Join the first accident in first 500 miles club :)

[Mr. Z]

Its been less than a month from the time I picked up my Yeti, and it has less than 500 miles on the odometer...

Was working late last night and suddenly heard a bang and alarm going off outside the house. Ran up to the window and saw another car stopped next to mine, with emergency flashers on.

"$%$%$$^%$@$%@$%^#$@$" I thought and raced outside to take down the license plates of the car that hit mine (usually the ones at fault tend not to hang out on the scene of accident here in Lithuania).

Turns our I've been hit by another member of the VAG family: Audi A4. I still do not understand how the accident happened, and the other driver (18-year old with temporary driving permit) could not explain how he managed to hit my car. It is a relatively wide street in a residential area. If cars were parked on both sides, there would still be enough space for 2 lanes. My car was the only one on the street. There was absolutely no traffic. The guy really had to put in effort to locate the only car on the street and read end it )

Well, anyway, his car looked worse, right front wing was bent and the wheel looked as of it was about to fall off. His car could not move further and had to be towed away, while my Yeti looked untouched. The only thing that I could see was a tiny scratch on the rear left corner of the bumper. For a moment I thought maybe I should let the boy go, but after going around the car I noticed that the front right wheel ended up on the sidewalk, that is about 10-15cm high, which means the impact was stronger that an innocent bump. My previous car was rear ended in a parking lot (hit & run), and I had to pay $1200 for what appeared to be just a cracked bumper. So I figured that even if there is no visual damage, I better go through the insurance.

And it looks like I made the right decision. This morning I checked out the damage in the daylight and something did not look right. I took some measuring tape and after the accident my rear left wheel moved to the front by about 15 millimeters (see photo).

Of course compared to bigger things in life, this tiny accident does not mean anything Same could have happened if I hit some huge pot hole.. But here's what bothers me:

1. Insurance will most likely force me to go to some cheap repair shop, where they will just hammer the wheel back to it's place. I think I should demand to have the car checked by Skoda dealer, to make sure it has been repaired according to factory specifications.

2. Lets assume it cannot be fixed easily and there are some welding works involved. Then few years later corrosion starts in the repaired spot. Who pays for that?

3. Could something more than alignment be damaged?

It would be interesting to hear comments from others who had to get a brand new car repaired, and whether insurance companies delivered "as advertised"

[The Plumber]

Hi Mr. Z,

to see you've been hit by a careless driver.

Obviously just guess work but I would suspect it's trashed the assemble carrier (sub frame) and attached wishbone :wonder:

Possible distorted the mounting points highlighted; it's only pressed steel.

Hope you can get it fixed soon.

TP

[skodafab]

Not had an accident in my skoda but got a new van a few weeks ago and only had been in it for 20 mins and done around 10 miles or so when some daft young lady ran into the back of it at some traffic lights so i can feel for you.

[hmibennett]

Feel for you too - someone ran into mine while parked only 8 days after delivery and then left the scene. Luckily only minor damage - going into the body shop tomorrow (delay for 4 weeks while I was away on holiday and also bodyshop had problem locating Muscovado paint!).

[roguebrit]

Sorry to hear of your woe - another '18-year-old-driving-god' incident. I have a friend whose rear offside door on a 3.5 Jag was trashed by one who bounced off the kirb on the other side of the, otherwise, empty road, apparently. There's no reason why your insurance should insist on a cheapo job, is there? I don't know how some of the cut price guys work - but when I needed work on my last new Defender, NFU let me take it to a main dealer. That's what I would be aiming for in your case - alignment stuff needs proper attention if anything does - I do hope it works out for you!

[Mr. Z]

Got my Yeti back from the repair shop. Cost of the repairs: almost 1000 pounds, luckily 100% covered by insurance.

[hmibennett]

Got my Yeti back from the repair shop. Cost of the repairs: almost 1000 pounds, luckily 100% covered by insurance.

Glad to hear that. Good luck in the future!