The first three months as a new owner of a used FX were great!!!

T

thumper300zx

Member
Location
Utah
Car
2003 FX35
....the fourth month, well, not as good.

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Two lanes about to enter an intersection in pretty heavy traffic -- guy to the left and ahead of me was going quite slow, flipped blinker, so I slowed down and let him in, gave distance. He starts to speed up and as he's going through the intersection he had to hit the brakes as traffic was backing up. I had plenty of room, slowed down and stopped behind him. Tick...tick...bam!!!!! Guy/kid in a truck behind me. I think he might've done a quick lane switch behind me since the left lane was slower, and then just started accelerating without looking forward. His lights lit up my mirrors kind of suddenly, and I looked in my rear mirror and thought "he can't stop". He hit me hard enough it launched me into the car ahead. Cop didn't even take a written report. Blamed it on the truck. I also have video footage (forward) because I've had a dash cam running in my car for about a year.

So yeah -- totally sucks. The guy in front of me explained he had just picked up his car at a rental place 5 minutes before this and of course had just denied the insurance :P But he doesn't have to worry either (they said he has to pay for the fix, but will get reimbursed by the other guy's insurance). And why did he have a rental? Two days before, his wife was at a four way stop and started to go through after her stop -- a guy in a small rig ran the stop sign because he was looking at his GPS and he t-boned her. She was fine, but car was totaled.

So no worries -- everyone was fine. It's just the inconvenience (for me), the fact my car will never be like it was, and bad news for the kid's parents. Looked up some of the parts already -- yikes. This ain't gonna be cheap. I'd guess $5-$6K. Rear gate is $1000, bumper and bumper cover about $700 -- both sides where the bumper connects to the quarter panels is smoothly bent (not crushed; paint looks ok, but might need to be straightened and painted). The hatch doesn't sit flush, so the hinges and hood could be flexed, as well as the deck of the trunk space.
 
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Ouch... sorry to see but glad you are okay. Keep us posted on the repairs. Maybe insurance can cut you a check for a new exhaust (cough invidia cough) as well :tongue:
 
He he -- I don't know exactly what rules/protocols these places have to follow, but I think the exhaust is ok. If not, stock exhaust would definitely cost more than aftermarket.
 
Glad to hear your fine. I just got my FX out of the paint shop for front end damage. I made them repaint after the first attempt looked like UPS brown. It sux to see your FX all busted up, hope all ends well.
 
That's a downer man. Check for possible frame damage. You can do all cosmetic repairs but your car will not ride the same way again if you have undetected frame damage.


Sent from my iPhone
 
Yeah, it got jolted pretty hard, but don't know if the frame will factor in. Got the back/bottom and just shoved everything upward.

Not feeling anything funny in driveability, but exhaust is getting sucked in through the rear hatch :P

I just hate knowing, as you said, it will never be perfect again...no matter what they do, I'm gonna be at a net loss.
 
Got a call from the body shop finally -- after three weeks. Liberty Mutual (the other guy's insurance) has been HORRIBLE to work with. Don't know if I'm just working with a crappy agent or what. I should've just gone through my insurance (USAA) and had it all done.

$8500 estimated damage. Likely totaled. They're definitely gonna screw me over. Any advice out there?
 
$8500 in damage?? is the frame bent? dang... sorry man... hopefully others with body shop experience can chime in
 
pmanliu said:
$8500 in damage?? is the frame bent? dang... sorry man... hopefully others with body shop experience can chime in
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The hatch itself, new, is like $1500. Labor, paint, etc...goes up fast. I estimated at least $5-$6K. Not surprised by $8500.

I did FINALLY get a call from the other insurance with the decision during my lunch hour -- they are going to repair in full. Whew.
 
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Hope for the best, don't accept anything less than perfect, document everything. Hopefully it won't get ugly but nobody wants to pay money for repairs......if you have a solid shop they'll take care of you.
 
Logan said:
Hope for the best, don't accept anything less than perfect, document everything. Hopefully it won't get ugly but nobody wants to pay money for repairs......if you have a solid shop they'll take care of you.
Click to expand...

Yeah -- it's just amazing how quickly a perfectly drivable car because valueless. My insurance is saying total loss. I can take $11,150 + fees (sales tax, registration fees, etc, making it about $12,000), pay off the $7000 remaining on the car, and run. I can also buy back the car for $1500, but it has at least $8500 in repairs (assuming everything is done the way they would do it).

The liable insurance is saying they will fix it, but if more damage is found, they can come back and say totaled.

You could get in this car and drive it where ever you want and would never know it was hit, minus the fact the hatch doesn't shut so it sucks in some fumes and won't hold cabin temperature. And it's worth $1500.
 
Hope you'd get the best resolution possible. Keep us posted.

BTW, based on your posts here, it sounds to me you are taking it in stride and projecting a positive outlook on the whole situation. That's a good mind set to have on an otherwise bad situation.

Good luck man.


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