[nissanversa08]

Hey guys,

My vehicle was rear ended in traffic a couple weeks ago, and I'm trying to determine if I have frame damage and how repairable such damage is.

The rear bumper and hatchback door will clearly need to be replaced. Additionally, the portion (which I think is part of the frame) around the hatch door is bent and the door will not completely shut. Does anyone have a rough idea of how much something like this would cost to fix, and is it really possible to repair the frame(?) to it's factory condition? I am worried that a "fix" could leave me with a door that never really shuts as well as pre-accident and will not make a truly watertight seal.

I will try to get some good pictures of the damage when it is daylight outside.

Although my car still runs, my engine now makes a weird crunching/grinding sound when first accelerating. Does anyone have a clue as to what could be causing this?

Edit: Does anyone have any advice on how to prove a vehicle's diminished value due to an accident, even when the car has been repaired?



...Yes, I'm still dealing with the at-fault party's insurance company.

 

[Versa12]

It is impossible to estimate the cost of an accident by simply reading....even with pictures it is nearly impossible.

Body shops are able to bend back "frames" but the cost can be quite expensive to say the very least. Depending how bad the damage is, it most likely will be totaled if there is frame damage and your vehicle has high mileage.

This is simply a theory, but if you were rear ended and your exhaust has been hit, it could be hitting/rubbing on something if it got shoved forward/up.

No point in trying to get estimates now - the body shop will take it apart and let you know.

 

[08versailles]

My Altima was rear ended a month ago. Ins rep upon first contact asked if we had trouble opening any doors, which one did. She said it will likely be written off. Then ultimately that's what took place.
So my guess is it's the end of the road for the V.
The at fault ins co paid my deductible too of course.
How are you doing, you okay?

 

[robj80]

hatch won't shut and the engine makes noise now? I would be praying the insurance company is cutting me a check if this were me. And I would be doing everything in my power to make sure they do.

 

[gapperguy]

I was rear ended a little over a year ago. The guy who hit me looked and said he did not see damage. I saw scrapes on the bumper. Anyways, it ended up being $500 to fix and the guy's insurance company paid the bill. The body shop did a great job. Accidents happen so no need to get upset. I got rear ended a few years earlier by a woman without insurance. Ended up paying to fix it myself with my insurance company as she claimed she had no money. Figures.

 

[2013Versa]

It pays to have underinsured and uninsured coverage on your policy. I've been hit twice by people who figured they could get away with it by running. One got caught, the other didn't. My insurance paid for my repairs both times and went after the other driver by various means. If I hadn't been covered, I would have had to deal with him myself and that would have sucked so bad. He was a tweaker and it would have been an exercise in futility for me.

 

[nissanversa08]

Since the time change, it's been too dark by the time I've gotten home to take some decent pictures of the damage and my weekends have been kind of busy.

Anyway, I was finally able to take a few pictures showing the damage (see attached). What do you guys think about repairability--mainly in regards to the bent portions around the hatch?

The Statefarm agent "thinks" the repairs for the damages will only be $2159. Of course his estimate is way below the estimate of the Nissan body shop, but I did not expect an insurance agency to come up with a realistic first number.

Negotiations with the insurance company are still under way...

So far it's a pain dealing with these guys, and I can't imagine the hassle they will try to give me when I try to claim diminished value (allowable as per Louisiana state law) after the vehicle has been repaired.

 

[nissanversa08]

Two more .

 

[Royzacsdad]

Do your back doors open and shut okay? I could have pushed everything forward.

 

[nissanversa08]

Do your back doors open and shut okay? I could have pushed everything forward.

I don't recall having any trouble shutting the 2 rear doors, but I also didn't think to check that. I'll go ahead and give it a test tomorrow.

Thanks for the tip.

 

[2013Versa]

I've had bad experiences with State Farm. They have a rep for trying to get by with shoddy replacement parts and underestimating the extent of the damage by using shortcuts - basically pressing for a superficial cover-up repair while ignoring structural issues that they hope will never be revealed. I've had paint start flaking off of a VW three years after a SF repair because the body shop took shortcuts that VW didn't.

That looks to me like about $4,000 to $4,500 in damage, not $2,159. A mere R&R on a fender will be $2,000 at a reputable shop and you have damage to the body if the hatch won't close, there's no way the latch area and under body pan had no damage at all after that one, state farm is hoping the body shop will 'adjust' the latch & hinges (weld or bolt them down somewhere other than exactly where Nissan did at the factory) to make the hatch shut, which will mean rattles & mega-leaks in the first bad rainstorm.

You might need to have your own insurance look at the car and make a counter-estimate that'll have their legal force behind it rather than some independent shop without any clout. If State Farm disagrees with it, it'll go through arbitration, but the worse thing that'll happen is that they'll rule against you and you'll have to let SF repair it at whatever they will pay.

You'll really need that diminished value compensation, really low offers on a trade will happen when the dealer runs a Car-Fax on it...or they might even refuse the trade. I had that one happen at the Hyundai dealer when I tried to trade my 2010 Accent in on a newer one after it was repaired, that's why I have my Versa.

 

[nissanversa08]

I've had bad experiences with State Farm. They have a rep for trying to get by with shoddy replacement parts and underestimating the extent of the damage by using shortcuts - basically pressing for a superficial cover-up repair while ignoring structural issues that they hope will never be revealed. I've had paint start flaking off of a VW three years after a SF repair because the body shop took shortcuts that VW didn't.

That looks to me like about $4,000 to $4,500 in damage, not $2,159. A mere R&R on a fender will be $2,000 at a reputable shop and you have damage to the body if the hatch won't close, there's no way the latch area and under body pan had no damage at all after that one, state farm is hoping the body shop will 'adjust' the latch & hinges (weld or bolt them down somewhere other than exactly where Nissan did at the factory) to make the hatch shut, which will mean rattles & mega-leaks in the first bad rainstorm.

You might need to have your own insurance look at the car and make a counter-estimate that'll have their legal force behind it rather than some independent shop without any clout. If State Farm disagrees with it, it'll go through arbitration, but the worse thing that'll happen is that they'll rule against you and you'll have to let SF repair it at whatever they will pay.

You'll really need that diminished value compensation, really low offers on a trade will happen when the dealer runs a Car-Fax on it...or they might even refuse the trade. I had that one happen at the Hyundai dealer when I tried to trade my 2010 Accent in on a newer one after it was repaired, that's why I have my Versa.

Thanks for the response.

I chose to go with the Nissan collision center. Thankfully we are allowed to choose the repair center, by law, even if it is not (and this collision center was not) on State Farm's "approved" list.

It looks like the collision center requested and was approved for an extra ~$800 in supplemental damages bringing the total to around $3000 (for body work). I'm still quite disappointed with the whole experience thus far. I told the repair center to contact me if supplemental work was required, which they never did. I had to go into the shop to find out. I really wanted to be there when the adjuster came by to see my car because I am worried one or both of these companies are trying to screw me around and use shoddy parts and/or not fully repair the vehicle to it's pre-crash condition.

With damages totaling around $3000, that is a good chunk of what my car was worth. On KBB, it was valued around $5500 trade-in/$6500 private party and somewhat comparable cars in the area with the same mileage/year were selling for $8000-9000. And actually, most of these were S models and not the SL.

I do plan to claim for diminished value, but from what I've read I need to wait until the repairs are complete in case the repair was done poorly, further diminishing the value of the car. Do you mind if I ask how you went about claiming diminished value and if you start a new claim? Also, how did you prove how much its value has diminished? I think that is going to be the difficult part.

I was test driving a vehicle at the Honda dealership and was inquiring whether they accept trade-ins that had previously been in a wreck. He was telling me that if there was body damage, the then the title becomes a salvage title, and he said they pay very little for those vehicles since they supposedly can only sell them for very little at auction. I'm not sure if any of this is true, but can anyone chime in on the subject?


I also just checked the NADA estimate for an 08' Nissan Versa SL w/ 95k miles:
Rough Trade-In: $4,875
Average Trade-In: $5,825
Clean Trade-In: $6,575
Clean Retail: $8,900


Anyways, I'm currently renting an Impala, and while I normally dread driving them, I'm really impressed with the one I'm using now considering the mileage I'm getting with a 300hp V6. If the instantaneous fuel meter is to be believed, I'm getting upper 30s to lower 40s cruising at 70 depending on the atmospheric and road conditions.

 

[07Versa6MT]

It'll probably be totaled. Is that GM's new 3.6 in that rental car? They're good motors, almost identical to Chryslers new 3.6, new generation, better fuel economy.

 

[nissanversa08]

It'll probably be totaled. Is that GM's new 3.6 in that rental car? They're good motors, almost identical to Chryslers new 3.6, new generation, better fuel economy.

It is definitely being repaired with an estimated finish date of December 19th (tomorrow). Hopefully all goes well.

Yes, it's the new 3.6 as far as I can tell. After some searching it looks like that is the only model used in the 2013 model Impalas.

 

[Toogoofy317]

So, what ended up happening? Hate reading a thread that just ends with no resolution! >

Goofy