Would have that aluminum lower control arm broke had it been steel? I wonder?

Possibly not snapped like that, but it would have definitely bent, and tore any welds I'm sure. The bright side is, at least you know it's damaged instead of having to study the steel part to see if it's true.

I'm the same way, after a guy down the street had the whole side of his cherry 70's jacked 4x4 f150 taken out by some idiot.

Although I've seen the results of people crossing yards and driveways in 4am endeavors too, so even that's not totally safe.


To the OP, definitely have it checked out thoroughly and as other people said, don't assume the dealer will do a decent job. When I had my z28 fixed by the local chevy dealer they used crappy 3rd party products, and it never looked the same, but it was front outer and inner fender and the nose.

how the hell is that over $7500 in damage for a control arm, axle, wheel and some suspension parts?

Frame damage and labor are likely included.

Who says he gets off the hook just because he carries the mandated minimum? That doesn't say he's not responsible for anything above that. If that was the case why would any of us carry any more than the minimum? I carry $100k property damage. Just think how much cheaper it would be for me to only carry $7500. He's liable for it. If it goes above $7500., go hand him the bill for the balance.

How much over $7500 is the estimate? You may have to take him to small claims court and get a judgment.

Then again - if you carry uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage that covers property damage, just let your insurance company handle it. It shouldn't raise your rates.

when my truck got hit last summer it caused over 10K worth of damage to an 04 supercrew and they didnt total it out. so im doubting itll be totalled out. but i would be taking it to court also. make him pay every cent and more....

wow...that does look like $7500+...if they won't cover the bill foot it over to the dad's kid, if he he's sleepy why is he out in the street at that time....unfortunately not everyone thinks the same

I wouldn't pay a penny for a damned thing. Go give the bill to his parents respectfully. If they decline, time to lawyer up.

I agree with this.

I think they may have a new transfer case included in that too. Plus half shafts/boot and all suspension, new wheel/tire, paint, and whatever else.

I would also think that Your Insurance Co should sue him for all damages. Definatly don't pay for any damages.

I wouldn't take it to the dealer. About a year and a half ago, my truck was wrecked by a female DD, and i had the local dealer do the work. BIG MISTAKE! First off the quote was right at 10k and about 3 1/2 weeks to complete. 2 months later i get a call saying that they had found some more "hidden damages," and the total was now going to be a little over 14k (i financed 17k for it used) After about 3 1/2-4 months i finally got a call saying that I could pick up my truck. Needless to say, it looks like *****. the paint doesn't match (alot of people say that they don't notice, but it sticks out like a sore thumb to me) they didn't even try to blend it, they just painted the front door, hood, fender, and bumper and just threw everything back on. If i were you i would take it to a local, but reputable shop. I'll never have ANY work done at my local dealer anymore!

No, that is not metal on the ground. Not sure about the differential. Full stimate is supposed to be done Monday.

Frame is broken. Not repairable!

I'll update on Monday with the Full Estimate of Damage. As far as him paying, you can't get money from people that don't have much! They will just claim bankruptcy or something like that. My insurance company is handling and they will take care of going after the other party if they think it is worth it. No need for me to get into that mess!!!

The problem is they can get money for salvage. And right now, a good salvage person could pick my truck clean because of the lack of body damage and other parts that weren't affected. They could make a killing. So for example... if the loss payout is 10k, and they can get 3k for salvage... any estimate to fix that is over or near 7k they end up losing money and choose to go the total loss route. It sucks for me because the truck is paid off and I have a ton of other money and time into it. And I certainly am not going to be able to replace with a like truck with the money they give me. There aren't too many '05s out there with only 60k miles and have been taken care of like I took care of mine!!!