My 2001 xk8 convertible was in a hit and run accident. The impact was on the driver's side. It was hit in the rear panel and the rear wheel is now at an angle then it raked along the door and hit the area behind the front wheel. The dealership/body shop looked at it and said there was no damage to the axle or frame. Is that possible? The estimate is about $9000 to repair and they claim the paint will match perfectly and I'll have no problems. The windows no longer meet correctly and the door handle was full of water from rain too. What do you think? I'd appreciate any information.

 

I would have your insurance company send out an unbiased inspector/adjuster to look at your car. The fact that your rear wheel is at angle indicates probable axle or frame damage in addition to the wheel damage. While the costs may vary, the items to be repaired or replaced should match up with what the dealer/bodyshop came up with.

Mike

 

Hi, thanks for your input. The dealer and adjuster do agree. I just am trying to determmine if it's possible to have the wheel angled without that kind of damage?

 

i seriously doubt the lower control arm and bolts are not tweeked. especially since I just put a new lower control arm in an 03 XK that he said hit a bad pothole. He wanted an alignment and when I did it the left rear toe would not come in spec, and wasnt close, but upon replacing it it was perfect and you couldnt see anything bent at all. have them align first before they say nothings wrong and that will tell you what the eye cannot

 

If you can see what looks like a visible wheel misalignment problem, you can quantify a camber change with a simple bubble level and anything flat that you hold up to the rim to use as a base for it. A piece of string will similarly point out any major deviation to the toe setting.

If there is no damage or marking to the rear wheel or tire, perhaps the distortion of the body panels is what creates the illusion that the wheel has been displaced. A quick check as described will get you closer to the truth.

Opinion: the unibody (monocoque) construction of late model Jaguars is designed for deformation to absorb impact, and is much more heavily biased toward safety concerns than towards rigidity. I have seen many XJ8's with complex damage from relatively minor low impact rear collisions: the whole rear end is designed to jackknife under the car, and Brutal's pictures of his XJ8 are a good example of this design feature in cases of a hard hit.

XK8's are not heavily reinforced in the rear quarter panel areas for the same reason: often times, relatively minor impact to one rear quarter shows evidence of damage to the opposite side of the car, as the whole unibody tweaks...not just the corner that was hit.

Your car can be properly repaired, but all sorts of panel alignment issues must be dealt with after the damaged components are removed and the monocoque is pulled straight. I'd be fighting for a total, or for the best body shop with up to date frame gauge equipment and certifiable experience. No, I don't fix seriously crashed cars, but I have seen a number in person and photograph. And I have seen many that were cosmetically repaired without proper attention to less obvious unibody damage. Door gaps, window sealing and panel fit can only be adjusted so far on a crooked chassis.

 

MA,

By the way, I neglected to mention: I have a brand new factory left door for your car, and either you or your body shop or insurer can save about $1000. compared to Dealer pricing.

 

Hey MA,

My bad, I just now realized that I could see your picture of the damage. It sure looks like the wheel is scuffed, and a hit like that and in that location almost certainly bent suspension components and altered the alignment as BRUTAL described.

Look closely at the base of the convertible top on the opposite side quarter panel, you may see evidence of the sort of tweaking I was describing. I have seen it on cars that were not hit as hard as yours obviously was.

 

If windows aren't lining up correctly (except the door window, since the door was damaged) then I would definitely be fighting for a write-off. With how the wheel is out of line then that also tells me that if it isn't the suspension there is definitely something wrong with the frame. If it can be repaired it will still not feel the same afterwords, and you would most likely want to sell it.