Bluerauder takes a Hit on the Way Home Tonight

[Bluerauder]

After nearly 8 years of problem free MM driving, the inevitable finally happened tonight. At about 6:00 PM on southbound I-95 at the Springfield Interchange, I was following a Honda CR-V. Was just getting ready to pass his azz when he runs over the scraps of a truck tire blowout and kicks them up right in front of me. I had just enough time to say "S4!#" when I hit about 3 very large chunks of truck tire. Some went under the car. At least one bounced off the front and went OVER the windshield. Looks like someone lost a full recap or there was a blowout. The truck was sitting on the right shoulder about 1/4 to 1/2 mile down the road.

What pizzes me off is that the damn Honda driver had no one in front of him. We both could have avoided the problem if the azzhole didn't decide to run over the crap. Moving to the other lane would not have been a problem. Had I made my move 5 seconds before ... there would have been no problem.

Decided to wait and check when I got home ..... here's what I found. :(

1. The license plate and bracket took the biggest part of the hit. Twisted and fasteners broken.
2. Front air dam is gone. Looks like it ripped clean, free.
3. Bumper cover is distorted.
4. Large gap between the bumper cover and the passenger side headlight.

I guess this could have been much worse. The tire chunks did not go through the windshield. They didn't go through the grill. And, I didn't wreck the car trying to avoid the problem. So, if it had to happen, this is probably the best outcome ....

But I ain't liking it much .... :P

http://www.mercurymarauder.net/gallery/data/500/medium/BluerauderBumper1_640x475_.jpg

http://www.mercurymarauder.net/gallery/data/500/medium/BluerauderBumper2_640x475_.jpg

http://www.mercurymarauder.net/gallery/data/500/medium/BluerauderBumper3_640x475_.jpg

http://www.mercurymarauder.net/gallery/data/500/medium/BluerauderBumper4_640x475_.jpg

[Ms. Denmark]

Oh nooooooooooo Charlie!:bigcry: I'm so sorry! But relieved you weren't hurt and hope Bluerauder will be back to good as new in no time!

[FX1]

If your car was black you wouldnt even notice it because you would of been fast enough to move out the way.ill send you my front lisence plate bracket if it makes you feel better

[J-MAN]

Glad that you're OK Charlie! Cars can be fixed.

[Bluerauder]

If your car was black you wouldnt even notice it because you would of been fast enough to move out the way.ill send you my front lisence plate bracket if it makes you feel better

Another jokester. You know what you can do with that license plate bracket, right? :mad:

[slickster]

Wow what a Dumas that almost happened to me one time that's why I always stay free from even light traffic cause everyone is so dam stupid. Ahhh look at all this crap in front of me well I'll run right over it and give the guy behind me a hart attack. I would of pulled him over and pay for the damaged

[robertmee]

You're lucky you weren't hurt....I was following a SUV behind a Semi once when a retread cut loose and went right through the guys windshield. The whole windshield shattered and dropped into the front seat on top of the driver and his girl. He nearly lost it but was able to pull over to the shoulder. I pulled in behind him and they were shaken up pretty bad, but besides some minor cuts all was well. The Semi kept on truckin.

[jabird56]

Sorry to here about your wounded MM Charlie.

[MyTMerc]

Sorry to hear that Charlie. You take such good care of your car and in the blink of an eye your day gets ruined.

Hope you can get it repaired without to much trouble.

[SWOOSH]

Sorry Charile, glad you are okay though, get well soon!

[Papillon]

Oh Charlie :( :( :( Like Paula said, as long as YOU'RE ok. The car can be fixed. I don't know much about "damage" but it doesn't look too bad.

Are you going to get it checked out? Or have you already?

[Spectragod]

If you need a license plate bracket, I have one you can have.

[cpe6]

Sorry for that Charlie, it happened to me one time fortunately there was no damage.

[Black_Noise]

Should have stopped at the truck pulled over with the blowout and told him you need his insurance info for the damage

[RoyLPita]

That's fixable. The plate bracket is either held on with rivets or license plate screws. Pull your plate off and see.

[Ladyhawke]

Sorry to hear, but glad you are okay and the damage isn't too bad.

[Bluerauder]

If your car was black you wouldnt even notice it because you would of been fast enough to move out the way.ill send you my front lisence plate bracket if it makes you feel better


If you need a license plate bracket, I have one you can have.


That's fixable. The plate bracket is either held on with rivets or license plate screws. Pull your plate off and see.

I am really not worried about the plate bracket. It was pop rivetted. The ones on the left side are snapped off. The bigger problem seems to be the distorted bumper cover and the gap below the passenger headlight. I can stick a finger and a half in there. Not so on the driver's side. Whatever took the airdam off also damaged what's under the cover. Maybe it doesn't show in the pics .... but the cover has been twisted and pulled down noticeably.

[FastMerc]

I saw a guy hit a piece of tire like that and it ripped his muffler off.He didnt even try to ovoid it.It was a toyota so I laughed,sorry! Glad you are ok and car will be fixed Im sure.I have to shell out 700.00 to get my rear bumper fixed a hit and run in a parking lot.Ofcourse no note...

[SC Cheesehead]

Dang, Charlie! That really sucks.

Keep us posted on the extent of the damage after you figure what's wrong with the PS bumper.

[HammerDown]

Dang!!!!!!!!! But glad YOU are okay.

STUPID DRIVERS:mad::mad::mad:

[05crownsport]

Sorry to see that happened Charlie. Could've been worse than it is...the car will be good as new before you know it.

[Spectragod]

I am really not worried about the plate bracket. It was pop rivetted. The ones on the left side are snapped off. The bigger problem seems to be the distorted bumper cover and the gap below the passenger headlight. I can stick a finger and a half in there. Not so on the driver's side. Whatever took the airdam off also damaged what's under the cover. Maybe it doesn't show in the pics .... but the cover has been twisted and pulled down noticeably.

I have a front cover too, if you need one.

[Bigdogjim]

It come with miles traveled. Not much comfort I know. A good bodyshop will fix you up in no time:)

Wait till SOB see it:)

[05crownsport]

Maybe some subtle ghost flames or something like that?

[Blown3.8]

Dang Charlie that sucks. I've been there myself but my mustang just got some paint chipped away. I have the rivets and the gun if you need to afix the bracket for the time being. Just let me know. We may be able to straighten the bumper out too.

[Blackened300a]

Sorry to hear about this Charlie. Looks like the paint survived so you'll be back in shape in no time.

[Mr. Man]

Good thing you were in Big Blue.:up: Imagine being in a Toyota Corolla, you'd be scrap meat. :lol:

Glad you escaped injury and after a good sleep :sleepy:tomorrow your nerves will be back to normal.:)

I'm betting by MV9 if you didn't tell us no one would even know Bluerauder was in a dust-up.

Big Howdy to Bernie:wave:

[Mercguy04]

Sorry to hear about your troubles. Your Okey that's what is important now.
Tomorrow or asap you can have it looked at.
I see a couple of guys have offered you parts, so all may need is paint.
I have a chin spoiler if you need it. LMK. Good luck with the repair and your wallet.
Russell
PS DBP is my Favorite Color

[Shaijack]

Sorry to hear about the damage. You are OK that is good. Us blues owners have to stick together. Not many left.

[TAKEDOWN]

Ouch, could've been worse, but it's fixable and what's more important is that everyone is in g00d health!

[GAMike]

That sucks Charlie, especially when you go out of your way to maintain a vehicle the way you do........

Karma is that the CRV driver will be visited by Chuck Norris in the middle of the night, and he will dent every body panel of that tin can with Knunchucks. This person will not know it was Chuck Norris and will be flooded with thoughts of a Blue Marauder in his rearview mirror for the rest of his miserable existance....;)

[knine]

Sorry Charlie. I know how you feel. My BLUE got the corner hit in a parking lot last month. Just bumper cover damage, a little paint and she's fine. Hope your BLUE is looking good soon. E.

[MrBluGruv]

Not even a month after I had first gotten my MM, I was travelling down one of the freeways in San Antonio and a Mustang in front of me kicked up a wrench. I had a split second to react and thankfully there was no one next to me 'cause I had to swing partially into the next lane over.

It still hit the car, but I was able to keep it from breaking out my windshield and instead it slammed into my hood. Scared the crap out of me because it sounded like somewhere between a gunshot inside my car and someone taking a sledgehammer to my roof. I used some touch-up paint on it, it turned out to be a hell of a battle scar.

Sorry to hear what happened in your case though, mine was already clearly not aesthetically well-maintained so it wasn't as big a deal, it would tweak me to no end that it was someone else's fault that my property was damaged or otherwise rendered imperfect.

[justbob]

This sucks to read Charlie. I know you well enough that you will find the right place and have that front end looking BETTER than new!

Sent from my Ally using Tapatalk

[ctrlraven]

Luckily that's all that happen, glad all are okay and I'm sure you'll have blue looking good as new soon.

[PonyUP]

Very Sorry to hear, but like everyone else, glad you are okay. Good Luck with the Fix :beer:

[rayjay]

Glad you were not hurt Charlie! The car can be fixed. I'm surprised by the damage, must have been almost the whole tire???

[Pat]

Happened to me too, Charlie. But I was driving the GM. Following an 18 Wheeler a little too close and when he passed over a blown tire still in the lane I couldn't get out of the way. Lifted the car clean off the pavement. Took out the front facia.

Glad your OK,

Regards,

Pat

(Are there any blue facia's left.....one wonders, I'm sure there are plenty of blacks, SB's and maybe a few DTR's :lol: )

[Ken]

That sucks Charlie, Although you did get off easier than Cruztaker on the way home from Louisville many years ago. He was leading FastMerc, Pantheroc and I. An SUV kicked up a Gator and wedged it in his grill, and part of it beat the snot out of the hood before he could pull over.

[Joe Walsh]

Darn Charlie!

That really sucks.
I'm glad that you're OK.
It's frustrating when your car gets whumped by some piece of road refuse, especially when a numbnut in a Honda precipitated the event....:mad2:
Probably will need to pull the front cover and see what kind of damage was done to the "rocket launcher" looking bumper core.

[btvollmuth]

Glad it wasn't worse and that you're fine. The bumper cover probably just needs to be refitted and the plate re-riveted. I know how it feels though, some drivers are just so stupid.

[Loco1234]

Hate to see anything happen to the Blues... Let alone Bluerauder... It's a nice example of the Blue Marauder's... Always enjoy it at Carisle... Good luck making it right... & I'm sure you will Charlie...

[jsignorelli]

Glad to hear that you are OK. The car can be fixed. As for that Honda driver..... if he was a real driver, he'd have a real car!

[Mr. Man]

I am having a hard time locating some DBP duct tape. :o Any ideas? ;)
How about Lowes? Doesn't Jimmy Johnson drive a Blue car?

[Mr. Man]

Glad to here it's fixable and :congrats: on 15K posts:)

[Pat]

Charlie, the air dam is one piece. Three bolt/washer combo hold it in place. Replacing mine due to warpage. $30.00 or so IIRC.

[FreddieH]

Sorry to hear about that Charlie, I understand the feeling I hit a deer in December and that broke my never hiting anything lifetime record. But after having the Marauder fixed by a reputable it will be good as new again. The main thing is that you are ok.

[thathotrodlincn]

My condolences, Charlie. Hope there is no undiscovered structural/sheetmetal damage. Wish you well on speedy repairs.

[RoyLPita]

Well the damage estimate is in $545.29 parts and labor. Left, Right and Center air deflector pieces Refinish, paint and clear coat bumper cover where compression caused spider cracking.

I could have sworn that the lower air dam was one piece that went across the entire front. Is this really a 3-piece element? Can someone post a pic? Now that mine is gone, I only have a "vague" memory of what it looked like. :o I have gone through most of my pics and they are all very dark and I can't make out the detail on the air dam.

Looks like I'll be without the car for 3 days ... am gonna take it to a different shop to see what they say.

BTW -- the distortion on the bumper cover was caused when it snapped out of the upper channel. My son and I slipped it back in to the channel as a 2-man team. I took a strain on the bumper to pull it out and away from the car and he lifted it into place. Once it was positioned properly, it popped right into place.

Beware, I have seen one of the sides of the 3 piece air dam be replaced w/o the filler cover piece (for fog light access) in the middle. There is a member here who had this problem.

[CBT]

Once it was positioned properly, it popped right into place.

That's what she said.

[guspech750]

That's what she said.

Who is she?


---
- Sent from my iPhone
Eaton Swap = Wreeeeeeeeeedom!!

[N40GL]

Teeny, tiny piece of advice.

If you want your car fixed perfectly, take it to a Lexus body shop (or BMW). A Ford body shop will fix it like the majority of Ford owners want (and they have nowhere near as high a standard for our cars as we do). Take it where the car owners will be excruciatingly critical. Like a Lexus or BMW or Audi shop.

[Shermanator]

Sorry about that Charlies, I95, all the time. If there is anything that we can do let us know. Blue is not my color, but to me its Charlie not that damn color blue. Hey, come on up to Mason Dixon this week end with Chris and me.

[Mebot]

Oh man that stinks Charlie! I havent been online in a couple of weeks so it stinks to come back and read this. Glad to hear your ok and everything is fixable