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Yep. The inevitable has happened.
Maybe the karma gods were out to teach me a lesson for having a whine about growing old.
Maybe the Audiolink I spent till 5.30am last night installing was cursed.
Either way what I thought would never happen has happened.
In my eagerness to get home and eat strawberry fondue I did not notice a No Right turn sign at an intersection which mind you in the dark was about as visible as a needle in a haystack.
Regardless, I turned right as the lights were turning yellow and my visibility was blocked by a large car in the opposite turning lane.
Result? Old lady rammed into my front left corner and spun me through the intersection to a stop, luckily avoiding running up against the gutter and hitting power poles.
Funny thing is as she was approaching I thought to myself, .."here we go! brace for impact!".. then BOOM, next thing I know i'm facing the wrong direction and I look over to see if she was ok. Then I calmly turned off my ipod, picked up my phone, made a few calls, got out and even though my knee was bruised, my heart broke at the sight of my beautiful 8..
The interior cabin seemed fine, no airbags deployed and given that I was barely moving and she was driving fairly slowly, the accident was not too serious.
There was also oil running from my car which I am assuming is from a punctured oil cooler.
I've learnt my lesson. But a damn expensive one.
Anyone recommend any good repairers in the Inner West?
I am going with the guys that towed me because they are close to me, were friendly and offered a courtesy car for free. Apart from that I know nothing about them and want to make it clear to them I want a good job done and whether they know anything about RX8s.
Also, how does the damage look? My first impressions are hopefully it's not a total loss because I can't afford the stamp duty on a new car, and I love my car, but I am worried that the crash is going to cause my more mechanical problems in the future since a car is never the same once its been in an accident.
Lastly, hope everyone else drives a little safer. I wonder if they will loan me a MT Hyundai Excel? Want to spend as little $$ on petrol as possible but shouldn't be too hard going from the 8 to the Excel.
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mogley, Sorry to hear & see so graphically your trauma. I know I too would be devastated.
The good news is that you’re OK and the car can be mended back into shape.
Keep your chin up!
Maybe take the opportunity for body mods if price is right.
definately not a total loss... I fix cars way worse than that everyday. I wouldnt choose a bodyshop because they are "nice" to you. I would do research from people who are knowledgable about cars without a biast opinion. Not the towing company, or your insurance company, or someones relative! Try going to a high end shop where they specialize in mercadez or bmw. When you bring your car in make sure that everyone in the office knows you are a complete **** ******* about your car and will not settle for anything less than absolute perfection! Follow these steps and your car will be fine. If you do not.... I guarantee that your car will start having problems down the road!
That is bad luck Mogley, in my younger days I had a lot of unwated experience in wrecking cars, yours doesn't look too bad, however because of the angle of the hit I hope that the entire chasis isn't bent, cars are never the same again after that.
I always have a policy of selling a car after an accident, they always develop new noises and are never as good as they were before (this could be an imagined difference).
Everyone has a view on this but 'fix and sell' is a bit extreme. Assuming there's no structural damage, there's no reason why the car shouldn't be fixed okay.
It's just a matter of persistence and checking until the job is done correctly.
Any idea on what kind of damage I may have sufferred that is irrepairable?
I know the oil cooler was busted, the bumper, quarter panel and bonnet but hopefully there is no engine problems. The radiator may be on its way out too, as is the wheels and axels.
I'm suspecting alignment and suspension problems.
Is there any way I can tell if there has been structural damage?
I felt the panels and all are flush and everything seems to be in good order.
I'm worried because the wheel and axel took most of the impact the car did not "crumple". Hence the shock may have transmitted through the entire length of the vehicle upsetting the structure which may not be visible from the outside.
Granted it was not very high speed as the other car had a slightly crumpled bonnet, smashed bumper and radiator.
you need a lot of expensive parts.
upper and lower control arm, a fender, hood, spindle, wheel bearing, abs sensor just by looking at the out side.
it will not be a total lose, but repair should cost about 1/3 of your sticker price.
I agree with Gibbo and I'd do the same. Fix + sell would be what I'd be thinking of right now, especially with the amount of damage that seems to have occurred.
Good luck with the repair work, and please keep us posted..
Either way, unless I am going to live without a car for 2 years If I sell I need to buy. And the prices on the 8 have not changed signficantly since I bought mine.
Plus I love my car. It's rare to see a red 8 with leather pack and plain black leather, not red/black.
I just can't justify $1500 on stamp duty, especially since I bought the car 2 months ago and bought it second hand.
It is a lot of hassle to car shop, sell and finance another car purely because I have had a smash.
When you guys say it will never drive right again what do you mean?
If it is major mechnical problems wouldn't my insurance company rectify them?
And if it is minor then I would probabaly have to live with it because at the end of the day, it really is prohibitive to refinance etc..
that sucks 
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