Reverse is for smart people

[billschroeder5842]

I'm an idiot. A BIG idiot.

I was backing up this afternoon and I forgot that I left my daily driver in the middle of the driveway.

Stupid.

Now I have two cars to fix.

[DadsCharger00]

  it could've been worse....sorry to see that!

[Ghoste]

Ouch, and you can't even yell at the idiot who hit you.  (well you could but it might make others uncomfortable)

[charger Downunder]

I think the biggest mistake was not leaving your daily driver there, it was not turning your head round first and having a look before reversing. Just don't do it again.

[twodko]

Ouch Bill! Sorry that happened to you........I'm calling your mom!

[A383Wing]

can you blame it on someone else....like maybe Skippy?

Bryan

[Indygenerallee]

Shit happens, looks pretty minor, be good as new! 

[XH29N0G]

Beats backing into your Grandfather's car.  I did that when I was about 17, and at a pretty good clip.

[bakerhillpins]

At least you were in it to stop it. Can't tell you the number of forgot to put it in neutral stories I know of that ended up with a tree firmly planted in a license plate. 

[Fred]

Ouch! that hurts. 

[billschroeder5842]

Yes, could have been worse. My daily driver (bmw 335) will require a new bumper cover---as they all do with that type of hit.

It is only money!!

[myk]

Don't feel too bad man.  I remember I left my '69 in Neutral, walked away and then heard the loud noise which was the Charger rolling backwards into a light pole.  I was not happy...

[bull]

Oh well. Nothing you can do about it now but learn from it, fix the damage and move on.

[bill440rt]

Ouch! That sucks. 

Don't feel bad, had that happen a few times in out family as well.
As a kid I left the back door in my mom's Caddy Fleetwood land barge. She proceeded to close it for me with the garage opening while pulling the car in. 
My dad took out the quarter panel in my mom's Horizon with the rear bumper of my '71 Road Runner.
My brother took out the front panel of my '87 Conquest with the rear bumper of is F150.

Great memories!   

[six-tee-nine]

Dude go to a doctor..........fast, I think you suffered from a massive burst of female DNA. Imagine what could happen if you start driving like a girl all the time.....

Sorry could'nt resist....
I hope you can get it sorted out.    BTW cant you fool your insurance company? Afterall we all pay more than enough every year we dont need them..

[Ghoste]

Not that it matters because we really only care about the Charger but how badly damaged was the daily driver?

[bill440rt]

I hope you can get it sorted out.    BTW cant you fool your insurance company? Afterall we all pay more than enough every year we dont need them..

Actually, he probably doesn't need to "fool" his insurance company. It's still a collision claim. 
This happens more often than you think.

Bill, have you contacted your insurance company about this? 

[billschroeder5842]

No, I have not contacted the insurance-my bad so I'll suck this up.

I went to a body shop this afternoon and got estimates. The daily driver is about 450 (take off the rear bumper, repair the creases, paint and reinstall) but I'm still waiting on the Charger.

Any guesses?

[bill440rt]

I'm thinking a couple grand.  
New rear bumper (can't straighten it, if you did it would have to be rechromed anyway).
Possibly a new bumper bracket if bent.
The corner cap is crushed so it probably would be better to replace. Plus it would give more access for a better repair to the lower valence.
The lower valence panel needs some extensive repairs (you can see it's folded where it tucks behind the bumper).
Possible minor damage to the floor and/or inside the trunk based on the valence panel damage. At the very least there will be some spot refinishing required inside the trunk.
Looks like the passenger quarter panel has some minor damage as well, and there would be an overlapping repair there if the cap is replaced. Now your getting into replacing a section of the tail stripe, trim removal/reinstall, etc etc.

Looks like minor damage, but once you or a shop gets into it to do it correctly & not half-a$$ed will require some work.  

[Charger_Dart]

sorry to see that happen to you. Hope you get it repaired soon. Last year my wife did something very similar, but fortunately did not hit the Charger. Insurance fixed everything, but rates did increase. 

[Homerr]

Any guesses?

$20,000 after it snowballs into a full repaint/resto.

[Benji]

Believe it or not there is a VERY easy way to prevent most accidents that happen when backing up.  When we back up we are usually in a hurry (going to work in the morning for example.)  We hop in the car, start it, yank it in reverse and quickly look into the rear view mirror and when we don't see anything we quickly back up.  The problem is even if we look at all three mirrors (if equipped) we only see a VERY small area, in fact in some cars the area that cannot be seen is from the rear bumper out to 15 feet behind the car! Fifteen feet of blind area.  This is why so many children get killed, they simply cannot be seen. A rear view mirror allows us to see approximately a 20° view of the area behind us depending on the vehicle.

It is no secret that we have a much larger field of view (about a 180° view) when looking through the windshield when compared to looking in the rear view mirror.  So what is the solution?  If you normally park your car in the driveway or in the garage when you come home after work, don't pull into the driveway, back into it.  When you pull up to the driveway in preparation to back into it you can look out at it through the windshield and see if there is anything or anyone one in the way. The next morning when you pull away from the house you will again be looking out through the windshield which has that 180° view not the 20° afforded by the rear view mirror.  Simple but effective.

Ben

[Dino]

Believe it or not there is a VERY easy way to prevent most accidents that happen when backing up.  When we back up we are usually in a hurry (going to work in the morning for example.)  We hop in the car, start it, yank it in reverse and quickly look into the rear view mirror and when we don't see anything we quickly back up.  The problem is even if we look at all three mirrors (if equipped) we only see a VERY small area, in fact in some cars the area that cannot be seen is from the rear bumper out to 15 feet behind the car! Fifteen feet of blind area.  This is why so many children get killed, they simply cannot be seen. A rear view mirror allows us to see approximately a 20° view of the area behind us depending on the vehicle.

It is no secret that we have a much larger field of view (about a 180° view) when looking through the windshield when compared to looking in the rear view mirror.  So what is the solution?  If you normally park your car in the driveway or in the garage when you come home after work, don't pull into the driveway, back into it.  When you pull up to the driveway in preparation to back into it you can look out at it through the windshield and see if there is anything or anyone one in the way. The next morning when you pull away from the house you will again be looking out through the windshield which has that 180° view not the 20° afforded by the rear view mirror.  Simple but effective.

Ben

It is very effective, just don't forget to look into the garage before backing into it as someone in the family may have put something there after you left for work.  Ask me how I know....

My wife backed out her cr-v last year, at a good clip, and did not notice my one week old car sitting there.  Fender and bumper were hit pretty bad, repair shop of course did a lousy job so now I'll have to redo the whole damn thing again.

It happens before you know it and it sucks but what can you do? 

[billschroeder5842]

Homerr is more on target as I'm in the "might as well do this and might as well do that"

No word yet but the body shop, but the guy said that the bumper and brackets apear to be straight with no damage and the trunk looks good. He said that the damage is confimed to sheet metal which he will weld (?) a bracket on will be able and "pull/work" the sheet metal very straight. He said that it will only require a small amout of body filler then paint.

Hmmm...sounds like he has promised a thirsty man water

[Homerr]

Heh, I knew it!

Here's the dent puller.  Some use a slide hammer instead of the pry bar this guy has.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MsC7vrgXj_0