Khar

I have a major problem on my hands, today I was at work driving and it was raining all hell, and I was driving through an apartment complex and couldn't see worth ****. And because of such I didn't see a curbed area jutting out and I hit it pretty much dead on at around 20mph. It didn't hit any part of my car just the front driver side wheel. As a result of the hit, which was pretty hard the wheel shifted back about 2 inches(only stopped by the back of the wheel well). At first I thought I bent the axel or something, but my dad thinks that the whole controller arm is bent up and will probably need to be replaced. The car was a 1993 Nissan Maxima GXE, if anyone could tell me if this sounds repairable without getting a new controller arm and whatnot and about how much this whole procedure would cost at Midas.

arrow96

From the sound of your discription, you have some serious damage. Control arm could be bent or broken, strut could be bent. The wheel/tire may be toast. Really hard to tell without seeing it. I would steer clear of Midas for these kinds of repairs. Someplace that does lots of suspension/alignment work would be where I would take it. Once you find out what parts are required, you may save some $$$ by going to a junk yard. Your Nissan dealer will hose you...

NightRider

iTrader: (6)

I happen to be a Manager at a Midas service centers.

* To Khar: Midas can handle that kind of job, however the parts markup is pretty big. You'll still come off cheaper than the dealer. If its just the control arm assembly, you'll be looking at around $450 to replace parts and labor. However its better to take it to a Midas first and let them look over the car to give you a better idea of what you'll be working with. We offer free estimates, so you don't necessarily have to get the work done there, but it will give you a ball park of what needs to be fixed, and how much it will cost. I wish you the best of luck at where ever you go and I'm sorry that this had to happen to you.

Frank Fontaine

I believe the prices are negotiable at Midas too, so you can shop around (well maybe this car can't be driven). I remember with the Volvo needed the pipe in front of the cat all the way to the motor. Midas told me it would be about $350 for the pipe alone, plus labor. When I said no, they said how about if we cut out the rusted part and put a new flange, which cost about $80 total. You can't negotiate with the dealer, but you can cut-out a 20% off parts/labor coupon to at least get a tiny discount. Usually they'll limit the value of the coupon to $200 so if your work were over a grand, you're not gonna continue to get 20%.

I dunno, a 20 mph impact is pretty hard. You may want to consider an auto recycler since the car is about 10 years-old. I don't know where you live but sometimes in the boonies you can get crazy-cheap prices (like Saratoga NY or Rutland VT).

Blu

iTrader: (63)

shouldn't the airbag deploy if the wheels shift backwards??

Khar

Thanks for the input guys, I just got a call from Midas this morning and the technician said it would be at least 1000 dollars and depending on if some bearings are bent it could be another 500 or so, and even then they arn't sure the alignment will be ok again. I'm thinking of going to one of those places that gives you like a fraction of the car is worth and doing whatever they do with it, or trying to sell it. The car is in pretty good condition other than the wheel issue With a newly rebuilt transmission and a new K&N Aircharger air filter. It is drivable so I may go shop around some and see what I can drum up. And thank god the airbags didn't deploy I would definatly be SOL then.

95emeraldgxe

not necessarily -i had a 95, i screwed up the axles during an accident and the airbags didnt deploy

00Semaxi

the same thing happend to my 4th gen, I ended up paying 1200 to get it fixed. I know you will need a new control arm and strut ect.. I know it sucks, but it happens.

Jeff92se

iTrader: (82)

Ok a real answer. The airbags are deployed when the sensors detect a very large rate of decleration. The sensors are mounted in the front bumper(and maybe in back). So if you decelerate the car quick enough, it might deploy the airbag. But the decel rate is so high that most likey a collision is the only thing that would trigger it(them)

speedtrip

The impact sensors for the air bag(s) are located in the front bumper.

korupter

it's funny how people don't want their air bags to de[ploy beause of the cost of repairing them, yet they are there to save lives supposidly

Khar

I got the estimate in this morning, it is going to be around 1900 at Midas They want to charge me almost 400 bucks for 1 wheel...So I'm going to try to get one of those on my own, that should save some money. I'm gonna goto a junk yard and see what I can scrounge up to cut costs. I'm also going to shop around some and see if I can get a better quote...If anyone has or knows somebody that has 93 or 3rd gen GXE wheels. They are Aluminum Spoked wheels. My car isn't here right now so I can't tell you which exactly. I would like to pay under 100 bucks for one if possible. Thanks for any help you can offer.

Khar

Well I hit a curb, not much of a chance of my life being in danger. If I was in a situation where an airbag would be needed then yes I would want it to deploy.