amdhunter

Surprised the hell out of me too. I blew tires and bent rims on much lighter hits. My tires are worn pretty badly also.

The body panels has definitely shifted. Everything was tight before, and now there are gaps in the body that didn't exist before. I am so ****** pissed, as Geico wants me to go back to the same shop that is bs'ing me.

They are literally telling me that the bumper and side skirt cannot be aligned properly and it was the best they can do. I am so happy they took before pics, because it shows my skirt in perfect condition - it just had a broken tab and wasn't lined up. From the side skirt alone, the body panel is 1cm away when it was flush before.

I don't know what the point of insurance is if they aren't going to fix your car properly. Can they really tell me that 1cm gaps are considered normal?

amdhunter

I now have a nice yellow CEL on my dash. Going to pull the code in a few hours. Waiting for a friend to come home from work.

Here are pictures of the bottom of my car - it'll be on a lift tomorrow.

rx8 - Imgur

godesshunter

You don't have to go to the place they want you to. There is some sort of rule that you are allowed to bring your car wherever you want and the insurance company cannot make a stink about it.

If you have misaligned body panels, You have some major structural damage. I'm about to make that video for you I'll try to highlight some places that can cause you a problem

amdhunter

Thanks. Hopefully I'll have a better idea tomorrow. I wonder what the CEL is going to tell me.
So these pics didn't tell anything?

Jastreb

iTrader: (1)

Tough break man. The FDR was a dump when I lived in NYC and drove on it, and it appears things haven't changed. That the rim survived that looks like a testament to the strength of those R3 wheels...

The tabs on the side skirt are not fixable and require replacement of the entire skirt, unfortunately. However, it should be possible to have the skirt securely on and relatively straight with a few tabs broken.

Sad to see an R3 injured like that

godesshunter

Video is a no go. Sorry. Phone memory kicked the bucket half way through. Unfortunately the pics don't really show much.

Just bring it to a place that knows what they are doing. The insurance company cannot deny you that.

amdhunter

Just got the car on a lift. A mechanic (that I trust immensely) took a look at it and said he could see nothing that was out of the ordinary. He told me the alignment was probably weird because my drivers rear spring seems quite a bit more worn and they just compensated for the lower'ed'ness of it. He checked for about 15 minutes, looking for anything but came up short. He told me that if I really hit that hard, the wheel would have crapped itself way sooner than the rest of the car would.

The CEL was P0442, which sure enough, turned out to be a loose gas cap. How did it get loose? I don't know, so I took a look and I swear this doesn't look normal, but my friend is telling me I am just looking for stuff to complain about and that's it's impossible that it shifted.

My muffler does have a bit of damage at the drivers side, but he said that was probably unrelated.

Does this look right? I don't know if I am imagining things. I am going to call Geico about my side-skirt getting replaced tomorrow. Can anyone take a look on their car and let me know?

godesshunter

People underestimate the strength of a forged wheel. The R3 wheels are forged. Its seems a bit too coincidental that the left rear sits lower than the rest of the car, and you say that's where the damage is.

I wonder if something happened to the body where the top of the shock bolts to the body. the carpet inside the trunk is pretty easy to take out. It may be worth a look to see if that is ok.

I took a pic of my car to try to mimic the pic you have above. not sure if it will help at all.

amdhunter

I was asking if the gas insert was lifted. Looked at another 8 pic on google and it seems fine.
Where I park, there is a hump where the car sits right under that wheel - after 4 years of being parked on that hump, I think it must have sagged the spring.

I'll take a video of it - it actually is all starting to make sense now.

amdhunter

Had it checked again at a body shop - they see nothing for me to complain about...lol
Geico also told me that they'll align the car as many times as needed if I have uneven wear on my tires, or if anything doesn't seem right, for the life of the car.

I decided to go ahead and fix all the dings and scratches, and will be purchasing new tires and brakes. I am bored to death of my R3 rims though - so I may take them off soon since I am in a spending "mood."

I'll be keeping an eye on it for a few months. Just to see what's up.

Felix_Wankel_fan88

i would get that in writing
make them sign it with blood ink because if that is just what they "told" you over the phone im guessing down the road they will deny they told you that, or they cannot tell whom told you that...even tho they record all of their conversations without your consent, since the recording is their property, they don't have to let you hear it, or even claim it is existent.

or don't allow them to close the claim until this issue(s) have been completely and totally fixed, back to the original condition

amdhunter

Claim is still open. I am having my brakes installed by Mazda, and will have them have the final say on damages. I do park with a "hump" under my drivers rear, at an angle that weighs the car down on that spring. I think that may be the cause of the misalignment. I'll take a video of it. It makes total sense.

I want to change the springs now, maybe lower the car 1/2" or so, but I don't know the first thing about it, or have any installers that I know or trust with a job like that.

Jamie Venable

i hit a pothole on the highway and immediately after, my c300 feels wobbly on one side (a side to side wobble) at any speed, and shakes badly around 60+ mph. The boot on passenger side is torn. Would that cause it? I filed a claim with geico. They said it may be hard to tie the pothole as the cause without outer physical damage. I know what the car felt like before and after. Definitely from the pothole. What else may have been damaged?

NotAPreppie

This is a forum dedicated to RX-8's. Post your question here:
https://mbworld.org/forums/c-class-w204-83/