uscleo

Hi guys..

Some *** hit and run... my cars all messed up now, It was parked and I cam back to fine the mirror is fell off, fenders banged up, and cause they hit my wheel ( it was turned right and parked) they messed up my alignment and possibly more... the car was hit in the drivers side, with the wheel turned right. so when the car hit my car, it somehow messed up the steering and now to drive straight I have to turn the steering wheel as if I was making a sharp right. I can still turn left and right, though when I do after a point, the steering wheel "pulls" and trys to pull itself all the way around to the direction it was turning to and does not want to return to the center. Furhtermore, when I turn, even at 2-3 mpf there are loud sqealing sounds and when I drive the car now, the ESP triangle with the exlaimation mark blinks every now and then and eventually I get " Electrc. Stab. Prog. Visit Workshop!"

If anyone at all could tell me what could possibly be wrong with the steering please post! Attached are picures showing the damage. Note the garage pic showing how the steering wheel is in a turn but the wheels are pointing straight. Please help

slammer111

Alignment and suspension are definitely screwed. It probably screwed up your wheel speed sensor too which is why ESP is screwed up. Parts may be broken too. Do NOT drive the car! Get it towed! Reminds me of some guy on this forum who hit a curb while driving, and when they lifted the car to take a look at the shop, the entire wheel + assembly literally fell off the car!

That's a helluva hit and run. And I thought my scraped rear bumper was bad. People like that deserve to be shot.

c230K415

I agree, I would get that towed into a shop...I wouldn't drive on that too much as it might do even more damages to who knows what. People that do hit and run's like these seriously have problems, financially and mentally.

nickgailloux

Ouch man, sorry to hear that. Looks like some pretty hefty damage, there is no way someone didnt notice they did that to your car. Hopefully your insurance covers the whole thing, but since its hit and run you'll probably have to pay your deductable at least?

tee_tz

Well the deductible is much cheaper than paying for the damage -- hey, that's why we have insurance - but stupid people like that who hit you, is unfortunately the reason why insurance in expensive.

The alignment/wheel is certainly finished, but the suspension may not be. I doubt the ESP is messed up, but I'd take it to Mercedes (even if you choose not to have them do the repair), and make them do a throughly investigation of the problems and let you know.

Good luck, that totally sucks, keeping in mind that it could have easily happened to any one of us.


Tee_Tz.

Cloudz

here's a little tip for the future - do NOT turn you wheel out, straighten it out when you park the car... (I know that driving schools - here it BC Canada anyway), tells you to turn the wheel a certain way when you are on the hill... - well what is the possibility that your brakes are gonna fail and that it rolls down the hill - NEVER...

So straighten the tire, I always do that... so even if somebody kills my side mirror and my bumper, the wheels will still be fine.

THAT SAID - that's one hell of an a-hole.

uscleo

Well, I drove the car to my mechanic, and after a brief look, he said that the strut bar or somthing (maybe sway bar)? that sounded like that was bent, and it did look damaged (i.e. there were shiny metal gashes in the bar) The car drove fine on the freeway, just some odd breaking and the ESP light coming on. suspension felt fine. He told me though that if the bar is bent I am in luck cause thats cheap to change, but if the bar bent and bent the body frame, I would have to take it to a body shop to get it fixed which would cost lots apparently.

My parents got me the car and the insurance... I told them it was stupid to buy a mercedes without collision or comprehensive coverage. they never listen.

Thanks for the help- will update when I find out for sure what the damage is.

mleskovar

[QUOTE=Cloudz;2118569]here's a little tip for the future - do NOT turn you wheel out, straighten it out when you park the car... (I know that driving schools - here it BC Canada anyway), tells you to turn the wheel a certain way when you are on the hill... - well what is the possibility that your brakes are gonna fail and that it rolls down the hill - NEVER...So straighten the tire, I always do that... so even if somebody kills my side mirror and my bumper, the wheels will still be fine.QUOTE]

That ranks with the dumbest advice I have ever read....even on the internet.

kevblah

lol the chances of the brakes giving out is a lot higher than someone hitting you....

tee_tz

Your car has no insurance?????


Tee_Tz

kevblah

slammer111

Yes turning the wheel may increase the likelihood of damage, but if your car starts to roll for WHATEVER reason and ends up in the middle of the road and some (inattentive) driver piles into it and gets seriously injured/killed, guess who the lawyers are going to go after. They teach it to us for a reason.

Just wondering, uscleo, did this happen in a parking lot or on the side of the street? And yeah, not buying comprehensive is a helluva risk. Even vandalism wouldn't be covered!

02S430

i wouldnt have drove it

uscleo

I had parked it on a corner, and it was admittdly a stupid spot, i.e. it was not illegal but it was on a curb corner ( look at the photos ) My friend parked where the photo was taken, ( the opposite corner ) and he always parks there. If I had kept the wheels straight, I think there still would have been damage, maybe less, but still some as the angle in which the car was parked, coming from around a corner, the ******* would have "pushed" in the wheel instead of forcing it to turn out more. I dunno. Whatever, its done.

Well Comprehensive insurance is $2800 on top of the 650 my parents are paying, and I never have been in an 'moving' accident actually I have had a hit and run before when my car was parked, but the first time they did leave a note so my rents figured its economical to just get basic insurance. (even though I told them repeatedly to get collision and comprehensive)

Now I am stuck with a few problems.... I asked my mechanic (He looked after my car ever since the warrenty expired), how much the Mirror and case would cost. The quoted price was over $1000 if i remember correctly, which seems so pricey that if I got it it better come in a mahogany box with velvet lining.

I managed to find one online that was black for 299 but that would mean I would have to have the body shop paint it silver and also install it myself (The owner of the shop spoke to my mechanic and told him off for updating my fogs and tails, cause their policy is to source their own parts, so i think he might be reluctant to put my mirror on). So. I was really wanting to ask 1) will silver paint done at a body shop cover the black, and 2) is the mirror hard to install (i'm sure I can get them to remove whats left of the old one), so is it just a simple screw on or will I have to take apart the door?

I guess I am lucky in a way.. I was wanting to update to clear LED turn signals, so my facelift would be complete.

Since I'm posting, I might as well list the mods, so that you guys can feel the pain i'm in.

-Euro Comand (self installed)
-OEM AMG clear fogs
-OEM Clear Halogen Headlights
-"Eagle Eyes" tails with LEDS ( I installed those the same day as the hit and run )
-OEM Trim from an 03, the old trim was getting messed up
-Digital Climatronic
-Lowered with Tein Coilovers
-Decent - well to me at least - rims, 17, from 16 stock.
-Rear, sunroof Tint

Want: Bluetooth (argos?) Memory seats (which I gather would be a pain to do), and heated seats.

Been wanting to do some performance mods... any suggestions that are between $300-$500? seems all my mods are asthetic, and if i were to race, I would just have a good looking but slow *** car. does a cold air intake really do anything but make the car loud? a mod that gave faster acceleration would be best.

Sorry for the long post... Just wanted to get more inolved on here... I usually read this site every day but never post.. so I guess i'm making up for it.

Thanks guys!

Oh and, if any of you guys need bodywork done... like me, let me know. This body shop I go to fixed my old hit and run with a new fender and paint for $240.

slammer111

Wow, $2800 is a LOT for comprehensive. Where are you located?

Well, actually, even if you get your car fixed, if you get banged up once a year like this and it costs less than $2800 to fix, it's actually cheaper not to get comprehensive!? Damn.

uscleo

Downtown Los Angeles + Started driving when I was 18 + i'm half asian (jk) = expensive insurance

LuxuryC240

If it makes you feel any better, I have to go fight an insurance surcharge tomorrow because I appealed it. Happened on my previous car, I hit some sort of dip while driving on this awful road downtown Boston..I bottomed out and it caused the oil line to break, all the oil came out, and my engine died!! I'm sooo not getting a surcharge cuz 1) its def not my fault and 2) it wasnt an accident, and was clearly a road hazard! oh they are gonna get it from me