I was in an accident a little over a week ago. I was crossing an intersection at about 45mph. A car going in the opp. direction decided to turn left (he claimed he didn't see me) I tried to stop but I couldn't in time and I hit him.

I only had the car for 9 months. It had 4500 miles on it. When I say that I loved the car.... As of now, they are repairing it. They are estimating the damages are about $16,000 with a 8-10 week repair time. But as the price keeps going up, and I actually look at of the parts that need to be replaced on the car, i start to wonder if I really want to drive this car once it's repaired...

 

I don't blame you, when something is hit in the front end like that you never know if it will be the same. There's a lot of intricacies with small tolerances in the power train of a vehicle that don't like to be given a jolt like that.

 

Looks mostly cosmetic, whats the problem

 

I do understand. A few months ago a suicidal raccoon did some damage to my 09. While not nearly as severe as yours, once it came out of the shop, I find myself now relating every little anomaly to that incident (e.g. grooved pavement causing a bit of wander has me waiting for the next clear patch of pavement to prove that my alignment is fine.)

I relate it to physical trauma, when you break a leg, you are very wary of putting it to the test even months after it has healed.

If the shop is reputable, you should be fine. It will just take time for the psychological affects to diminish.

 

Oh man! That really sucks when it was someone else's mistake.. As long as you are ok, that is all that matters.
As for the car I understand what you mean.. It will not be the same after the accident.
Are you paying out of pocket for the repairs? Will the insurance company give you a decent amount as a write off? If so, I would probably take it and buy another one. But choice is yours.
Hope it all works out for you.

 

I hope that the cost gets high enough for the insurance to classify it as totalled and pay you market value for the car. Our Altima suffered a similar crash, not as bad as yours and it was totalled. Hope it all works out!

 

Totally sucks man. I was rear ended after six months of ownership by stupid woman (whom I believe was texting at the time).
Mostly bumper cover damage and under $1K.
Even if you keep the car there will be that big "CAR FAX" entry that will turn many away and/or kill the resale price when the time comes to sell.

 

Yeah I'm suprised they aren't totaling it. Glad your ok.

 

I'm not surprised at all. Not enough damage done.
Why would the insurance company pay out more for replacement car cost versus $16-18K to repair it?
The sad thing is it'll never quite be the same car he originally purchased.

Hopefully it's repaired correctly without further issues.

 

Here is a good explanation of this works. Some total if its 50% of its value in damages while others go to 80% etc, majority are about 55 to 60% and its a goner.

http://www.progressiveagent.com/claims/total-loss.aspx

 

Looks are deceiving. Unless you get an upclose look at the car and give it a good inspection, you can't tell what's been damaged or not by looking at a couple of photos.

 

Exactly and what they quote initially just goes up and up as they break it down and find more and more issues/things to repair.

 

well if you put miles on it you will have problems in the future. it depends on how good the body shop is. but the whole front of that car took a pretty good shock. my mom had a max and over time so many front parts had to be replaced suspension and misc parts after a head on collision. even had to do all 4 motor mounts b/c one of them went out well after the accident which cause all 4 of them to go. and what makes it worse is that these body shops are not using new parts or in some cases not even actually changing the part.... good luck but i would try and get that totaled. i'm pretty sure the body shop wouldn't want that so it's probably too l8 if they've started the work... SMH 4500 miles..

 

Yup and a car can have several additional supplements after the first estimate is written.

 

That sucks but I wouldn't worry about it -- the only thing I would do is push for brand new OEM parts since the car is so new and it wasn't your fault

Read this thread about diminished value http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/finance/880666/

After your car is repaired, pay for the DV report from the website and demand DV from the other person's insurance company -- with $16k+ in damages, you can probably ask for $6-7k in DV and settle around $3-4k

 

You are correct. My experience when they totaled out my 95' V6 Camry
(broadside hit with uni-body/frame damage) was in the 80% range.

 

Honestly no one wants to see their brand new Maxima in that condition but it looks just like body damage, I don't see anything that looks like actual structural integrity with the body or engine trans, and the front wheels look fine, what I would do is speak with the body shop guy/owner, especially whoever worked on your car, ask them what they think about the damage, keep it or look it trading it.

With your car having 4500 on the clock, and the estimate being so high it probably because they are only putting new parts on the car, if your car was say 5 years old with 60k and it had body damage like that then they look for used parts to keep the cost down and prevent from totaling the car, but then again that is why I go to the bigger and larger well know body shopsand avoid the back alley ones who keep the customers looked out of the shop

Since the front end is being repairs you should get the stillen lip thrown on

 

I got a copy of the damage analysis so i know that they aren't using all Nissan parts. They told me that some are pulled from damaged cars and some aren't Nissan parts at all. I was actually really surprised by this, because the car is a Lease. I specifically requested that the car be towed to the repair shop affiliated with the dealership that I bought it from, because 1. I wanted to be sure that it was a nissan approved shop and 2. I thought I might have a better chance of the repairs being completed correctly.

I have asked that they use Nissan parts but they told me I have no say in that. Can I still push this? On friday they told me that they have to take the engine out to repair the car and are in the process of completing a tear down to check for additional damage including the motor mounts. (I'm not sure what that means.)

If they total the car, can I still ask for damages?

 

don't want to sound like a clueless girl, so many people say it's a lot of body damage. but when I look at the "damage analysis" I see a lot of items like "radiator support" and "engine cradle" and I don't know what that means.

Also, what is the difference between a "grille w/o sport package" and one with one. Does anyone have one? I feel dumb, But I have the SV w/ the sport package. So should I have the grille with the sport package?

It's like how the features of the car section lists cloth seats and no sun roof and doesn't really list all of the extra features...(which I HAVE) I don't know If I should be making an issue of this... but if it's totaled how will I get all of the value?

I just want my car at 100%, I feel like things aren't right and I don't know what to do. I'm sorry.

 

I don't know those differences really well, sorry, I'm still fairly new here. Hopefully someone can give you a good answer. I feel so bad for ya. I've never been in a wreck, and I can't even IMAGINE how sick it would make me feel to see my car smashed up. Good luck with the repairs, glad you're being smart about it and double checking on the details.

 

If its a lease then who cares -- just drive it and turn it in at the end of the lease. If the car info on the repair order is wrong then let them know (not showing the sport pkg when you actually have it)

Check your lease terms or ask your dealer -- you might have to notify them of the accident and they may want to do an inspection of the repair

If you paid your deductible and your insurance co. is fixing the car then you'll have to agree to the parts that they use (whatever's in your policy contract). If the other insurance co. is covering the repairs directly then you can ask for OEM parts (if you alrdy authorized the repair with non-OEM parts then its probably too late)

Not sure if you can get DV on a lease -- search the thread I linked to (most likely not since you don't own the car, the leasing co. does)

 

Two things:

1)
The damage has to come into play for the lease in some form. Maybe there's a big fee you have to pay even though the accident wasn't your fault. You might want to look into your lease contract. Part of the reasons leases work out is because the car had only one owner and has low miles etc. I would imagine there's a big fine you would have to pay cause they can't waste their time suing the person who is at fault. Formerly leased cars end up as certified pre-owned and go for the highest re-sale value. This car won't go for much. YOU'RE LEASING COMPANY WON'T TAKE THAT LOSS. They will likely pass it to you. I don't know but maybe that money you get for the depreciation will go straight to the leasing company(but since you're kind of renting the car you probably aren't directly entitled to it). Well you signed a lease i hope you don't end up needing a lawyer....

2)
The warranty on that car is voided... That is a big deal. Is that calculated into the loss?

 

I think your worrying to much, the shop your at should put the car back together like new, you mentioned they are using used parts and aftermarket parts, no big deal, insurance companies have many 7th gens that are totalled and they have to do something with all the useable parts

A radiator support is a bracket that hold the radiator, and the engine cradle is probably the front subframe that hold the engine, an arm could of got damaged in the accident and they replace the entire thing.

Don't worry about whats worded on the repair sheet, its a word game as you can see.

Try to relax, its a lease, at the end of the lease you return the car and walk away, they don't make you pay any fines

Whats the name of the body shop, put them into google, see what people say about them, good reviews may make you feel better

 

These are structural parts of the car. In most cases, they are bolted to the structure of the car and can be removed and replaced when damaged. The cost of parts and the labor to tear down and replace are all in your estimate.

 

[QUOTE=Ali Graves;8587315]I was in an accident a little over a week ago. I was crossing an intersection at about 45mph. A car going in the opp. direction decided to turn left (he claimed he didn't see me) I tried to stop but I couldn't in time and I hit him. ..

My son has a similar accident, The engine was moved on its mount, so I was fairly sure it was totaled but it took the insurance company another 4 weeks of bickering with the repair people, before they finally agreed. In the long run it cost the insurance company more money because of storage charges. Both air bags went off (he had strapped a gallon of nitro fuel for his R/C car in the passenger seat). He was unscathed. It was probably a 55-60 mph impact. As it happened, it was a new 2001 Maxima that I really didn't like.

I would look closely at where the engine really is as it appears from the pictures that it also has moved, meaning unknown structural damage.

 

^^^ What he said.

 

i say part it out.. i call dibs on a few items!!

 

Estimating repair damage is not the fully developed science it should be. Around 13 years ago, one of my wife's trucks was turned over by a Suburban which ran a red light and broadsided her truck while the Suburban driver was on her phone. The dealer's repair shop estimated $4K damage. That was on Jan 7. She got the truck back June 17, and the dealer's repair man estimated they had spent over $15K repairing that truck.

Granted, the repair shop was having difficulty, and went through three shop managers during that time, and a drive-by shooting took the windshield and door windows out during the night on a holiday weekend while the truck was parked on their lot and a downpour meant replaced upholstery and carpeting. And the frame had to be straightened three times. And they had to repaint the entire truck. And they mounted the wrong color STX panel-type stripes (at $675 a set). And they mounted the second set of panel-stripes crooked.

My wife picked the truck up half a dozen times, only to have to take it back for repairs that had been either overlooked or done wrong (like neither power window worked, the foglights shorted out and fried the cable, the truck 'crabbed' when viewed from behind, the wrong bedrails had been installed, the wheel well molding had been left off, the rain guards had not been replaced, the steering wheel had lost its 'centering' function, and once a turn was complete, the driver had to force the steering wheel back to center, etc, etc. My wife insisted that the truck be absolutely right.

Believe it or not, my wife ended up driving that truck commuting in Atlanta rush hour traffic for five more years after that repair, and then gave it to our son, who also drove it in Atlanta rush hour traffic eight more years until earlier this year, when another truck hit him from behind and totalled it with 264K on the odo.

The lesson here? Make them repair your Maxima exactly right, even if it takes them five months. DO NOT sign off on the repair job until you have tested everything on the car.

 

Ali Graves take a look at this, similar damage, make sure you scroll through and see the completed fix car

http://forums.maxima.org/6th-generat...en-person.html

 

Damn looks bad. I hope you were ok. If i were you I'd get rid of the max if the insurance company wont count it as totaled. The reason for that is that from here on out the car will keep on breaking down. Im not sure about the maxima tranny but I used to have an 09 murano and after getting a front collision which was as half as bad, my tranny went in about 4 months. I heard similar things from maxima users so yea think about it.

 

In 09 i had a car hit me on my 07 max, left front wheel,Being it was only 2 yrs old, there was no aftermarket parts puit on the car, The cost started out at around $4500 but ended up almost $9000 due to the damage found on tear down,ended up a new LF assy, fender,light,control arm, driver door outer panel. TOTALED a 09 Corolla,

 

87 days later I got my car back... The total cost for repairs was 23k. I was $500 short from a total. (minus the 9700 salvage) I have mixed feelings. My rental car was a Infiniti FX35 and I have to be honest. I think the maxima was a better car. I don't know the correct car terms. But the power wasn't there in the Infiniti, the speaker system was not as good, the trunk space was smaller even the dash board set up seemed...less impressive... I though maybe i'd hyped my car up in my head but no... I feel like the maxima just responds better to me, so I am happy to have my car back. I drove it around for about two hours and It seems to be like it was before the accident. But I can't help but wonder if it's really fixed you know?

On a side note, at one point they almost did total it and I did learn that if it's totaled I'll get about 4k after the payoff. so that would be nice for a down payment on a 2013! However, I don't know if I could go through another day of Insurance drama.

 

Just a suggestion, and if you don't mind, you can post what was replaced/repaired so we can offer some advice or tips, and then you can check it out.

Anyways, glad you got your car back! Drive it for a few days in normal conditions, as you will, and I'm sure you'll learn to love it and trust it again.

 

Had a similar thing happen to me a couple years ago. I rear ended someone abd it only looked like I needed a new front bumper and airbags...once the estimate came back...over $11,000.00. Didnt want to drive it anymore. But after a while, that wore off, and it was like nothing happened.






Good to see your alright though man

 

sheeesh thats not good i hope you ok

 

looking at it I am almost certain your front frame is bent somewhere. How bad? its only known once its completely torn down and if they know where to look for it or if they even try to look for frame damage. Looks like ur paasenger side sustained the most impact.