[wutbürger]

It's a beautiful day here in St. Louis, so I decided to get some fresh air and some food and that was abruptly ended by some guy on his cell phone.

Hoping that there is minimal frame damage, especially hate the thought of a "dirty" car-fax now but I guess if I just drive the wheels off as planned it shouldn't be much concern :29:

I can tell you this: I'm ready for a beer or 4 now haha

 

[subiesailor]

Don't fall for the it looks Ok comment. The plastic bumper will flex its the stuff under it that might get pushed out of whack. So do some snooping pull the spare tire out and the foam inserts in the trunk and do some checking make sure there are no obvious bends and modifications in the floor area caused by the texting while driving perp.

Good luck!

 

[Scooba Steve]

aww your not going to leave it like that?
builds character...:29:

 

[upflying]

Classic bumper override on that Malibu, he was on the binders when he slammed into you. That "soft crush" area above the bumper is what saved the OB from more serious damage.
It also means the Malibu is totaled, damage exceeds what it is worth.
No bag deployment on the Chevy means the inertia was less than 10 mph.

 

[wutbürger]

Don't fall for the it looks Ok comment. The plastic bumper will flex its the stuff under it that might get pushed out of whack. So do some snooping pull the spare tire out and the foam inserts in the trunk and do some checking make sure there are no obvious bends and modifications in the floor area caused by the texting while driving perp.

Good luck!

Much appreciated - I can tell you there are already concerns back there. The hatch opened fine, however the foam/space have been pushed up about 5-6" meaning that possibly the frame and/or spare tire area has been pushed in (it was a pretty good impact as you can see from his car). Going to have to open the tailpipe up before I leave for work again, it's darn near completely closed as well :17:

 

[wutbürger]

aww your not going to leave it like that?
builds character...:29:

Funny enough, most of the bumper popped right back in - I think it looks a little "cooler" as a dad wagon with some scars

 

[bradze]

glad no one got hurt. i'll be amazed if the owner of the that other car has insurance.

 

[wutbürger]

glad no one got hurt. i'll be amazed if the owner of the that other car has insurance.

In the part of town I was in with the car he was in, it really is a huge surprise - but he had Farmer's and they've already got someone coming out to look at the car. Hoping they don't d*ck me around too much, but worse case is I file with my insurance and they get everything back through legal means. I remember my one "at fault" accident way back when I was 16 and how absolutely shitty I felt for ruining someone's day and property, just gotta be thankful no one was hurt, no kids were in the cars, and some friendly bystanders even gave us some cold sodas while we waited for a cop to show.

 

[Darkanion]

At least YOU are ok! :29:

 

[Novablue]

Classic bumper override on that Malibu, he was on the binders when he slammed into you. That "soft crush" area above the bumper is what saved the OB from more serious damage.
It also means the Malibu is totaled, damage exceeds what it is worth.
No bag deployment on the Chevy means the inertia was less than 10 mph.

That was more than a 10 mph hit. As you know, air bags don't always deploy when they should.

 

[subiesailor]

Much appreciated - I can tell you there are already concerns back there. The hatch opened fine, however the foam/space have been pushed up about 5-6" meaning that possibly the frame and/or spare tire area has been pushed in (it was a pretty good impact as you can see from his car). Going to have to open the tailpipe up before I leave for work again, it's darn near completely closed as well :17:

BS'ing with a body shop guy regarding one of our cars - that tire bin area in many cars today is easily replaced if it gets tweaked by a rear ender. So could be one of those we replace the pan and your OK things. If the frame compresses or moves I was told that the most obvious places to see it are in the body roof line and just behind the rear doors where you see the skin rippled or creased etc. The roof on the new OB is nearly perfectly flat so it would be easy to spot some funny business if that part of the car showed any odd wrinkles in the skin.

Good luck it does look like he hit you pretty hard

 

[wutbürger]

BS'ing with a body shop guy regarding one of our cars - that tire bin area in many cars today is easily replaced if it gets tweaked by a rear ender. So could be one of those we replace the pan and your OK things. If the frame compresses or moves I was told that the most obvious places to see it are in the body roof line and just behind the rear doors where you see the skin rippled or creased etc. The roof on the new OB is nearly perfectly flat so it would be easy to spot some funny business if that part of the car showed any odd wrinkles in the skin.

Good luck it does look like he hit you pretty hard

Excellent info - that gives me something to go off in the mean time. I'm going to get it home and take a few things apart in the rear to inspect.

Worst part is? I'm more dreading having to drive likely some POS Chevy HHR rental while it's fixed - I've gotten too used to just have comfortable and nice this thing is haha

 

[subiesailor]

Excellent info - that gives me something to go off in the mean time. I'm going to get it home and take a few things apart in the rear to inspect.

Worst part is? I'm more dreading having to drive likely some POS Chevy HHR rental while it's fixed - I've gotten too used to just have comfortable and nice this thing is haha

LOL - I had a 91 Toyota the dreaded 3L v6 that spent a month getting torn down to a bare block and rebuilt again by toyota. First time they gave me a new Camry. Second time I told them to give me a few bucks per day and I rented a Miata. Figured I might as well have fun in a different car if I'm stuck without my ride AGAIN.

 

[OTHRider]

I'm glad you're OK.

A year or so ago, I was driving my F-150 4x4 to work with my 2" ball installed in the receiver. A twenty-ish driver too busy with his cell phone ran into me pretty hard. Of course the truck was fine. He FINALLY hung up and walked to the front of his car and he was so happy there was no big dent - just a dimple.......until I pointed out the hole in his radiator that my 2" ball had cleanly punctured. I'm pretty sure I smiled all the way into work. [/highjack]

 

[hallux]

This is pretty much an exact replica of my experience last June, same model vehicle driven by the offender even! No airbag deployment in mine either (for the other guy).

My bill was a bit over $3,000. Spare tire pan replacement is 19 hours labor, the whole lower part of the back of the car comes apart. The member that the tailgate latches to will also need to be replaced, the rear part of the spare tire well is actually part of that assembly and is likely horizontal now (mine was). Fortunately, the only visible part they have to paint is the bumper. Make sure they transfer the supports for the rear of the load floor (they attach to the cross piece with the tailgate latch), my shop missed that, I had to go back for that and the plug under the spare tire bolt.

Check EVERYTHING, look over the damage with the adjuster and look over the vehicle as you review the estimate on paper. Make sure they note everything. Look over the vehicle before accepting it back, metallic paint can be tough for them to match the way the metallic lays, and make sure they put everything back. I had to refuse mine the first time, the paint wasn't right and they forgot the step pad on top of the bumper, sound deadener and new muffler (tailpipe was dented and they included it w/o my asking), they even had the new muffler in the shop!

Here's the underside of mine after the wreck, that shiny part is supposed to face the back of the bumper, the part at the bottom should be where the under side of the bumper attaches. In the pic inside the tire well, see the seam sealer (the white line)? That's supposed to be on a vertical plane.

 

[scoobydoo2]

When someone hits you and it is ther fault, that just stinks. The Justice is the fact that his car the short end of the stick...that made me smile.

 

[wutbürger]

This is pretty much an exact replica of my experience last June, same model vehicle driven by the offender even! No airbag deployment in mine either (for the other guy).

My bill was a bit over $3,000. Spare tire pan replacement is 19 hours labor, the whole lower part of the back of the car comes apart. The member that the tailgate latches to will also need to be replaced, the rear part of the spare tire well is actually part of that assembly and is likely horizontal now (mine was). Fortunately, the only visible part they have to paint is the bumper. Make sure they transfer the supports for the rear of the load floor (they attach to the cross piece with the tailgate latch), my shop missed that, I had to go back for that and the plug under the spare tire bolt.

Check EVERYTHING, look over the damage with the adjuster and look over the vehicle as you review the estimate on paper. Make sure they note everything. Look over the vehicle before accepting it back, metallic paint can be tough for them to match the way the metallic lays, and make sure they put everything back. I had to refuse mine the first time, the paint wasn't right and they forgot the step pad on top of the bumper and new muffler (tailpipe was dented and they included it w/o my asking), they even had the new muffler in the shop!

Man you all rock - greatly appreciate all of the excellent info!

I started taking things apart to assess - the majority of the damage is in the tire well as stated. I have documented each and everything thing in photos already and will deffinently ensure that it's taken care of correctly. Only "issue" I have right now is that the exhaust is hitting the rear differential and possibly the driveshaft - thus I really do not want to drive it unless I shouldn't worry about it - looks like I'll be driving the wife's car for a bit until I can get it into the shop next week.

 

[saabarubi]

Sorry to hear about your accident. I used to live in St. Charles and remember the daily game of bumper cars getting to and from work.

Before your car goes in for repairs, get underneath and have a good look at everything. I got rear-ended, similar to your situation, and the dealer tried to get away with just replacing the fascia/bumper cover and styrofoam block. They left the crumpled steel bumper underneath.

When the work is done, get back underneath and check again. You don't get what you 'expect', you get what you 'inspect'.

Good luck.

 

[subiesailor]

This is pretty much an exact replica of my experience last June, same model vehicle driven by the offender even! No airbag deployment in mine either (for the other guy).

My bill was a bit over $3,000. Spare tire pan replacement is 19 hours labor, the whole lower part of the back of the car comes apart. The member that the tailgate latches to will also need to be replaced, the rear part of the spare tire well is actually part of that assembly and is likely horizontal now (mine was). Fortunately, the only visible part they have to paint is the bumper. Make sure they transfer the supports for the rear of the load floor (they attach to the cross piece with the tailgate latch), my shop missed that, I had to go back for that and the plug under the spare tire bolt.

Check EVERYTHING, look over the damage with the adjuster and look over the vehicle as you review the estimate on paper. Make sure they note everything. Look over the vehicle before accepting it back, metallic paint can be tough for them to match the way the metallic lays, and make sure they put everything back. I had to refuse mine the first time, the paint wasn't right and they forgot the step pad on top of the bumper, sound deadener and new muffler (tailpipe was dented and they included it w/o my asking), they even had the new muffler in the shop!

Here's the underside of mine after the wreck, that shiny part is supposed to face the back of the bumper, the part at the bottom should be where the under side of the bumper attaches. In the pic inside the tire well, see the seam sealer (the white line)? That's supposed to be on a vertical plane.

Nice post Hallux
Can we recall certain GM vehicles to remove the drivers who drive them? HA HA

 

[digdah]

Hope it gets fixed and you no longer see any imperfections on it. I love that color but they didn't offer SAP with that so I passed.

Noticed you are a Bayern fan. Grrrrr!!!!!! Anyway good luck in the Champions League.