Fa-suto

I'm crying at the same time thanking I own a Lexus GS4. We all talk about how well the car performs or rides, but after today, I have to be thankful the car holds true to itself when it comes to safety. I just got rear-ended by a Pontiac Bonneville at 45mph while I was at a complete stop. I can't tell you how frightening that experience was when you could hear the breaks screech from behind and the car coming at you from the rear mirror. On top of that, I was the first car at a 4 road intersection with traffic already crossing. If I was in any other car then my Lexus, I probably wouldn't be here writing this up to let everyone know what I went through coming away without a scratch. The outcome was painful at far as looks, but for my well being I couldn't be more thankful. The Pontiac Bonneville was totaled, front was smashed and the hood did a vertical shaped tent with the front windshield smashed. Both airbags on the Bonneville went off but again, luckily no one was seriously injured. As for me, it hurts to think about it, but I guess it could be worse. As you can imagine, my rear-end was pretty much smashed. Both taillights outer shell broke on impact, the rear on the passenger side (took the main hit) pretty much went forward about quarter of an inch and one of my newly l-tuned mufflers buckled inward on that side while the other remained intact. The rear bumper was still in tact, while the passenger rear panel came loose because of the metal crunching together. In short, it looked bad and I was unable to close my trunk, but the bumper remained still on as well as both mufflers and piping. However, I am unable to open the rear passenger door on both sides but was able to drive the car away from the accident, unlike the Bonnevile which had to be towed away on a flat bed. On top of this all, while I was stopped at the intersection, a cop car was next to me in a turning lane stopped as well. Needless to say, I didn't have to call 911 and the cop witnessed everything and ended up ticketing the driver of the Bonneville.

The car is at a body shop that our local Lexus shop uses awaiting estimates from the body shop and all the insurance companies. My question is that, is there anything I should check really carefully and is it worth repairing the car at this point? I won't know what the damage done to it will come to or exactly is till Monday since everything was closed on the weekend. Like I mention, I was able to drive away from the accident and the car ran fine, no alignment issues or noticeable car performance issues. The L-tuned mufflers sound somewhat different, but I am guessing its caused by the one muffler being pushed in.

It makes me sick and mad that I got rear-ended like that, as much I am much more thankful in life that I owned a Lexus and was able to walk away from the accident to share with fellow CL members of my experience.

Fa-suto

Jimmy_GS430

I am grad you are O.K.

Thanks to Lexus engineer design team , a proven well design and safe lexury car.

Just make sure to find a good auto body shop to fix the GS


Jimmy

SharpLS-96

Wow, sorry to hear that but like you said as long as you and the other driver are fine that's the most important thing.

As far as what to check,
Check to see if the rails (frame) was pushed in. If not then you did alright. Your bumber and exhaust could have absorbed the damage and transferred the impact to the outer shell meaning your fenders causing your rear doors not to open. Sounds hard to believe but sometimes in a rear collision like that the frame is not damaged at all but most of the time it is.
If you can pull up your mat and remove your spare in your trunk you should be able to get a really good look to the extent of the damage also try to get the car up on a lift to view the entire damage underneath. From what it sounds like you definately do have structual damage. The car has to be put on a frame straigtening machine and pulled. The best machines out on the market are laser guided. Not an easy fix that's for sure. Sounds like a 15k hit minimum. Also check to see that the exhaust didn't get pushed too far in causing any damage to your engine or engine manifolds. Hopefully only the pipe and muffler recieved the brunt of the hit. I would opt to sell it as is after you collect from your insurance company if the frame took a nice blow as long as they don't total it on you which I highly...highly doubt they will, especially since you said that you were able to drive away.

See if you can post some pic's on here so we can see.
Once again, glad you walked away fine!

Static911

When my father crashed his LS400 about 6 weeks ago(his fault),We went to our usual bodyshop that we been using for the last 15 years.

Other times, the damage was not as bad; the usual dings, dents, this and that. This time, the entire left front side was gone due to the fact my father hit a guy on the freeway (he was going 65, go on left side slowed to about 45 because of an accident).

Funny thing, I called him to tell him of a bad accident (involved 4 semi's at 9am!) on the day we went to do the GS430 intake dyno event..lol...

But in any case, after 5 weeks, the bodyshop is done with the car. Of course, I told them I am the administrator of ClubLexus and all their work will be cross verified by two Lexus dealerships and that they can not get away with anything. Ok, that was kinda harsh to say even though they know us for last 15 years, but heck, my dad gave me an earful regarding safety and stuff (suspension related in case, *gasp* he needs to go 120 mph on the freeway)...He hasn't even touched 100mph before! LOL!

Immediately after we drive the car out of their place, we took it to our local Lexus dealership. Our usual service rep said he would inspect it free of charge (wow...free of charge...not something you hear on a daily basis).

Well, after 30 minutes, he came out and said to us, "the work was incredible". Everything was perfect, down to the paint. He said the bodyshop was so good that he took all the information down regarding our bodyshop that he will refer all Orange County owners to that bodyshop.

Ok, ok, I know I digressed a bit, but just want to let you know, don't lose hope. The car ran like new (actually, better than new for some odd reason)...

I would call your local dealership and the service rep (I hope you establised a rapor with one) and ask for advice on what to look for.

Also, I would recommend you immediately (like literally immediately) take your car to the dealership to just inspect it. Maybe spend an hour's worth (around $85-$90/hr) to do a full inspection and get an official write-up (even though you are using a bodyshop the dealership refers). I'm not sure the agreement they have, but it never hurts to get it re-inspected.

Ethan

GS4Will

really sorry to hear that....:eek: .many years ago this beat up ricer almost rear-ended me too on a jammed pack fwy..luckily i saw the car coming and i changed the lane immediately into ctr devider...so i know exactly what you mean when you see the car in the mirror..

on the repair, it all depends on the damage and the insurance co.
just glad you are ok and make sure to have doctors take a look at you...at the dealership where i work, i always have clients come in for another lexus after they walked away from accidents with no physical scratch...and many say that only german cars are safe...yeah right...

Richie

Glad to hear you where able to walk away man!!!

Ag02M5

It's only a car man...glad you are ok.

Make sure and check into this...

I heard of a Jaguar owner who was hit by another driver. Not only did he get the other drivers insurance to pay for damage...he also got extra money for the decreased value of his car. Makes sense sence there is no way a repaired car is worth as much as non-repaired. Good luck,

Ryan

GS400_PUSHER

Well like most of us said ,were just glad your alive! That GS can be replaced although I'm sorry to hear what happen. Let us know what the insurance people say o.k. Also I would SUE and I know we have at least one LAWYER on this site.....RIGHT!!!

blue wax

good you're not injured.......

the car will be fixed , no prob......
but still ... won't be as it was before, never is.

best of luck
yezzzzzzzzzzzz

babyGS3

wow... same side where my car got damaged! sorry to hear about it. glad you are ok.

questions: what sort of problems would i be looking at if there was structural damage to the frame? how could I tell if the car's frame was damaged? I'm pretty sure my frame was damaged during my accident.especially there have been 3 on the same exact spot!!!.. I really didnt want to total my car as I would be losing a lot of money with the depreciation of the car. Plus, really i dont think i will be selling the car anytime soon. can someone tell me what to expect? is it really that horrible???

~Manny

Gs400TRD

I can imagine how you feel literally.
I got into a wreck in my Tacoma Friday.
the front bumper and most of the driver's side is dented in, the front wheels is also gone. My go anywhere, over anything, or through anyone vehicle got into a lane change run in with a heavy duty chevy 3500 chassis truck.

I didn't get any injuries but one side of the truck is hurting...If I was in any car, the reinforced bumper on the chevy may have decapitated me, I was luck that the truck has about 6" of lift orver the standard tacoma.

But like someone said...it is only a car...
now if it would have been the NSX there would be a dead or very badly beaten up construction worker.

Fa-suto

Thanks for everyone's kind feedback and positive words. I'll definitely take each of the suggestions and use them accordingly.

In Minnesota, they have what they call a "No fault" insurance. Meaning, that if you get rear ended or hit another car from behind, both of the drivers insurance has to pay for the damage unless negligence can be proven which is highly doubtful unless you have many witnesses or a law enforcement officer at the exact time it happened. Luckily for me, there was a police car right next to me at the lights so the driver who hit me got ticketed thus, his insurance is paying for all repairs including my rental (Ford Focus, just doesn't compare to my GS). So far, I'm not experiencing any side affects from the accident but my girlfriend has (which makes sense, since the major impact was towards the passenger rear) and she has already has gone to the doctor because of shoulder pains. Again, I have to be thankful since it could have been a lot worst.

It'll be hard for me to replace the car with a new one since I know I won't get enough money from the insurance company to buy a descent new or used one especially since mine has low mileage for the model year. Once the body shop looks at it, I'll know more about structural damage if any. Right now, the car has been assessed by the other parties insurance agent at $6k worth of damage. That's without putting the car on a lift.

I'll keep everyone posted and try to get pictures if I get a chance. Right now, I'm guessing it'll be above $10k when its all said and done.

Bottom line, like everyone has mention, when you look at life in general --- it is just a car, a beauty of one too --- I would gladly sacrifice the car for me and my GF to walk out of an accident such as this. I know I couldn't say the same if I was in my RX-7 which I almost happen to drive that day except the fact that I couldn't fit the cooler in the back. Which by the way, my cooler and laptop in the trunk survived the rear-end collision --- another miracle or Lexus engineering?

Fa-suto

Toog4me

glad to hear that you are ok!

0260n5.7

Fa-suto,

Glad you are OK. I too got into an accident in my 1st GS4. Head on both cars @ approx 40MPH. Came out without a scratch. I'm sure there countless stories of people who would be in a different place if not for the Lex. We can all appreciate the R&D that goes into these cars.

Check the frams to see if it is damaged. usually that will tell you whether or not it can be repaired wthout compromising the integrity. Although I think my 1st GS's frame was damaged, but it is back on the road. Maybe times have changed with new technology.

Good Luck!

MAC