I've always feared this day would happened... and well it did...

[AvanTTix]

the day i would get the Avant into a major accident...

trying to come off the highway onto a side street, i wasn't able to get on the right lanes to avoid going back on the damn highway... as i was making my shoulder check to merge right, i couldn't find any openings, and unfortunately by the time i looked forward again, traffic ahead was stopped... it was too late and i knew it... i think i hit the brakes, but i knew already there wasn't going to be enough room btw me and the stopped Toyota Camry ahead... i lodged the driver side of my front bumper under the passenger side of her read bumper... my passenger side airbag went off and so did my safety belt tensioner, but not my steering wheel airbag...

luckily a bike who was probably attempting the same thing as me and realising too there was no way to get off and traffic ahead wasn't moving, somehow managed to hit the brakes and slid far enough that he came to a stop under the passenger side of my rear bumper, but by then he must have lost a lot of synergy since he was able to get up, walked around and able to state that he was fine... the lady in the Camry was fine too...

the Avant is now at Freddie's shop, my most trusted mechanic in The Bay area... Freddie wasn't able to open the hood to take a pic inside tonight so decided to wait until the adjuster is onsite to see the actual damage... my biggest fear is to see it being totaled... although if it is, Freddie assures we'll buy it back and put it back together... let's see what the insurance/adjuster says tomorrow... i want it back...

now since there had been a shooting earlier in the day on that street, cops were on the scene within minutes of the accident which was actually good...
i was able to drive the Avant away after being told that due to the earlier events at this location, it wasn't safe to leave it there, nor was it for us to stay there and guard it... i drove it a few blocks, it ran like nothing had happened if it wasn't for the low coolant, headlight adjustment, battery warnings, smoke coming off the engine and the lack of power steering...

i took a few pics when the tow truck came to pick-it up...







i wasn't able to take pics of the back, but the bumper will need to be replaced, and hopefully that will be the extent of the damage in there... i'm hoping my Milltek hasn't suffered any significant damages... somehow it was a good thing it was only a bike following me...

[7speed]

damnnnnnnnn

[A4natomical]

sorry to hear man. hopefully she'll get all taken care of soon and be back on the road.

[F16HTON]

If you need any help....let me know. Tracee would be happy to deliver parts for you.

[got boost.]

damn that sucks. good luck on getting it repaired.

Where in city did this happen?

[tdmopar59]

ouch rough... sorry man

[mioStile]

thankfully you're all right. don't worry - you'll get it back to new before you know it!

maybe a blessing in disguise - time for some aesthetic bumper mods possibly if it suits your style...

[F16HTON]

This is his winter setup...typical setup is a Sportec front bumper and 20s

[[email protected]]

Sucks to see the Avant in that condition Steph.

I do rue the day my wagon gets into a situation like that.

[A4ringedONE8T]

Damn, good to hear everyone was alright and just be glad that wasnt your Sportec front!!! Whats the deal with the drivers side airbag not going off (even though it was probably for the better)?

[El_Chapusca]

SUKS MAN,HOPE EVERYTHING COMES OUT ALRIGHT AND THAT NOT TO MUCH DAMAGE WAS DONE GL

[ApexIt]

i too fear a day like this. were you found at fault? nonetheless, glad to see you were ok

[docurley]

Well it good to here your still alive and kicking and from what I can see you will need a hood, bumper, front panel, headlight and may be a Rad but other than that minus the airbag bits you should be good to go.

Pain in the arse I know but she looks fixable.

[jon102034050]

sorry to hear about it, at least everybody is alright.

[BNZ TOY]

ahhhhh nooooooo, yours is one of my favourtie Avants! Hopefully it's mostly superficial damage, especially since it drove ok and straight (?). For some this would be a great excuse to upgrade the front, but as yours was perfect, hurry and stitch that baby up!

[A4p]

what bad day, i feel your pain

[heateris]

sucks man, but it looks repairable.

[CyberPMG]

Sorry about your misfortune. From the pictures, it looks repairable. New front fender, hood, grilles, etc. Hopefully it's minor inside the engine bay (FMIC, radiator). The expensive stuff will be a new passenger airbag and new dashboard.

[AvanTTix]

thanks for all the support fellas!

my concerns w/ the insurance is whether or not based on the resale value of the Avant they will be willing to process w/ the repairs... talking to Freddie i'm no longer worried about it being repaired, i'm just hoping it will be at a somewhat reasonable cost if i have to buy it back, as i've pretty much made my mind up and will if it comes to that...

the thing is after spending what a lot of sane people would qualify as insane, i.e. upwards of $35-40k in various mods , i didn't want to spend anymore on the Avant... it was the way i wanted it to be... just perfect ... but i guess these are the risks we take and have to assume doing what we do...

[AvanTTix]

If you need any help....let me know. Tracee would be happy to deliver parts for you.

thanks Greg, appreciate it a lot...
depending on what happened w/ the insurance i might hit you up, even if it's just to double check part numbers w/ you...

[AvanTTix]

damn that sucks. good luck on getting it repaired.

Where in city did this happen?

San Francisco, coming off, well trying to anyway, the 280 at Alemany... i hate that exist...

[AvanTTix]

Whats the deal with the drivers side airbag not going off (even though it was probably for the better)?

Freddie thinks it didn't b/c the seat belt retensioner (sp?) fired off and kept me well back in the seat...

[DeanUW]

Damn! Sorry to hear, GL w/ getting it back together, things happen, at least you're ok!

[jrau13]

Glad your ok and sorry to hear.

[AudiA4Turbo22]

OMG glad ur ok. Forget the car as long as ur fine that's all that matters, cars can be fixed or replaced, u can't.

[dougyfresh]

Ouch. Always painful to see damage like this.

However, I am glad to hear all parties involved are okay. The Avant is fixable so things will work out in the end. You'll come out alright. Let us know if you need anything.

[A4 TSCHUSS]

You have the RS4 steering wheel/airbag too dont you. Possibly swapping them even with the wiring or whatever doesnt allow it to work correctly.

[akaEsCo01]

Sorry to see this, hope insurance doesn't total it and you'll be back in no time. Good luck

[Maverick]

o damn, this is terrible.
I fear about this all the time.

It's not so bad that this happened on your winter setup.
I wish you the best luck.

[Maverick]

btw, steph, if you need another S4 front bumper, I might take mine off and give it to you but depends on when you need it.

[a4wd]

Ouch!! Well first thing first, I am glad you are ok and no one else got injured. I hope everything works out with your Insurance, but as far as repairs go, you know you are in awesome hands!!

I live in Pittsburg now, so I may stop by Freddie's shop to check out the progress. Oh and just so everyone knows....this avant is pure $EX!! Can't wait to see it back up and running!!!

[Hamotee]

Sorry to hear about the car. (My favorite avant by far)

[AudiA4Style]

Sorry to hear man. Your car has always been one of my favorites.
Good luck with everything!

[derleicaman]

Hey, Steph, this totally sucks! Glad you're OK man. Looks like it can all be repaired, hopefully without a lot of grief from the insurance company.

I'm curious about the airbag not deploying on the driver's side. I also have the TT MKII wheel in my car and there has always been a lot of speculation on whether the airbag would deploy properly in an accident. Always wondered who would be the first to find out. Hopefully, you can run a scan at some point and see if there were any issues with the airbag.

GL with the repairs!

[got boost.]

San Francisco, coming off, well trying to anyway, the 280 at Alemany... i hate that exist...

wow i live right next to that exit.

[vinny.dtw]

Damn Steph, glad your ok! The avant at least is repairable. GL

[02SILVANT]

I bought my Avant damaged and fixed it, but since i did alot of the work on my own i hope not to ever see this day happen to me.

Glad to hear your doing well, good luck with getting it back to regular condition!

[4Rings3Liters]

Sorry to hear the bad news but I don't think it is totaled judging by the pics.

[RAVI]

oh man, i hope thats not totalled at all! i hope the TT steeringwheel was not the reason why the airbag didnt go off since i plan on doing that mod in the future.. goodluck with everything man.. your avant is a one of a kind

[AvanTTix]

the adjuster should be at the shop this morning to take a look at the Avant... i've been deemed at fault for the Camry, which doesn't come as a surprise, so my insurance will be covering the damages to that car and the front of the Avant, but they are planning on going after the motorcycle for the damages to the rear...

the Avant will be totaled if the cost of repairing the damages is over 75% of the value of the vehicle...

w/o a look inside the engine bay this is the list of what i know is needed at this point:
front: driver side headlight (additional cost for bi-xenon e-codes on my dimes), driver side headlight washer pump & cover, driver side fender, bumper, hood, hood grille, rebar, radiator, radiator mount, steering wheel pump,
interior: dash, passenger side airbag, driver side seat belt/tensioner
rear: bumper, passenger side muffler (hopefully not)