Robe81
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- Thread starter
- #1
Been meaning to post this up for a couple months but haven't had time. A few months ago, I was rear ended in my not even 3 month old Jeep. I had been at a stop at the end of an off ramp that visibility is not great on. The light turned green and I was sitting with the clutch pushed in and barely easing into 1st (no brake lights on). My spidey sense went off and I noticed a Tundra coming up way too fast in my rear view, giving me a split second to brace for impact. And when it came, it was a VERY loud boom. I've been rear ended probably 4 times now and this was by far the hardest I'd been hit. Turns out the Tundra driver (likely distracted) didnt realize we werent moving and ran straight into me, no brakes or anything. I pulled over and got out the vehicle fearing what I was about to see.
I saw the Tundra first...his bull bar had been pushed into his grille, destroying the front bumper cover and the grille itself. Pieces of glass all over the road from his fog lights shattering. His grille had also impacted the rear tire which caused further damage to his grille and slightly accordian-ing (is that a word) the hood. Once I saw that, I slowly turned and....nothing. I was shocked...there was nothing immediately damaged upon first look. I could tell the bumper gaps were very slightly off..but had to measure to be sure. The rear wheel has some very minor scuffing. And the tow package was pointing slightly further south than it had. I couldnt believe it. As hard as I'd been hit, I figured fenders and everything would be jacked!
Now...anyone that has experience knows that first glance is never all of it. It would ultimately end up being a twisted rear cross member that had to be replaced. The bull bar had impacted the tow package and it absorbed most of the blow. Additionally the rear swing gate did have a dent in it I hadnt noticed. It was roughly the size of a half dollar. All in all, it came out to 5k estimate. What would ultimately happen though was instead of replacing the swing gate, I called up my PDR guy and he got it out for $250. I just kept the wheel, as a new one was $400. I had the body shop adjust the bumper back into place and you cant tell the difference. The only thing that was replaced was the cross member and the tow package and I came away with a bit of money.
NOW the precautionary bit of my story. If you end up being in a similar situation...make sure you tell the body shop NOT to tape the soft top windows. When I picked it up and got it home, I noticed the rear windows had tape marks on them. These tape marks would ultimately not come out with sunlight and the shop got me some new windows. They were cool about it...but some may not be.
I saw the Tundra first...his bull bar had been pushed into his grille, destroying the front bumper cover and the grille itself. Pieces of glass all over the road from his fog lights shattering. His grille had also impacted the rear tire which caused further damage to his grille and slightly accordian-ing (is that a word) the hood. Once I saw that, I slowly turned and....nothing. I was shocked...there was nothing immediately damaged upon first look. I could tell the bumper gaps were very slightly off..but had to measure to be sure. The rear wheel has some very minor scuffing. And the tow package was pointing slightly further south than it had. I couldnt believe it. As hard as I'd been hit, I figured fenders and everything would be jacked!
Now...anyone that has experience knows that first glance is never all of it. It would ultimately end up being a twisted rear cross member that had to be replaced. The bull bar had impacted the tow package and it absorbed most of the blow. Additionally the rear swing gate did have a dent in it I hadnt noticed. It was roughly the size of a half dollar. All in all, it came out to 5k estimate. What would ultimately happen though was instead of replacing the swing gate, I called up my PDR guy and he got it out for $250. I just kept the wheel, as a new one was $400. I had the body shop adjust the bumper back into place and you cant tell the difference. The only thing that was replaced was the cross member and the tow package and I came away with a bit of money.
NOW the precautionary bit of my story. If you end up being in a similar situation...make sure you tell the body shop NOT to tape the soft top windows. When I picked it up and got it home, I noticed the rear windows had tape marks on them. These tape marks would ultimately not come out with sunlight and the shop got me some new windows. They were cool about it...but some may not be.
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