I just crashed my car.

[Lumberg]

Rearended some dude in stop-and-go traffic. I think I was making sur emy cel was charging or something and I look up and he's stopped. I lock up the brakes (well you know activate the ABS) and bam. Fucking Ford Explorer sport-track's rear bumper climbs mine and pushes my upper rad support back about 4 inches and crumples my hood.

I hate SUVs.

 

[Buddy_Christ]

Rearended some dude in stop-and-go traffic. I think I was making sur emy cel was charging or something and I look up and he's stopped. I lock up the brakes (well you know activate the ABS) and bam. Fucking Ford Explorer sport-track's rear bumper climbs mine and pushes my upper rad support back about 4 inches and crumples my hood.

I hate SUVs.

you ok lumberg? well, yeah, you prolly are cause you're posting here.

sounds almost identical to what happened when i rear ended a blazer in her Civic.

it's just metal, it'll get fixed....unless your airbags blew. that's where i got lucky, my bumper went under his, so no airbag deployment.

 

[canadianhitman]

Wait a minute....it's totally your fault...and you're bitching about the SUV you hit???

 

[Dial_tone]

I ran a Mercedes C230 into the back of a Toyota Supra once.

C230 front end = nearly destroyed
Supra rear end = couldn't even tell it was hit.

 

[jenscats5]

Glad to hear you're ok bor.....

 

[Carmen]

you might be a little sore tomorrow- accidents like lifting, the DOMS don't always set in for 24-48 hours.
relax and get some extra sleep and i'm glad your ok.

 

[Lumberg]

you ok lumberg? well, yeah, you prolly are cause you're posting here.

sounds almost identical to what happened when i rear ended a blazer in her Civic.

it's just metal, it'll get fixed....unless your airbags blew. that's where i got lucky, my bumper went under his, so no airbag deployment.

You're the guy I was hopin gwould respond bro...yes it's very similar. Thing is looks like the upper rad support on this thing is welded in, and I;m not about to get into welding.

Pics: (Edit these pics are huge-3.2M each. you have been warned. but u will see every flake.)

http://www.lumberg.kcdworks.com/Crash/

let's hear y'all opinions bors, urs epsecially crakholio.

Yes I am fine, exact same thing no airbags, my frint end was obviously diving from hard brake application and add that to the height of the bumper on that retarded thing and there you go.

 

[Buddy_Christ]

the rad support is such thin metal, it's best to just yank it and start new. they're not too expensive, depending on the year make and model. you'll have to do some searching.

radiator kinked from this? looks like it.

Paulo explained to me the way they weld the rad supports in (this was long after i had fixed the car). they're pretty easy to remove. you simply drill them out. i was drilling and i think i had a chisel as well to help free up the last of it. then grind the areas clean, clamp the new support exactly in place (and i had my bolted into the fenders and used the bumper support bolts as well), line up the new hood perfectly with the lock, and you're in business for welding.

here's some pics of my first and only welding experience. messy, yes. did it work? hell yes.

before removing ANY parts, disconnect the battery. you don't want to set off the airbags.

i got my car parts on ebay. the guy gave me a great deal with them painted to factory color code. he works in a shop in Virginia Beach. i paid maybe $400 for rad support, bumper, and hood, might've been less.

here's the pics of my welding job. like i said, sloppy (rented a stick welder) but it worked. have had no problems and we've had the car for almost a year and a half.

 

[Buddy_Christ]

i don't know how to get in contact with the guy that i bought my stuff from. he currently has no items listed for sale, but has a 315 feedback score with 99.7% positive, only one negative.

his ebay name is acdawg88 if you want to try to find him, and i think that's his e-mail address @aol as well, but i'm not sure, as it's been well over a year. excellent guy to deal with, and i passed through DC area on the way back from his shop (as well as on my way to Florida before going to his shop). the shop was about 3 hours from DC.

 

[Buddy_Christ]

actually, just found how to get in contact with him. lemme know what's going on with this doozie of yours and if you want to try to see if he's still selling car parts.

 

[Lumberg]

crak--pretty sure the rad is not kinked. It's got a plastic top tank so I think it's either broken or straight.

Ok so here's where I need to make a decision:

I have a $1000 deductible on my insurance. The guy I hit, who happens to be in the used car selling business, who was very professional and courteous to me, guessed it's about $2000 of damage.

I think what I am going to do is get at least one estimate before I decide to go through insurance. Let's say the repairs will be $1200--then it's probably worth it to just pay it myself (due to likely rise in premiums).

I dont' have any friends in the body repair business, but I may call around to see if I have any friends of friends. If you know a guy who is trustworthy and reliable in the DC area shoot me his #.

I really don't think I'm going to try to tackle this myself.

Anybody else have any advice on how to try to handle this situation?

 

[jenscats5]

What happened to his car? Anything?

 

[mdd]

bigger pics please, i cant see the thumbnails very well

 

[Buddy_Christ]

IF, and this is a very big IF, you can get the parts you need, rent a welder, have a grinder on hand, i could schedule you in. DC is 3 - 3.5 hours away. could save you some cash, cause a shop is going to replace the hood, rad support, prolly fix up the bumper, and paint it all to factory color, blended. if you get the parts yourself, take say maybe the hood off of your car and give it to them as well, they can get the fade correct right away on the new parts (if there's any fade).

how's the headlights? thought i saw at least one broken mount.

Fenders?

couldn't tell from those pics. maybe i need to look closer.

what year is the car?

 

[Dial_tone]

 

[gonelifting]

Just tell the guy you`ll pay him $1500 to settle it. No estimates...

then tell him "Answer the damn question!"

 

[Buddy_Christ]

btw Lumberg - since that's almost an exact re-creation of what i did to the Civic in April 03, i have to ask......did you admire my work THAT much?

j/k man. seriously, i'm glad you're ok.

oh, when i hit the other guy, it was a 99 or 00 blazer. i put a dent in his bumper. shops are kinda cheap around here, but it only cost $221 to have the bumper removed, dent pulled, and painted. dunno what you did to the other car, but if it was something minor like that, you'll be ok if you avoid insurance.

 

[superqt4u2nv]

Glad your ok Lumberg that is the most important thing car is just a car it can be fixed or you can get a new one.

 

[Longhorn85]

I hate SUVs.

I don't get it. Had it been a smaller car there would have been more damage to the other guy, who was not at fault.


Makes me want to buy another SUV.

Glad you're both ok .

 

[from zero]

Glad you're okay bro, but pay some goddamned attention when you're in traffic.

 

[big_bad_buff]

It’s good your ok and I hope you learned from your mistake. I’ve been in 4 car accidents which none of them were my fault, just stupid people not paying attention. Some chick rear ended me one time like two days after I had a $4000 paint job put on my car.

Imagine if you had a little baby in your car and someone rear-ended you and you found out it was because they were trying to plug in their phone

I think my bother is the worst and luckiest driver ever. Every time I drive with him he has like 10-15 close calls, scares the shit out of me. He never pays attention and whenever he talks he has to look at your face while he's talking, which means he's not watching the road, which means whoever is riding with him has to.

Rearended some dude in stop-and-go traffic. I think I was making sur emy cel was charging or something and I look up and he's stopped. I lock up the brakes (well you know activate the ABS) and bam. Fucking Ford Explorer sport-track's rear bumper climbs mine and pushes my upper rad support back about 4 inches and crumples my hood.

I hate SUVs.

 

[Buddy_Christ]

I think my bother is the worst and luckiest driver ever. Every time I drive with him he has like 10-15 close calls, scares the shit out of me. He never pays attention and whenever he talks he has to look at your face while he's talking, which means he's not watching the road, which means whoever is riding with him has to.

oh man, i had a friend like that. every time we'd be ready to hop in the car to go somewhere, i'd always offer to drive because he really weirded me out. he drove pretty good, and i dunno how he did it staring at the passenger in the car, but it was freaky shit.

had another friend with really bad ADHD. getting in the car with him was like russian roulette. you were best if you just didn't talk to him while he drove. he'd start listening and looking at you, and the next thing you knew you were yelling at him cause he was about to run off the road or hit another car.

he always laughed it off, but it was NOT funny.

 

[Lumberg]

I don't get it. Had it been a smaller car there would have been more damage to the other guy, who was not at fault.


Makes me want to buy another SUV.

Glad you're both ok .

not true. if it had been bumper-to-bumper contact the damage would have been minimal. The danger of SUVs is that the heights of the bumpers are much higher than for regular cars. Thus accidents result in more damage to the other car and more overall damage than that betwee 2 SUVs or 2 pass. cars.

I've laways been against SUVs for that reason, the fact that they yse more gas, and the fact that it's harder to see around them. Then of course you get people like you who see the above as an incentive to buy more SUVs or my aunt and uncle who were hurt in a car vs. SUV accident and now have an SUV to avoid that kind of situation. So basically the people who are interested in efficiency are paying a tax.

I know it's a free country blah blah blah and yes the whole thing is my fault. I'm not blaming anyone but myself so those of you who think I am can eat a dick and choke on it and die. But it still sucks how SUV vs. car causes such a disparity of damage, and actually results in more overall damage than if the bumpers were at the same height.

 

[Bullit]

Wait a minute....it's totally your fault...and you're bitching about the SUV you hit???

LOL
Exactamundo.

 

[TheProject]

I think Lumberg needs a lift kit and some 20's on his car.

 

[Ffactor]

Word of advise, don
t think of Smurfy nekkid when you're in stop and go traffic. Also, I know this really dependable mechanic in Baltimore.

 

[WODIN]

Damn....that sucks.

 

[FreeballinDC]

I'm calling Xibit and "Pimp My Ride", so they can work their magic on your car.

Where do you want the wireless XBox installed?

 

[wutangnomo]

Wait a minute....it's totally your fault...and you're bitching about the SUV you hit???

lol ... Precisely.

 

[Lumberg]

Fuck. It looks like Mr. Christian is going to see his doctor about some soreness. Sounds like someone is trying to game the system. Trust me, this is not an injury-producing incident. I told the adjuster that.

Oh yeah.

Again it's my fault, I'm not blaming anybody but myself, but I still hate SUVs. And any of you who have a problem with that are asshats. I hope you guys all get into accidents too.

 

[WODIN]

How do you feel about minivans?

 

[TheProject]

How do you feel about minivans?

And George Wendt?

 

[jackangel]

And George Wendt?

that new avatar is perfect for you because i think pretty much everyone gets that same look on his/her face after reading one of your posts (especially the 'funny' ones).

 

[Longhorn85]

not true. if it had been bumper-to-bumper contact the damage would have been minimal.

Had you been paying attention the damage would have been non-existent. I don't think you can blame this on the big bad SUV. Some folks decide to spend thier money on the safest vehicle available. Others choose to buy faster or sportier cars. Others buy for economy. Pick up trucks for hauling, etc. They are all legal. Choice is good.

 

[Lumberg]

How do you feel about minivans?

Aesthetically I do not like them. Functionally I don't know too much about them but the ones I have worked on seem more car-like and I think they are more efficient than SUVs so those things are good. I think they're lower than SUVs so there's another plus.

People should be free to choose whatever type of vehicle they want to drive and it shouldn't be the government's job to legislate that, other then protect the environment. It's just unfortunate. If this happened on a rainy day, and I was complaining about getting wet, would people accuse me of blaming the rain?

 

[Buddy_Christ]

all i gotta say Lumberg, seeing is how i was in an exactly identical situation a year and a half ago, is you're LUCKY you hit an SUV. wanna know why? you would've deployed the airbags had you rearended another car. THAT is expensive to repair, and most of the time just ends up totaling the car based on the rest of the damage.

what looks worse on your insurance? a few thousand in repairs, or a totalled car?

i hope you get it all sorted out man. shitty situation, but it'll pass.

 

[Lumberg]

Had you been paying attention the damage would have been non-existent. I don't think you can blame this on the big bad SUV. Some folks decide to spend thier money on the safest vehicle available. Others choose to buy faster or sportier cars. Others buy for economy. Pick up trucks for hauling, etc. They are all legal. Choice is good.

Jesus Fucking Christ man were did I ever BLAME this accident on the SUV?

 

[gtrcivic]

just keep your eye on the road next time....or make sure you're at a complete stop to check your phone for charging....instead of coasting into the car in front of you...lucky it was an SUV and you slid under him....been a car, 2 new airbags for you.

 

[Lumberg]

That's actually a good point J.

My plan is:

pay more attention
drive less

 

[Buddy_Christ]

That's actually a good point J.

My plan is:

pay more attention
drive less

even with you just planning on doing that, you're already 5 steps ahead of the average woman driver.