Urgent Help! Neighbour Hit My Parked Is, Steering Concern

[Plankton]

Hi, so I have a horrible story to tell....

Yesterday evening the lady across my street was driving her small car, out of her parallel parking spot, when she for some unknown reason does a U-TURN out of her car spot!!, and crashes into the Front Right wheel of my IS 250 :( (it was parked and off, outside my house), I heard a bang sound..from the collision..

It really sucks that this has happened although there some small visible scratches on just the wheel arch, but what concerns me is that when she hit my Rightside drivers wheel , it may have knocked the steering link/alignment.. Because when I started the car (foot on the brake and pushed the start button) the wheel turned quickly about a quarter of a turn ... To the left, when I parked the wheels were forward and straight.

I was surprised there are no dents or the bumper wasn't ripped off, there weren't any large scrape marks or deep scratches, there are only several scratches (about 5+cm each and go from the top of the wheel arch to the bottom)..

I have not driven the vehicle since, (been 24hours) but tomorrow I am going to give it a run,

Just seeing if any of yous have advice, or can give me help its a 2nd Gen IS 250 with the LED DRL headlights,

I have surveillance footage of the incident occurring, but the lady will pay for the damages (touch up the paint on the wheel arch??) or IF need be I will go through her Insurance.

I want the vehicle to look near new how it did before this happened, do you guys know if the power steering can handle a little knock when off?..she hit the wheel in slightly.

Any help is much appreciated, the lady has an expired international drivers licence -(she shouldn't be driving.. If she done the drivers test she would learn what a 3 point turn is and. NOT to do a U-turn from a parking spot.., and if needed I will go through insurance although She can pay out of pocket if the cost is reasonable.. Although it's a lexus..so it won't be cheap.

( I may post the video and some pics in days to come), it just goes to show..how you can drive safe and park outside your house and THIS happens... I highly recommend that you Park in your garage!, and get surveillance cameras!! :) they are worth it.

Sorry for the structuring of this post.

Thanks for any help or suggestions, I will read them,

[melchels]

Sorry to hear about your situation...very frustrating.

I would just contact your insurance, assuming you have comprehensive insurance, let them deal with it, that is what you pay them for. The only person that benefits from dealing

outside of insurance is the person at fault.

If you go through insurance you know your repair will be good and you are covered for any workmanship issues.

[Plankton]

Thanks for the response,

The lady who hit my car won't be covered by her insurance because she has an expired international licence, and if she did the drivers test here in Australia she would have learned what a 3-point turn is, and learn Not to do a U-Turn from a parking spot and hope not to hit the opposite parked cars.. If only she reversed first before turning (3-point turn),

I got a Quote for repair from a local car repair shop which does Lexus vehicles also, the quote was $600, which includes re-alignment of the headlight housing, and front bumper/fenders, and paint/touch up the small several scratches on the wheel arch, luckily there are no deep scratches or dents, the headlight housing has just moved a bit( few cms maybe) because the bumper was gently bumped, the wheel also was knocked in slightly...but I hope the car will look perfect how if did, not with a misaligned headlight housing/fender.

The car also still drives fine, I went around the block several times, round abouts and turning into peoples drives and reversing out to test the steering,

Hopefully by the end of next week the car will have been fixed,

I will keep yous posted and may post pics and the video in the future, with before and after pics too.

[melchels]

Thanks for the response,

The lady who hit my car won't be covered by her insurance because she has an expired international licence, and if she did the drivers test here in Australia she would have learned what a 3-point turn is, and learn Not to do a U-Turn from a parking spot and hope not to hit the opposite parked cars.. If only she reversed first before turning (3-point turn),

I got a Quote for repair from a local car repair shop which does Lexus vehicles also, the quote was $600, which includes re-alignment of the headlight housing, and front bumper/fenders, and paint/touch up the small several scratches on the wheel arch, luckily there are no deep scratches or dents, the headlight housing has just moved a bit( few cms maybe) because the bumper was gently bumped, the wheel also was knocked in slightly...but I hope the car will look perfect how if did, not with a misaligned headlight housing/fender.

The car also still drives fine, I went around the block several times, round abouts and turning into peoples drives and reversing out to test the steering,

Hopefully by the end of next week the car will have been fixed,

I will keep yous posted and may post pics and the video in the future, with before and after pics too.

The persons lack of insurance is not your issue, as long as you provide her details to your insurance, let them manage the issue. They will claim the costs off her, removing the onus on you. Of course it is entirely up to you, if it was my car, I would go through the insurance, ensure all damage is identified and repaired properly and if there were any issues relating to the repair later on, you just speak with your insurance.

[DO IT]

Yes. I agree with Melchels. Best bet is to go through your insurance and provide her details to your insurance company. If the quote that you have for $600 is the final quote, she would fork out the $600 anyway but you have the reassurance that your car was assessed by your insurance company.

I have had a NRMA approved and recommended body shop repair my car and later down the track, find out that there was still damaged from the accident. It was only later known when Lexus of Chatswood took the panels apart from a later accident and found existing damaged from the first accident.

[Subby]

I had a somewhat similar accident, but on the left side.

First point to check is if the steering wheel still sits dead centre when you are driving in a straight line. 2nd, the Lexus build quality is such that while there may not be much visible damage, it is best to get the whole front suspension properly checked out. In my case, after a number of stuff-ups by the repairers, I got the car checked by the dealer and the repairs were re-done subject to Lexus' satisfactory inspection.

Earlier advice is correct - go through your insurer and let them sort it out.

And good luck!