I have a Pontiac Vibe. Yesterday as I was driving in the snow I hit a curb pretty hard.
I took the car in today to have it checked. The mechanic gave me an estimate for repairs totaling in over $1300. He said he needs to replace 1)lower control arm and ball joint, 2)wheel bearing 3)steering knuckle!
Don’t you think this is a bit excessive? I mean a STEERING KNUCKLE ? Come on!
Get a second opinion and then decide. It is very difficult from here to determine if all the work needs to be done.
I’ve seen that and the engine/transaxle/suspension craddle get bent from such an event. And when doing these type of repairs it’s cheaper to aquire the replacement parts from an auto recycler.
Tester
By your own admission, the impact was “pretty hard”.
You would be surprised at how easily suspension and steering components can be damaged by that type of impact.
As was already said, get a second opinion.
Just don’t ignore the situation, as it is potentially a major safety issue.
I agree, a second, even a third from the dealer. Have you been happy with the work by this mechanic till now ? $1300 doesn’t buy much these days. I’m surprised the rim and tire are not involved.
If you have collision insurance, the repair might be covered up to the limits of your deductible amount.
I’ve personally done a lot of slid and hit the curb hard repairs and it’s quite possible to have every one of those items damaged from the impact; along with a few more such as the wheel rim, the hub, the sway bar,…
Thank you all guys, I will definitely not ignore the problem and as soon as come Monday I will get a second opinion.
No not excessive and very plausible. 2nd opinion and insurance can cover this.
I agree on the possible rim damage as well. Have the alignment checked too, you never know how much damage is really done until you start looking.
In some severe cases the damage can be even worse. A subframe or strut tower can become damaged and in the case of a strut tower this might mean a trip to a body shop with a frame alignment rack.
About 2 years ago someone made a left in front of my son across 3 lanes of traffic (all the same direction) and he smacked them with his secondary car, an 88 Camaro.
The Crown Vic was pretty well wiped as it got hit in the driver side doors but looking at my son’s car it didn’t look that bad to me; initially.
Further inspection later on showed the RF wheel on his Camaro was pushed back about an inch, the hood/fender buckled a bit, etc. but the frame/floorpan was badly cracked and buckled, which essentially meant a totalled out car.
The odd part was that the RF headlights, plastic nose, radiator, battery, and even the grill were not damaged at all, go figure. My original thought was a bit of sheet metal changing, a lower control arm, and it would be good to go. Not.
The amount does not sound out line at all. All damage you described seems appropriate but the tie rod might also be bent and you did not mention a front alignment. You also are questioning the knuckle. Curb hits do bend knuckles. In my shop right now an 08 Saturn Aura hit a curb and it is in worse shape than yours. If I remember that estimate is better than $2000 but it also has some bumper damage.
This would be considered collision but insurance will cover this if you have collision coverage.
What are you complaining about…the fact that you hit a curb or the cost???
You admit you hit the curb HARD and you’re complaining about the damage done??? I’ve seen a LOT more damage then that for the same type of accident.
$1,300 sounds about right for the type of collision you had. This kind of thing is what insurance is for. You do have insurance, don’t you?