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Got rear-ended

My wife was stopped behind another car that was turning left. The car behind her was also stopped and had her blinker on, intending to turn left. The car behind *her* didn't stop, so she rear-ended the middle car, which lurched forward and hit our car (Dodge Grand Caravan) in the rear bumper, with slight evidence of contact on the lift-gate. (My wife doesn't remember exactly, but she thinks she had just started to roll forward, since the car in front of her had just made the left turn.)

Driving the car this evening, it seemed to pull *very* slightly to the left. But that could be because I just rotated the tires over the weekend. It was hardly perceptible, but enough that I am concerned. We are leaving on a 500 mile trip in the morning. Should I have the alignment checked before we leave? Or base the alignment on the trip experience and have it done at our destination?

Thanks, Craig

Reply to
Craig
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Check your tire pressure first before getting the alignment checked.

Reply to
m6onz5a

Tire pressure was fine. Thanks.

Check your tire pressure first before getting the alignment checked.

Reply to
Craig

Never hurts to have the front end and the alignment checked. Don't have it done because of the, "slight evidence of contact." Sounds like it didn't do much damage. If you bent the frame you would have more damage. You don't have a bent control arm from that slight of a hit. Getting taped in the back is not gona mess up your "front" aligment.

Reply to
willy

It _does_ hurt to get it checked, unless you get it checked by someone who really knows what he is doing. There are too many tire store kids who just put cars on the machine and do what the machine tells them without any real understanding of the geometry or what is going on.

So... I would suggest taking it to a body shop with a real alignment guy and having them check it over. They should be able to look for all kinds of damage in the rear besides what the alignment machine will show.

--scott

Reply to
Scott Dorsey

Ditto on what Scott says. I've had tires ruined by getting my car "aligned." My wife had a similar accident to the OP's, and by the time they peeled away all the layers, our perfectly-running 2002 Odyssey was declared a total loss. Be sure to get it checked out thoroughly by a competent body shop.

Reply to
MG

Thanks, everyone. I took the car to a well-respected body shop today for an estimate. The estimator did not think the rear impact would affect the alignment at all, so we are skipping that part of the repair. We made the

1000 mile round trip with no problems other than a tiny bit of pull to the left. I attribute that to the tire rotation.

Craig

Reply to
Craig

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