Oh well, always dreaded being one of those people with a new car in a wreck, and fate has dialed me in. On way home form work today in traffic I turn my head for a sec to get ready to change lanes, turn back and the Mitsubishi SUV in front of me is dead stopped! Ouch I slam for the brakes, but not quite fast enough, these are the times I miss those sticky brakes in my old TL. Hit her rear bumper and of course it rides up over my front and smashes the grill and hood and pushes the radiator back. Damage similar to that in the TCH vs. Bambi thread here. Oh well, looks like nothing structurally very bad, looks to be all bumper, grill, lights, hood and whatever the radiator dis and it shifted. The car runs enough to move it on and off flat bed, but it is down and out for a while. I guess the good news is I'll probably get a US bumper so the knock out may not be in the new bumper! (Have to put a positive spin on it some how).
OUCH!!! All I can say is sorry, and hopefully you're back on the road soon good as new! The THC seems to have shown it's a safe car (7 airbags and all).
Don't count on getting a U.S. bumper. I got one just like the original - with the plug. For some reason, there is some dense foam filling the hole, and it caused the plug to not seat properly, and I lost it on the way back from picking it up from the body shop.
I got another one, and ended up having to clear out the foam myself since they still didn't do a very good job the 2nd time around.
Thanks for all the support. Kind of ironic, I traded my TL which I drove hard and agressive for tht TCH whcih I drive mild and tame, and I was in the middle lane, a place I never was in the TL as I was aloways passing, not being passed. I had a Chrysler t-boned while it was parked in 99 and this body shop did awesome work, so I am expecting it to look good as new.
Siff72,,
Weren't you the one with the dear? I have very similar damge, grill hood and bumper. Radiator got pushed back and leaked so car was not drivable, didn't you have similar damage? Did you need new radiator and AC condensor? And how long was your car out of use, did they have problems getting parts?
The parts that took the longest were the inverter radiator, the headlamp assy, and one of the "Hybrid" badges. My car had the inverter radiator punctured, not the engine radiator, but they still had to replace it (and the A/C condenser) because the mounting brackets broke off from them at impact.
I had it towed to the body shop on Friday Aug 18th, they got insurance approval on Aug 22 (or so), and I picked it up on Thursday Aug 31st (minus one of the Hybrid badges).
The parts that took the longest were the inverter radiator, the headlamp assy, and one of the "Hybrid" badges. My car had the inverter radiator punctured, not the engine radiator, but they still had to replace it (and the A/C condenser) because the mounting brackets broke off from them at impact.
I had it towed to the body shop on Friday Aug 18th, they got insurance approval on Aug 22 (or so), and I picked it up on Thursday Aug 31st (minus one of the Hybrid badges).
Good luck with your repairs...
I looked at your photos, my damage is a bit more, more evenly crushed in gill and hood. Your time line has me encouraged as I need to eat $9 in rental coverage so if I can get it back in 2 weeks I would be thrilled.
TCH vs. SUV not a good mix...
