Noble enough, but I'd be very surprised if they did more than kick the tyres, bounce the suspension a bit, then drink tea and eat Jaffa Cakes for 29 minutes. IME, unless you already know what's up, virtually all garages of all persuasions (indy, dealer or - shall we say - 'franchise') will make sure the car would pass an MoT (aka. not so dangerous that they'd be sued for letting you drive away in it), and then tell you what they think you want to hear... Far better to learn a little yourself and then give it the once-over with your own eyes and hands...

There was nothing obvious at the scene and I didn't think it was my driving, should I not have bothered?

The cause of the slide isn't known, but the fact that you recognised it was happening shows it was detectable early and could have be corrected. Unfortunately, imho, the ensuing spin (and loss of control) shows that the correction applied was the wrong one

Time on a skid pan or limit handling day will allow you to explore what the early stages feel like and how to correct them should it happen again which, again imho, is a better way of damage limitation than just assuming it won't happen again

Whether that's what you wanted to hear is another matter

Chris

Noble enough, but I'd be very surprised if they did more than kick the tyres, bounce the suspension a bit, then drink tea and eat Jaffa Cakes for 29 minutes. IME, unless you already know what's up, virtually all garages of all persuasions (indy, dealer or - shall we say - 'franchise') will make sure the car would pass an MoT (aka. not so dangerous that they'd be sued for letting you drive away in it), and then tell you what they think you want to hear... Far better to learn a little yourself and then give it the once-over with your own eyes and hands...

Exactly. unless there was an ongoing issue after or before the event I wouldnt have done the dealers.

If anything was serious enough to spin you once, it'd have done it again. I encounter derv/slippy surfaces almost daily.

Someone was killed up my way by hydraulic fluid that was spilled by a crane. No derv smell.

Noble enough, but I'd be very surprised if they did more than kick the tyres, bounce the suspension a bit, then drink tea and eat Jaffa Cakes for 29 minutes. IME, unless you already know what's up, virtually all garages of all persuasions (indy, dealer or - shall we say - 'franchise') will make sure the car would pass an MoT (aka. not so dangerous that they'd be sued for letting you drive away in it), and then tell you what they think you want to hear... Far better to learn a little yourself and then give it the once-over with your own eyes and hands...

And? What do you think I was expecting?

The cause of the slide isn't known, but the fact that you recognised it was happening shows it was detectable early and could have be corrected. Unfortunately, imho, the ensuing spin (and loss of control) shows that the correction applied was the wrong one

Time on a skid pan or limit handling day will allow you to explore what the early stages feel like and how to correct them should it happen again which, again imho, is a better way of damage limitation than just assuming it won't happen again

Whether that's what you wanted to hear is another matter

Chris

More training never goes amiss, btw it didn't spin, just drifted more than enough for my wife to realise we were going a little sideways.

I'll agree with diesel on the road.

Coming back from cornwall the other week i went around a small tight roundabout which is known for being slippery in the wet, it had been raining but not much so the usual light rain which brings the oil to the surface.

Front end grip was fine, but back let go, opposite lock and power pulled her round to which i turned to the girlfriend and requested "can i have a go again :D"

The main problem with people correcting slides is getting the lock off as the car comes back around again, many dont and then fire it off in the opposite direction.

Kev

And? What do you think I was expecting?

Uh? If you didn't expect them to look at it properly, why did you bother taking it in the first place? Knowing what you do for a living, you ought appreciate that if the cause of the fault / error was mechanical rather than environmental, then you would be experiencing the issue all the time (as Chris has already pointed out).

Maybe it's a Mazda owner thing - first there was that guy threatening to sue for a new engine because the sump plug hadn't been put in correctly and he dumped some oil on the carriageway, and now you seem to believe that an isolated and momentary loss of control is indicative of a fault with the car... :ne_nau:

Skoda: Manufacturer Of Happy Drivers

Mazda: Manufacturer Of Paranoid Drivers Who Believe Their Car Is Clearly Seriously Damaged Despite No Evidence To Support This, And Who Believe That It MUST Be Someone Else's Fault???

In both instances, you and the other guy had a lucky escape. Isn't that enough? I can understand you wanting to make sure the car that not just you, but also your nearest and dearest ride in, is safe. But then to take it to the garage fully expecting them only to give it the most cursory of inspections, is just odd... :confused:

I can't believe I'm being criticised for getting a second opinion.

It's not your wish for a second opinion I'm struggling with so much as your response to the suggestion that you might have been lulled into a false sense of security by giving the inspection your car received more credit than it may have deserved. It came across as though you reckoned putting the car in for a check-over knowing they were unlikely to be thorough was some kind of absolution for an incident that was almost certainly NOT a result of a fault on the car...

Had I said my car is broken, I haven't driven it all week, I got it trailored to the dealer and I was going to sue as they MOT'd it 3 months ago then your hyperbole may have been warranted but I didn't.

As for my job, it requires me not to make decisions based upon an elevated confidence in my own self importance and that a questioning attitude and peer-checking are valuable human perfromance tools.

Someone was killed up my way by hydraulic fluid that was spilled by a crane. No derv smell.

I once went around an island where that had happened, along with a bit of rain. Even at 10mph, the car was all over the place.

OP: I don't blame you getting the car thoroughly checked if it makes you feel comfortable, but most likely it was road contaimination of one sort or another. A load of hydrauilic fluid got dumped on the M5 a while ago near hear, and they resurfaced the whole section- closing 2 lanes in ruch hour to do it- as the surface was so slippy. I also remember drvivng a fire brigade Astramax a few years ago, braking at the end of a DC for the island, and all 4 wheels locking due to diesel spillage. I had to let go of the brakes (no ABS!), and just go into the island- the alternative was to slide into it out of control sideways .

Had I said my car is broken, I haven't driven it all week, I got it trailored to the dealer and I was going to sue as they MOT'd it 3 months ago then your hyperbole may have been warranted but I didn't.

No, but you did seem to be unreasonably certain that you lost grip due to a fault on the car, and not a problem with the road surface / conditions...

As for my job, it requires me not to make decisions based upon an elevated confidence in my own self importance and that a questioning attitude and peer-checking are valuable human perfromance tools.

...and this is my point. I don't believe (and neither, apparently, do you) that the check the garage gave your car can be given any credit whatsover. So to assume that putting it in constitutes 'peer review' and entitles you to be any more confident in its safety is entirely spurious. Safety is YOUR responsibility at the end of the day!

As regards having an elevated sense of self-importance, to my mind you have three options as regards checking the safety of your car:

Do nothing and hope it's OK from MoT to MoT (as most people do);

Learn a bit about car maintenance and handling and give the car the once-over periodically, understanding what the causes for a loss of control might be should it ever happen, knowing what to do to avoid it happeing again, and/or knowing how either to put the problem right (if there is one), or what instructions to ask the garage should the work required be too much for you;

Take the car to the garage for an MoT every time you want to use it and/or every time you experience something amiss, accepting that they'll probably tell you whatever they think you want to hear and/or can get away with (i.e. bloke = nothing's wrong, woman = full engine and suspension rebuild required, plus 200 quid for Superglym).

FWIW, the main reason I learned about car maintenance and did Don Palmer's course was impending parenthood, not to emulate the Stig.

It was never my intention for my response to be viewed as a slight, it's just that your response seemed very much out of character from the pragmatic (if sometimes cynical) persona I'm otherwise accustomed to...

Oh ffs get a room :P

I think it was quite sensible getting it the once over, although if I was concerned enough to do that a full geommetry check would have been top of the agenda.

And I object to that Mazda sterotype completely