I recently had to avoid another road raged driver and hit a curb with my mini cooper s and did some serious damage. I am covered by my insurance but I wana know if the price quote they gave me sounds right. 4800. which includes of course wheel, tire, shock, spring, strut and tire mount and a few other things. any clue if this sounds right. Thanks

 

Sounds like an odd list.
Shock, Spring, Strut? I havent' crawled under there, but you either have shocks or struts, but not both.

I would think you'd be be looing at tie rod, CV Joint, Axle, Wheel and Tire... something along that line. Also sounds pretty high for a price. Got any pictures? Any body damage for that price?

 

yeah sorry about the discription i will try to get the pics off my phone. I think the parts list includes, everything with the front right suspension, tie rods, axel and wheel, along with some damage to the tower?? The body thank god didnt recieve any damage. I haven't really done any work to the front end of a car so I am not to famillar with all lingo.
[IMG]file:///C:/Documents%20and%20Settings/Owner.COLLINS/My%20Documents/My%20Pictures/ouch%20mini.jpg[/IMG]

 

That price sounds about right to me. I've had several run-ins with the curb, rather pricey.

 

watch out for those curbs, they'll jump right out at you. seriesouly, that sucks

 

Where are you getting the work done? Better keep the claim open so that anything that pops up later is covered.

By this I mean do NOT sign a settlement with your carrier that says everything is fixed and you are releasing the carrier from paying for anything else.

I would be concerned about the car not aligning properly when you get it back. That would indicate something is still wrong. I'd also be concerned that any shop [that is not a specialist] is simply slapping things back together without making sure the car is 100% back to original condition. The shop [whether a MINI dealer or not] may not know everything there is to know about MINIs.

Moreover, I would insist that the car is repaired by a reputable alignment shop that only does "front end" work. They know how to check the entire car to make sure it is straight and that all the parts that need replacing are replaced.

Lastly, have they checked the strut mounting surfaces to make sure those were not damaged? I suspect considering the damage that the one side's strut mounting surface was damaged to where it has to be replaced [not simply banged back into shape with a 2 X 4 and hammer.

Done properly I suspect that $4800 is maybe average or low. Front end damage [major] contributes to why many cars are totaled. The car may look fine on the outside, but inside the damage is significant.

You can go to Real OEM to see all that is involved with a front end. Here is a sample, you can at least get the lingo down. But you won't know what the hell you are talking about, so don't try.

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/partgrp.d...21&hg=31&fg=10

Here is a pic of the strut mount area. It's a pic of where mushrooming has occurred [discussed elsewhere on NAM]. I suspect yours has suffered major damage.

If that and other areas are not fixed properly the car will never properly align and will cost you in terms of uneven tire wear and resale value [I would never buy a used MINI that does not run straight on the road. If the car pulls right or left I don't determine the problem, I simply move on to the next car.]

 

Michaelsf-
thanks for the link, I should have taken a few more photos of the engine compartment. or at least one on that side under the hood after the crash. I am having Lauderdale BMW MINI doing the front end work. I do believe them to be pretty trust worthy. How can I get my Insurance Carrier to keep the claim open and get the car back from the shop, to get the car don't you have to pay. Or in this case pay the deductable and the insurance to pay the rest before taking possesion of the vehical???? Anyway I am excited to be getting her back this week, stupid rental car place gave me a gas guzzling Ford Pickup. I let you know how it goes.