A bit of a mis-hap yesterday... >:o(

[Electro]

Stop and go traffic yesterday... my lane stops suddenly, and i yank it into the lane to my left... only to see that this lane is stopped (i couldn't see past the truck in front of me) and so i continued to hit the brakes. I couldnt stop quick enough! Some how the brakes didnt stop my car as fast as it normally does.. anyways... i ended up grazing the car in front of me.. with my right front fender.

Didnt damage her car, only made slight friction marks on the corner of her bumper... wish i could say that about my fender! it buckled up and split on the apex of the wheel well and its pushed in right behind the orange corner lamp. The impact was REALLY low... more of just a slight bump really...

Is the aluminum of the NSX THAT fragile?!? it's REALLY thin material.. i didnt realize how thin the body panels are.

When i bought my nsx, i did notice that this body panel was not the original because it did not line up with where the front bumper and hood meet that fender. So maybe its just a cheap aftermarket fender that the previous owner put on there?? I really hope that this is the case and the NSX's body panels are a bit stronger than this.

Now a few questions:

Does anyone have any experience on how much a REAL from-the-factory front corner panel costs?

An insurance question: I gave the other driver my insurance information, and in the heat of the moment (i had people screaming obsenities at me from their cars rushing me) I didnt get her information so I cant contact her. We pretty much settled it there.. and she said she may as well take the info "just in case". Now since there is no police report, how do i claim this on insurance without getting into trouble?

Also, how do i find out if she has made a claim against me without raising any questions from my insurance company?

If i go to a parking lot and say it was a hit and run, and she files a claim, i'm screwed... so what other choices do i have?? I guess I'll have to pay it right out of my pocket... dammit.

Thanks for the help,

NSXJunkie

[This message has been edited by NSXJunkie (edited 19 April 2001).]

 

[nsxtasy]

Report it to your insurance company. Tell them exactly what happened. Let them handle it.

I really doubt that aftermarket body panels exist for a car with as low a volume as the NSX.

 

[Electro]

I dont need a police report??

 

[nsxman]

Sorry for your mishap.

Aluminum is a soft or a brittle metal depending on stress conditions. The damage you cite to the fender is normal for this material. On the other hand, the damage may be excessive for the stress (impact) the fender took. This would take a strength of materials engineer (not a body shop) to determine.

re: insurance company. Tell the truth. Do not let the regret of the accident cloud your vision. You still have a valuable asset and your financial reputation to protect.

 

[nsxman]

You can always go to a police station and give an ex post facto report.

 

[nsxman]

A final thought. You may wish to check the accident reporting requirements in your state. In Nevada, licensees are required to file an accident report if the damage exceeds $750. It appears your damage exceeds $750, so in Nevada, you are required to file a report within 10 days, whether the police investigated the accident or not.

The Nevada DMV investigates the accident and issues a determination as to who was at fault. So... if you are subject to the same reporting requirements and you do not do it, you may risk the loss of your license, and real trouble in the future getting your NSX insured. You may have to eat the expense of this repair, but it is less expensive, I can assure you, than the either of the above sanctions.

If the other driver files a report and you do not, I believe you can reasonably expect an unpleasant letter from your state's DMV.

 

[nsxtasy]

You can always go to a police station and give an ex post facto report.

True, and a good point.

You MAY be REQUIRED to file a police report. For example, it's required in Illinois if damage is above a certain dollar amount.

You can call the police in the town where the incident occurred to ask them whether it's required. Since you stopped to discuss it with the other car, they're not going to charge you with leaving the scene.

You don't necessarily need a police report in order to file an insurance claim. Again, it's best to discuss this aspect with your insurance company.

[This message has been edited by nsxtasy (edited 19 April 2001).]

 

[MWest]

I would talk to your insurance company. They ALWAYS treat you better if you're honest and prompt. A good insurance company is just trying to run a business, not screw you. This is from personal experience. Also I've found that having a good agent and a good relationship with that agent can expedite things. I've filed claims in the past and CNA didn't raise my rates. My 2 cents...good luck.

 

[rcarlos]

I was hit by a car last summer and at first agreed to settle privately for my damages.
The damages exceeded the initial estimate so now I am filing a claim against the other party. So if you pay for your fender yourself and the other party agrees that there is no damage to their car you are still not home free. Six months later they will come back to you with a claim saying their neck is killing them. File a police report and contact your insurance company.

 

[Electro]

I would find it hard to believe that anyone would believe the other party if they said they had neck pains from such a minor impact. I already talked to the insurance company, (progressive) and they said i dont need a police report to have a claim filled out. So, the adjuster came out, and gave me ~$1900 minus my $500 deductible.

Ah well...

Also, i went to Ed Voyles Acura in Chamblee, GA and they said it'd be about $7300 for a full re-paint job?? does this sound resonable?? They said they have to remove every body panel to paint each panel seperately.... this is even after getting a quote from a non-acura dealership telling me it'd be about $2500 for a full paint job... assuming they wouldnt remove all the body panels...

 

[Chris W]

Is it just me or am I missing something here?

How did we go from a damaged right front fender to having to have the entire car painted? If you plan on painting the entire car I would say $7300 is about right to do it the right way.

 

[nsxtasy]

It's not just you.

 

[Bucky]

I don't understand... this minor fender-bender.

 

[Electro]

Sorry for the confusion... what i meant was that if i was going to have my NSX in the body shop, i wanted to see how much it would be to get a full paint job done. Thats all... I just didnt want the body panels to not match as its a black 91... and its not exactly BLACK anymore... its somewhat faded into a really dark brown if you look at it closely under direct sunlight.

 

[nsxtasy]

A good body shop will match the color to the original paint.

Don't repaint the entire car. You are asking for trouble.

 

[Electro]

Well now that the car is in the bodyshop, they took the damaged fender off, and front bumper... REPAINTED the front bumper without stripping it first... and painted the new fender.

There were significant rock chips on the bumper in addition to the small area of scrapes on the right side caused by the accident. So they decided to just put a coat of paint over all of this rather than do it right by stripping it and painting it the correct way.

The insurance adjuster that works with that dealership was there, and he said that _I_ would have to be the one that pays to have it done right... that's, i'd have to pay to have it shipped off, stripped, primered, and shipped back b/c they dont do it there. That alone is $300. An additional $250 would be charged to me for parts and labor to paint it and put it back on the car.

!?!

!?!

How did i get into this situation?! I dont have another $500 dollars to shell out for this! I was even told previous to any of this that the bumper would be stripped before it was painted, i was certain to make sure of this.

The insurance company should be paying for this right???

 

[hejo]

Originally posted by NSXJunkie:
Well now that the car is in the bodyshop, they took the damaged fender off, and front bumper... REPAINTED the front bumper without stripping it first... and painted the new fender.

I'm not trying to make you feel any worse or more mad. I'd be calling my lawyer and have him review my policy because from my perspective this it total BS. If the insurance company isn't living up to the policy then a certified letter would be in the mail to the agent, adjuster and headquarters documenting the facts. If I got no response them I'd call the local media as to do this to a handmade exotic car is completely criminal.

------------------
Hal Jones
Lake Oswego, Oregon
95T Blk\Blk SportShift

 

[MICHAEL M]

...The Honda techs could probably help. see the NSXPO site for details. I live in Atlanta where were you driving? 285?

 

[Chris W]

Were you referred to this body shop or have you had work done there before?

I'm confused again. This so-called "body shop" was able to remove the bumper and fender, paint them, and reinstall them but they didn't have the means to strip the original paint from the parts? Where does this adjuster expect you to ship them to have them stripped, primered, and repainted? JAPAN? Someone is trying to bend you over on this one.

I know of a body shop like this one in my city and I can have an entire car painted in one day for $199. It's called Earl Scheib. I think I would have asked a few more questions and had something in writing in my hands before I ever handed them the keys to start the work. Word of mouth will never stand up in court if you decide to take it that far.

Let us know how this turns out.
Good Luck.

 

[Electro]

MICHAEL M, I was driving south on 85 just inside the perimeter at the time..

This is ED Voyles Acura in chamblee, GA... there is a body shop there. The reason I had to go there is b/c the insurance company and that dealership are in bed together. (apparently)

Here's the spill - They took the parts off the car, painted the new fender (looks good) and painted the front bumper over the damage that was there caused by the accident and the rock chips. The insurance adjuster that normally works with that dealership said that "It looks better now than what it did b4 we painted it - so you're going to have to pay for any more work done to this bumper... this is what we call 'resonable repair'.."

I had the body shop go ahead and do the work... so that we wont be wasting time... but there's no way i can pay for work that was said to be covered by the insurance company! by the way, this is PROGRESSIVE we're talking about... I've always had problems getting the right kind of repairs done to my car in situations like this... first time with dealing with them with an exotic car though...

They're going to get an ear full from me...

[This message has been edited by NSXJunkie (edited 26 April 2001).]

 

[Lud]

The insurance company does NOT have the right to tell you where you must have your car repaired. It sounds like the repair job is obviously not "reasonable," and telling you that you have to pay to have it shipped off to be stripped is absurd. I strongly suggest you to get legal council if they are going to jerk you around like this.

 

[justin hall]

Originally posted by NSXJunkie:
The insurance adjuster that normally works with that dealership said that "It looks better now than what it did b4 we painted it - so you're going to have to pay for any more work done to this bumper... this is what we call 'resonable repair'.."

...this is PROGRESSIVE we're talking about...

I had a very similar issue with progressive. I took a retread off a semi doing about 90 right in the front airdam. It damaged the lower spoiler all the way up the front stopping just short of the hood.

The front nose cone is plastic, and it was cracked, but progressive wanted it repaired instead of replaced. The lower spoiler had the curb damage you would expect on a lowered car, but it also cracked, they wanted to just put it back on because it showed damage pre incident.

My bodyshop had to fight tooth and nail with this ass hole progressive adjuster. he relented and wanted to compromise with reconditioned parts. after further delays we got all new acura parts. however, the fighting took over a week causing a delay in getting my car back. I am now an allstate customer.


------------------
Justin
'98 NSX-T Blk/Blk
· Comptech headers / exhaust / airbox
· Dali Racing / Brembo big brake kit
· Koni adjustable suspension w/Comptech springs and sway bars
· Volk TE-37 17/18” wheels
· Wings West side skirts and rear spats

 

[Electro]

Finally talked to one of the managers at progressive.... he said that he would talk to the first adjuster i talked to (who gave me the check and estimate while i was at work) and he will see what he can do to get AT LEAST a portion of the $1003.04 that it will cost to have the bumper stripped, primered, painted and mounted...

Oh yeah, despite the fact that i told the body shop to STOP all work until this bumper was stripped, they decided to go ahead and mount it back on the car. ARRRRG!!!!!

So we'll see how much I have to pay even though the first adjuster i talked to told me that the bumper would be stripped before it was painted... - i was certain to make sure of this b/c i knew it wouldnt look right if it werent stripped first.

The insurance company is saying that they can pay for a portion of the cost of doing this bumper the right way... but since there is "prior damage" (the rock chips) that they can ONLY pay for a portion.

The saga continues....

 

[G-man]

I don't know about you guys, but I really hate insurance companies. This sounds like just one of those times. I have paid insurance for more than 20 years now and have paid in over $50K in money and have only made 1 claim in 20 years. Granted, that one was for over $12K for flipping my BMW 325i Convertible, but hey, what the heck.

While I was lucky to survive that crash, I was even luckier that the accident damaged ever single piece of external body material EXCEPT the drivers door that was completely in tact. The BMW Dealer I went to REPLACED EVERY panel and stripped, primed and painted the entire car, even the drivers door.

For a localized accident like yours, you should be fine with a fender repaint, but you have to have the surface prepped right in order to make that happen. Also, depending on color, it can be really hard to match. I know that my Spa Yellow Pearl is a 4 stage paint process that is VERY expensive to redo. The normal colors might not be so bad.

Good luck with the insurance company. They are never easy to deal with, but if you are persistent, you have a right to have the work done correctly by the shop of your choice as long as the work is done responsibly and honesty. Good Luck.


------------------
Gordon G. Miller, III
2000 NSX-T #51 Yellow/Black

 

[nsxman]

What started out as -- being kind to you -- a reporting question, has become a nightmare.

It this reads like a flame, you deserve it.

First, are you familiar with pen and pencil? Where are your memos, letters, etc? And why the big rush? Accepting a check for your NSX damage at work! You got to be kidding.

My advice to you. Go get an education... Preferably from an attorney who has a solid respect for the law. Maybe he can give you the help you so sorely need.