So long story short, I was at my friend's place playing some Resident Evil 5 (awesome game!), when on my way out I saw this:

The steering wheel was turned a bit to the right in the driveway pictures...the ones in the garage have the steering wheel dead straight.











this is how much room she had in the driveway (Mini is my friend's car)




here's the steering column torquing damage






driver's side with steering wheel straight (looks good)


passenger side with steering wheel straight (doesn't look good...)


Apparently on her way out, my friend's mom backed into my car pretty hard and just drove off...it wasn't until my friend called her that she fessed up and admitted to it and said she'd pay for everything (she is now very apologetic and will definitely be paying for everything). There isn't much damage to her car either (new-ish Toyota Solara 'vert), just some scraping on her rear bumper.

Fortunately (maybe?), the dad personally knows the owner of a very reputable body shop in the area, so my car went there. They took the car in and today came up with a ballpark estimate of $2500-3000 for repairs, HOWEVER the dude is denying the steering column torquing is a result of this impact and saying that this has never happened from an accident like this...and that is my dilemma.

The impact to the front right wheel occurred at maybe a 30-degree angle forwards from the top of the wheel, which would have caused the steering wheel to turn counter-clockwise against the lock hard enough to twist the column mounting.

If my logic of how the steering column got like that is flawed or if anyone can provide any help on this matter, it would be greatly appreciated!


For those who are curious, here's what the shop said they're doing (as of now...estimate hasn't been officially written up yet):
- fender
- fender liner
- repair door
- re-align bumper
- upper control arm
- knuckle
- wheel bearing
- hub
- maybe (they damn well better) repair slight bend in wheel
- and they're going to "look into" the steering column damage...

If the estimate comes out and they're not repairing the wheel and the steering column, I'm telling them I'm going somewhere else if they don't do it.

 

go somewhere else and get estimates if they dont want to fix ur steering wheel and such

 

Should of made a report while you had the chance. Do not give into their (Autobody) demand; get it all fixed.

 

ouch!!
that hurts

 

Ouch, I would go look around and have them fix everything the right way.

 

As said before, get more quotes. I must say that the steering column damage was unexpected. Shops and insurance companies miss things all of the time.

 

Oh I absolutely will take my car elsewhere if they refuse to fix the steering column. They haven't begun work on the car yet because my friend's parents are figuring out whether to go through insurance or pay out of pocket.

I agree the steering column damage was unexpected...I've never seen something like that happen before. Unfortunately, the body shop also finds it unexpected and therefore has been doubting me when I say it happened as a result of this impact.

Am I out of line thinking it happened from this impact? Is my assessment of how it happened flawed? I really want to know what others think here...

 

Ask your local Acura dealer to refer you to the body shop that they use.

Don't look for the low bidder, when there is damage to steering/suspension.

Expect the insurance company to call your car a total loss, because of its age/value.

 

The shop my car is at right now is far from a low bidder...if anything they're one of maybe 3 or 4 of the most expensive shops in the area. Hell, when I dropped by there on Friday they had a Porsche 997 GT3 sitting out front...as I said in my original post, the shop is a very reputable one and does work for several foreign dealerships in the area.

The owner has dealt with my friend's mom and her insurance before, and knows if a car might be considered totaled, and he hasn't mentioned anything about that. Also, my friend's mom is on my side about this and knows I don't want my car totalled. Worst case scenario, they total it and I buy it back and have it fixed.

I have no desire for my car to be totaled and my friend's mom knows this, so I'm not too worried it'll happen.