Pontiac VS Toyota= Toyota Win

[dave_mcmillan]

Well on my normal commute today I had the chance to meet a nice young lady in an impromptu insurance seminar. Apparently I am driving an invisible 4runner at least to her. She nailed me at about 25mph and I am happy to say that my Truck shows nearly no damage thanks to the trailer hitch (always attached and left in). She hit me so hard it knocked the change out of my ashtray and moved me about 3ft.

I was stopped due to some left turn tool on a country 2 lane. Anyways back is a little sore and so's the neck but there does not seem to be much if any damage to the truck.

Anyone have any thoughts on what I should look out for regarding collateral damage (rear window nor rolling down etc...). Happy to say that I am still able to drive it and it appears to not be hurt cosmetically but with 214340miles I am just a little concerned about drivetrain and other issues (old bolts, metal fatigue, etc...)

 

[Hepar]

I would say to inspect the mounting points of the trailer hitch real good to see if there's any cracking. So hard to tell what else it could have done. Hard to imagine a 25mph hit not doing something. Good to hear you're ok.

 

[criera]

maybe take it to a reputable body/collision shop? ive got to think if they are hungry for work and there is something to be found, theyre gonna find it right? that way should be no cost to you but for a little time? just an idea

 

[IanB]

If you have collision coverage, get your insurance involved. They will have the vehicle appraised and you'll find out if there's anything that needs fixing, at no cost to you. As you were rear-ended, you other driver should be 100% at fault, and you should even get a rental should your truck need to go in for repairs.

 

[JSbeagle]

The whole hitch unbolts pretty easily (3 each side) without even removing the spare or anything, so it would be worth removing to check for damage.

Good to know you didn't have any major damage. I leave my ball attached, so I've wondered what would happen if someone hit it. I'd love to see the hole it punched in the Pontiac. Were they "attached" together afterwards?

 

[SQ.MD]

I don't know enough about the possible damage your 4runner might have taken but I can say you should definitely be taking it easy the next couple of days. Possibly even get a CT scan of your spine/neck. I had a patient come in the other day who was in an accident a week ago (about 30 mph rear end like yours) and suddenly started feeling some major back pain. Turned out, he had 2 c-spine fractures and some displacement. amazing how he could still walk and wasn't paralyzed! don't mean to scare you but yeah, feel better!

 

[Maxil]

I sure hate to hear that happened to you, almost same thing happened to me back in September. The guy was driving a Gran Cherokee and I was stopped for a guy turning left also. My Guess is he hit me going about 20 or so, I couldn't see any damage myself either. Upon inspection my bumper was tilted down an inch or so, and I had small dents in the bumper. Estimate was $1000.

My back was very tight after it as well, 2 weeks later it felt like a knife in my neck and my face went numb. I hope you fare better than I did because I spent months at a Chiropractor, had an mri which showed nothing, and now getting massages hoping it will help my lower back pain when I sit, and I work on computers all day.

I hope you got a police report, may be more damage than you think.

 

[dave_mcmillan]

Thanks for all the tips guys.I will definately run it by a local body shop my buddy uses.

I saw the lady coming up fast and anticipated the impact...fortunately I left about 1-1 1/2 car lengths between me and the commercial F250 in front of me. I was able to let off the brake and allow the inertia from the impact disipate a little. If I did not do that I am sure I would have been connected to the little car. The car was a P.O.S and had been what looked like worked over a little by her already.

I will look at the hitch..I am about to tow my buddy's "MULE" side by side to our hunting land on Saturday afternoon. Definately need to make sure its up to speed before finding out the hardway.

I have already fixed a problem with the rear window not rolling down due to the rear wiper motor assembly being loose. I had to take the whole panel off and re-attach the far right mounting bolt. Which had been knocked loose. Not that bad of a fix but still the kind of things that I anticipate to find. Oh well moving forward right!!!

At least no one was hurt seriously could have been worse like another 3rd Gen with an ARB etc...next purchase btw...goes to prove that armor is not only for the trails guys.

Is it wierd that the first thing I thought was how am I gonna explain this on the forum to get some help...I knew I could get anything fixed using this site its just nice to have a good place to go for knowledge transfer etc...Thanks to all for the replys and all future replys.

 

[cordrayj1]

If you have collision coverage, get your insurance involved. They will have the vehicle appraised and you'll find out if there's anything that needs fixing, at no cost to you. As you were rear-ended, you other driver should be 100% at fault, and you should even get a rental should your truck need to go in for repairs.

be sure NOT to file as collision. most likely your insurance co will surcharge you for the claim EVEN though they will subrogate against that girls ins co. just call her ins co and file a claim through her policy number.

 

[dave_mcmillan]

I sure hate to hear that happened to you, almost same thing happened to me back in September. The guy was driving a Gran Cherokee and I was stopped for a guy turning left also. My Guess is he hit me going about 20 or so, I couldn't see any damage myself either. Upon inspection my bumper was tilted down an inch or so, and I had small dents in the bumper. Estimate was $1000.

My back was very tight after it as well, 2 weeks later it felt like a knife in my neck and my face went numb. I hope you fare better than I did because I spent months at a Chiropractor, had an mri which showed nothing, and now getting massages hoping it will help my lower back pain when I sit, and I work on computers all day.

I hope you got a police report, may be more damage than you think.

I sure did...its wierd but the cop did not want to right a report stating that there did not look like there was more than 500.00 worth of damage. He said that I should check out the truck and just trade contact informatoin with the lady. I quickly told him that I am no expert but I expect him to do his job and provide me the report. He said that he did not want to right a citation unnecessarily. Kinda pissed me off but looking back at it I guess he was just being a good guy and trying to save someone some money.

Oh well I am gonna pick it up on next Wednesday. I already had my doc check out my back and sore neck...looks like I dodged a bullet just hope the next couple day's week go without any pain.

 

[dave_mcmillan]

be sure NOT to file as collision. most likely your insurance co will surcharge you for the claim EVEN though they will subrogate against that girls ins co. just call her ins co and file a claim through her policy number.

Absolutley...My Father-in-law is my insurance agent and he told me the same thing. I have to get a reimbursement on my medical expenses so far and whatever my body shop tells me is wrong if any.
Got a real good body shop a buddy of mine works as a sign shop and the body shop is right behind his real class act from what I can tell. I will consult with him and post his info on her after I get the OK from him for all of GA guys.

 

[IanB]

be sure NOT to file as collision. most likely your insurance co will surcharge you for the claim EVEN though they will subrogate against that girls ins co. just call her ins co and file a claim through her policy number.

Granted things work differently in the US for things like this, but a not-at-fault accident should have no negative impact on your insurance premiums, nor should there be any surcharges for filing a claim like this. You pay collision premiums so you have someone to go to bat for you when things like this happen.

 

[Opi]

pics of her

 

[Nelsonmd]

Was the other driver insured? If so, then they should be covering it 100%. Your insurance shouldn't need to even get involved. and her insurance should pay for your car to get checked out by an auto body or mechanic. If they push back, then get your insurance involved. Your insurance company doesn't want you driving a dangerous vehicle.

You should not be on the hook for fixing anything here; the accident was 100% her fault. Your best choice would be to take it to a shop and have the shop send any bill straight to the other driver's insurance company. That is the way to get everything covered.

 

[THEREALTOR1]

pics of her

Haha...

Be sure to have them check the mounting brackets for the rear bumper. Had the same thing happen to me, barely any damage to my bumper except for a dented end cap and some slight rear quarter panel. Took it to the body shop had it fixed under insurance, and thought all was good. Until one day I was looking down at how the rear hatch lines up with the rear bumper cover and noticed that it was about a 1/4" off from square. would've never known otherwise because everything else lines up fine, but i'm pretty sure my brackets are still slightly bent, but there's nothing I can do about it now.

 

[KellyJ]

I'm on the other end of the spectrum with this one:

I managed to SLAM into a '09 Civic in today's rainstorm here in Northern Virginia, and got a nice chance to test out my new ARB. Sorry, no crash pics, but the ARB didn't receive a ding while the trunk, bumper and tail light have all disintegrated thanks to me. As the light turns green in the 2 left turn lanes, I move up in traffic. Someone cut off the car in front of me to get into the left hand turn lane, which forced the Civic to slam on his brakes WAY too early, and a 3000 lb Civic stops a lot sooner than a 5,000 lb 4Runner... I think you know what the outcome is. To my luck, the police were on my side today; the guy who cut off the dude I hit was right in front of a police car when he did that, and although the cop didn't see my accident, he "saw the events that led up to it" and decided to not write me a ticket, since outside the past couple months I've had a good driving record (although my insurance company may think otherwise by now). For that I was very thankful. Also, thankful that I didn't injure the guy in front of me, even though I was going somewhere between 5-10 MPH.

My...
DISCLAIMER: ANY MODIFIED FRONT BUMPER WILL DO A HELL OF A LOT OF DAMAGE TO ANY CAR YOU HAPPEN TO UNFORTUNATELY HIT. DO EVERYTHING IN YOUR POWER TO NOT HIT THE PERSON IN FRONT OF YOU (OR ANYONE FOR THAT MATTER) AFTER YOU'VE INSTALLED A CUSTOM FRONT BUMPER.

 

[Nelsonmd]

I'm on the other end of the spectrum with this one:

I managed to SLAM into a '09 Civic in today's rainstorm here in Northern Virginia, and got a nice chance to test out my new ARB. Sorry, no crash pics, but the ARB didn't receive a ding while the trunk, bumper and tail light have all disintegrated thanks to me. As the light turns green in the 2 left turn lanes, I move up in traffic. Someone cut off the car in front of me to get into the left hand turn lane, which forced the Civic to slam on his brakes WAY too early, and a 3000 lb Civic stops a lot sooner than a 5,000 lb 4Runner... I think you know what the outcome is. To my luck, the police were on my side today; the guy who cut off the dude I hit was right in front of a police car when he did that, and although the cop didn't see my accident, he "saw the events that led up to it" and decided to not write me a ticket, since outside the past couple months I've had a good driving record (although my insurance company may think otherwise by now). For that I was very thankful. Also, thankful that I didn't injure the guy in front of me, even though I was going somewhere between 5-10 MPH.

My...
DISCLAIMER: ANY MODIFIED FRONT BUMPER WILL DO A HELL OF A LOT OF DAMAGE TO ANY CAR YOU HAPPEN TO UNFORTUNATELY HIT. DO EVERYTHING IN YOUR POWER TO NOT HIT THE PERSON IN FRONT OF YOU (OR ANYONE FOR THAT MATTER) AFTER YOU'VE INSTALLED A CUSTOM FRONT BUMPER.

Man, you are lucky the cop was right there. Let us know if your insurance co gives you any crap about having an aftermarket bumper that does more damage than a stocker. There was another discussion about this a while back.

 

[KellyJ]

Man, you are lucky the cop was right there. Let us know if your insurance co gives you any crap about having an aftermarket bumper that does more damage than a stocker. There was another discussion about this a while back.

If anything becomes of the ARB being on there (my worst fear of all, realized at 3:45 PM today), I'll start a new thread with the whole story behind it, you can count on it.

 

[A.Wilson013]

My 87 4runner, fresh from a 100% EVERYTHING changed brake job rear ended a stopped civic hatch at 45mph. No brakes, at all, when the civic decided to stop to turn off the road. Luckily, they were fine, their civic, not so much.

All I received was a good amount of money (free brake job) and some sticker residue on my tow hook in the front. In my experience, these 4Runners do well 1 vs 1.

 

[dave_mcmillan]

The other driver was not worth wasting digital space on to even take a picture. Lets just say not a real pretty girl...She did have Progressive Insurance and after I called them yesterday to find out what I needed to get from my Doctor for reimbusement they seemed pretty easy to deal with...for now...I do have a police report which will be available by next week to pic up...So I guess I will be dealing with body shops next week and seeing what damage if any was done.

I usally have a hitch haul (A real one...not a bolt together superstore special) carrier on my truck and it has been hit numerous times through drive through window collisions usually a little civic or other Honda which has never even been a concern on my part just have to put a new plastice red reflector (double stick tape) on it afterwords. With around 3-4 impacts on that over the last 5 years and yesterdays 25+mph impact to my reciever I am a little concerned with the strucural<-sp? integrity of my 1998 hitch. I am planning on meeting up with the GA guys tomorrow and will compare some other hitches with mine to see if there is anything to be immediatly concerned about. I am going Hunting Saturday afternoon and I am planning on towing my buddy's Kawasaki Mule side by side to the hunting property.

Also one thing to note the rear window would only go down about 2" and would not go any further. I went to the back used my key and could see the metal bend slightly around the wiper arm when it hung-up. The window would only move about 2". I removed the plastic rear cover and metal inspection panel. I discovered that one of the rear window wiper motor bolts had come loose on the far right side. Lucky for me the bolt was still in the hole just had to rescrew it back into its hole. It had been knocked loose in the collision. Soooo...Gonna spend some time Sat morning looking it over and making sure the rear bumper brackets etc..all look right.

The fear of unknown damage is like a horror movie...just waiting to see what jumps out next. I will keep you guys in the loop on the repair process if any and what the guys at the boddy shop find if anything. I will say I am really impressed at how the truck handled the impact and if you do not have a trailer hitch you should probably get one if you drive in any heavy traffic like Atlanta etc...just a little plate steel protection.

Thanks for all the comments and all the advice this is trully why this forum is the best on the net and why I will always have my 4runner.