I feel so stupid.
05-26-2010, 05:44 PM
#1
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I feel so stupid. I started my car so I can get some air going for my son while I loaded his stroller in the trunk. Then I forgot the damn thing was in gear and let the clutch out. Instead of stalling out it drove straight into a big *** curb. Now my front bumper, lower grille, and left fog light(only the cooling duct) are fucked. I feel so stupid. Oh and the park brake was on, but it only likes to work when it wants to and only when the car is facing uphill. It rolls forward any other time. On top of it all I have a family to support so I can't afford my $500 deductible much less parts to fix the damn thing myself. Flame away.
05-26-2010, 06:36 PM
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So far I'm looking at around $1200 in parts. How in the hell is the lower grille over $300? I can get BOTH fog lights for less than that! I need to rob a bank or something...
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05-26-2010, 07:14 PM
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That's what I'm looking at doing. I'm not worried too much about paint right now since USAA gives me a free paint job once I move from here(El Paso). But anyway the two lower grilles on ebay were $319 and like $375. If I claim it on my insurance my premium would just go up anyway so screw that. I prefer to do most of my own work anyway.
05-26-2010, 07:55 PM
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12 of the 13 cars I've owned have been manuals and I've done that several times over the years...including the V. However, they always die when I do it and just jerk the car forward which is still embarrassing..lol.
Sucks, but accidents happen!
Sucks, but accidents happen!
05-26-2010, 08:49 PM
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Yeah I've stalled it in the past. It would have been fine if it just stalled, because I was parked several feet off of the curb. Not today though. It was doing a good 5mph at least when it hit. The crunch was sickening. the whole bottom of the bumper cover is bent and scarred, the lower grille is bent(although I may be able to repair it once it's out), and the left brake duct is cracked and the fog light is just sitting in the opening now. I havent even looked underneath to see if anything was damaged under there.
05-28-2010, 09:31 AM
#17
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Haha when I first bought my V I kept doing the opposite. I'd go to pull the brake release to drive off and pop the hood instead!
Speaking of parking brakes does anybody know how to adjust ours? I replaced the stock brake pads with Hawk ceramics and from then on the park brake barely works and they squeal like a damn semi when I apply brake pressure. Is there something I did wrong? I thought Hawk pads were supposed to be quiet. I can here the damn things with just the sunroof cracked and the windows up!
Also I finally calmed down and really looked at the damage. The brake duct for the left fog light is cracked in half. I can epoxy it back together for the short term. Does anybody know if there is a place where I can get just the duct? I know they typically come with the fog light assemblies, but I would like to get some STS-V fogs and I don't feel like paying for a whole new CTS-V assembly just to get the duct. If I can't though I'm just going to replace both fog lights with new ones since my current ones are pitted to hell.
The lower grille looks like it can be pulled and repaired. The mesh on the bottom popped out of the surrounding piece. I'll find out when I pull the bumper cover. As far as the bumper cover goes it's dented on the bottom in one spot, but it can be popped back out from the inside. It's scratched to hell across the whole bottom part, but it isn't cracked at all. Some of the scratches are pretty deep so I don't know if it can be repaired and painted. I'm guessing it can. I'm probably just going to get a new bumper cover down the road and have the whole car painted anyway. Plus I can get a bumper cover without the front license plate bracket holes in it for a much cleaner look. Underneath it just popped the fittings for the big plastic piece under there. No other damage.
All in all it isn't too bad. Of course being the car nut that I am I'm extremely self-conscious of it whenever I drive, but it could be a lot worse and will be fixed eventually.
Speaking of parking brakes does anybody know how to adjust ours? I replaced the stock brake pads with Hawk ceramics and from then on the park brake barely works and they squeal like a damn semi when I apply brake pressure. Is there something I did wrong? I thought Hawk pads were supposed to be quiet. I can here the damn things with just the sunroof cracked and the windows up!
Also I finally calmed down and really looked at the damage. The brake duct for the left fog light is cracked in half. I can epoxy it back together for the short term. Does anybody know if there is a place where I can get just the duct? I know they typically come with the fog light assemblies, but I would like to get some STS-V fogs and I don't feel like paying for a whole new CTS-V assembly just to get the duct. If I can't though I'm just going to replace both fog lights with new ones since my current ones are pitted to hell.
The lower grille looks like it can be pulled and repaired. The mesh on the bottom popped out of the surrounding piece. I'll find out when I pull the bumper cover. As far as the bumper cover goes it's dented on the bottom in one spot, but it can be popped back out from the inside. It's scratched to hell across the whole bottom part, but it isn't cracked at all. Some of the scratches are pretty deep so I don't know if it can be repaired and painted. I'm guessing it can. I'm probably just going to get a new bumper cover down the road and have the whole car painted anyway. Plus I can get a bumper cover without the front license plate bracket holes in it for a much cleaner look. Underneath it just popped the fittings for the big plastic piece under there. No other damage.
All in all it isn't too bad. Of course being the car nut that I am I'm extremely self-conscious of it whenever I drive, but it could be a lot worse and will be fixed eventually.
05-28-2010, 09:14 PM
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Haha when I first bought my V I kept doing the opposite. I'd go to pull the brake release to drive off and pop the hood instead!
I replaced the stock brake pads with Hawk ceramics and from then on the park brake barely works and they squeal like a damn semi when I apply brake pressure. Is there something I did wrong? I thought Hawk pads were supposed to be quiet. I can here the damn things with just the sunroof cracked and the windows up!
I replaced the stock brake pads with Hawk ceramics and from then on the park brake barely works and they squeal like a damn semi when I apply brake pressure. Is there something I did wrong? I thought Hawk pads were supposed to be quiet. I can here the damn things with just the sunroof cracked and the windows up!
We have HPS pads and they are sooo quiet! We had these crappy cheap o's and after we put the Hawks on she stops on a dime, quiet, and very little brake dust!! Glad you don't have too much damage! At least you didn't curb your brand new rims while on vacation... I'm a dumbass!
05-28-2010, 09:18 PM
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sorry to hear that bud. It happens to me when i go into to get my v serviced and when i pick it up and start it, it'll jump and than i'll be swearing my **** off as the service guy left it in gear and I always leave mine in neutral
05-29-2010, 12:50 AM
#20
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I used to leave mine in neutral as well because the parking brake worked fine with the stock Brembo pads on it. Then I replaced them with the Hawk pads and they squeal horribly and my park brake barely works. It will only keep the car from rolling backward about half the time and wont keep it from rolling forward at all. Can anybody help me on this? I hope I dont need to go buy new pads to fix the problem.