Snowbanked into a fire hydrant..... (1 Viewer)

[rroverbkk]

Been crazy weather up here in Michigan .

Slid off the road sideways into a snowbank apparently buried within the 4 foot high snowbanks was a fire hydrant.

Insurance says all the shops are about a month out. So they say the adjuster will come out and cut me a check and I can go get it fixed wherever . Never been down this road before with this process that’s not me just dropping off at a shop and then taking care of it, a little hesitant because how am I/he supposed to know besides the visually obvious what could be wrong.

Anyway, front driver wheel took the brunt of the hydrant (wheel, lug, etc). See pic. Dust cap damaged and looks like the hub assembly (don’t know my parts that well). Running board, little bit of bumper and quarter panel.

My questions are:

- what is damaged on the hub assembly in the pic and what could indeed to replace? Not easily visible in the pic but the area around the splines was damaged (if you see the dust cap you can guesstimate where) Estimated costs?

- for now the dust cap won’t stay on. How do the dust caps attach, anyway?

Any idea of how much of a check (ballpark) I need to be looking at for all of this? Retail Lexus dealer pricing here as that’s where I told them I wanted to go since their shops were a month out. Just want to know so I can push for more etc if the adjuster is not seeing what you guys are seeing.

Car seemed to drive fine though I just drove it a couple miles home, waiting for a adjuster appointment. What should I look out for?

Your help is much appreciated! This sucks, I love my truck.

 

[rroverbkk]

Pic of bumper/quarter damage. Bumper a little loose. There was a ton of snow.

I guess it all doesn’t look too bad but you know how these things with shops just add up to crazy amounts. No idea what the ballpark should be.

 

[slacker24-7]

Hold out for the dealership fix ,if that’s what you want. just be sure if the shop finds the insurance co adjustment is lacking, they can come back to the insurance co with additional costs.. I’ve had em come in short on more than one occasion, in my experience they always come in low on the first attempt

 

[wvrx]

Get three estimates from highly rated body shops, that way you have counters for the adjuster. They tend to lowball a bit from my experience.

 

[white_lx]

Sorry, I'm unable to assist with your insurance question. In our jurisdiction, I would not even report this kind of damage (unless the hydrant was damaged) because the insurance will just jack the rates.

I do see that your splines are very rusted. There is no fresh grease. It looks like your cap has been leaking for a long time. That could also mean that the wheel bearing grease is contaminated. Just wanted to let you know that it is probably time to inspect and repack the front wheel bearings and spindle bearings.

 

[ibrahim83]

Don't take the check. I guarantee the damage will be more than what they give you. Tell them you'll wait until a body shop can take you.

 

[TXLX100]

Accept the insurance estimate and check. I would arrange to have the mechanical portion performed at a dealer (the body work too, if available). Once a shop can evaluate the damage, they can request supplemental funds from your insurance company if more work is needed than the initial estimate provides.

This is common practice, insurance companies don't "low ball" repairs. There is often damage that an adjuster cannot see with the naked eye or having the vehicle disassembled further for inspection.

 

[rroverbkk]

Thank you everyone for your input - seems I have some decisions to make.

(Re the splines: I think they appear more rusted than they are - surface rust happened over the course of 48 hours pretty quickly and more than I thought - didn’t look like that right after the accident. Even the lugs rusted over the course of those 48 hours)