I recently drove from Virginia to New Hampshire to visit my family for the holidays. I parked my car outside my mother's apartment on a side street near a fairly busy downtown area. The signs near the meters stated that the meters were free after 6:00 pm, so I didn't pay.

When I went out to my car the next morning, the first thing I saw was a yellow slip under the wiper. The first words out of my mouth were not fit for women or children, but they got a lot worse once I read the slip and realized that it wasn't a ticket but an accident notification from the police.

I looked at the back of my car and saw this:


I said to myself, "Well, at least it's driveable. I'll get it fixed when I get home." Then I walked around to the other side and saw this:


As soon as the tow truck pulled the car away from the curve, the entire rear suspension settled to its lowest height (the front was still normal, and it normally takes about two weeks for the car to settle). The entire rear body was pushed so far that the trunk lid barely closes.

I had to leave the car in Massachusetts to be repaired while I drove a rental back to Virginia. The insurance adjuster wrote the estimate for the body work, but they won't know how bad the suspension is until they get the car into the shop.

On top of this, I was violently ill (had to go to the ER), which officially makes this the worst holiday ever.

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2003 Lincoln LS V8 Premium Sport
RIP: 2002 Redfire Metallic Grand Prix GT Coupe
One man's treasure became another man's trash.

Oh, does that ever suck. Did they catch the idiot who hit the car?

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One Big Ass Mistake America

bitch must pay.....

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All sho no go...

The guy called the police after he hit it. I didn't find out until the next morning, but from the time on the slip it was only a few minutes after I parked. It seems there are honest people in the world.

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2003 Lincoln LS V8 Premium Sport
RIP: 2002 Redfire Metallic Grand Prix GT Coupe
One man's treasure became another man's trash.

Luckily he called the police, I'm not too surprised though because there were probably witnesses that would have called if he didn't. I'll be interested to know what the dollar amount is for the damage... suspension damage is no joke.

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Everything needs more Corsa. No exceptions.

Follow my journey of flight at
http://alwaysastudentpilot.blogspot.com/

That is amazing that he called the cops. Kudos for that, ya know? I bet you end up with a $10,000 estimate.

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One Big Ass Mistake America

What shop is it at in MA?

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2009 Pontiac G8 GT- Roto-Fab Intake, Roto-Fab Radiator cover, Superchips Cortex Tune, Tinted Tail lights, Corsa Cat-Back Exhaust, Tinted side markers, Painted GXP Diffuser, Tinted Reflectors, Painted Grilles.

That really sucks, but great to hear that he notified officials of his incident.

Hope this gets taken care of quickly

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Mods: Vector ECM/TCM tune | VG Sharkfin | Volant CAI w/Amsoil Filter | Spyder Tails | GXP Rear Diffuser | Debadge | SLP Spoiler
Erebus: 2000 Grand Prix GTP Sedan
2009.5 G8 GT
GPONA's June COTM 2011 & March 2012

Glad there seems to still be some honesty in the world. I'm really sorry to see this happen.

Wow that is terrible to see happen. I can't imagine the feeling coming out and finding that. Only positive thing about this is the guy that hit you did the right thing.

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That does suck. But remember, it can always be worse and on the bright side here, nobody seemed to be hurt.

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Wow, that's gonna make his rates skyrocket. Of all cars to hit, a Mercedes is probably one to avoid... Sorry to hear that, man. Hope it gets fixed and you get better soon.

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2012 Ford Focus SE Sport
2012 MINI Cooper Clubman

I have ADHD and drive a Focus. Ironically.
Although gold dust is precious, when it gets in your eyes, it obstructs your vision.

yeah

if the rear suspention is messed up it may or may not be totaled. the benz IRS system is pricey. i know the the lincoln LS can get totaled if it's jag IRS gets damaged just becuase of the cost

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92 LeBaron Convert: Turbo 3L 97 Grand Prix GT 4dr "Frankenstein": L67 4t65 swap
97 Grand Marquis: Summer DD 99 Grand Prix GTP: Top Swap Beater

Hope you get it sorted. Is it too early to be thinking what you might replace it with? ( Worse case scenario)

I heard back from the body shop yesterday. Once they took the car apart and found out the extend of the damage, they request an additional $20,000 from the insurance company. A good chunk of that is probably fixing the semi-active hydraulic suspension (Active Body Control).

I had to have it towed to a shop over an hour away (Herb Chambers) because they were the closest MB certified collision center. I've heard of problems with the paint not adhering to the aluminum body, and the MB shops should be trained to paint it correctly.

I really hope it's not totaled, but at that cost I think it might be. I'm going on deployment later this year, and I don't want to buy a new car just to have it sit around for over six months. I did go to an auto show last weekend, and spent a lot of time looking at the CTS-V. I've also considered the new 300C, but I'm driving a rental Charger right now and these cars are a lot larger than they look. Right now I'm all over the place, and I don't want to have to make a decision quickly. I may just get a beater until after deployment.

Thanks for your concern and encouragement. I'll keep you updated once I know more.

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2003 Lincoln LS V8 Premium Sport
RIP: 2002 Redfire Metallic Grand Prix GT Coupe
One man's treasure became another man's trash.

i say if it's totaled just drive a rental untill you are deployed or buy a $500 POS that runs fine

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92 LeBaron Convert: Turbo 3L 97 Grand Prix GT 4dr "Frankenstein": L67 4t65 swap
97 Grand Marquis: Summer DD 99 Grand Prix GTP: Top Swap Beater

Good lord it's incredible how fast those estimates can climb with a Benz.

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any luxury car

lincolns are the same way espeiaclay the LS that was based off of a jag

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92 LeBaron Convert: Turbo 3L 97 Grand Prix GT 4dr "Frankenstein": L67 4t65 swap
97 Grand Marquis: Summer DD 99 Grand Prix GTP: Top Swap Beater

One of the issues I know of with Aluminum panels is that most shops forget that you can't bake the painted panels at the same temperature as steel ones.. A good shop shouldn't have any problems with it.

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2009 Pontiac G8 GT- Roto-Fab Intake, Roto-Fab Radiator cover, Superchips Cortex Tune, Tinted Tail lights, Corsa Cat-Back Exhaust, Tinted side markers, Painted GXP Diffuser, Tinted Reflectors, Painted Grilles.

is $20K close to the replacement price of the car?

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2007 Pontiac Grand Prix
CAI, HV3, ER Rockers, PLOG, Overkill Tune
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2990036

i am going with no. even used those are 50k on the cheap side

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92 LeBaron Convert: Turbo 3L 97 Grand Prix GT 4dr "Frankenstein": L67 4t65 swap
97 Grand Marquis: Summer DD 99 Grand Prix GTP: Top Swap Beater

The CL Class is probably the fastest depreciating of any Benz. I don't know how the insurance company determines the value, but I'd estimate the value of my car to be somewhere in the 20's.

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2003 Lincoln LS V8 Premium Sport
RIP: 2002 Redfire Metallic Grand Prix GT Coupe
One man's treasure became another man's trash.

hmm interesting the dealer book at my work said they list for 50k ah well you would know better then the dealers lol

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92 LeBaron Convert: Turbo 3L 97 Grand Prix GT 4dr "Frankenstein": L67 4t65 swap
97 Grand Marquis: Summer DD 99 Grand Prix GTP: Top Swap Beater

That sucks balls man. I second the notion if they total it to buy a beater until you get back from deployment and then pick up something better. Hope it all works out ok for you.

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New sig for you.

RIP: 2004 Mercedes-Benz CL55 AMG
Boost: The perfect replacement complement for displacement.
RIP: 2002 Redfire Metallic Grand Prix GT Coupe
One man's treasure became another man's trash.

That suck about accident but that's nice of that person stop and call police for their mistake. 90% people will panic and left scene.

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