Earlier our beloved rav4 xle 2015 suffered a hit from a flying tire from a big rig on the freeway. Never expected it will happen. She suffered a hit on the driver side, fog light came off, dents on fender and door, hopefully no cracks on the tire and headlight and bumper came off. Thank God wife is fine. Insurance will take care of it..(after deductible). be safe out there.
Freakin' loose tires on the freeway
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Good that you and your wife are OK! I nearlyhad a similar thing happen while driving my wife's car in the San Diego area - wheel came off an 18-wheeler on a freeway and rolled parallel to our lane and at my speed right beside the car. Thankfully there was enough space for me to outrun the wheel and move over several lanes. I hope that everyone else also was able to dodge it. Was your incident a head-on one? - much more dangerous!
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I got nailed by a shredded tire in a similar situation. Followed the semi to where he pulled over and got his information and the company took care of repairs rather than put a claim in on my insurance.
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Well the important thing is that no one got hurt. At least a tire is sort of understandable. About 15 years ago my wife was driving along a 55mph highway when an 8' recliner sofa flew out of an oncoming pickup and hit her car. Fortunately it had dropped enough to hit the bumper/grill/hood rather than coming through the windshield. Messed that car up pretty good. She said the truck stopped for a couple of seconds and then sped off without ever checking to see if her, our daughters or our nephew were okay..
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Sometimes, when it is obvious that the accident was not your fault, the insurance company will waive the deductible. Did you ask? Or, get the info on the truck and have them pay?
I was involved in a collision, (I won't call it an 'accident' because it was deliberate), a couple weeks ago. Had the RAV for only about two weeks. A truck came into my lane and hit my front passenger fender/bumper. Estimate to repair is $1,700-$2,000 . . . and my deductible is $2,500!
Told my insurance company that I would not pay the deductible because the accident was not my fault. After sending them a copy of video from my dash cam, my adjustor received approval to waive my deductible. My insurance will go after the other insurance company and driver.
One thing I highly recommend, and that what I will be doing. You'll get a new bumper. It will come primered and the body shop will paint it. Body shops cannot paint a bumper with the same 'rock resistance' that a manufacturer can. Their ovens just aren't hot enough. I know from personal experience that a body shop painted bumper will get rock chips in it within a few short years.
The body shop told me to wait for four weeks after my new bumper is painted for the paint to cure. Then I am going to pay to have 3M 'clear bra' installed on my bumper. I've received two quotes from installers recommended on the 3M web site. Just for the bumper, it will cost about $350. That will be on my dime, not the insurance company's dime. But, the 'lifetime guarantee on repairs for as long as you own the car' does not apply to gravel chips on a repainted bumper. They would consider that 'normal wear and tear'. My car is the same color as yours, and I know it will get chips in the paint if I don't protect it.
The $350 is for the bumper only. My passenger fender has to be replaced also, but I'm not going to pay to have film placed on that. Nor on the hood, which is undamaged. Most rock chip damage will be on the bumper.
It is so disheartening when something like this happens to a new car. These things are not inexpensive. Since my collision, I've been imagining all kinds of things 'wrong' with the car. I could have sworn that the dashboard never had rattles in it before. (I realize that I'm just imagining it.) Luckily, in my case, the car is still drivable.
Glad your wife is safe.
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Be sure the ins. knows the tire was in motion and hit you. Your comprehensive will cover it at a lower deductible.
I know this because it happened to our 2009 Camry. When I went to get an estimate at the Lexus dealer a AAA claims guy was there and steered me in the right direction.
the collision company will replace the bumper, fog lights, mud guard, door panel, repair the fender and door. Also have have to check the rim for cracks. she's getting all OEM replacement parts. estimated of 23++ plus rental car. about the insurance we haven't heard from them hopefully it wont raise.
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Make sure they are OEM (NA/Japan) parts and NOT OEM by way of China.
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Huh? Are you suggesting that OEM Toyota replacement body parts come out of China? How would I determine that my new fender is Japanese/Canadian?
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You DON't get OEM from China, that's my point!
To keep costs down some (if not all) insurance companies want the cheapest repair possible, ergo Chinese manufactured replacement parts. Tell the people repairing your RAV that you want genuine OEM Toyota parts, not look-a-like OEM parts from China.
To keep costs down some (if not all) insurance companies want the cheapest repair possible, ergo Chinese manufactured replacement parts. Tell the people repairing your RAV that you want genuine OEM Toyota parts, not look-a-like OEM parts from China.
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Sounds like I'll be fine. I arraigned to have my RAV repaired at body shop that is recommended by my insurance company, (Mercury). I'm supposed to get a 'lifetime guarantee' on the repairs.
Talking with the estimator, I specifically asked if it will be repaired with OEM Toyota parts. He said that since the car was so new, (only 2,500 miles when hit), that they would use OEM parts. He went on to state that if a car is less than two years old, (or three, I can't remember which), that they will use OEM parts.
Even though I got a deductible waiver, I'm waiting until the beginning of January to have it fixed. I'm making a trip to northern Idaho the last two weeks of the year, and I want a 'clear bra' installed on the bumper first. There is time to repair the car beforehand, but not enough time for the paint to cure before installing the 'clear bra'.
(Note to self: be sure to ask if they will paint the inside of the fender before installation)
Talking with the estimator, I specifically asked if it will be repaired with OEM Toyota parts. He said that since the car was so new, (only 2,500 miles when hit), that they would use OEM parts. He went on to state that if a car is less than two years old, (or three, I can't remember which), that they will use OEM parts.
Even though I got a deductible waiver, I'm waiting until the beginning of January to have it fixed. I'm making a trip to northern Idaho the last two weeks of the year, and I want a 'clear bra' installed on the bumper first. There is time to repair the car beforehand, but not enough time for the paint to cure before installing the 'clear bra'.
(Note to self: be sure to ask if they will paint the inside of the fender before installation)
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AAA always specs OEM with no age timeframe.
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