First crash, general enquiry need a little help.
Discussion
Morning guys, had a truck go into me last night and the biggest of my worries was the back right wheel, it rotated slightly to the left, wasn’t straight and on the drive home it was pulling the car to the right? I’ve took it apart and found this part hanging down, could you guys help me find out what the problem could be and if I could fix it myself before I take it to a garage thanks guys!
Kofita said:
if I could fix it myself
The fact you're asking shows that you aren't a qualified motor mechanic so the answer is no - you can't fix it yourself.It's safety critical and needs considerable expertise to understand what has been damaged (there could be much more to it than the parts that are obviously broken or bent), replace or repair everything that needs fixing, and ensure everything is properly aligned afterwards. This is not a DIY job.
If it wasn't your fault you probably have a claim against the other driver. If it was, they probably have a claim against you. Either way, you need to notify your insurers.
Me and the other party have spoke to insurance and both agreed on not making a claim.
My father is a qualified mechanic but is away for two weeks, therefore I was mainly asking for guidance in terms of what could have gone wrong. If he was here I wouldn’t be asking this question. Of course alignment will be done by a garage but I was just trying to find for my own sake what had happened
My father is a qualified mechanic but is away for two weeks, therefore I was mainly asking for guidance in terms of what could have gone wrong. If he was here I wouldn’t be asking this question. Of course alignment will be done by a garage but I was just trying to find for my own sake what had happened
Kofita said:
I was mainly asking for guidance in terms of what could have gone wrong.
The car has had a major impact and damaged some substantial suspension components. There is considerable potential for non-obvious damage to other components. It needs a qualified motor mechanic to assess the damage and decide what repairs are needed.You still need to notify your insurers, even if you decide not to claim. Failing to notify them does not mean you get your insurance cheaper - it means you are paying NOT to be insured since you haven't disclosed material facts.
GreenV8S said:
The car has had a major impact and damaged some substantial suspension components. There is considerable potential for non-obvious damage to other components. It needs a qualified motor mechanic to assess the damage and decide what repairs are needed.
You still need to notify your insurers, even if you decide not to claim. Failing to notify them does not mean you get your insurance cheaper - it means you are paying NOT to be insured since you haven't disclosed material facts.
yes, and you remember when the little plastic bit that holds your floormat in popped out because you kicked it, you need to declare that too.You still need to notify your insurers, even if you decide not to claim. Failing to notify them does not mean you get your insurance cheaper - it means you are paying NOT to be insured since you haven't disclosed material facts.
As much as I appreciate your support the insurance has been notified and everything has been sorted, I’d also thank you for your concern about my safety but I will be making sure the cars fully safe before I drive it, my next step will be to get it recovered to a garage and then get a quote just thought I’d ask on here see what people think could be wrong etc.
GreenV8S said:
You still need to notify your insurers, even if you decide not to claim. Failing to notify them does not mean you get your insurance cheaper - it means you are paying NOT to be insured since you haven't disclosed material facts.
I hope you notify your insurers every time you car gets a trolley dent in a supermarket. Just remember, you won't be insured otherwise.OP, you haven't actually mentioned what model the car is? Assuming the part hanging down was bolted onto the cross member, it must have taken a big impact to shear off all the bolts, so it's very likely that there will be bent components that will need replacing.
It should go without saying that you shouldn't have driven it in that condition, please don't drive it again until it's fixed.
Mr2Mike said:
I hope you notify your insurers every time you car gets a trolley dent in a supermarket. Just remember, you won't be insured otherwise.
Policy small print usually states that it's your responsibility to tell your insurer about any accident. Personally, I take the view that minor scrapes and trolley dents occurring when I wasn't present don't materially affect the insurance and don't need to be reported. But this sort of major damage definitely needs to be reported, as the OP has done, regardless of whether any claim was made. There's a significant risk that the other party could change their mind about claiming once they find how big their repair bill is going to be, and if you haven't informed your insurers of the accident you've breached your policy terms and given them an opportunity to avoid liability. GreenV8S said:
Policy small print usually states that it's your responsibility to tell your insurer about any accident. Personally, I take the view that minor scrapes and trolley dents occurring when I wasn't present don't materially affect the insurance and don't need to be reported.
How do you know it won't materially affect your insurance risk unless you report it? Just to update everyone, dad has come home early, we took it to the garage as only the suspension arm looked to be slightly dented had a look over and the only damage is the suspension arm ordered a new one for 40, paid 60 to rent the lift tomorrow so hopefully that’ll all be sorted. Thanks for all the help and advice guys.
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