The roads were slightly iced over on saturday wgen i was out running an errand. I turned into a parking lot going maybe5-10 mph and immediately began to slide about 20 feet until the front driver side wheel hit a curb side to side not head on. There wasnt a huge noise and the car stayed on. I began to put the car in park with the e brake on and got out to inspect the damage. It looks fine with some scratched on the rim and stuff. I got back in turned it on backed up and pulled into a spot. The alignment is definately off and when backing out with my wheel turned all the way the right it skids while the passenger side wheel turns. I got back on the road to try and go home but the car shook side to side to much to go over 5-10 mph. It was just the wheel that caused this and the steering wheel wanted to move a little in my hand. I inspected the wheel further and it has some chips and possible bending. Something on the shock looks broken and thats all i could see.
My car has 156000 miles.
My car has an automatic transmission.
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The good news is, as long as there is no damage to the frame (or sub-frame) of your car, or the mounting stubs for the strut, control arms and so forth, what you are describing typically requires fairly mundane repairs. Sideways impacts are actually a common cause of the kind of damage you are describing as the vehicle suspension is designed to resist impacts during forward motion, not so much sideways motion. So, hitting a bump straight on at 70 MPH doesn’t damage the suspension (usually) but apply a quarter of that "force" from a sideways direction and the result is quite different. So, that’s the good news. The bad news is to estimate something like this requires a thorough on-site inspection and the estimator will also need to know if you want genuine OEM Ford parts or aftermarket knock offs or more likely a combination. The bottom line is what you are describing is almost undoubtedly readily repairable so what I recommend is that you request a front suspension inspection. The responding certified mechanic will evaluate what you have, on site, and give you an estimate to repair what appears visually, and by simple measurement, to be be broken. In your circumstance, the actual repairs can also be done at your location although at the conclusion of the repairs, the front end will have to be professionally aligned (the Mechanic can advise as to that, such as where to go and what exactly to ask for and be cautious of). To give you an idea of the "type" of parts that you "might" (subject to inspection) ultimately have to replace during the repair, it would be things like: strut, knuckle, control arm, tie rod end, wheel, wheel bearing, ball joint, and related parts. But, again, keep in mind, the exact complement of parts will depend on an expert inspection. Obviously, only parts that are broken or not safely re-usable would be considered for replacement. Best wishes with this...if you schedule an inspection to get this estimated, you will be well on your way to getting this resolved and if you have any additional concerns or questions, by all means please let us know that, too.
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