What do you do when someone clips your brand new MINI at a double left hand turn almost spinning you into a telephone pole? Make sure they have insurance for one.
Last Saturday night, driving south on Sheridan Rd. on the north side of Chicago, I was unceremoniously hit and nearly spun out in one of the busiest intersections around the city.
Here’s what happened. I was driving southbound, approaching a traffic light where both left-hand lanes turn left. I was in the right of the two lanes. As we were turning, the driver of the A4 (obviously not familiar with the intersection) decided at the last moment to go straight. His right front met my left rear and, while we were both traveling at roughly the same speed, bumped me hard enough to nearly spin my MINI. Luckily I was able to immediately dial-in some opposite lock and drift through the intersection without losing control. A good thing, considering I was headed toward a sturdy-looking traffic light support.
I immediately assumed the worst: massive bodywork damage, rear bumper hanging off the car, and that nice 18″ wheel in shambles. However, like many accidents, the hit that felt so violent at the time actually turned out to be much less dramatic. To my surprise, I found only a badly marred wheel, some bent plastic trim and what looked to be a slightly deformed inner plastic fender. Amazingly, there seemed to be very little real damage. In fact, it appeared that the only metal damage on the car was a small bend in the metal lip that lies under the plastic wheel arch. My initial thought was, how did this happen? From the best I can tell, the impact’s energy was dissipated by both my car immediately beginning to spin after the impact and that black plastic wheel arch trim. In fact the A4’s hood even hit the exact point of the plastic trim where it attaches to the car. This point is actually a round indentation, which I can only imagine is the strongest portion of the rear corner panel. This, and the plastic seemed to absorb the impact without transferring much of the damage to the metal itself.
So the police reports have been filed, blame has been accepted (thank goodness) and I’ll be calling my dealer bright and early tomorrow morning. While it may be unlikely, I’m still holding out a little bit of hope that I might still be able to drive it down to Indianapolis for next weekend’s US Grand Prix in my new MCS.
<p>I sure hope this isn’t a sign of things to happen with the new car! Coulda been alot worse. Glad you are not hurt. All the more reason to motor safely.</p>
<p>A bit of sad commentary…Sorry to hear about this. Good luck with the fix Gabe.</p>
<p>Sorry to hear Gabe! But thankfully the damage is minor. The plastic trim is very cheap and can be installed yourself, A body shop should be able to very easily repair the fender (mine was even worse yet easily repaired according to my shop), and the wheel is of course simply replaced. You should probably have alignment done in the rear, though.</p>
<p>Ugh…so sorry to hear about this Gabe. Here is to a speedy recovery for your MINI!</p>
<p>Bummer! I had a lovely Ford Explorer lose control in a Boston rotary (roundabout) 2 weeks ago and do a lovely 360 spin right into my rear quarter. Amazingly, my damage was similar to yours! A tiny crease in the metal and a really sad looking plastic wheel arch were the victims. 2 days in my trusty body shop, and I’m back in business. I did however convince my wife that Indi Blue is too dark (too many near misses) so I’m ordering an all Pepper White MCS next week!! (she wants me safe – and I want an ’05 MCS!! ;-)</p>
<p>How terrible! Glad to hear you’re okay. Hope your MINI is back in pristine condition very soon.</p>
<p>Sorry to hear about the mishap Gabe – good news is that it’s nothing serious body wise (mostly cosmetic) and can be fixed pretty quickly! The rear plastic part is around $15 – the wheel, well i’m sure it’s pretty expensive but hey look at it this way – at least you have a full size spare now. :-)</p>
<p>talk about bad luck gabe! sorry to hear about the ur MINI. the day after i got my MINI i had someone brush the exact same spot on my car, had the same kind of damage you did except for the wheel scarring. the thing you need to worry about the most is that the metal lip behind the trim piece can be properly bent back into shape, otherwise, the trim pieces won’t line up quite properly. it’s not something the casual observer would notice fortunately. sorry to hear about the mishap</p>
<p>Good luck with the repairs. Give us a report from Indy!</p>
<p>Glad your OK.</p>
<p>Not kinda post one wants to see in the morning! Made me a little sick. Hope it’s as simple as you describe.</p>
<p>I’m loving my 2nd MCS.</p>
<p>RB</p>
<p>so sorry gabe – but very glad to hear you are 100 percent ok and that the damage seems like an easy fix. and for whatever it’s worth – i especially feel your pain on the wheels having just got mine last week… ouch! </p>
<p>here’s to a speedy recovery!</p>
<ul>
<li>drew</li>
</ul>
<p>Glad your MINI came out of this in relatively good shape. I would double-check the condition of the lateral links in the rear and have the alignment checked just in case. It’s great that the damage can be repaired with bolt-on pieces and no bodywork. Makes for a lot less time in the shop and more potential motoring!</p>
<p>wow! glad you’re okay gabe. it’s too early for your car to besmearched!!! it really does look stunning in the flesh.</p>
<p>Sorry about the New Car. I’m glad to hear you are ok.</p>
<p>Hey Gabe, hope you get your MINI fixed and have a great time in Indy. The wife and I are heading out tomorrow to take in the USGP. If you see a Hyper blue/white S with Colorado plates make sure you say hi. I will look out for you. Have a safe trip!</p>
<p>Gabe, I’m honored that I was able to ride in your new MINI before the public road hazards known as Chicago driving got a piece of it.
Will the wheel get replaced or can it be repaired to new condition?
I’m glad your driving skills were up to the challenge. Sounds like your ready for the FBI/CIA driver’s training school.</p>
<p>Can’t wait to hear the story first hand at Indy.</p>
<p>Glad you are ok, and minimal damage is done to the new MCS. And even if it isn’t fixed, drive it down to Indy. Those of us there can Ooooh and Aaaah over the battle scars, and listen to your tale of masterful car control. You’ve lived to motor another day!</p>
<p>Sorry for that !! </p>
<p>I had something worst on my Cooper, with 300 miles, and my Mini stayed on repare for one month !! </p>
<p>You are safe… the Mini can be fixed, but not you !!</p>
<p>regards</p>
<p>Carlos</p>
<p>Hey Gabe, sorry to hear about that. Seems like it could have been worse though.</p>
<p>I must say those rear arches seem to be very strong. I had someone hit me whilst they were parking once, which I had to the pleasure to experience in the full. He pulled his Ford Ranger in next to me, and his front (I think it was the bumper) hit my car on the rear arch/wheel, moving the whole car slightly to the left. I feared at least a big dent. All that happened was that the plastic arch moved a bit (I was able to move it back by hand), and no dents at all! Seems to be a very strong part of the car.</p>
<p>-James.</p>
<p>sorry to hear that</p>
<p>hope it gets fixed quickly</p>
<p>That’s a major drag Gabe. Glad you’re OK.</p>
<p>Gabe,</p>
<p>Not to redirect the blame back on you (of course not – the other driver was stupid for trying to go straight in a turn lane), but I have to ask…</p>
<p>Did you have your left turn signal on? I know that many people don’t bother these days, especially in a turn lane, but the fact is you are “supposed to” have it on regardless.</p>
<p>My thought process was simply that if you had it turned on, the guy might have realized you’re going to turn left from that lane (even if he had thought you were in a “go straight” lane), and hesitated to cut to the right. However, if you did not have your turn signal on, he may have simply thought you’d go straight.</p>
<p>I thought it was worth the question – I use my turn signal ALL the time, whether changing lanes or turning… and I think it’s a practice that people should get back into.</p>
<p>Glad you are okay – Glad you Mini is Okay also, and also glad the other guy is okay…. and glad his A4 is okay – If he had had a smaller car (eckhummmm – “Mini”), might have missed you !!)</p>
<p>Major Bummer! Don’t plan on having it fixed real quick – if anything, make sure it’s gone over with a fine-tooth comb, and they take their time. Measure twice, cut once, so be patient with the progress of the Insurance Man. I had to drive with battle-scars for a few weeks when I was sideswiped, even going to the first AMVIV that way. Good luck, and I’m so sorry to hear this.
🙁 </p>
<pre><code> BCNU,
Rob in Dago
</code></pre>
<blockquote>
<p>Did you have your left turn signal on? I know that many people don’t bother these days, especially in a turn lane, but the fact is you are “supposed to” have it on regardless.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Yes turn signal was on. I asked him how the hell he could have missed it. His response was sort of a dazed look of confusion. I imagine he was about 18 years old and he certainly didn’t speak English all to well. Not that that makes him a bad driver… but it probably means he’s not very used to the intricacies of Chicago streets.</p>
<p>OK, cool… hope you weren’t offended by the question.</p>
<p>Sucks though, especially so new. My new baby (picked up March 1st) had its first encounter with a solid object recently, but this one was completely my fault… parking garage, forgot to set the handbrake (parked in neutral too)… rolled out and into a concrete support beam while I was eating lunch.</p>
<p>Minor damage (small indents in the bumper and a couple of paint scrateches), but its still damage. New car + ANY damage = Major heartbreak.</p>
<p>I hope you get yours fixed quickly and effectively!</p>
<p>That must be very heartbreaking for you! Very glad you’re OK Gabe! I will be picking up my Jet Black MCS tonight so I’m hoping this won’t be a bad omen for Domino! I’ll be driving him to school next year and am fearing the worst that the high school parking lots can bring!</p>
<p>sorry to hear about your new mini. i truly know the feeling. my 6month old mcs was totalled in march of this year after a minivan failed to yield at an intersection and turned into my path. unable to avoid hitting her, i slammed into her passenger side. my front end was destroyed. i walked out with a few minor bruises (a testament to the mini’s toughness!) the other driver was fine.
thankfully she was insured.
and i am picking up my new mcs tomorrow.</p>
<p>My new MINI got hit by a driver who fell asleep at the wheel 3hrs after I took delivery of it. It was in the shop for a month.</p>
<p>Glad to hear it wasn’t as bad as it could have been. No motoring for a couple of days but that’s better then being physically damaged.</p>
<p>Gabe – that sucks man. I recently got my first couple of dings too, after a year of perfection (someone sideswiped my front while I was parked and then drove away without a note). You got off lucky though, the damage looks pretty minor, and that was definitely because of hitting the plastic. From what I can tell the sheetmetal on the MINI’s body is very thin. I got a dent on mine just from backing up against a plastic garbage can.</p>
<p>The only reason I can see why he didn’t see you was because it was at night and your car is black. That’s a big reason why I got a red+white MINI..with all the SUVs on the road here in LA, I want to be seen at all times. Perhaps clear taillights would provide more visible indication of your presence?</p>
<p>Actually it was around 8pm so it was still light out. I think he just assumed I was going straight. I’ve since learned that he was following two other cars which did the same thing – decided to go straight at the last second despite being in the far left turn lane. It’s combination of an unexperienced driver not knowing the area and trying to follow two other cars that were frankly driving recklessly.</p>
<p>I can never figure out which lane to be in on those double turns. For me, the inside lane seems to be the safest. When you are in the right lane, turing left, the other guy can forget where you are and he is and go straight, like here. In fact, in my experience, MANY people make that turn on the indise and they expect to turn right to whatever business is there. No divers ed in most states!</p>
<p>I can certainly relate. A passenger exiting a cab in Manhattan on the street side flung their door open as I was passing and screwed up my drivers side mirror on my MCSc.</p>
<p>So pissed …but again very little damage compared to the big THUD I heard as my car hit the door. </p>
<p>I can relate!</p>
<p>I hate, hate, hate that intersection! During the winter months I commuted by car in between downtown Chicago and Evanston and had many a close call at that terrible intersection. My closest call was a rubbed rear bumper from an “insider” going straight, albeit not in my 05 MINI! </p>
<p>Sorry to hear about the incident, but it certainly shows how tough our little buggers are.</p>
<p>Jeff</p>
<p>That sucks. Sorry that happened. No fun to deal with and of course, seeing your shiny new “baby” scratched and banged up is hard to see.</p>
<p>BUT, statistically cars generally are only involved in “X” number of accidents. So now the odds are more in your favor that nothing else will happen with your car. So keep that in mind to help perk you up.</p>
<p>Add to that, nobody got hurt, which is the best part really.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>What’s going on here??!! Glad you’re not hurt, but what a coincidence!</p>
<p>Sad Arthur was two weeks old on Saturday, dozing peacefully at the curb when the neighbor’s BMW got a way from him, rolled across the street and pronged him good in the door and quarter panel. No one hurt, full insurance, tin don’t bleed, etc., but the door and quarter panel are all stove in and will never be the same. The paint will age differently, the transitions will be noticeable, God forbid there’s overspray. What a pain in the keester.</p>
<p>Oh yeah. Gotta be careful with those double turn lanes as every other time the dude in the INSIDE lane decides to turn into the OUTSIDE lane. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX!!!!!!!!!!!!! Drives me mad and seething angry!!! How could these rejects not even know something as simple as that!!! ARRRRRRGH!!!!!!</p>
<p>Gabe – Double turn lanes in Chicago are nearly lethal. Every time I get on Lake Shore Dr southbound at Belmont I almost get hit from some nimrod who should be turning onto Sheridan/Inner LSD and suddenly decides to cut me off. A CTA double-length bus almost pushed me into the underpass two days ago.</p>
<p>And I use my turn signals to let people know what I’m doing! It kills me how nobody pays attention around here anymore.</p>
<p>Good luck with the car.</p>
<p>My son got a hold of the Mini’s I own. I’ve lost mirrors, scraped up the side and even dislocated the dash. Fortunately these are all toys and worth at most ten bucks. The real thing is still vapor/dream ware. </p>
<p>Ugghh, I would be nauseated to have that happen in the first month I had a new car. I’m glad it’s minor and I’m glad you’re ok.</p>
<p>Gabe – the blind leading the blind eh? I was just thinking about that last night. People often respond in their cars based on what the cars around them are doing, instead of thinking/evaluating/observing what’s around them. As in the case last night when I was in a left-turn lane and a guy next to me sat there for 10 seconds after his light went green, simply because I had not moved.</p>
<p>Gabe, sorry to hear about your mishap. What a bummer having something like this happen during the first weeks of ownership. At least you are OK and the damage seems minimal. Let the insurance company take a good look at it, just to make sure there is no further “Hidden” damage.</p>
<p>There are bad drivers everywhere my friend. Here in Miami, our streets are a total ZOO. Just last week an idiot in a Chrysler Pacifica decided to change lines on top of me without looking all of a sudden! I was blowing the horn like crazy and the idiot just kept going into my line until he finally managed to get me almost in face of oncoming traffic coming on the 2 opposite lanes. The MINI was incredible smooth during the emergency manuver and the steering felt “telephatic”. Thank God nothing happened at all (I kept total control of the car) and I continued my way (Actually catching up to the Pacifica driver) which seemed totally oblivious to what just had happened in the road back there. Crazy people!</p>
<p>When behind the wheel you have to be ALERT!!! Expect the unexpected!!! This is why I never talk on the cell while driving or even drink a sip of water. Any distraction could be costly.</p>
<p>That totally sucks…
When I was at the dragon, I had an incident where I slid off the road on the way back from Robbinsville and clipped a guard rail, I too assumed the worst, kept going until I got to a pull off got out and looked, only a few scratches and a slightly lose piece of trim. I guess they put that trim there for a reason… Has to saved alot of damage to alot of MINIs…
Good luck with the recovery
Jimmy</p>
<p>Sorry to hear about that Gabe, hope the fix goes well!</p>
<p>man that’s a real bummer. I think I know which intersection you are talking about. It’s like the one where the public storage is located. I really hate how people get into the righter most left turn lane and just go straight to get pass everyone else. People always do because the lane to go straight is always so backed up. I sometimes really wished Chicago cops gave a crap about people pulling this kind of stuff as it happens EVERYTIME i go there.</p>
<p>Glad you weren’t hurt Gabe. That could have turned out a lot worse.</p>
<p>Basically the other drive pulled a police tactic on you. The “PIT” just clip the rear corner panel and drive on through spinning the car around. Else damage to the car this way unless it flips. Lucky for you it didn’t flip and your car isn’t seriously damaged.</p>
<p>Matt
-MNEEME</p>
<p>Sorry that happened… did DSC interfere at all?</p>
<p>Thank’s you are ok…. same here I got the same situation that the pick up truck ran a red ligth. luckily the truck is insured with big company I got mine fix by Long beach Mini…</p>
<p>That sucks Gabe! Very sorry to hear that, but sure happy the damage is minor. As long as you get a wheel I see no problem driving it to Indy this weekend.</p>
<p>By the way, know anyone needing a ticket? I have one available in Stand H.</p>
<p>Jim</p>
<p>Thanks everyone for the support. I was just informed that the final bill will be $1200. Actually a little less than I expected. </p>
<p>I ended up taking to Knauz MINI as they had the closest State Farm approved dealer body shop considering where I live. Amazingly, they’re working to get the car done for a Friday afternoon pick-up. A big MotoringFile thanks to David Olenick for getting the word out about a new MINI in need of quick repairs and then Glen Ogle for getting the parts overnighted immediately. The effort is appreciated!</p>
<p>Now… to get that bike back out of the garage.</p>
<p>OK, here’s mine……………………………………….I go to the Mini dealership to CK on some parts I ordered, a lady with her kid in tow scrapes her purse, ever so lightly, along the side of my newish ’04 MCS and I go ballistic on her. Barely scratched the wax.The SA that was helping her just stood there dumb founded.</p>
<p>So I can’t imagine what I would have done to this fellow.</p>
<p>I felt bad….sorta.</p>
<p>Black MINIs!</p>
<p>My first MINI was black; the first weekend I had it, it was nearly crushed in a similar way – going straight from lights and the guy in the left lane decided to turn right across me. Thank goodness for great brakes!</p>
<p>Sorry to hear of your misfortune Gabe, but pleased it is not too awful.</p>
<p>Gabe -Glad the cosmetics aren’t so bad. But, this indicates that he didn’t really hit the ‘pretty stuff’, as they are really wimpy. I’d guess that all of the impact load went throught the wheel and into the suspension assembly. Be sure to have your dealer check the suspension parts and the alignment.</p>
<p>Cheers</p>
<p>Oh yeah – they’ll be inspecting the rear suspension assembly very carefully. Actually I had the car up to 70mph on the way up the dealer this morning and am happy to report there was no vibration whatsoever. I’m almost surprised.</p>
<p>Gabe,</p>
<p>Glad you are okay – that’s the important part. It’s just kills to have a treasured possession damaged in any way though…</p>
<p>Enjoy Indy!</p>
<p>Gabe </p>
<p>glad you are just fine.and your MCs will be too soon.</p>
<p>allan</p>
<p>Sorry Man, I woulda gone postal.
But at least your alive.</p>
<p>Ask your wife if she thinks the battle scars are sexy.</p>
<p>How many miles did your MINI have it on at the time, Gabe? My new MINI had 40 miles on the odometer when it was rear-ended by a pickup. It was the drive home from the dealer. Damage was similar to your experience, Gabe — it’s a sturdy car. Can anyone beat that? :-)</p>
<p>Details here (starting at post #718, continuing to post #729): <a href="http://www.mini2.com/forum/showthread.php?t=51331&onlybyuserid=0&page=48&pp=15" rel="nofollow ugc">http://www.mini2.com/forum/showthread.php?t=51331&onlybyuserid=0&page=48&pp=15</a></p>
<p>Almost 600 miles.</p>
<p>Gabe, sorry to hear this. It is really heart breaking to have it happen ever, much less shortly after you take delivery. They should get it back such that no one can tell it happened. Ditto the other entries that they check your alignment.</p>
<p>It was exactly a week to the day I picked my Mini up at the dealer that a deer chased me across the road to commit suicide on my passenger rear quarter fender lip. The body shop painted the whole quarter to insure it would match and you cannot tell it ever happened.</p>
<p>So I can assume we’ll see you and the new MCS at Indy this weekend? (Provided the repairs are done)</p>
<p>Mike</p>
<p>Absolutly! I’ll be heading down Saturday morning and should be at the Car Corral Sunday.</p>
<p>Sorry for the accident and glad that things will be fixed very quickly.</p>
<p>I am somewhat not surprised about the rear suspension holding up so well… Recently, I hit a piece of metal on the freeway. The impact split the left front wheel into two pieces (like a cut bagel). I was worried about the suspension, alignment, etc etc. Next day I got new wheels and tires and drove it with no pulling or vibration to the alignment shop. After a careful inspection no damage was found in the suspension assembly. Moreover, the alignment was not off either after hitting something that could split the wheel.
There are <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.mini2.com/forum/showthread.php?t=93012">pictures</a> here.</p>
<p>Good luck with your repairs!</p>
<p>A few years back, my husband was T-boned at that same intersection by a van coming from the inside lane. I had to pick him up from the donut shop there to get him to the hospital. Broad daylight, and in a non-black, not super-small car–it’s just a bad spot to be in the outside lane. Glad to hear you’ll be okay!!!</p>
<p>Sheridan – as I recall from my last visit the road changes quite a few times between Lake Shore, Loyola, and the Cemetery. A new guy in town could easily get confused. Lucky no one as hurt or by road rage.
Gabe if you were Japanese you would take the car back or ditch it – bad karma aparently in Japan for a new car to get damaged so new.
Cheers
Greg W</p>
<p>Sorry to hear your new car got hit. Get him back in order soon and get motoring again!<br />
Glad you are safe.</p>
<p>-Hobbit</p>
<p>I am so sorry to hear about your MINI. I was in an accident with my Gold MINI two weekends ago. The guy hit us on the driver side door: shattered the window, ruined the door, and the left panel next to the front wheel. I am still in shock — I freak out if there is a minor scratch and this was $2500 worth of damage! Thank God for Patrick MINI who has taken very good care of me. Buster(my MINI)will be home on Friday, good as new. </p>
<p>I feel your pain and hope your MINI’s life goes a little better from here on out. Good luck!! </p>
<p>Gotta love those Chicago drivers!!!</p>