Had a little surprise on the way home tonight...

[thejeepdude]

I was towing my 6500lb boat back from the lake tonight, just turning into my driveway on a busy street. My driveway is narrow, so I have to borrow part of the left lane to turn right, but I signaled, touched the brake so everyone behind knows that I'm slowing, and turn in nice and easy. People sometimes get their feathers ruffled because I stole 5 seconds from their busy day, but it usually goes smoothly. However, tonight a young female driver decided I was going too slow and went to pass me on the right, just as I'm turning in. At first she was screamin like I was an idiot, but then she realized what I was doing and admitted it was her fault and apologized profusely. I was irate when I saw her mustang front left corner smashed up, figuring my brandy new truck probably had at least a few thousand in damage. :{ Well, I walk around and take a look at my truck, and notice the hubcap is gone, and my polished forged wheel now has a nice gouge in it and a few scratches. It was getting dark, so I'm not 100% sure, but it appears that nothing else was damaged!! Talk about lucky!! I was kind of bummed because if she would have clipped the front of my fender/bumper, I might have gotten a new UTE bumper out of the deal. Luckily, because I was turning right, the front edge of the tire was sticking out far enough to take all of the impact. I would say she hit at about 15-20mph or so. It didn't really feel like much, given the weight of these things, however I want to make sure there's no hidden damage anywhere. I plan to take the wheel off in the daylight tomorrow and check it all out, but hopefully everything is OK. Anyone know how much these rims cost from the dealer? How about the hubcap? Anyone have a cheaper source? I'm just glad my 5 month old baby doesn't have to wear bondo for the next 10 years!

 

[jmeehan]

Get the alignment checked.

 

[McCRam]

That sideways hit could have some hidden damage. I would get all the front end suspension completly checked. Since her insurance should be covering the bill, take it to your favorite shop and ask them to find something wrong with the front end.

 

[EEngel]

Wheel

$240 was the price per wheel in January at our local body shops.

 

[JHofmann]

Get the alignment checked.

I agree, someone backed into the front tire of my last truck (ram 2500) and the alignment was off. Tweaked the track bar also.

 

[CLAYTON]

I would check with some local tire shops... I traded my wheels and tires in and got credit for my new ones. I bet there are some for sale.

 

[red-rider]

Sorry to hear about your accident, good to hear everyones ok.



Heres a link on ebay for your hubcaps.



http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/e...tem=7970566149&category=33744&sspagename=WDVW



Heres one for your rims



http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=7969757665&category=33638

 

[thejeepdude]

Those are the wrong rims. I have the '05 forged polished aluminum. I also only need one. Plus I want brand new since the party at fault is paying for it. I just thought I'd save her a few bucks if there was a better source than the local dealer. Thanks, though.



And yes, I will be having everything checked out. BTW, it drove perfectly to work this morning. I did notice the steering wheel was a couple degrees to the right when going in a straight line, but I could have only noticed that because I was paranoid and looking for it... could have been the same way it was before on that stretch of road, since the wheel angle changes with road crown.

 

[Matt400]

I would say she hit at about 15-20mph or so. It didn't really feel like much, given the weight of these things, however I want to make sure there's no hidden damage anywhere. I plan to take the wheel off in the daylight tomorrow and check it all out, but hopefully everything is OK.

I would have a body shop check things.



That same thing just happened to our son and what looked like a small dent just ahead of the rear tire turned into 2800 in other damage not easily seen. He was going to drive it and I said. . just to the body shop. Turns out a spring was damaged, tire sidewall had been compromised and the axle was now not square with the frame.

 

[DHayden]

If it were me I would pull the axle tubes and check the gears also. A small car is still a few thousand pounds multiplied by her speed so hitting your wheel/axle could still have cracked the tube or your gears which may not cause problems right away but will be very expensive to fix later.

 

[thejeepdude]

Well, I took snowball to the doctor yesterday (a high-end body/frame shop). They said no apparent damage, and that an alignment would tell them how serious it was. Rather than pay 100 bucks for an alignment, I got a lifetime alignment from Firestone for $139, figuring that would come in handy over the next 10 years with this truck. The alignment guy said it was slightly off, but not bad at all, and could have been that way from the factory rather than being caused by the collision. The only thing that was off was the toe. I'm not too worried about the gears or axles being damaged at this point because I just don't think it was that serious of an impact. It drives 100% normal, and in fact I think it drives better now than it did before I got hit. I have almost 20K on it now, so maybe it was just due for an alignment anyway.



Here's the interesting part... I got a quote from the local dodge dealer for the wheel and centercap:



52013663AA - 431 Wheel - $449. 70

52121450AB - 431 Cap-Wheel - $73. 57



That's $561. 21 for just the wheel and cap after tax!!!



The tire has a little bump in the sidewall I don't trust either, so there's another 200 bucks or so, plus the alignment... total damage $891. 48. :--)



Well, it could have been a lot worse. Oh yeah, the kicker was, the girl that hit me had NO INSURANCE! So far she's owning up to it and taking responsibility, so we'll see how that goes.



Now... anyone know where to get that wheel and cap for cheaper? EEngle... is that 240 price really for the forged AL or was that for a different wheel? I'd be all over that deal...

 

[red-rider]

thejeepdude,

my bad with the ebay link, but if worse comes to worse you can always check your local junkyard, you might get lucky with the rim and tire in stock and in good condition.

 

[thejeepdude]

There's not many '05 in the junkyard yet. These wheels weren't introduced until the very end of the 04. 5 run and weren't 'official' until 05. I'm going to have to pay a dealer somewhere... I'm just hoping someone knows of a dealer that discounts parts and does reasonable shipping, instead of my local dealer that wants list price for everything. Thanks, tho.

 

[Matt400]

Here's the interesting part... I got a quote from the local dodge dealer for the wheel and centercap:



52013663AA - 431 Wheel - $449. 70

52121450AB - 431 Cap-Wheel - $73. 57



That's $561. 21 for just the wheel and cap after tax!!!

Now... anyone know where to get that wheel and cap for cheaper?

How about taking that money and buying 2. 5 of these, then you just have 1. 5 out of pocket expense.

#ad




More info on that wheel here

 

[red-rider]

I see you live in california, I have a 10% discount at moss bross dodge not that big of a deal but thats the best I can help you with, I also manage a shipping department here, I can always help a fellow TDR brother out. If not maybe try TDR member Tomeygun, I hear alot of good things about him.

 

[thejeepdude]

Matt, those are nice wheels, but I still like my stock ones better. Plus I would have to buy tires, so that's a lot more expense than I can handle right now. If I go aftermarket, it will be the KORE Weld wheels for me... and I just can't justify that until I win the lottery or something.



Red-rider, thanks for the offer. . I'm hoping to find better than 10% tho... someone must have a 20-30% hook-up somewhere. I checked with dodgeparts.com but they don't list the part # on their website. I sent an email so we'll see what happens.

 

[Matt400]

Your not too awfully far from me, I bought my truck in Roseville. If you were into a little drive and wouldn't mind coming up to Arnold on HWY 4, I can get you that wheel and cap for 440. 00

Also I am in Angels Camp almost every weekend in the morning and could meet you.

 

[thejeepdude]

Matt, thanks for the offer! However, I think I just found a deal...



I was searching for a thread with oem parts for cheap and called a few places, but mopar4less.com is getting my business. They got me a wheel with cap for $400 shipped to my door! That's 343. 20 for the wheel, 44. 52 for the cap, and under 13 bucks for shipping... plus no tax!

 

[Matt400]

www.mopar4less.com

Thanks for posting that link. I didn't know about them. I called and they do have good prices, especially on factory hard parts like your wheel. Accessories they can't do too well with but if you need an intercooler, OE turbo, crash parts etc. . they are good.

 

[KKohagen]

Matt, thanks for the offer! However, I think I just found a deal...



I was searching for a thread with oem parts for cheap and called a few places, but mopar4less.com is getting my business. They got me a wheel with cap for $400 shipped to my door! That's 343. 20 for the wheel, 44. 52 for the cap, and under 13 bucks for shipping... plus no tax!

Just remember that we of the Nazi state of CA must report all internet sales that we did NOT pay taxes for. Then we have to still pay that "missing" sales tax. I just do not want a fellow TDR member to be audited. Good find though. I will have to look at the site for my future use. Glad to hear that everything will be okay.