2008 Lottery Winner Robert Johnson wrote off his £137,000 Bentley in floods recently.
www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/uk/article3646987.ece
So he goes and replaces it with a brand new Mercedes.
metro.co.uk/2013/01/03/lottery-winners-luck-runs-out-after-100000-bentley-gets-stuck-in-floods-3337408/
‘It’s just a flooded Bentley,’ said the Hereford grandfather. ‘I’ve gone out and got a new car. Job done.’
Alright for some.
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>> Yes read this from this link the other day:
I didn't. But then again it's not a wet American car is it ;)
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I expect driving a car in to flood waters would cover that.
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>> I expect driving a car in to flood waters would cover that.
Only half of it was covered.
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>>Why?<<
A play on words guv'nor - prize/lottery ... have another G&T :)
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The wading depth of the next Range Rover is 900mm... so a Range Rover might have struggled to get down that road whilst it was flooded. And the driver had a Land Rover at home with a snorkel allowing deep water to be traversed.
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>> >>Why?<<
>>
>> A play on words guv'nor - prize/lottery ... have another G&T :)
i;m clearly having a really dumb day, because I don;t get it.
I think I'll take your advice and go and get another Gin. Its almost certainly the right advice.
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"Alcohol may be man's worst enemy, but the bible says love your enemy"
~ Sinatra.
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>> >>A prize pillock!
>>
>> Why?
Did you really need to ask? He only abandoned ship when it started to float. Waste of a good car. I do hope the insurers tell him to whistle, but I don't suppose they will.
Perhaps you think he was wilfully writing his car off for the payout, in which case he wouldn't be a pillock (i.e. a stupid person), but a fraudster.
Of course, I'm full of spite and envy too;-)
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Seems a perfectly sensible thing to do if you can just drop a whole load of cash on another car the next day especially since in the same floods there were many people stupidly driving into floods who really cannot afford to replace their car easily - they are the gold standard morons.
It only seems extravagant because most people cant afford to do it, but its his money so if he wants to try and convert his Bentley to a boat, fair play to him, he can afford it and its nobodys business to tell him what he spends/wastes it on.
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>> so if he wants to try and convert his Bentley to a boat, fair play to him, he can afford it and its nobodys business to tell him what he spends/wastes it on.
And where's the fun in that for us?
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>> its nobodys business to tell him what he spends/wastes it on.
On the contrary. It's environmentally wasteful considering the resources that go into making the car. It's everybody's business not to be so irresponsible.
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It is enviromentally wasteful not to ride a bike instead of a car or for anyone owning a car to only own the most economical version. Fortunately we live in a free society and you get the choice to be irresponsible or not.
Modern cars can be recycled anyway and I dare say a VW like that is, Germans love that sort of thing.
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>> It is enviromentally wasteful not to ride a bike instead of a car or for
>> anyone owning a car to only own the most economical version. Fortunately we live in
>> a free society and you get the choice to be irresponsible or not.
>>
>> Modern cars can be recycled anyway and I dare say a VW like that is,
>> Germans love that sort of thing.
Sure, everything has an impact, but not everything is pointless. The man's a moron.
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I dont have a problem with someone spending shed loads of a win on anything they want. Its very distasteful however for someone not to care about the things they have spent money on.
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>>but not everything is pointless <<
It depends entirely on your own perspective. The lives of most Western people will look decadent and wasteful to those people in genuine poverty in the world - the pursuit of a car in the 'right' colour or spec would seem absurd to someone who has nothing to eat.
I honestly cannot fathom the desire for auto-dipping rear view mirrors or weighing up what state of tune they like a VAG TDI engine in - im happy if it just works and doesnt empty my wallet. However, I never look down my nose at such people, I just accept their life is different from mine and refrain from judging them, there is very little to be gained by it, unless you have too much time on your hands and you have infact become pointless yourself.
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>> I honestly cannot fathom the desire for auto-dipping rear view mirrors
I can, I miss not having one.
or weighing up what
>> state of tune they like a VAG TDI engine in
Given you could get one nearly 100% more powerful than another, its worth a ponder as to which one you want.
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>> I honestly cannot fathom the desire for auto-dipping rear view mirrors
I can, I miss not having one.
Me too - the last two Beemers have had them - the V50 hasn't - As Zero says...etc
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Do they still do mirrors which don't auto dip? Gosh. You'll be telling me they still fit "cloth" seats next !!
:-))
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I miss the auto tint door-mirrors on the old X1 as well...
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You, dare I say it, miss the X1...Told you not to buy that 3 series...
:-)
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I do and I don't - if the three series had the X1 seats, I'd be happy enough.
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...and the auto dipping mirror and the auto tinting wing mirrors and the 4wd and the hatchback for the dogs and the diesel engine and the...
:-)
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>> ...and the auto dipping mirror and the auto tinting wing mirrors and the 4wd and
>> the hatchback for the dogs and the diesel engine and the...
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>> :-)
What features does a cashcow door mirror have?
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Well funny enough don't miss the diesel ! 4WD mebbe.
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>> Do they still do mirrors which don't auto dip? Gosh. You'll be telling me they
>> still fit "cloth" seats next !!
Do they really still do cloth... no way ;-)
I missed auto dimming rear view mirrors on the Mazda6 - had one on the Passat and Mondeo before it. If you've had this you would miss it... dipping it manually is not the same and is either dipped or not. And the driver's door mirror on my current car also dips.
Of course if people didn't fit the wrong bulbs (especially really bright ones) and have them poorly aligned, then maybe none of us would want or need them ;-)
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>> >> I honestly cannot fathom the desire for auto-dipping rear view mirrors
>>
>> I can, I miss not having one.
>>
>> Me too - the last two Beemers have had them - the V50 hasn't -
>> As Zero says...etc
>>
I must also be in the minority.
I have had the use of one for several months and I do not like it.
Just to add to my woe the thing does not have an off switch so I have just the immediate option of putting a digit over the sensor.
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>> Just to add to my woe the thing does not have an off switch so
>> I have just the immediate option of putting a digit over the sensor.
Now the funny thing is, I felt just the same way as you. Didn't like it when I first had one, and questioned the benefit of such. After you have had one for a while it just becomes the norm and if you suddenly loose it its a nasty shock.
Last edited by: VxFan on Sat 5 Jan 13 at 00:25
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>> Just to add to my woe the thing does not have an off switch
The VWs do now have an off switch - well mine does. It's always on for me.
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Im with Zero & R.P. on this....never had an auto dimming rear view mirror until I got my Beemer. Very useful piece of kit, like heated seats and heated steering wheel for those roof down winter days. Which I dont have but would really like on my next soft top.
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>> Modern cars can be recycled anyway and I dare say a VW like that is,
>> Germans love that sort of thing.
>>
Actually modern cars are not as easy to recycle as old cars.
Too much plastic etc.
In fact, many cars in the past used to recycle themselves, ie leave a Lancia out in the rain, and it would recycle straight back to iron-oxide......
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>>He only abandoned ship when it started to float.
'He's driven down that road, even when it was flooded, hundreds of times before. He obviously misjudged how deep it was and when he pressed the accelerator the wheels just span and the car started to float off.
Who said pillock?
An AA rescue truck soon arrived at the scene, but could not remove the car as Bentleys can only be towed from the front and Mr Johnson's car was accessible only from the back.
No hurry to remove it?
Perhaps Bently should offer as an optional extra - a rear towing eye ?
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So why is it that the Bentley Continental GT can only be towed from the front? I did wonder when I read the article. It can't be because of driven wheels because it's all wheel drive. You'd have thought in the circumstances a cable to the rear axle and drag it backwards. It might have damaged it but it would not have been written off.
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I thought one quickly lifts a Bentley and with a cover over it "spirits " it away :-)
IIRC autos and four wheel drive are a problem re towing.
As you imply cost to repair damage would likely be less than a write off.
I am still checking things out but I think my AWD auto should be lifted not towed or dragged up onto a flatbed.
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I suspect it is AWD related and it should not have been towed from the front either... although if in neutral would it still be a problem?
I suppose they made a judgement call that they couldn't easily get it and would wait for the water to go down. Except it went up by which time it was probably too late to do anything.
I still think he was stupid (or whatever you want to call him) to try to drive through the water. I suspect it was a lot lower when he tried and the photos were taken after it had risen more.
I don't have an issue with him buying a replacement car. He probably needed one and he had the money. He only bought a C Class Mercedes too so not that extravagant. Now if he'd bought another Bentley straight away....
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>> > when he pressed the accelerator the wheels just
>> span and the car started to float off.
>>
Don't you miss the auto-propellor drive and the self-closing bulkhead seals and the self-displaying navigation lamps and the auto-bail facility and the warning signal flag "I am manoeuvring with difficulty", and of course, your membership of the Bentley Owners Yacht Club?
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Talking of more money than sense, one of my customers, several years ago, won a not inconsiderable sum on the lottery. Within a week he had bought a new 911. Within a month he had part /exd it for an S class because his considerable proportions made entry & exit difficult.
Strange but true.
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I once had a car with auto dipping seats.
1971 Renault 6......seats dipped when you braked. A couple of days with the welding torch sorted them out.
Ted
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I once drove something sitting on an unsecured milk crate. Some frightful old van, but alas I can't remember what.
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>> I once drove something sitting on an unsecured milk crate. Some frightful old van, but alas I can't remember what.
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I once "drove" my Cortina by kneeling on the floor and steering with a mole wrench on the steering column while being towed out of a field.
I had been stolen 12 hours earlier and totally stripped of its interior.
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Many moons ago I had to resort to using my brothers old Morris Oxford that in reality had shock absorbers that did nowt.
The whole thing dipped at the slightest chance and then reminded me for the next hundred yards, Not amusing on many 50 mile round trips to a hospital.
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>> my brothers old Morris Oxford that in reality had shock absorbers that did nowt.
Armstrong lever shock absorbers no doubt. Total garbage fitted to many models by BL.
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>> >> my brothers old Morris Oxford that in reality had shock absorbers that did nowt.
>>
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>> Armstrong lever shock absorbers no doubt. Total garbage fitted to many models by BL.
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I had two Austins with them - A30 and A35. Recon Shocks at c £10 sorted the problem - easy peasy. In those days, ALL shocks had dodgy seals and life was about 4 years..
Of course in leaf spring cars, shock absorbers were inessential.
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>>>Armstrong lever shock absorbers no doubt. Total garbage fitted to many models by BL<<<
Good short term fix was just to fill them with gearbox oil!
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>> >>>Armstrong lever shock absorbers no doubt. Total garbage fitted to many models by BL<<<
>> Good short term fix was just to fill them with gearbox oil!
I once heated up some STP and managed to get some in!
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yeah saw that on the Police Helicopter twitter site, thats where my flood video was taken.
Wish I had been there for that would have got some great shots. I have also filmed the Surrey FB rescue boat before.
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I've done something similar on the Oxford canal.
The highest part under any bridge is closest to the tow path, unless they change sides years after construction!
I only put some deep grooves in the wheelhouse roof.
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More money than sense - Dog
