Got rear-ended today

[TechHeavy]

On the way to the park today with my parents and 2 daughters I ran into a sudden thunderstorm, (which is bad news for us with Nitto Drag radials). It's mainly my fault since I saw the black skies ahead and could have taken a quick exit off the freeway, but decided to wait till the next a few miles farther. It was too late, the downpour came and there was suddenly a lot of water on the highway. I hydroplaned, did a 360, went into the median backwards, and came up on the opposing lanes facing the right direction halfway on the left shoulder and half in the left lane. The engine had stalled and in my panic, (I knew traffic was coming) I couldn't think to put my foot on the brake, and put the car in park or neutral.... so it wouldn't start for me to get my MM completely on the shoulder.
WHAM! A Saturn coupe nailed me on the driver's side corner of the rear bumper and knocked my MM back down into the median where I had to get towed out for $80.
At first I didn't think the damage was severe... only a small crack at the point of contact. However, after being released by the State Trooper and driving back home I realized immediately that my MM felt like it was driving crooked, (almost like driving with a flat rear tire... sloshy). I fear the frame is bent and is possibly totalled.

I'll find out more Monday when the body shops open.
Guys with Nitto's, please slow down on wet highways. I was only going the speed limit, but apparently that was still too fast.

[jgc61sr2002]

Dave - Sorry about your Marauder. :( Glad there were no injuries.:D

[Hotrauder]

Dave, glad you are all ok. Sorry about the damage and hope that it is not as bad as you fear. Good luck, buddy. Got the fingers crossed. Dennis

[Blackened300a]

This is getting scary. It seems we are in a bad spell with our collective.
Hope it all works out for you and I really hope that its something minor.

[BlownBlass]

Sorry about yor misfortune. Maybe it is something as simple as a bent rim from the median crossing.

[the_pack_rat]

Sorry to hear that.

Hope it all works out & she gets mended up good as new.

[MikesMerc]

Dave, sorry to hear about this!! A huge bummer! But, your okay and that's what's most important. Sounds like it could have been worse.

Keep us posted.

[Cobra25]

Dave sorry to hear about your Marauder. Glad no one got Hurt , thats the most important thing.

[DEFYANT]

Hang in there man. :( Sorry to hear this...

[gdmjoe]

TechHeavy
Got caught-up in that early afternoon trash-movin'-gully-washer, eh ?

Good to hear that you and the family were unharmed.

Bummer about the Marauder.

[Smokie]

Dave I'm glad you and your family were unharmed, I appreciate your warning on the drag radials and highway driving during a downpour.

Myself and others have voiced a concern in this regard in the past...the reason for voicing a concern was to keep others from getting hurt...I'm glad you are ok.

[TechHeavy]

Thanks to all for the kind words. Yes, everyone is fine... just a little shaken up, (including myself). The other young man driving the Saturn was all right as well, thank goodness. I felt horrible for him and still do.
But as mentioned no one was hurt... the most important thing.

You guys stay tuned to this thread. I've been on the phone and it may be that the rear-end was just knocked out of alignment. However, if the preliminary report is that the car will be totaled I'll probably have a Trilogy Supercharger and Nitto Drag radials, (on widened wheels... though obviously NOT recommended for wet roads) for sale at a good price.
I'll keep this thread updated.

[RoyLPita]

Glad to hear that you are doing ok. Keep us posted, please.

[94_302]

I'm sorry to hear that, glad you and your family is ok.

[TooManyFords]

Tech, sorry to hear about the unfortunate accident. Let's turn this into a positive and send it out here so we can back-half it like mine!

Something to think about!

John

[MarauderMark]

I hope everything works out for the better Dave..Glad no one got hurt..

[Bradley G]

Glad no one was hurt, Dave!
Thanks for the heads up!

[TechHeavy]

Thanks Mark. After feeling sorry for myself I came across your thread describing your incident and I was humbled not knowing what to say. Thank goodness YOU'RE ok man.
Hang in there! I'm sure this is all happening for a reason. Thanks for the nice words.

[MI2QWK4U]

Damn Dave, Thank God you and your family are ok! Thats all that I could think about as I read your post. The car is just sheet metal, which hopefully you can whip back into shape.

[TechHeavy]

Thanks Dave. Happy Birthday Dude! (or am I late??) :rolleyes:
Anyway, I'm staying positive... It could have been a LOT worse. If it's fixable I'll be towing it to Detroit to visit Lidio... lol.

[BillyGman]

Wow Dave!! That's terrible news!! Just wait to hear the final verdict though. Maybe it just needs an alignment, or one of the wheels were bent. That's my guess based on what you've described. They beefed up the frames on all the panther cars as of 2003, so I would think it would take a lot more than what you've described to mess up the frame.

[Bigdogjim]

Dave: Going backward down into a ditch and spining around on a highway will reak havock with the wheels/alinement.

I am glad everyone is OK!

Keep us posted....always darkest before the dawn.

[ckadiddle]

Holy crap. Glad the MM did it's job and protected you and your family. Hope the car is OK also. :)

[TechHeavy]

UPDATE:

Great news! The pros at the frame shop say they can fix it as good as new and the car will be just like before the accident. Though they are the best frame shop in G.R. and come highly recommended, I remain sceptical. They are, however, a confident bunch.
Apparently the rear-end of the frame was slightly tweaked along with the damage to the rear bumper.
I explained that I race the car at the track and it would have to be perfect. They said they could handle that as they work on fast cars often, (currently a pick-up that runs 9.5 ET).

Anyway, we'll see.
Here's a breakdown of the estimate including new replacement parts.

Labor:
1. Sheet Metal 110.00
2. Mech/Elec 130.00
3. Frame 420.00
4. Refinish 176.00

Labor Total: 836.00

Parts:
1. Bumper, Rear 174.65
2. Cover, Rear Bumper 747.65
3. ABS, Rear Energy 70.72
4. Flex Additive 9.00
5. Hazard. Wste. Rem. 3.00

Gross Parts: 1005.02
Paint Material: 88.00
Total: 1093.02
Tax: 65.58

Gross Total Parts/Labor: 1994.60

Not bad for thinking the car was totaled. I just hope they're as good at getting it right as they say they are. We'll see.

[RoyLPita]

This will save you from taking the s/c and the wheels off the MM.

[BillyGman]

Dave,

it's been about three weeks. What's going on with your car? Any updates???

[TechHeavy]

Hi Billy,

Yep... My first full week back with my black beauty and I can report that she seems to be as good as new! After driving her around town and on the highways around Grand Rapids at high speed I can detect no dog-tracking, pulling, or vibration of any sort. What a difference 2 weeks makes! After thinking the car was totalled 3 weeks ago to being like new again today I can honestly say that, (as far as the car goes) it's almost as if the accident never happened.
I learned a valuable lesson about sudden summer thunderstorms and my Nitto Drag radials. I'll be retiring my beater pick-up truck and adding a Jeep Liberty to the family in a few weeks to handle those wet and snowy days.
Thanks to everyone for your interest and support. It's very appreciated.
I'm so excited that my MM seems back to 100% and is staying with my family and not the local scrap yard.
As an after-thought I'm surprised there hasn't been more reports of loss of control with the Nittos on wet roads. I realize that my conditions were extreme, (sudden flash flood with hail mixed in) but when I hit that water I had no control over the rear-end whatsoever.
You guys with Nittos please be careful this summer. Doing 360s with your MM is not as fun as it may seem. ;)

[Krytin]

I'm glad things worked out!
Just another testiment to the quality of a full size, body on frame vehicle!

[MM2004]

Good news Dave! I have been watching this thread.

BTW, the package truck in your Avatar was present this weekend in Louisville as I attended UPS' car show with a friend.

Cool truck!

Carry on,..

Mike.

[SergntMac]

I learned a valuable lesson about sudden summer thunderstorms and my Nitto Drag radials....As an after-thought I'm surprised there hasn't been more reports of loss of control with the Nittos on wet roads. I realize that my conditions were extreme, (sudden flash flood with hail mixed in) but when I hit that water I had no control over the rear-end whatsoever. You guys with Nittos please be careful this summer. Doing 360s with your MM is not as fun as it may seem. ;) Thank you, sir, you have my respect for amplfying an important message. Rain happens, why take chances, moreso with family in the car.

Congrats on everything working out.

[quota]

Sorry to hear that.
Sincerely glad for you and for your family that all of you are safe.
Regards,
JP

[BillyGman]

That's good to hear Dave,

and thanks for the warning about the drag radials on the street during rainstorms. John (aka "JET" ) also had a mishap in the rain with his drag radials on his Marauder. I drive with them in the rain, but I go a lot slower, and I also avoid the one highway around here that has poor drainage in the rain, and therefore always has a lot of puddle formations all over the place. But if I have to drive on it when it's wet out, then I keep the car tracking towards the middle line and away from the outsides of the two lanes where the puddles form. I stay towards the high point of the crest of the road with my tires almost on top of the lines to avoid the puddles.

[Black_Noise]

bad deal!!

if its totalled wana send me you s/c ?? :o

any pics of the damage?

[Motorhead350]

There is no totaled in my world. My Marauder has been in two wrecks. One was when I hit some black ice doing about 60 and got both ends smashed and the second time my dad hit a telephone pole with it... I think some of you remember that story. Well I'm still glad to hear that your okay because you cannot be replaced, but your car can. I drove with slicks in the rain and started to fishtale around 50. I won't do that again... today. :D