Could have been worse......

T

Topher

Member
I always hoped I'd never submit a post like this, but it just happened earlier tonight- I got into a wreck with the marauder. Only my car involved, no passengers, no injuries to me, just a bruised ego & rattled nerves. Accelerated through a left turn on a rural road too fast and the back end swung around right, then back left, & I ended up off the road sliding through a shallow ditch drivers side first & clobbered a road sign. Could have been MUCH worse though- once the car came to a stop a telephone pole was no more than 18 inches from the passenger side door, and the pole's guy wire was above the hood of the car & anchored into the ground about 3 or 4 feet from the drivers side. It all happened so quickly I can't say I even noticed them before coming to a stop, so it was just luck I ended up between them. The road sign & post got wrapped up into the drivers side rear wheel well & mangled the quarter panel & rear bumper. I was able to drive away though after the wrecker guy managed to free the sign post. Other damage upon initial inspection includes the rear wheel (chunk missing), rear tire tread is cut, & the drivers exhaust pipe is kinked just before the megs tip. The drivers rear door also sticks a little when trying to open it, and the brakes were making some noise on the way home. So far seems mostly cosmetic, but will be taking it to a body shop for estimates first thing in the morning. Not a good evening tonight! :( :( :( :( I guess it will have an earlier than usual hibernation this year.

Chris
 
Sorry to hear about it Chris. You're down the street from me, where was this at? Best of luck on the repairs :alone:
 
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---Courtesy Petrograde


Best of luck, glad to hear you're alright.
 
Topher said:
I always hoped I'd never submit a post like this, but it just happened earlier tonight- I got into a wreck with the marauder. Only my car involved, no passengers, no injuries to me, just a bruised ego & rattled nerves. Accelerated through a left turn on a rural road too fast and the back end swung around right, then back left, & I ended up off the road sliding through a shallow ditch ...

Chris
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Chris, glad that no one was hurt. This almost happened to me about 2 weeks ago. Luckily I saved it. When the MM started to go, I came off the gas real quick and the T/C kicked in to do its job.

See my thread here >>>> http://www.mercurymarauder.net/forums/showthread.php?t=30743&highlight=inches
 
I have also had traction control keep me on the road during a right rear slide out that started in the middle of a left turn. This was in dry conditions.
 
Sorry to hear it... you'll be fine.

The Marauder's value holds a lot of damage before a total!!!

Fortunately, CV, CVPI, GM, sheet metal and specs makes 'em easy to fix. (ask me how I know!!)

You'll be back in no time!
 
Glad you are doing OK. Every time one of you guys has an oopsie and posts about it, it reminds me not to horse around so much. I appreciate it.
 
Sorry to hear about your mishap. Atleast no one got hurt. Thats the main thing. Cars can be fixed.
 
Rider90 said:
Sorry to hear about it Chris. You're down the street from me, where was this at? Best of luck on the repairs :alone:
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Happened about 100 feet east of the intersection of Rt 83 & Winchester Rd. See the attached picture. The sign laying there is what did all the damage. Note the tire tracks lead right in between the telephone pole & guy wire. Like I said- could have been worse.

Initial estimate at the body shop is $4600+. Known parts to be replaced include the quarter panel, bumper, left side exhaust, tire & rim, and possibly the fuel tank- the exhaust pipe was pushed inboard & dimpled some sheetmetal which the body shop guy thought was the fuel tank. Rear door & trunk lid seem to be ok so far. They're already ordering parts & I drop it off Monday to start. I've heard some squeaking during turning & braking too. I guess I'll wait till next week to see what else is oncovered.
 

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Well it's been at the body shop for 5 days now & the repair is well underway. Damaged quarter panel & bumper are history, and the new panel is partially welded in place. More damage was found after a more thorough examination- the gas tank & filler neck is being replaced and both sides exhaust. Also, the entire rear axle was shifted to the right from the impact- they found a bent lateral arm on the rear suspension, so the left/right lateral arms & watts link pivot assembly is being replaced too. Any suggestions on other potential areas of concern when the axle gets laterally dislocated like this?

Also, they sent the rear wheel out to another shop to attempt a repair, but when it came back it was no where near perfect, so they are ordering a new one. So now I'll have a spare not-so-perfect wheel, and will probably still need rebalancing. Anyone think it would be worthwhile to save the entire old exhaust or just the tips? They haven't removed the old system yet, but I saw the new exhaust already arrived- it appeared to include everything up to the flange just behind the converters. How difficult would it be to get the kink out of the pipe, or just splice in a new section?

Once everything is put back together, it will need an alignment. I know there's been lots of discussions on how to avoid scratching the wheels during the alignment process- can anyone give me the latest piece of advice?

Here are a few more pictures of the initial teardown and the wheel before the repair attempt. The last picture is the kinked drivers side exhaust looking through the rear wheel well.

Chris
 

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Glad you made it out alright (physically), Chris. I know it is rough. Hope everything works out. Is the insurance paying for half or the whole thing?
 
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Glad You're OK! That could easily have been me. Been horsing around a bit too much lately. Thanks for the reality check. I'm sorry it was so costly, but thankful the price wasn't even higher.
 
Ryans PI said:
Glad you made it out alright (physically), Chris. I know it is rough. Hope everything works out. Is the insurance paying for half or the whole thing?
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As far as I know it's just my $100 deductible. Why wouldn't the insurance cover the entire cost?

Chris
 
Got my car back today :banana2: Drove it straight home to the garage before the crummy weather hits this afternoon. It looks great- the replaced quarter panel & bumper look good as new. The bodyshop even polished out a couple scratches that were there before the accident. It drives nice & straight after the alignment too- better than before. Total bill came to just over $7500 for all body & mechanical work. My out of pocket was $100 deduct. + $169 for a new rear tire, mount & balance (didn't try the insurance to cover both tires). I guess I'm finally benefiting from all those monthly premiums.

I got nervous yesterday when I stopped by to check on it- the mechanic started it up, producing a big puff of blue smoke, which I have only seen once before a couple years ago. He said it's likely just oil from the new exhaust burning off. Didn't see it today upon startup, so hopefully he's right.

Jason (Rider90), I think I'll be looking you up soon to take advantage of one of your fall detailing specials. I'd like to get a good coat of wax on before putting it into hibernation.

Chris
 
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