Hello guys,

I hit a curb and a telephone pole during this last snow storm. Left curve, downhill, and the surface of the road was sloping to the right, ice patch etc... I was doing maybe 10 or 15mph, where I should have been going 3 or 4mph...

Anyways, here are the pics of the result:















Passenger inner tie rod is bent, everything else structurally looks fine, front tire flat, rear tire rubbed against the quarter pannel, so it needs replacement. Both rims are marked slightly...

Car has almost 150,000 with all the options, except sat nav. KBB value for fair is about $3,200

The insurance adjuster is coming next friday to estimate the repairs. Do you guys think it's totaled?

 

Hell no that isnt totaled. I estimate 3-4000 to fix

 

i say take whatever the insurance company gives you and buy a newer max or a different car and part that one out

 

5.5 gen is the best max IMO... I'd get a 7gen if they had 6mt... But if I need replacement, I'll go with BMW or Infiniti...

 

Don't let the 5.5 die. She's worth saving.

 

I love my max, I want to keep it but she also burns a quart of oil every 600mi. Maybe it's time...

 

Just an FYI, The insurance company will do everything in there power to screw you because of the tires, If you get into an at fault accident where stopping and/or traction was an issue without the snowflake rated tires, Grab the lube and prepare yourself. SOrry.

 

yes, for the age/mileage on the car, that does look like it will be totaled :0/

 

How much exactly do you think a 2003 Maxima with 150K is worth then?

 

Snow tires aren't required by law... At least not in my state

 

About $4400 in a private sale.

 

I was wondering what he thought it was worth since he seemed to strongly think that $4000 in damage wasn't a total on a $4000 car lol

 

Quarter panel damage in a 10 year old car is definitely totaled. Not worth fixing. It doesnt have to be that bad but the cost to fix a quarter panel is very high and the value of a 10 yr old car is so low that the price to fix it is 80% the value of the car therefore they just total it out.

 

They're gonna total it. Buy it back and part her out! Truly sorry about it, though. I guess next time you'll use chains, eh?

 

buy it back, im pretty sure i got the fender AND door in that color from the 01 max im parting out, im located in charleston WV, i cant help you with the 1/4 panel though,

my passenger front door is alittle rusty (doesnt look like you need it) but the rear door looks great, but i have the passenger front fender in good shape also, ive also got the suspension parts needed if you decide you want to fix it, that car will be totalled, you can probably buy it back from the insurance company for $500-750 bucks. Ill sell the door, fender and suspension parts for $250 if you pick them up.

 

Does not matter.

 

What are they going to do, shake their finger at you?
He has full coverage - they will pay up.

Now, their revenge, of course, will be a hiked rate.

And you know, snow tires are so much better on ice

I totaled a maxima from ice (40s and rain ) with performance summer tires and the rears were nearly bald. Oh, the lashing I got...oh yeah, they said nothing.

 

it s the oil consumption that makes it not worth the value to keep it,,insurance prolly total it and give u a check..sign the title over to them,,if not totaled,,take the check and sell it for parts,,

 

I have to agree, maybe you can buy it back and fix for cheap....

 

Totaled is the wrong word, you mean CHARACTER. Drive it until it dies. The tie rod may show you some issues to fix but it is still a nice car. Personally, i love the flaws my max has that are cosmetic. Sorry to hear of the accident though!

 

That looks like a total loss for sure.

When I say the first pic and the damage, I thought to myself, no way thats a total loss. then I scrolled down and saw the quarter panel damage and knew why the OP posed the question.

I'd say, grab a check and buy something else, preferably not an oil burner.

 

I'd have to agree.

Unless you have hours of DIY mods, and a lot of personal 'touches' in the car, it's not worth fixing. Badger with insurance to get at least $1000 more than your estimate was, cite recent repairs, overall condition of the car.
Find a car locally that is in the same shape yours was or better, and try to get the price that that one is listed for.

If you cant find one locally in the same shape, go out of state for one similar, so they have an idea of what it's worth.

Enough research on your part here, with ads, etc in hand will net you a large pay-out (all things considered) to get you going.

UNLESS of course, you're just going to buy another 5.5 Maxima, then I'd have to argue that there may be more appeal in fixing what you have and running it into the ground.

 

If it's a total loss, I'd like to buy it back to part it out, but I live in an apartment and don't have space to keep it while I part it out...

Sucks to see a loaded titaninium edition go like that...

I'll post updates on what happens from here...

 

I don't believe it's totaled.

 

Tough call... You can beat the rear quarter panel back out so it doesn't rub on the tire anymore, at least.

 

You could take the full repair cost and simply patch it up, if you were good with that. But it's not exactly legal I dont think

 

Totaled. A reputable insurance adjuster would repair the quarter by cutting and welding in a new piece. That right there is about $1200 - $1400, + rims, tires, tie rod, paint, replace fender, door skin, alignment, paint, shop supplies, side marker, plus R&I. Then there is the cost of a rental while it is in the shop....

 

If they total your car, argue the fact that the valuable parts of the car (engine, transmission, etc.) aren't damaged and would bring good money when it comes to salvage. When my GTP got T-boned and totaled, I used this argument to get more money out of my car, because I had a very valid and logical defense.

This is basically what I told them... "I understand that your offer for my car makes sense if it was hit in the front and the engine/trans was damaged, but since it is not I should get more money for my car since most of the parts on this car can be reused when it is sold to a salvage yard." And it worked.

 

How much do you think is a reasonable amount I should get from my insurance if they declare it totaled?

I agreed with my insurance to take it to a body shop they work with. I'll do that on Friday. Question, should I remove all my bolt-ons before I take it in? I'm thinking if I don't do it now, I probably won't be able to do it later?

 

Sorry to see this, Gizm0. Both front and rear panels, and at least one door... it's most likely a write-off. If not, it's pretty even to the value of the car.

It's a heck of a risk putting mods and love into an old car. But if it's not too soon to start looking back on total ownership, I bet it was all worth it.

Good luck, man. Merry Xmas.

 

That's a tough call, considering cars can vary in price quite a bit throughout the region. Price out cars in your area within a 200 mile radius, because this is how the insurance company determines how much to give you for your car. I believe they call it "fair market value"

It is a good idea. If they don't total it, then just put your bolt-on's back on. If they do total it, then you don't have to worry about it and you can keep them for your next car, or sell them here.

When it comes to mods, most insurance companies won't allow you to remove or replace anything on the car that isn't "loose" or easy to remove, like a shift **** or something like that.

 

Thanks for the advice guys... On Autotrader, 200 mi. Radius search shows maximas with the same mileage/options listed for anywhere from $5.5k to 7.5k

Can I realistically hope to get an amount anywhere close to that?

 

If you haggle hard enough you can realistically expect 90% of that. You're going to have to play hardball though.

 

You should, and probably get something in the middle of that, since they average the prices of the cars together to get you your number.... so it should be around $6,500.

Yeah, might have to. That's why in a previous post I mentioned that valuable parts of his car are undamaged, mainly the engine and transmission.

 

In all honesty, there is a chance that it might not get totaled. My GTP before it was totaled was sideswiped on the driver's side by a truck, and I had similar damage as your car. It was not totaled and I had it repaired. I got a new front bumper cover, new door mirror, side marker light and a new wheel, and the entire side of the car and the new front bumper cover were repainted. I also got my passenger mirror repainted since I said I grazed a road sign when I was ran off the road and hopped the curb and went onto the sidewalk. (passenger mirror was previously scratched by someone in a parking lot, btw) This was a 99 model and the accident happened 2010, and the car was 11 years old and had around 120K on the clock when it happened.

 

Oh, I also forgot to mention I got a new front fender, too.

 

OT: I had a 98 GTP before the max, ran it to 285,000 miles before selling it to a buddy of mine. Didn't burn any oil... It was a great car... It now has over 300k miles and it's still running well last I heard...

I hope you're right t-behr... I'd like too keep her, plus having no car payment is sweet...

 

its YOUR car, they cant keep it, you can pick it it back up and keep the stuff you want, you can always tell them your picking it back up for a week to get all your personal items out of it, just remember its their job to save money, so they will make you a lower offer than you would normally think is acceptable, its your job to not get screwed, so if you arent happy with any offers they make, then you can refuse them, I have a 1984 pontiac fiero with 41,000 miles a 3800 supercharged v6 installed, i got backed into and they wanted to total the car because the insurance adjuster felt that my car was 141,000 miles not 41,000 so they offered me $1800 bucks to total the car, i fought them on it and showed them the money i had in the engine swap, the cost of the parts i needed to repair the car, and the actual mileage with a car-fax report and they wrote me a check for $2200, i KEPT the car and i also had all the parts at my home already to fix it, so paint is the only thing it really cost me.

*IF* they want to total it, you can always tell them you want to keep the car, and ask how much it will take out of your insurance check for you to keep the car, that way you'll have something to drive while shopping for another car, and like i said, i got a fender, door and suspension parts that im pretty sure are the same color as your car, Im parting out a 2001 maxima, But i wont have it for long.

BTW i buy insurance cars at auction, everything in my driveway was a totaled vehicle and then reconstructed, im going to have about $3500-4000 in my 02 max 3.5L 6 speed when im finished with it, ive got $4000 in a 04 AWD pontiac vibe, $900 in a AWD 2000 dodge grand caravan, and $4000 in a 05 silverado 4x4 ext. cab long bed. and my father and I picked up two more cars last week. Totaled cars are definitely worth alittle less, but if you find ones without frame damage, or major issues they can be good cars.

matthew

 

What's the paint color code on the maxima you are parting out? Mine is KT3

 

I know a few people that wouldn't mind some interior parts from a titanium edition in their non-titanium edition Maximas

But Tuner said it well in his last paragraph^^^