Fender Bender

[JTugwell]

On my way to work this morning on the Florida autobahn (I-4), some nice gentlemen decided to come into my lane and tap my drivers rear quarter panel. Could have been way worse, but there are some scuff marks on the paint around the fender well and the rim is scuffed up pretty bad. He was at fault, and I am waiting on a claim to be processed. After I left the scene, I feel like I noticed that my steering wheel is not quite straight anymore. Any ideas if an impact on the rear of the vehicle could have affected this, or is my mind playing tricks on me?

 

[division]

The latter. It's the same feeling that your car drives smoother after you wax it.

Sucks that it happened, but try not to worry yourself about it.

 

[JTugwell]

As my wife says, it’s just a car…

 

[Grainofsand]

The mind is a powerful thing

 

[shbox]

Have an alignment check included as part of the estimate. The rear has alignment adjustments too, you know. You might be experiencing some steering bias trying to correct something going on in the rear (noted because you have evidence of wheel contact) .

 

[Yalferd]

nothing like bent suspension components to make the car feel "off"

 

[division]

For all the Chicken Littles thinking it's something more than cosmetic, you might want to bring the car to a reputable frame shop to ensure the frame of the car isn't bent. You can never be too safe, right? After all, scuffs on a fender well and wheel scrapes are a telltale sign of major component damage. SMFH.

 

[travysh]

Suspension components aside, get a quote from a paintless dent repair shop if the damage isn't too much.

I had something very similar happen and all of the traditional shops were estimating $4k-$6k, they were going to repaint the entire rear portion of the car including blending through the rear door, etc... I was worried that the repair was going to be worse than the fender bender itself. Paintless dent repair was considerably cheaper and you'd never even know it was damaged (unless you look super close)

 

[jbawden]

Sorry about your car. The scuffed wheel is an indication the wheel took a big hit, so it may no just be in your head. Yes, rear alignment can affect the orientation of the steering wheel.

By the way, flew in Tampa last night for a couple of weeks break and I-4 is a crazy place to drive!

 

[jbawden]

For all the Chicken Littles thinking it's something more than cosmetic, you might want to bring the car to a reputable frame shop to ensure the frame of the car isn't bent. You can never be too safe, right? After all, scuffs on a fender well and wheel scrapes are a telltale sign of major component damage. SMFH.

Wow the perp is responding!

I don't know, seems like there is lot of turf between factory fresh and a "bent frame" here. The razor sharp handling and road feel means little changes to alignment front or rear is going to be noticeable.

 

[bl4ck_wng]

The Florida autobahn is a great name-- we used to call it DIE-4. Sorry to hear about your car man

 

[JTugwell]

Thanks for all of the responses. The more I drive, the more I think the alignment is off. This certainly does suck, but i'm trying to remain positive. It could have been way worse and luckily nobody was hurt.

 

[Speed Racer 007]

In the end it will all work out for you.

 

[Gilley]

Since the wheel was damaged, the estimator should include an alignment in the estimate. If not, make sure the shop includes an alignment on the supplement.