An oncoming '86 Chev 4-door lost control right in front of me this morning on my way to work. His right front corner smashed me right in the middle of my bumper. The Chev is totaled (and he's going to be mighty sore tomorrow). And he's very lucky. I have a deep dent in my front bumper and a torn up lower cowling. No damage to the grill (I don't think), hood, fenders, etc. A few fins of the radiator are bent. Headlamps and turn signals work.

My question: What should I watch out for in terms of any hidden damages? We hit hard enough my stuff ended up under the dash. No airbag deployment. I want to be sure to check on everything, like the 4WD drive train, auto tranny, fame, and so forth. Any help appreciated.

 

My advice would be to get in personal contact with chebby's insurance rep. Tell him/her that you're going to need a certified Ford tech to check out everything, not just the damaged area. Let him/her know that this truck just don't run on fuel, air, and fire alone and that it all has to work in conjunction to everything else. Who knows, just one bare wire might cause you days, even weeks of grief if overlooked.

 

I would want to make sure that an authorized Ford dealer checked the frame on a frame "table" to make sure nothing was bent. Beyond that, I would take it to a dealer and make sure they go through it with a fine toothed comb. If you hit hard enough to total the chevy, I'd be very thorough when inspecting your truck for obvious as well as hidden damage. Like Big Orn said, the first step is to contact the other insurance company and make arrangements to get a detailed repair estimate. Good luck!

 

Also check your local law. In Texas is your truck is under 12 months and 12k miles they have to put it in new condition. That meens that they will have to replace all of your coolers that may have even 1 bent fin. I just went through this here in Houston.

 

make sure the A/C condenser(sits in front of your radiator) is checked for any disformities. It may not leak now but 6 months down the road.

were you wearing your seatbelt? that could have been a reason the airbag did not go off.

 

The police officer didn't ticket the other driver (said he didn't see the accident, and the weather was not great). But he did report the other driver "at fault" so I'm sure my insurance company will subbrogate. I don't have any worries (yet anyway) about getting this paid for.

I was wearing a seat/shoulder belt. You betcha. And so should everyone.

Truck is an '04 F-350 with 12K miles I intend to keep forever. So, to me it is (was) new.

These are all great tips so far. Thanks for the help and I know there will be more to come.

 

Why should they sub? In Texas no ticket has to be issued and the party at fault would still pay.

Anyway - I just hope you get it all checked out and that no damage was done that can't be readily seen and repaired.

 

Also as stated earlier make sure they check the frame. I had a "bent" frame from the contact with the tow hook.

 

I put three picts in my gallery. I don't mean to whine, goodness knows car crashes can be so severe. Hope this helps.

 

Pics in my gallery of what my truck looked like after running over a mini van.

Truck really didn't look to bad, until we pulled the clip and got it on the frame machine.
Rails were off by more than 7 inches.
I had them pay for a steering box just because.
I think the total came to right around $5,800

Like everybody says, use a reputable shop, they are on your side, make sure it looks like it did before the wreck.
Most good shops have a warranty, that pretty much covers anything that may break in the future that can be traced back to the accident...ie..if they didn't replace your radiator because it looked ok, and it springs a leak a few months from now, they will replace it.

Glad you and yours are ok....trucks can be replaced

 

Looks bad enough to me...check everything!

 

I just went thru the same thing too....except I rear-ended a jacked up Dodge Ram...His trailer hitch went thru my bumper and killed the radiator. it took quite some time for the tow truck to get us seperated and when they did start pulling us apart, the rest of my fluids left all it all, everything worked out ok. I got a new ranchhand type replacement bumper/grill guard for the same cost of putting on a new bumper, new radiator, A/C condensor, paint job on front quarter panels and hood, etc...all in all, rang up right at $4800. I went straight to our local Ford Dealership and had them repair it and kept up with them daily. Most of those guys are pretty good, but keep a good watch on everything.