then leaves, only to send me an email with a forged signature to represent me, which claimed there was no damage to the window aperture, and no rust.
• April 17th 2023 – Finally after months of trying, somebody listens, and actually follows up, and gets the ball rolling towards a solution. There is one single good employee at Autoglass, who sees the repair through to the end, frequently checking in, and assisting with aranging transport for the car.
• June 16th 2023 – Repairs are completed, the windscreen bevel has been repainted, the windscreen and rubber replaced, and the interior almost completely refurbished. 200 days after the initial windscreen break, the interior is now as watertight as a Morris Minor can be.
• June 19th 2023 – Autoglass pay the Morris Minor Workshop £1779.04 directly for the repairs, including new carpet, underlay, headlining and kick-panels. We got there eventually!
• July 18th 2023 – Autoglass email me to tell me that they would not sanction any remedial work as they did not believe there was any damage to the car, seemingly not realizing they’ve already admitted liability for causing the damage, transported my car twice, and paid the full amount.