Well, I guess it was finally my turn now.

[SilverBack]

So last night I'm on the dangerous freeway interchange minutes away from home. A black Suburban coming from the other direction joins-up with me. Without signaling, he jumps onto my lane. I swerve to avoid him and bounce-off the K-rail. My front rim catches onto something and gets blown to shreds instantly, followed by the the rear wheel being badly damaged. I get a tow on a flat bed home. I take an even closer look this morning and noticed both front and suspension is shot to hell along with deep scratches along the door. Another flat bed comes and get it this morning for the repair shop after stake a claim with AAA. It's definitely fixable, but I'm still pissed about having to see it like this. I should've just let the bastard hit me so he couldn't get away with it...

[Altitude]

That sucks. Maybe you can petition the state for traffic cam footage from that section of the highway at that time?

[Jason@SportsCar]

So last night I'm on the dangerous freeway interchange minutes away from home. A black Suburban coming from the other direction joins-up with me. Without signaling, he jumps onto my lane. I swerve to avoid him and bounce-off the K-rail. My front rim catches onto something and gets blown to shreds instantly, followed by the the rear wheel being badly damaged. I get a tow on a flat bed home. I take an even closer look this morning and noticed both front and suspension is shot to hell along with deep scratches along the door. Another flat bed comes and get it this morning for the repair shop after stake a claim with AAA. It's definitely fixable, but I'm still pissed about having to see it like this. I should've just let the bastard hit me so he couldn't get away with it...

Damn, to pull all the wheel studs like that took some serious force. Check the subframe where the lower A arm attaches, could be bent.

[SilverBack]

Altitude: the law doesn't care enough about El Monte peeps to go that far for us. It's just not worth the trouble. Good idea though.

Jason: I know it's weird. you would expect just alot of scuffing on wheels, and not much else. I have a feeling I must've hit the leading edge of the rail without knowing it. I've looked in the wheel wells numerous times when I did tire rotations, and I can you something about the entire suspension just didn't look right, and off-hand I could tell the strut definitely needed a replacement. I'll know for sure what damage list looks like when the estimator gets back to me next week.

[SilverBack]

Update: I just drove that same stretch of pavement in my rental and found the impact point. It was a space between two K-rails that started it. A chunk of Yaris alloy was still visible lying right next to the space. Once that came off the rest of the wheel/tire assembly disintegrated in the next 50 feet. I'm also guessing it was the same case for the real wheel, bit not as bad because the car had already slowed down at that point. A couple feet past that impact point and I would've been fine mechanically. FML.

[Kaotic Lazagna]

Nooo, sorry to see/hear this. Hopefully it'll be up and running like new again soon.

[SilverBack]

Well, it's now in the hands of a dealer-owned collision center linked to my insurance. Heard they can take anything smashed to pieces and turn back the clock. Saw alot of cars on the exit side that looked like nothing happened to them in the first place, so I got the right impression. Not worried, ..for now...

[weedtank]

glad that there were no injuries. that's why we have insurance!

[eTiMaGo]

crap sorry to see this, dude :( But yeah at least you are OK, that is the most important! Crossing fingers the car is fixable.

[Yaristeve]

...I should've just let the bastard hit me so he couldn't get away with it...

Yeah... this is something I think a lot about only because you need to think about and prepare for this before it actually happens. I will do as much as I can to avoid getting hit but if it means I will crash and the other guy will get away scott free (even though it is his fault) then I will try to take him out with me... OTOH, if it is my fault, of course I will suck up the damage and avoid the other guy at all cost...

Sorry to hear about/see the damage. It sucks but it sounds like you came out of it okay, injury-wise.

[why?]

Ok ill repeat it again, get this: http://www.minicardvr.com/blackview-car-dvr.html and be happy

Also never avoid someone coming into your lane on the highway if you do not have a clear way out. Lay on the horn and stand your ground. It might seem counter intuitive but it works. Taking a glancing hit from another moving vehicle is less damaging than hitting a stationary object. Glad your ok

totally agree with laying on the horn. People don't do it enough. Although getting a real air horn would help as well. Might get a few dumb humans to learn to drive.

But I hope your car turns out good. You should take the insurance money and use as many high performance parts as you can.

[SilverBack]

I did lay on the horn hard and even flashed the high beams. The guy must've been wasted to not be able to catch any of my signals. But yeah, next time I'll just let myself get hit. And thanks for the link, PK. This is the second incident I've had around the same interchange. And since I have to use it frequently, I'll look into the recorder as I scrape together enough cash.

[Astroman]

I now use my cell phone to record video as I drive. Got the droid razr, have 48gb of total storage on it, and shoot in 720p. Great thing was using the window mount I now have a in-dash cam, and am only out the cost of the phone and mount which I needed anyway. Shoots great quality that you can easily get the plate number, and expiration date.

Sorry about what happened. I don't know why people don't see the meteorite metallic, I've been hit 3 times.

[SilverBack]

I hear that, Astro. Even though black is not as visible as silver, I guess it's still over-looked as something brighter like blue, red, white, or yellow. Just have to keep our defenses more on edge I guess. What else can you gonna do...

Anyways, I got the destroyed wheel and tire fragments in my garage thanks to a close friend who scoured the collision site on his own free will for me (much thanks to you for trying to help, if your reading this) to look at tomorrow morning. Will shoot pics in the morning after looking the parts over.

[silver_echo]

i have a white car, now, and have been nearly run off the road a few times. color makes no difference. next upgrade for my car will be a set of hella horns.

[SilverBack]

^The bigger the vehicle the shorter the eyesight in my town, that's what I was getting at. Good to see at least your luck hasn't run out this time around.

Here's the latest: the repair shop called me today and said that during inspection the repair cost is gonna be $7,300, that is until they found that the firewall is damaged and the car has to be totaled out. I did some sleuthing online and figured if I can buy back the car from the insurance and get it repaired elsewhere (hopefully through insurance again), I can still keep it as a salvaged title. At the same time I don't believe the estimator's words and will need to see for myself this week if it's within the "300mm x 300mm" damage zone.

So with that said, anyone know of a reputable shop in the El Monte area that would be willing to do firewall repair? Time is not my side so I need to get on it ASAP. Any other advice would be also helpful. Thanks.

[Kaotic Lazagna]

Fuuuu, 7k in damages!?!?!?

[cali yaris]

Let me know if we can help with wheels, tires and any other suspension parts.

[SilverBack]

Will do Garm. If you know any places that do firewalls in the meantime it'd be great to find out.

[LA Yaris]

I would of let him hit me.

[SilverBack]

So after much horn-locking with the insurance company, I've managed to buy the car back as a salvage after I found a shop that's willing to at least look over the mechanical damages (as soon as I haul it over there and argue some more next week to try to get it restored to OEM, which is very highly possible IMO). Right now I just want it back on all its' wheels ASAP to get me to school and back. If I can at least accomplish this for now, I'll be able to work-out the cosmetic repairs over time. As long as I can get it running again I'm happy at this point.

[SilverBack]

Well, the day's finally here where I got the green light to haul it off to another shop in hopes of getting it repaired within budget. Wish me luck.

[J_Lynn]

Good luck!!! That's horrible it happened!!! I hope they can get you rolling quickly :)

[SilverBack]

Thanks, J. Will know the estimate by Monday. Meantime, pics from yesterday (kinda weird watching your own car on the roads without sitting in it):

[SilverBack]

Oh yeah, almost forgot:

For sale: One (1) Yaris alloy and tire. Some assembly and extensive knowledge of welding and tire repair required lol

[SilverBack]

Update: the car is finished and ready to finally come home. We'll see on Friday how well it was put back together.

[LA Yaris]

Hey let's do it again!

[SilverBack]

Good idea. Let's use your car this time.

[LA Yaris]

Good idea. Let's use your car this time.

LOL!

[SilverBack]

With the help of a body shop that really worked with me:

[LA Yaris]

:burnrubber::burnrubber:Turnbull Canyon Run!!

[SilverBack]

The flat spot happened immediately after impact when the wheel was already starting to turn. Notice the slight diagonal offset. This was the tread sliding on the pavement, putting stress on the rim which gave way immediately after.

Anyways, let's not analyze this now. I'm just happy things are back to normal thanks to one of the best body shops ever!

[Hamster]

Glad to see that everything worked out! So glad to hear, too, that you weren't injured.

[SilverBack]

Thanks Hamster, means alot. Have to say this is just one of those unnecessary PITA events I've had to fight against. Bureaucratic red tape is such bullshit. All the average guy can do is research hard and fight. Sad really...

[SilverBack]

Thanks to everyone for wishing me and my car well, and extra thanks to Garm for offering to help. Very much appreciate it. This also proves that there's still a handful of good people here, and I'm glad to see that. Thanks again! :thumbsup:

[Hamster]

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention, I also have AAA insurance. They really came through for me when my Yaris was keyed in 2010. I guess you didn't have as good an experience with them? Then again, your repair was a high dollar amount. I guess all insurance companies are going to jerk people around when it comes to very expensive damage.