drsprite

I guess it couldn't have happened on better circumstances. I was following my best friend last night, he was going home, as was I, and it just so happens that we have to take the same route home because we live near each other. Well, we were turning right onto a main road, and we had a yield. There was somebody coming, but they were far enough away where he could've turned without a problem, and I would've had to yield.

Well, I don't know what he was thinking but he slammed on the brakes last second. I didn't have enough time to stop... and I braced for the worse. Sure enough.. *BAM*. That's right, I just rear ended my best friend at about 10mph.

The good news: The airbags didn't deploy, and I was able to drive the car home. His truck also sustained no damage whatso-ever, except a new dent on the rear bumper.

The bad news (damage):
-Left headlight housing cracked, the HID still works.
-Front bumper is cracked and/or chipped away in spots, exposing the inside of the engine bay.
-Front grille is pretty much gone, all dented and mangled.
-The radiator is pushed back a little bit, might need to be replaced.
-The right front side of the car is fine. Headlight, bumper, inside reservoirs, all fine.

So now the question is, do I go through insurance or not. I'm afraid of the insurance rates sky rocketing, however if the estimate proves to be affordable, perhaps I can just pay for it, and not worry.

Any suggestions?

I'll post pictures as soon as they become available for all those interested in seeing my very first accident.

Tatanko

iTrader: (34)

Well, atleast everyone was safe

Sounds like a good bit of damage for 10 MPH...but good luck on getting it all fixed.

Ammi

iTrader: (26)

sounds like a few thousand dollar job. It's funny how we pay $$$ to insure our cars but then when we get into an accident, we are afraid to use our insurance due to higher premium issues.

drsprite

Yeah I had my seatbelt on... but I don't even think I moved out of my seat... it was just fast enough to crumple the hood and cause the other body damage.

Oh well. I'm scared to use my insurance because I don't want to pay out my a** for the next 7 years or whatever it is

Zero Deuce SE

I would advise you to get a few estimates from collision repair shops. They will probably ask you if your insurance is paying for it. Tell them that you plan on paying out of pocket and it will likely be cheaper. It's probably going to be over $3k for parts, labor and painting. I would rather use my insurance though. Did you file an accident report with the police?

drsprite

No, three cops drove by, and none stopped. Go figure. Nobody was injured so it didn't require to dial 911, and it was at 2am, so nobody was on the road, except me and him trying to go home.

Ammi

iTrader: (26)

3 cops and nobody none of them bothered to stop............Good thing they didn't because they might have given you a ticket.

PHATMAN5050

Oh No! Your poor maxima!! At least you are alright man, follow what you said, get some estimates if it isn't too bad just pay out of pocket or drive around for the next week and hope someone backs into you.

Zero Deuce SE

Yeah, and make his day just a little worse.

drsprite

I'm having a pretty bad day now. Anyone around western mass that can fix it for cheaper than the dealer?

Seriously though, I'm going to have to drive it around to get estimates. I don't know what I'm going to do. I'm a mess just trying to think about money now... and insurance rates

maximalex

iTrader: (1)

Since the accident involved your best friend, no damage to his vehicle, and no medical injury, I wouldn't bother with your insurance company and just pay for it out of pocket. It'll probably be cheaper in the long run this way. (One time payment vs. high insurace payments over the next few years.)

Good Luck.

jattmax

oh my my my, beeeen there, done that... ive learned when u following someone keep ur distance, ur more likely to hit someone ur following, weird but tru...


brrruahhhhh

drsprite

Well the dealer is probably going to be more expensive than a smaller body shop, right? Should/can I order the parts myself if they tell me what to order? I'm trying to save money whereever possible

trey

I would claim it and cross your fingers, I mean how much can it go up and u don't want to fix it half ***.

drsprite

I wouldn't fix it myself, just trying to save money if I tried to do some "bargain shopping" on my own. But that could turn out to be more of a headache.

MaximaPolak

iTrader: (9)

Take Pics of the radiator and we'll see if it needs to be replaced.

Maybe you mean the AC condensor(sp)

2k3blk6spd

Sorry about your car, but from what you describe it sounds like more than 4 grand worth of damage. If you can afford it out of pocket then do it, but use a good body shop because the dealer will rape you.

drsprite

I'll take pics as soon as it stops raining... probably tomorrow morning

drsprite

How fast does the car have to be going before the air bags deploy? 15mph? I was going around a turn, must've been at like 10mph or maybe 15 max, mine didn't deploy, so that's why I ask.

Anyone know?

Zero Deuce SE

I read somewhere before that it has to be above 35 mph. I can't verify that right now though. There are several sensors throughout the car that input to the SRS to determine if the bag(s) need to be deployed.

panda_1

iTrader: (4)

id go junkyard, soemone os bound to have crashed their max

panda_1

iTrader: (4)

yea but i got side wiped at lik 60 and my bags didnt deploy

bniedert

Seems when I was looking at eBay yesterday I ran across a 5 gen front bumber cover that you might want to check out. It was going for a little over $100 when I saw it. I am not sure when it closes.

drsprite

Well I called the insurance company this morning, and they gave me a hard time. So I called my agent and I said, look.. I'm not having this, I want my car fixed and I want to speak to someone who won't "speak down to me"... they apologized for the bad customer service and said they would call me back... I got a call back about an hour later from a different girl, who explained to me that they have this new program setup, where they have 4 shops that will do the estimate, repair and everything else, all I have to do is pick from the list and then they will setup everything else.

So I picked out a shop I knew, and they put me on hold. When they came back they said to drop the car off as soon as possible so they can start working on it today. I was in shock that it went from bad customer service to superior in just one phone call. So I just dropped off my baby, and the shop is going to call me later on to let me know how long it's going to be.

Pictures of the damage are here: http://www.patriccio.com/maxima

drsprite

So I called the shop today to ask how long it's going to be there for... the lady said she thought they said 2 weeks. 2 WEEKS?! Does that sound right to anyone? Take a look at the pictures in my last reply. I think 2 weeks might be stretching it a few days beyond what it needs to be... I was thinking maybe a week and a half max...

Mass_Media

Someone scratched my the hood of my 02 max and it took nearly a week to get a tiny scratch fixed so I would think 2 weeks for that damage is pretty good

Mass_Media

paint and buffing and all that

Zero Deuce SE

The thing about collision repair is that we can't see the hidden damage whereas the specialists that do it for a living are aware of it. If they say two weeks, I would go with that. It takes time to do a proper repair. There will be a lot of work involved with aligning parts and repairing everything to factory specs. If I were you I would be patient and not try to rush things. Just be sure to check the car over thorougly when you go to pick it up. I had my truck door repaired last year and it took three days to repair it. That was for one dent.

2k3TitaniumSe

iTrader: (3)

That sux! I hope Maxi will recover soon.

drsprite

I got my car back last night... I'm so excited... except now I'm being picky... They replaced the left HID headlight because the housing was cracked... except now the lights don't match... the new one is "clearer"... the light seems to be clear... the other light shows some age... I think it's some kind of buildup on the other side of the plastic...

Did they put a new HID bulb in? Should I replace the housing for my old headlight so they match? Or should I wait a while and let the new one catch up to the aged one?

What do you think?

Zero Deuce SE

The new one will surely catch up with the old one in due time. I have that cloudy film on the inside of my HIDs and I believe that all of them will eventually get it. After a few bugs and things hit the new one, it will probably look slightly streesed anyway.

PoLo

iTrader: (7)

my accident also got me a new headlight. and it ALSO looked different.....ended up being the adjustment. it made it look a different color by the angle it was shining. adjust it...it should fix itself

BLKMAX005SPD

iTrader: (1)

2 weeks sounds about right
it looks like you need new front quarter panels
new lights? paint needs to dry...and they need to push the radiator back out...
2 weeks sounds quick...
just make sure they match the paint right...
having a ****ty job done sucks...
i would call or stop by later in the week to see the progess they are doing...
anyways glad yoru alright man...it sucks when you wreck..but atleats the airbags didn't go off..it could have been worse

PoLo

iTrader: (7)

dude...he got the car back....

drsprite

I got my car back... lol... thanks for the concerns though

PoLo: Yeah! It looks a different color, and I was wondering if it was the alignment too... How do I align it? With some screw or something? I've always been nervous to touch the HID housings (I know, I know...)... then how can I tell it's aligned the same? Just walk back like 20 feet and if the colors match then I'm good?

PoLo

iTrader: (7)

pretty much. i believe it's an 8mm ratchet piece and look behind your housing. you'll see a white **** thingofamajiggy. as you turn it, you'll see your light move up and down. if i remember correctly, it should level with your car at 25 feet or something like that. but yeah, adjust a bit and see if the color changes, if it is, then you know it's just your eyes being affected by the intensity of hte light at their angles.

drsprite

Cool thanks... I'll give it a try later on today when I get out of work... but one light looks "blue (right)" and the other looks like a "brownish - clear tint (new left one)" color... I'm assuming I probably need to aim it up a little bit because the "brownish" one doesn't seem to light up the road as far as the blueish one does...

If that made sense, then you did a good job of following my terminology!