dave3

My new A3 (so new that I don't even have plates for yet) was rear-ended by a hit-and-run driver. It was parked on a one-way street, driver's side to the curb, and so point of impact was right rear. And this wasn't just body damage. The right rear wheel was pushed several inches forward and away from the axle at an angle. Not pretty -- and needless to say, the car couldn't be driven.

To look it at, you wouldn't decribe the car as being totaled -- i.e., to the casual observer, the damage was confined to that corner, and there's no BODY damage to the rest of the car. But what did this do to the suspension?

It just went to the repair shop this morning (an Audi dealer), so I haven't heard back about the extent of the damage, but I fear that no matter how good the repair work is, I'm not going to get back the practically brand-new car that I had before the accident. Or am I wrong and just being the sensitive/paranoid new-car owner?

Sourdough Josh

My very first Audi (an A4) was side-swiped a month after I bought it by an overzealous woman in a van who decided lights were suggestions...

From my experience, the short answer is that if there is no FRAME damage, they should be able to give you back the practically brand-new car you had. It is amazing the work they can do at these shops. I am curious, though, what could happen that would cause the misalignment you mention but not bend the frame (not saying it can't happen, just don't know enough about the design to answer that question).

Either way, best of luck to ya, and sorry to hear this happened

MuRaN0Daddy

or whatever you want to call it. was there less than 1k mi on it? thats like a test drive.

dave3

Thanks for your sympathies. I just heard back from the service guy at the dealer. He said that there doesn't appear to be any frame damage (although he cautioned that he won't know for sure until they start taking the car apart).

He said that what needs replacing -- control arms, tie-rods, and the like -- are all bolt-on parts and therefore don't signify frame damage. I hope that turns out to be the case.

drew138

good luck.

bbbradley

Alas you often have very little control over the economics of the situation.

You can push and fight to make the damage as high as possible relative to the value of the car, but you may be SOL.

I hope this car was leased at least...

Peorth

Worst case [scary/humorous] - it crabs sideways down the highway like those old chevy vans...

customfab

the man tries extra hard to keep from totaling cars this new. unless it was rolled by hamster i am gonna say SOL

MuRaN0Daddy

LOL...rodents rock

ScottAW

Make sure it's good and totalled you know. ;-)