Yesterday was not my day

Well, more Tacoma carnage pictures to share. I was stopped at a red light yesterday when a Chevy Cobalt rear ended me doing about 35 mph. Pushed me into a Ford Flex, and pushed that into another Cobalt. Obviously I got the brunt of the impact/damage, and I was able to get my truck veered off center enough to only get 1 corner of the Flex as opposed to hitting it straight on.







So after a first look around, here's what I see. Front fender, flare, headlight, bumper, aluminum support, grill, and other brackets. Rear bumper, hitch, passenger bedside, flare, and hitch. Hard to see in the second pic, but the bed is tweaked with a significantly larger gap on the passenger side than drivers, which is either just a tweaked bed/bedside or frame damage (thinking bedside). All in all, with genuine OEM parts, almost an entire repaint (with blending, etc), and diminished value I'm expecting 10-12k minimum. I'd prefer it totaled, but we will see. I'm not expecting that.

 

BTW, my hitch ball and mount took a lot of the force. That's exactly why I leave it in all the time and I will continue to always do that. Also, he hit me so hard that my tailpipe literally popped the weld on the muffler. I'm sure it was on its way out, but I see a TRD exhaust in my future now. Also, I'm impressed with how the Tacoma did. Kept me and my sister safe, and still drove itself up onto the flat bed.

 

Sucks! Glad you and sister are well. Someone probably texting! You should always take a ride in the ambulance when you get hit. Good luck with everything.

 

When I saw the subject line, and saw you were from Denver I was thinking you got caught in some of that 3" hail that Den metro had yesterday. I'm glad you guys are ok, did any airbags deploy?

 

Haha no, but right after the truck was dropped off at home it was hailed on...no damage from that I don't think. No airbags deployed, thankfully. That would have hurt more than anything. I actually had shoulder surgery a few weeks ago and am still in a sling, so that was the scariest part, that I may have re-injured that, but so far so good.

 

Na, probably the owner of the cobalt was trying to commit suicide for being stupid enough to buy or drive the cobalt.

 

Glad you're OK. And BTW, that is exactly why I install a receiver on all cars and trucks I own. It ties the rear frame toghether and gives some added strength. I even have a class 2 on the wife's Sienna. Good luck on the repairs.

 

Glad you're ok.
Two Cobalts and a Ford Flex in one swipe, awesome!!

 

Very impressed with how well the stock tin foil bumper held up in that kind of impact. I reallize tgat the cobalt is platic all the way back to the block but still. Glad ur ok. And if its an insurance job, instead of a repaint there was a member who linexd his whole truck and it looked awesome. He got quoted like 2k for the whole thing.

 

Yeah I think a big reason for the bumper not being destroyed is that receiver ball. It literally went right through his grille and radiator. I'm just going to repaint the truck stock. Honestly, I'm not sure I want to keep driving it after being fixed. I went out and looked again this morning and all the energy that was transferred through the hitch went into the bed brackets and bed itself, including moving the bed on the bed mounts.

 

Sorry to hear about your truck, but glad everyone is unhurt.

 

That's not how the truck is built... The hitch transfers all the energy to the frame. Not sure if the your frame is bent or just the bed shifting on top of the frame. A 35 mph collision is borderline where features like crumple zones start coming into effect. A sedan would see its trunk compress like a paper bag. On a pickup, the frame bents at certain points...

 

Yeah, that was what I was trying to say, haha (just not well apparently). The rear mudflap is now pushed onto the tire, and the bracket that attaches to the bed inside the wheel well is bent. So whether that's due to the bracket itself bending or the frame moving the bracket and bed is what's left to determine.

 

Glad you're OK!

What would worry me is the gap between the bed and the cab, looks like the frame took a good hit.

 

Hitch hits on Tacos do not end well.

 

I'm always amazed at how well these trucks hold up in accidents.

Glad you're ok.

 

I got hit like that last year, there probably is some frame damage.

 

While leaving your tongue in the receiver may sound like a good idea to prevent minor bumper hits, and it's actually pretty funny to see some idiot hit it and punch a hole in his Hyundai, a major hit will transfer force directly to the frame before the bumper gets any.

 

While I understand what you are saying, the bumper has steel brackets that bolt directly to the frame as well...A hard direct hit to the hitch or the bumper seems like it would transfer most of the energy to the frame.

One of the differences I see is that the receiver could act like a lever and twist the crap out of the rear of the frame in an indirect hit.

 

UPDATE: The truck is still at the shop getting the estimate finalized, but right now we are at $5400 for the front and rear bumper. He is still waiting on the cost for a new hitch and associated parts, and that does not include any work on the bed.

Apparently the guy hit me so hard and square that he popped the welds on the hitch where it mounts to the frame (I had assumed the hitch was bolted to the frame, not welded, but I could be wrong). The estimator is worried about the frame becuase of that and wants to get it on a frame machine today or tomorrow before he finishes his report (duh). So we still don't know if there is frame damage or if the hitch absorbed it all.