[aidan80]

I unfortunately was in a fender bender. My drivers seat was replaced with a used part and I'm curious as to where it came from. The body shop insists it's from a 2009 but the seat has quite a bit of wear and just appears older. The body shop is dodging my questions as to what car the seat was sourced from and the junk yard is telling me they can't tell me the vehicle it came from as it's "against the law". I smell a big dirty rat and I want to expose it and get what was broken, a new seat.

Are these seats stamped with a VIN, serial number or other feature to identify them? If I can track it back to the car it was installed in I can at least get a carfax and see how many miles this seat has seen before it got put in my car.

 

[JoshG]

That's weird man. I'm guessing your seat airbag went off when you got hit?

 

[aidan80]

That's weird man. I'm guessing your seat airbag went off when you got hit?

No the airbag didn't deploy. The issue is my insurance company refuses to replace the seat with a new one. They paid for a used seat from a car in the junk yard, I got a junk yard seat in place of a near new seat. The junk yard seat feels older, has a lot of wear on it and creaks/groans when sitting in it. It just feel different and when reclining it.. it has no where near the same tension as my original seat.

My concern is safety, it's safe to assume this seat came from a car that was totaled. Would you feel safe sat in that? That's the point I'm trying to make to the insurance company. If I can prove this is an old seat that's seen a ton of miles plus was in a proper wreck then I've a better case for a proper replacement.

 

[JoshG]

Why was it replaced though? What was wrong with the seat the car came with?

 

[aidan80]

I was hit in the the rear with enough force to break the seat and give me some whiplash. I requested the seat be repaired and ended up with used junk. I want the junk pulled and a new seat installed which is why I'm fighting the insurance company.. my insurance company that will claim the money back anyway from the at fault driver.

 

[JoshG]

Oh ok, makes sence dude. At the end, your insurance is getting their money back so they should replace it.

 

[APLPIX]

There should be some manufacturer serial number on it, look all over the seat, bound to be something to help.

 

[aidan80]

Exactly my insurance will get their money back no matter what. If I don't get a resolution to the issue I'll buy a new seat and have it installed then demand to be refunded the costs. They'll deny it I'm sure. The old seat if it comes to that I'll have stripped down and identified. There has to be something on it to ID it. I just don't want to tear it apart now unless I know where to look as I need something to sit in.

If it comes to it I'll direct my lawyer to demand invoices and all documentation relating to repairs on my vehicle from the body shop. I don't want to go that route I just want my seat replaced but I've got some serious run around from the body shop and the junk yard as to where the parts came from vs my insurance stating new parts be used apart from the seat. Insurance also states the frame was "Buckled" body shop denies any frame damage and their bill shows no mention of labor or frame repairs.

Maybe I'm being paranoid but things just don't fully add up and that could be, because I don't have all the information at hand and I'm getting suspicious because no one seems to answer my questions at the body shop.

 

[Mogh]

Call and complain to the insurance company. Keep demanding to go up the chain until you are satisfied. They are charging you full price every month for replacement parts. Ridiculous.

BTW, what insurance is this? I'll be sure to stay away from it.

 

[Miguel]

First of all I hope you are ok health wise after your car incident. I hate to be the dark cloud in all this but, take a close look at your insurance policy. Insurance co. have a way to sneak in there that if there is ever the need to replace a part, this part can be replaced with an "as new" or "reconditioned" part. I am telling you this because this has happened to a lot of my friends and the company is totally in the right to replace your broken part with one or several of these "as new" parts".

 

[aidan80]

Call and complain to the insurance company. Keep demanding to go up the chain until you are satisfied. They are charging you full price every month for replacement parts. Ridiculous.

BTW, what insurance is this? I'll be sure to stay away from it.

Thanks I'll do my best but I honestly expect them to wriggle out of it. It's annoying considering I'm paying them every month thinking I'm covered. This is with State Farm and once I'm done with this and get all my deductibles back from the at fault party I'm changing to another company.

 

[aidan80]

First of all I hope you are ok health wise after your car incident. I hate to be the dark cloud in all this but, take a close look at your insurance policy. Insurance co. have a way to sneak in there that if there is ever the need to replace a part, this part can be replaced with an "as new" or "reconditioned" part. I am telling you this because this has happened to a lot of my friends and the company is totally in the right to replace your broken part with one or several of these "as new" parts".

Thanks for asking. I understand what you're saying. They've given me the "replacement part in like condition" speech that could be used, reconditioned or new. Essentially which ever part is cheapest. I honestly don't expect them to just give me a new seat without some effort on my part which is why I'd like to identify the old seat which will be an uphill battle. But I'm willing to try I've nothing to lose and a new seat to gain lol

Apart from the used seat I really don't know now if the other parts fitted to my car are new or used at this point and that is something I now need to know. My insurance estimate stated new parts to be used apart from the "recycled" junk yard seat. The reason for my suspicions is the body shop has sworn time and again that there was no frame damage at all to the car.. none. I had it appraised today and they found it was clamped and had frame damage repaired but no frame damage is listed in the title? My insurance estimate lists there was 4 hours applied to the frame but nothing on anything from the body shop about the frame?

Honestly I'm disgusted at how they've applied a $ amount and the lowest amount possible to this vs what is right and what should be done. In the grand scheme of things there's probably not a lot I can do. I mean it's not like I bought a very expensive car. This whole process has knocked a good $3,000 - $3,500 off the value of my car should I sell or trade it in. Plus this raises the question in my mind.. if I were hit again from behind would these repairs protect me the same way a new car would?

 

[Versa S 2009]

Call the dealer, and ask them if there is a number on the seats, and where it's located. that should help you out.

 

[aidan80]

Call the dealer, and ask them if there is a number on the seats, and where it's located. that should help you out.

I'll give that a go when I ask for a quote on a new seat, thanks. I hadn't asked the dealer just yet because the body shop knows exactly where that seat came from. In fact the VIN to the car it was pulled from is on the invoice from the junk yard! I just don't understand what they are hiding I can only assume since I was told the seat came from a 2009 that in fact it didn't.. maybe it was a 2006 or 2007 seat. That would account for the amount of wear on it but would also expose a lie.

 

[aidan80]

Well I finally got some information and got the VIN for the seat. The VIN shows the seat came from a 2009 1.6 BASE. The car was driven only 6 months before being declared a total loss. The vehicle had just over 9,000 miles on it when it bit the dust.

I'm honestly shocked, that seat felt flat vs my seat and the amount of wear on it plus the difference in plastics made me think this was quite used. Does the 1.6 use different materials, plastics than the 1.8? I suppose I need to give up on the idea I can get a new seat. Ah well.. at least I tried. I'm now stuck with a crappy seat.

 

[robj80]

my 1.6 seat looks and feels exactly like the non sl seats. I was in a couple of Versa's at the dealership and I didn't notice any difference at all. My seat has 64k miles on it and doesn't appear worn or flat in anyway.

 

[aidan80]

my 1.6 seat looks and feels exactly like the non sl seats. I was in a couple of Versa's at the dealership and I didn't notice any difference at all. My seat has 64k miles on it and doesn't appear worn or flat in anyway.

Thanks for letting me know. I've never been in a 1.6 before so I wasn't sure if they had different materials, plastics or less padding etc. I did originally want a 1.6 but they couldn't seem to find a black one with ABS and a 5 speed gearbox. If I wanted A/C I was forced to take an automatic if I remember right.

Anyway that seat they put in was very flat and just looked very worn. I don't understand that for a 6 month old vehicle (the seat came from) but some people I suppose are hard on their cars. Now I've got an abused seat in my car and little option but to accept it as I have nothing to leverage the insurance company with.

My car has just hit 16,400 and the other seats still look/feel near new. I will say they did strip down the replacement seat and put all my materials on it's frame. Maybe I'm just being picky but it's just not the same anymore.