Brain child with a 40k+ Infiniti g35 coupe backs in to my 91 red SE takes out bumber, rear quarter pannel, tail light, trunk lid, ect. Said as he was backing up and saw the grey car but did see my until he heard metal scraping. Any way looks like it is going to be a fight with the insurance company to pay enough to get it repaired but at the same time not total it. Ok enough of the sob story. Looking for tail lights anybody seen any good looking modified ones out there? If I have to replace them might as well try and make a upgrade.

 

Haven't seen any, I like the 92-94 SE tail lights the most.

 

See if brain child wants to settle without insurance, and just pay you off. If he can't see people behind him in parking lots, sounds like his driving record and rates already suck. Maybe you've tried already, I dunno. If he's got a 40K G35, maybe he's got a 40k cheque book too.

 

Man it sucks that he backed into your Maxima. I can remeber when I backed into someone (with my max) I didn't see in a parking lot.. It was the first day of school and someone stopped infront of me so I started to back up so I could go around the guy(he was talking to someone) and while backing up I hit my friend who was right behind me in his F150... When I first looked back he wasn't there then I checked a few second later again but this time just in my rear view miror... well I saw nothing.. but that was because the way he pulled up behind me and I saw through his windshield and then out the back windshield... I didn't see the truck the glass belonged to (he was rather close) so the minute I eased out the clutch I slammed into his bumper and cracked the pas. tailight and center reflecter... Parking lots suck... good thing you have insurance

 

Hi....just in case you go for the OEM 89-91 SE tail lights, i have a like new complete set (including the center reflector piece) , i'm asking $80 shipped

 

Having your car "totalled" isn't always a bad thing. If the insurance company does total it, you have the right to buy it back from them for the salvage value. Usually, this is not much at all, especially for a car that old. You get a check for the value of your car, then buy it back for about 20% of that amount. You will have a title that indicates it was totalled, but you can clear that off by fixing it and having it inspected.

Generally, with a car this old, it's worth buying it back because the damage is mostly cosmetic, but costs enough to total it. If a newer car gets totalled, it usually has significant damage, possibly to the frame or engine. It doesn't sound like you'll have that problem.

You'll have at least $1500-$1800 in your pocket after the buy-back. That should be plenty to get the damage fixed. Remember, when the insurance adjustor inspects the car, he's required to sum up every single repair. This will include all the labor required to fix things like the damaged body, but also for things like replacing the bumper, replacing the tail-lights, etc. BUT, you can do the labor on most of these repairs. Pay someone to do the hard stuff, like the quarter panel and the painting, but do the rest yourself.

It's not the end of the world by a long shot. In fact, you may end up with a car that's nicer than you had before. Talk with the adjustor and/or his/your insurance company.

BTW, I also own a Red '91 SE.