A few weeks ago I was driving down a one-way street, a driver failed to yield and drove directly in front of me. Immediately the Mini and I went to work and turned the potential T-Bone into a front quarter panel collision. The front driver side of the Mini and the passenger front of the small 4-door belonging to the inattentive driver. The Mini was hurt but not defeated, the hood dented, wheel well trim missing, cracked side marker, and...(gasp) a chunk out of the rim which took the brunt of the hit. (rim doesn't matter I had winter wheels on)
Other important things happen between here and there but they aren't relevant so we will fast forward to now. The Mini has been looked over and driven, the body was fixed, and a four-wheel alignment performed (which fixed the 2 o'clock steering wheel). The Mini is ready to be picked up of from the shop (second time), I take it for another test drive today. The tech comes along with me. I'm quick to say it's still not right, I tell him how smooth it shifted before, and now there's a mechanical chunk (not a grind) as you shift in each gear. He says he drove it and looked at it, and it seems fine, the way it shifts is normal. Up until this point I was the only one to drive it after the crash, today my Dad (truck driver) and my GF (daily Mini driver) also get to drive it, and each immediately agree it is different.
The man at the dealership tells me that 02 Mini's have clunky racey transmissions it's not like the newer Mini's. I say it's 30k miles, I drive it every day blablabla. I do not sign anything or take custody of the vehicle. Insurance says they won't take the car apart to look at it mechanically because they can't pinpoint significant damage, they sent me a waver to sign saying that I accept responsibility for costs if I want them to tear it down.
I don't know what to do, the car is not the same as it was. What could be causing this issue?
I should add that the first time I looked at the Mini I noticed the rubber gasket in the wheel well which the ABS hard line passes through had been torn all the way to the metal on the side I was hit.
Thanks for reading, sorry that was long winded. Any help insurance/mechanical will be greatly appreciated.
Car Crash Damage please help
