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View Full Version : pics of LCB's totalled benz (1997 w202 c280 sport)


LeftCoastBias
12-24-2006, 05:49 PM
i've posted a bunch about this in the past week (if you frequent other forums); mostly due to our searching for a replacement vehicle.

i hadn't had the time to upload all the pics and get a full post together... i've been busy dealing with insurance and car shopping.

so here's the story...
on sunday, 12/10/06, my wife was driving my c280 from our house near downtown san diego up to one of our storage units in escondido, ca. she was attempting to retrieve some xmas decorations that were actually here, at our house, in the garage. http://www.leftcoastbias.com/smilies/banghead.gif

anyways, on her way back down to our house, on the 15, right at the 163 juncture, some stupid bitch (and I DO MEAN STUPID BITCH...i talked to her at the scene) lost her wheel from her 1996 VW jetta.

she was in lane 1 (furthest left/fast lane), she careened right into lane 2 and took out a new Scion XB... she dragged the scion across the freeway where the scion slammed into the drivers side of my car in lane 4. the VW kept going past my car, damaging the front end, and then spun all the way around, and proceeded to hit my passenger side HEAD-ON.

the stupid bitch must have been standing on the gas pedal throughout the entire accident for her to spin all the way around 180 degrees and then t-bone my wife; while the scion was pinning her from the other side of the car still. http://www.leftcoastbias.com/smilies/shifty.gif

so the car is totaled. http://www.leftcoastbias.com/smilies/frown.gif

we've agreed to purchase an impeccable immaculate amazingly well taken care of 1997 lexus es300. i dont have enough words to describe the condition of this car, it is like brand new. i will post pics once we complete the transaction.

an old man owned it and just dumped about 2500 into it a month or two ago when it hit 100k; because he planned on keeping it for the rest of the car's (and maybe his) life. but, his son surprised him with a mercedes as a gift. so he just wants to sell the car.

we jumped on his asking price, which was an undervalued $7900. totally worth that and more. the car drove EXACTLY like my 1996 lexus es300. ...which i owned in high school... IN 1996!! the car feels brand new, and it's basically a toyota camry, so we know it will run forever with minimal maintenance.

and i know, i know, i know... the lexus is not a "fun" car and kinda boring and blah and whatever... but it is basically the perfect car for it's purpose. it fills the void in my garage of needing a basic, nice, comfy and good 4 door sedan for either a) getting my wife to and from work and b) taking on road trips or vacations, or long drives.

we were also looking at w210 mercedes e-classes; and e39 bmw 5-series to replace the w202.

the e-class was really larger than we wanted, and for the price we nailed that lexus, i would have had to buy one with 200k in mileage.


the e39; although being basically the BEST 4 door family sedan ever built... and one of my favorite cars... we would have had to purchase one from the late 90's... when bmw was still claiming "lifetime fill" for their automatic transmissions (car has to be auto for the wifey... she does NOT drive stick). the auto transmissions, being built from glass, scared me off from this purchase. but, after test driving a few, my wife has fallen in love with the e39... so i will presumably be looking for a 2003 bmw 530i/a with sport package, at some point in the next 2-3 years.

i could buy one now and make it my daily driver... which wouldn't be too shabby, actually... but, i would have to sell the 330ci; and probably another one of our beaters or dust collectors... or even my w201 190e http://www.leftcoastbias.com/smilies/ohnoes.gif

...so i think i'd rather wait until we can afford to just "add" it to the collection, with minimal effect on the other cars. (yes, i know... i have too many POS's and not enough useful cars... does anyone have a truck we can borrow the weekend after xmas??? http://www.leftcoastbias.com/smilies/wink.gif)

LeftCoastBias
12-24-2006, 05:49 PM
anyways.... here's the photos.

car... totaled http://www.leftcoastbias.com/smilies/frown.gif
http://www.leftcoastbias.com/gallery/albums/album41/accident_12_10_06_001.sized.jpg



all four doors are busted up like this.
http://www.leftcoastbias.com/gallery/albums/album41/accident_12_10_06_004.sized.jpg




the poor girl's brand new scion she JUST bought
http://www.leftcoastbias.com/gallery/albums/album41/accident_12_10_06_016.sized.jpg



the stupid bitch who hit us... her car is BARELY damaged from THIS accident (we can tell it's been in a few... i think it has a hidden salvage issue, based on the rear end)
http://www.leftcoastbias.com/gallery/albums/album41/accident_12_10_06_008.sized.jpg




http://www.leftcoastbias.com/gallery/albums/album41/accident_12_10_06_030.sized.jpg



i want to know who was servicing this piece of shit car
http://www.leftcoastbias.com/gallery/albums/album41/accident_12_10_06_026.sized.jpg



i found the wheel several hundred feet from the accident
http://www.leftcoastbias.com/gallery/albums/album41/accident_12_10_06_048.jpg



turned it over to see this:
http://www.leftcoastbias.com/gallery/albums/album41/accident_12_10_06_051.sized.jpg




http://www.leftcoastbias.com/gallery/albums/album41/accident_12_10_06_052.sized.jpg











all the pics can be see in my gallery here: http://www.leftcoastbias.com/gallery/album41

mike
12-24-2006, 06:25 PM
I've had countless drums and rotors off of MK2's and 3's, and what I'm trying to figure out, since the god damned cotter pin, lock, nut and half the bearing is still on the stub axle, how the hell the wheel came off!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anyway, glad your wife is okay

As far as the Lexus, fun car it ain't, but run forever it will.

As far as the E39, the trannies aren't the problem its the cooling system. That car is a tank and the one all of us BMW techs hopes fall off a tow treuck with a blown head gasket (lack of cooling system maint.) and we scoop it up cheap. A couple of the techs at the shop have E39 528's that they bought cheap, or off our CPO lot.
540 is nice but has alot of motor issues with stuff like intake, valve cover gaskets, water pumps and coolant leaks. 530i is the nice one, as it has the 540 brakes and suspension, but the rock solid six. The 530 tranny is ok, but we get one every once in awhile that needs a torque converter, about a $2500 job. Find one and let me know, I'll tell you what too look for.

cynicalgeek
12-25-2006, 02:15 AM
I've had countless drums and rotors off of MK2's and 3's, and what I'm trying to figure out, since the god damned cotter pin, lock, nut and half the bearing is still on the stub axle, how the hell the wheel came off!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anyway, glad your wife is okay


x2 - Maybe she was running for a long time with a failed outside bearing? But even then... Very strange.

LeftCoastBias
12-25-2006, 07:34 AM
I've had countless drums and rotors off of MK2's and 3's, and what I'm trying to figure out, since the god damned cotter pin, lock, nut and half the bearing is still on the stub axle, how the hell the wheel came off!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anyway, glad your wife is okay

As far as the Lexus, fun car it ain't, but run forever it will.

As far as the E39, the trannies aren't the problem its the cooling system. That car is a tank and the one all of us BMW techs hopes fall off a tow treuck with a blown head gasket (lack of cooling system maint.) and we scoop it up cheap. A couple of the techs at the shop have E39 528's that they bought cheap, or off our CPO lot.
540 is nice but has alot of motor issues with stuff like intake, valve cover gaskets, water pumps and coolant leaks. 530i is the nice one, as it has the 540 brakes and suspension, but the rock solid six. The 530 tranny is ok, but we get one every once in awhile that needs a torque converter, about a $2500 job. Find one and let me know, I'll tell you what too look for.

thanks for the offer! but we did pick up a 97 lexus es300... i actually kinda hate driving it. unless we're on the freeway going straight... it sucks.


but it is perfect for her getting to work and dropping our kid off at school.

x2 - Maybe she was running for a long time with a failed outside bearing? But even then... Very strange.
when i was on the scene, it was a pretty obvious lack of maintenance and running a failed bearing for a LONG time.

the car shows signs of several issues and shoddy work being done (look at the rear bumper; it came off a green car, rattle can painted - and held on by household wood bolts!)

EDM
12-25-2006, 09:01 AM
I've had countless drums and rotors off of MK2's and 3's, and what I'm trying to figure out, since the god damned cotter pin, lock, nut and half the bearing is still on the stub axle, how the hell the wheel came off!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



It looks to me like the front bearings came apart. If you look close there is hardly any grease and it probably got hot. That is the only way it could have came off.

mike
12-25-2006, 09:41 AM
the inner roller is on the stub axle, the inner race is still in the drum

but the outter race and roller are still on the stub axle by the nut seized. the outter race is pressed or pounded into the drum/rotor from the outside by where the wheel bolts and there is a stop cast into the rotor/drum that stops the outter race. the only thing I can think of is if the casting in the drum that stops the outter race, some how failed when the outter bearing seized and let the wheel/drum come off the stub axle, kind of a freak thing. But she must have known something was wrong, because that bearing must have been making some terrible noise.

I had a guy with a MK3 GLX that his rear wheel bearings were so worn, that on one side, the wheel/rotor/tire assembly was loose enough to hit the caliper slide and leave a groove in the rotor.

LeftCoastBias
12-26-2006, 08:23 AM
...yeah... so it pretty much sums up that she was a dumb bitch for not fixing her car; for something that would be so obvious when driving.

URQ
12-26-2006, 09:08 AM
...yeah... so it pretty much sums up that she was a dumb bitch for not fixing her car; for something that would be so obvious when driving.

So what is it about this person in question that you think Dumb Bitch is appropriate to use?

LeftCoastBias
12-26-2006, 08:57 PM
So what is it about this person in question that you think Dumb Bitch is appropriate to use?
just about everything that came from her mouth when i spoke to her.

Carlos
12-26-2006, 09:05 PM
most people will ignore and thin kit is "okay" to keep driving their car. the sad part is that they usually take someone else with them.

RollinInGreenz
12-27-2006, 09:36 AM
I know how it feels to have a benz totaled from right underneath you...

an '83 year old man driving a dodge intrepid did this to my 190E on Christmas Eve 5 years ago...while I was stopped at a red light.

cops figured anywhere from 50-75 mph, straight into my trunk, no brakes, no skidmarks, no nothin.

and he drove his car home...then to Arizona the next day...scandalous no?

oh well, got my insurance check...and my dad used it as a down payment on a new E320 for himself.


http://i109.photobucket.com/albums/n72/HalcyonDaysInOC/OWNED190E.jpg

LeftCoastBias
12-27-2006, 10:04 PM
I know how it feels to have a benz totaled from right underneath you...

an '83 year old man driving a dodge intrepid did this to my 190E on Christmas Eve 5 years ago...while I was stopped at a red light.

cops figured anywhere from 50-75 mph, straight into my trunk, no brakes, no skidmarks, no nothin.

and he drove his car home...then to Arizona the next day...scandalous no?

oh well, got my insurance check...and my dad used it as a down payment on a new E320 for himself.


http://i109.photobucket.com/albums/n72/HalcyonDaysInOC/OWNED190E.jpg
dude, that blows.

RollinInGreenz
12-28-2006, 01:20 PM
yeah I got really screwed on that whole deal...

note the torn sheetmetal near the spare tire well...

GTIcrazy
12-28-2006, 01:52 PM
Wow...both of those suck ass... Hope your wife is ok.

I know the feeling, as I got rear ended by an old man while I was stopped at a red light. He was looking over to see if a store was open and just plowed the back end of my Jeep Cherokee going about 40 after about a second of braking. My neck was tweaked for months.

RollinInGreenz
12-28-2006, 05:03 PM
yeah, worst part was that when I called the police, first, dispatch said they wouldn't come unless it was an emergency, to which I replied "okay, someone just destroyed my vehicle and I'm about to murder them, you'd better send them to come stop me lady..."

she agreed to send them out to take an accident report, and they took over half an hour to get there...for those local to Laguna Niguel, I was at Rancho Niguel and Moulton at the time of the accident, and knowing the proximity to local substations, can see how ridiculous of a response time that is...

LeftCoastBias
12-28-2006, 10:59 PM
yeah, worst part was that when I called the police, first, dispatch said they wouldn't come unless it was an emergency, to which I replied "okay, someone just destroyed my vehicle and I'm about to murder them, you'd better send them to come stop me lady..."

she agreed to send them out to take an accident report, and they took over half an hour to get there...for those local to Laguna Niguel, I was at Rancho Niguel and Moulton at the time of the accident, and knowing the proximity to local substations, can see how ridiculous of a response time that is...
the CHP would not take a report at our accident (even though one was there the entire time) because IT WAS THE DAY OF THEIR ANNUAL FUCKING CHRISTMAS PARTY.


so they suspended all 1182's (non-injury accident reports)... even though two of the 3 parties sought medical attention.




the entire thing was pretty much a fucking joke.

RollinInGreenz
12-29-2006, 11:51 AM
the CHP would not take a report at our accident (even though one was there the entire time) because IT WAS THE DAY OF THEIR ANNUAL FUCKING CHRISTMAS PARTY.


so they suspended all 1182's (non-injury accident reports)... even though two of the 3 parties sought medical attention.




the entire thing was pretty much a fucking joke.

it seems the #1 thing getting in the way of our Men In Blue getting the job done is paperwork and beuraucracy.