I’d have that front end carefully inspected, a lot more could be damaged, besides the fender.
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The damage to both sides is, well, an interesting story. Collision occurred on a 4-lane stretch of interstate at 65 mph, at least I was doing only 65. A large Pontiac came up at much higher speed from the right, hit the rear quarter panel/wheel area, and ran its mirror up the side, leaving a trail of paint and knocking off my mirror. The impact on the right rear wheel sent the back of my car skidding left. An 18-wheeler was passing me on the left at that moment. I slid into the back of the truck and kind of hooked the front left fender around it. Got control of the car back and made for the shoulder, crossing 3 lanes without getting hit again. The whole thing was just surreal, and I’m grateful I’m only dealing with cosmetic stuff after the fact.
The car that hit me kept right on going “like a bat out of h-ll” according to a witness behind me. So did the truck. The responding cop said “the truck probably never knew you hit him.” I’m not sure whether I believe that (how do you not notice a 3,500 pound drag on your trailer?), but it’s all moot right now.
All in all, an experience I don’t care to repeat, that’s for sure.
Thanks, yes, I was worried about mechanical damage. I did have the car checked out by my mechanic and, luckily, it came back ok. I actually did that before I even took the car to a body shop for an estimate. The body shop’s news wasn’t so great - somewhere around $6,000 to fix everything. That’s why I’m just trying to fix the worst of it on my own. I don’t think there’s much debate about not putting 6 grand into a car that old.
. The responding cop said “the truck probably never knew you hit him.” I’m not sure whether I believe that (how do you not notice a 3,500 pound drag on your trailer?), but it’s all moot right now.
As a retired truck driver of many year’s I can say the cop was right with any weight from 20 to 25 thousand pounds empty up 80,000 loaded something like that could feel like something laying on the road to a bad pot hole.You just bounced of of the truck.
First, I would appreciate you not quoting me incorrectly and putting words in mouth that were not presented in order to make a point. Quotation marks do not give individuals license to fabricate and lie. Can you see okay? Do you read well? I did not say what you have quoted.
Furthermore, you do not know which insurance company I’m with and do not know how much I pay for collision insurance. Any idea how much I’ve collected on several total loss vehicles and any idea how cheaply I’ve repaired those vehicles and any idea how long I was able to continue driving them afterwards? I didn’t think you did.
Thanks, but I certainly do not need any financial advice, nor did I ask for it.
I am doing quite well in that area, in more ways than you can comprehend. And you are wrong, I have done the math and continue to always do the math, but thanks. Bless your heart.
You are entitled to an opinion, but not one directed at me based on misrepresentation, no pertinent facts pertaining to my situation, and wrong assumptions.
CSA
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That is absolutely possible . I once ripped the entire drivers door off a car when they opened it while I was going through a shopping center in a 24 foot box truck . The only reason I stopped was that I just happened to look in the passenger side mirror at the moment.
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Since the pandemic started, I’ve seen practically no police vehicles on the highway enforcing speed limits, with the exception of Massachusetts and New York. I occasionally drive on Route 91 and on the Mass Pike (Route 90), and every time, throughout the past year, I see the Mass State police waiting for maniacs like the one that hit you. New York police are out along the LIE and by the bridge approaches. You have my sympathy.
I’d like to have a mini dash cam on the next car I buy.
Why not get one now ?
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Here in Florida on the Sun Coast, too, since this virus scare began, there is no visible law enforcement and that includes vehicles speeding and red-light-runners.
As far as travel by roads is concerned it’s the Wild West and the sheriff and his deputies are out of town.
CSA
I read a local report that the state I live in, Delaware, is in the top 10 for speeding violations. A comment was made that police are not pulling folks over unless their actions are egregious as they want to avoid Covid exposure.
Sure have a camera at your own peril depending on your driving habits. It can be used both in your defense and prosecution. Can’t delete though since it would be evidence.
Only if they know you have a dashcom.
Although our traffic death numbers have been declining steadily since 1973 and the deatr rate per millin miles has been declining also, the death numbers in the covid era shot up sharply last year even though the number of miles dropped. I just heard the number was over 42,000 last year. Given all the safety advances on cars and the low number of miles driven last year, this is pitiful.
My personal observation is that there is a great increase in rude and stupid driving.I have seen people mare a left on red from the right lane of a 4 lane road! I have also had people stop behind me at a red light and then pull around me to go straight through the light. Just yesterday I had someone cross the double yellow line on a 30 mph 2 land road to pass me because I was only doing 35.
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Yeah sometimes it’s a good idea to try to hook a come along to it and pull it out some before you take the old fender off get it all somewhat close first.
You can try to look on here https://www.autozone.com/parts
They helped my hubby a lot, but shipment… You’ll have to wait for sure. And not one week tbh
Another option would be to do the parts swaps you are capable of doing like the front fender and have an autobody technician who does work on the side repair the quarter panel. Last fall I had a quarter panel repaired and a rear door replaced on a 15-year-old vehicle by a retired autobody technician/shop owner who did side jobs. I found him on Craigslist. The price was very reasonable, and the repaired vehicle looked good and still looks good after a salty winter.
I’ll just add my 2 cents worth. I would just leave the quarter panel alone except to buff off the white paint. The fender you should try and source through a junk yard to try and get the right color. I have paid as little as $25 for a fender. After that you can try an after-market but like they say it sorta fits so you may need to do some work. If you try junk yards you can go to car-parts.com and put in the locale. You can probably find one close to just pick it up. For OEM just do a search for dealers. A lot of them have an inter-net department to sell from on line. As far as paint goes, the paint code will be somewhere on the care plate. Please try and get matching paint if you have gone that far. For $100 or so you can get 2-3 cans of paint, primer, and clear on line. Just search for touch up paint. There is one major one out of LA with all the paint codes etc. and it will match. Take 2-3 weeks but you’ll get matching paint in a spray can and you can do professional work if you are careful. Auto parts places also have small cans but not all colors and the paint is of less quality and a can doesn’t go far, but beats Rustoleum with a brush. I use it on my trailer but spray it, but it fades fast. There is lots of stuff on Youtube on body work and painting. If you look at Jon Kosmosky with House of Kolor, you get what an absolute professional does for paint.
Original poster here with an update . . . just received a new, aftermarket left front fender in the mail. Of all the places, I found it on Amazon (not Amazon directly, but an auto parts shop with a storefront on the site). It appears to have survived shipping intact.
Now comes the fun part of trying to paint this thing and, of course, getting the damaged one off the car. I am going to try an original color paint match, or as close as I can get. But, where on the car do I find the paint information?
I know well that my paint job won’t stand up to a professional’s work. But, I’m willing to do an amateur job as long as the outcome is somewhat decent, rather than paying the body shop rates. It would be a very, very different story if it were my daily driver (a 2019 Kia) I was trying to fix.
So, any idea where to locate the paint codes for the car?
The paint code is on the manufactures information label in the drivers door jam;
The paint code is usually located on the door jamb.
Tester