Well here are the before pictures of my wreck I had. Let this be a lesson to everyone on what a trailer hitch can do. Wreck was 100% my fault - had a blonde moment.

I rearended a Tahoe with a trailer hitch going less than 10mph and did $5000 worth of damage. New bumper, new hood, new grill, new headlight, new radiator/AC condenser, new hood bracket - I think that is all.

I'll post up some after pictures a little later. I haven't taken any yet since I just got her home *finally* on Friday morning.

 

Ack! Sorry to hear that. But it will have all new paint! There really should be a law against driving w/ a ball/hitch when not actually using it. It's GOT to defeat most if not all of the safety designs for both cars involved.

 

Well the body shop took this pictures and I wish my camera wasn't acting all jacked up when I tried to take some because these are not very good quality. The really good thing is that my hood had gotten keyed IN MY DRIVEWAY about 2 months before and you can't see it on the pics but it was BAD. Now she looks like she is brand new .

 

Ouch . that's gotta hurt, but the main thing is no one was hurt. These things do happen and it really does not matter the hair color.

 

ouch... well at least all the damage was cosmetic!

 

Nope not all cosmetic. The trailer hitch pushed the radiator/AC condenser into the car and the plastic on the back into the belts. It ate up some of the plastic. It is hard to see on the pictures but I had thought the ones for the insurance company would be much more detailed than they were.

Because it moved so far and moved the lines, etc they had to replace the radiator, etc

 

^^ ouch. hope the AC came back working fine... sounds like it would come in handy for an AL summer

 

Yes, working like a dream and we have been using the AC for over a month already. High today is a mild 78 degrees but we have already been in the mid 80's a few times.

 

Yea I knew truck people and they told me they kept it in there for that reason. To keep you from damaging there truck more but also doing more damage to the car that hits them so you will be without a car most likely. Most truck owners are just a-holes. When I had my Titan I always removed it immediately.

 

damn sorry that happened to you

 

Russ, we never took ours out but it was only because we just didn't take the time. I knew I would lose it in the mess we call a garage. LOL

Sash, unfortunately it didn't happen to me - I did it. LOL! It would be easier to take if I had not been the one responsible. Amusingly, you would think that I had totalled it the way I was crying and upset.

 

Wow..sorry to see that happened

 

LOL. Guilty. I have a very large weight distributing hitch that I use to pull my RV. It's freaking huge, and I leave it in the hitch receiver as much as I can for exactly this reason. To make matters worse, my truck sits pretty high and causes me to have to use a drop hitch. It's really a monster chunk of steel. See here:



I haven't been hit, but if I am, it's going to take the brunt of it. It's about hood high on the average car, and would peel the metal back like a banana. It'll also take out your knee/leg if you aren't careful. Trust me, I have scars. LOL..

I have no idea why doing this makes 'most truck owners a-holes', but okay. As long as you're careful, you won't have a problem. If you're not, I shouldn't have to absorb the consequences of your neglect.

TW - sorry about the accident but glad you came out okay. Look at the bright side - you got the hood fixed in the process.

 

Don't feel bad, I know it hurts to bend up the G, but at least you walked away. Last year my 03.5 sedan just got keyed and a week later I got T-boned pulling out of a drive blind due to a turning SUV I couldn't see around and whack total driver door customization to the tune of $18,000+. A car was driving in the SUV blind spot on drivers side (hidden). I think it has to do with getting keyed, hair color has nothing to do with it. I'm bald!

Good to know it is just a thing, even though it is a very precious thing!

 

What kind of full-blooded American admits it's their fault?

Things happen and we all make mistakes. At least no one was hurt. The damage, though expensive, looks pretty minor. It should be a rather quick fix and the painting will probably take the longest time. I can't imagine the car being in the shop any longer than a 7 to 8 days. Just make sure to look over the new paint in direct sunlight to verify it's a good match.