jami1

So I was on my way to work, and on Adam's Avenue in Philadelphia, about to get on Roosevelt BLVD, there was a van in front of me waiting to make a left, I needed to make a right, the one time I didn't look over my right shoulder to make sure it was clear. There was a black pick up truck in my blind spot I did not see. So when I changed lanes I ended up hitting him. I know its was all my fault. The guy was very nice and said that he feels more sorry for me as he said I looked like I was about to cry. He said he was not going to file a report with his insurance company as his car is beat up any way.

I know some of you guys remember, I just got my 98 es 300 2 weeks ago. I didn't have full coverage on it, ( I think I am going to change my policy) and I know this is going to cost so much to fix. What do you guys think. I was able to drive the car back home. and everything seems to be fine except I do not have no right signal, and when I hit the lock button on the remote pad I do not hear the beep any more, but the doors still lock and unlock when I want them to.


Do you think the damage is bad? I have attached photos below?

bnizzle87

sorry to hear i hit someone on the opposite side (left bumper area) a few years back with my es300. it was my first accident and i was so mad at myself. Its repairable, but it was ugly to look at. glad to hear you're ok. looks like bumper and a little bit of the side, but the hood looks untouched, which is a relief. best of luck!

jami1

how much did it end up costing you? Did you drive yours like this?

kg19989

Glad you're ok! looks like you will need a fender, bumper and lights/lenses. Possibly some hood repair....This could easily run into the $3500 range... good luck!

swifty562

fender $150, bumper $250.00, corner light $100.00... paint job.. $500.00 - $850.00... your alarm speaker $...i have no idea. just and estimate. shouldn't be more than 2500 total. hood is fine by the looks of it. however did ur air bag ignite?

jami1

Airbag didn't ignite no lights on the dash except for the signal light that I lost in the accident. Had a mechanic check it, he says I do not need a hood, and he says the hood is fine. but he says I do need a new bumper because the bumper is cracked on one side. a fender, and a light... I am looking to see if any one has the corner lights so that I can have my signals back and then get the panel and bumper a little later. The parts would have to be silver to match the rest of the car, if I brought the parts from Ebay, I think I would paint it myself. Would silver spray paint do the job or is it more complicated than that?

Other than that the car is perfectly drivable, no mechanical issues.

QuachmanES

iTrader: (4)

Glad to hear no one was hurt.

That's pretty lucky that all you damaged was that corner, with no damage to the hood or the suspension. Corner lights and a bumper should be a pretty easy find, but the fender might be a bit harder to find.

A decent paint job to make it look good isn't as simple as a spray paint, as it requires a color match, prep, an even coat of paint, and a layer of clear on top of that. I do not recommend spray painting it yourself.

jami1

you dont think its that bad right? alot of people saw my car and was like what happened? I told them what happened and they told me the same thing, that I was lucky it was only that area and not the hood, they all said that it could have been much worst. Mechanic says that he will charge me close to nothing to put them on, but that I would need to find the parts.

It's crazy because it has been two weeks to the day that I had my es300. and I must say that I love it so far, I get so much attention, alot of people stop and ask me, what year is it, how many miles it has and most want to know how much I paid for it.

My co-worker has a Jetta, it has 60,000 miles, and rattles in high speed traffic. About 2 days after I got my es300, my co-worker was leaving the office the same time I was, so he decided to check out my car, I turned it on for him and it was cold, he saw that the odometer has over 188000 miles on it and he could not even tell the car was on. It was completely quiet. I drove him to his car, and he was amazed at the fact that he could barely hear the motor.

I have to get my es300 looking new again some how....

jadu

iTrader: (42)

sorry to hear man

AMAlex

I almost had the same thing happen to me yesterday. I was on US-1 with a bunch of traffic and on the left lane when it got backed up so I decided to go on the middle lane, as I'm turning I hear loud horn and sharply turn back into my lane, I turn my head just a little further and to my surprise there is a big white hummer right in my blind spot . I'm so glad I didn't have that accident, I don't have full coverage and I got the car for christmas

Limen

Those are some pretty high numbers being thrown out there. My girlfriend wrecked our ES300 into a tree doing about 5-10mph sliding on ice, and we needed a new fender, front bumper, hood, one headlight, paint, and couple other misc things. We got it all done for about $2,100 at a local body shop here in Indiana. But I did go with mostley aftermarket parts because its much cheeper than going with the OEM, and looks just as good. Just shop around if you can, and make sure the bodyshop knows your "shopping around" so he is more likely to give you a better price.

But all in all, its just a good thing your alright, and the other guy was cool about it. It always sucks when the other person is a complete jerk about the stiuation. It just seems to make things harder.

Lexucan

I really feel for you dude
It's always a shame to see a nice ES get damaged, but to have it happen so soon after buying the car? Not nice at all!
I know I'd be devastated if it was me. Luckily, the damage doesn't seem all that bad, although, it's still going to cost you a bit to fix up. I hope you are able to find the money and parts to do it.
And let me make a small prediction: I bet that was the LAST time you'll ever try to change lanes without checking first!

jami1

were you in philly or PA? They drive so crazy on US-1 in PA.

tromly

Bad story bro, tough luck, that blind spot has gotten me a couple of times ! Good luck with the repair !

jami1

you are certainly right about that, I will ALWAYS check when i am switching lanes. and alot of people that seen it say that I am very lucky.