****UPDATES AT THE END****


I thought some of you might be interested in seeing how this is done, so I am going to update this post as I document the repairs. If you are wondering why I am documenting the repairs, I am doing it for two reasons.

1 – To have a record of the accident and repairs made for any future problems.
2 – To have a record for any prospective buyers in the future when I sell it.

Total estimate of repairs to the Armada $15.3k…….. Total estimate to the 2004 Acura MDX she hit $2700 paid.

In April, I purchased this beauty.

http://www.theplaceholder.com/forums/imagehosting/24646f9dc60c5316.jpg

Last week, my wife did this to it;

http://www.theplaceholder.com/forums/imagehosting/24646f9d77621e36.jpg

http://www.theplaceholder.com/forums/imagehosting/24646f9d77629f15.jpg

http://www.theplaceholder.com/forums/imagehosting/24646f9d77626867.jpg

http://www.theplaceholder.com/forums/imagehosting/24646f9d7879d51f.jpg

As of today (10/04/2007) this is how it looks;

http://www.theplaceholder.com/forums/imagehosting/2464705a86e35c9d.jpg

http://www.theplaceholder.com/forums/imagehosting/2464705a85a1f9f3.jpg

http://www.theplaceholder.com/forums/imagehosting/2464705a85a23870.jpg

http://www.theplaceholder.com/forums/imagehosting/2464705a85a27301.jpg

As you can see, pretty much the entire front end has to be replaced, including the skirts. Some how, the engine and the frame were not hit.

I will take new pictures of the progress every 2 days and post them here.

i am very suprised that your ins. company did'nt total it out...good luck with the repairs, and i hope it drives the same after all of this work

i am very suprised that your ins. company did'nt total it out...good luck with the repairs, and i hope it drives the same after all of this work

As much as I would have liked for them to total it, all the damage is to "soft" parts. I.e. No engine, driveline, or frame damage.

Repairs are only at 15k, they would have to be at 65% of market value to be totaled, that would be $26k in repairs (Mkt value on it is $39.6k per what the ins co told me). Not gonna be able to find another $11k in repairs to get it totaled. :(

I'm in the insurance field and I would look at it and say no safety or major structural damage. It is definitely repairable. I would only advise to stay on top of your shop and make sure they warranty their work.

do you need and front end parts? I still have my fenders hood grille and headlights. LMK 817-477-3575

do you need and front end parts? I still have my fenders hood grille and headlights. LMK 817-477-3575

Thanks but no, Insurance has paid for all new parts. i saw the pile of parts (well, pile of Nissan boxes with parts in them) yesterday when I took the newest photos.

That looks like a good couple of hours work, plus paint. Are you doing this yourself?

That looks like a good couple of hours work, plus paint. Are you doing this yourself?

Nope, body shop is. 3-4 weeks is the estimate.

Great post 01SILVERGT. Great way to document the entire process. Thanks for posting and good luck. I know you will keep us updated.

I think the insurace company is pulling your leg. I have the same armada.. with 15K miles on it and the value is around $27K bucks used. Only reason i know is i tried to trade on a 08. Dealer told me the figure and iwas like you have lost your mind. Went back and looked it up,

2006 Nissan Armada LE Sport Utility 4D
Condition Value
Excellent $30,125
Good $28,485
Fair $25,590

I think they didnt want to buy you a new car.

I think the insurace company is pulling your leg. I have the same armada.. with 15K miles on it and the value is around $27K bucks used. Only reason i know is i tried to trade on a 08. Dealer told me the figure and iwas like you have lost your mind. Went back and looked it up,

2006 Nissan Armada LE Sport Utility 4D
Condition Value
Excellent $30,125
Good $28,485
Fair $25,590

I think they didnt want to buy you a new car.

Mine is an 07 w/ 4800 miles on it. Fully loaded. Anyhow, market value is not trade in value. Trade in on mine is (was) around 30-31k per the books. Now, having said that, dealers do not use NADA or KBB to get trade value, they use the Manheim auction reports for the area. These are updated weekly and give dealers an idea what a car sells for in the area.

.... Now, having said that, dealers do not use NADA or KBB to get trade value, they use the Manheim auction reports for the area. These are updated weekly and give dealers an idea what a car sells for in the area.
Even so, around here they still keep up to date on KBB and NADA in order to be able to deal since that's what we as customers use. Personally, I refuse to deal with people who aren't using numbers that I can easily access and are publicly available to me.

Even so, around here they still keep up to date on KBB and NADA in order to be able to deal since that's what we as customers use. Personally, I refuse to deal with people who aren't using numbers that I can easily access and are publicly available to me.

I wish that were true around here Pops, but I have found that a lot of times the Manheim report is usually between KBB and NADA.

I thought some of you might be interested in seeing how this is done, so I am going to update this post as I document the repairs. If you are wondering why I am documenting the repairs, I am doing it for two reasons.

1 – To have a record of the accident and repairs made for any future problems.
2 – To have a record for any prospective buyers in the future when I sell it.

Total estimate of repairs to the Armada $15.3k…….. Total estimate to the 2004 Acura MDX she hit $2700 paid.

In April, I purchased this beauty.

http://www.theplaceholder.com/forums/imagehosting/24646f9dc60c5316.jpg

Last week, my wife did this to it;

http://www.theplaceholder.com/forums/imagehosting/24646f9d77621e36.jpg

http://www.theplaceholder.com/forums/imagehosting/24646f9d77629f15.jpg

http://www.theplaceholder.com/forums/imagehosting/24646f9d77626867.jpg

http://www.theplaceholder.com/forums/imagehosting/24646f9d7879d51f.jpg

As of today (10/04/2007) this is how it looks;

http://www.theplaceholder.com/forums/imagehosting/2464705a86e35c9d.jpg

http://www.theplaceholder.com/forums/imagehosting/2464705a85a1f9f3.jpg

http://www.theplaceholder.com/forums/imagehosting/2464705a85a23870.jpg

http://www.theplaceholder.com/forums/imagehosting/2464705a85a27301.jpg

As you can see, pretty much the entire front end has to be replaced, including the skirts. Some how, the engine and the frame were not hit.

I will take new pictures of the progress every 2 days and post them here.

Dang! What I want to know how the heck did the MDX get away with $2700 worth of damage?????? do you have any pics of the MDX?

.... but I have found that a lot of times the Manheim report is usually between KBB and NADA.
That's good to know because that's what I usually expect. This is the SOLE reason that I've never bought a new Toyota.

you also cant always go by manheim... We have been the car business for 15 years on the whole sale side. we buy the cars for the auction and sale to the dealers.

Anyway it doesent really matter. I just think something is fishey about $15,500 bill for what little bit of damage you have.

Good luck with the process though. I have had a lot of cars fixed. if you do as you say and check in ever 2 days you will should be as good as new. The frequent stop by's will not give them time to cut corners.. Also dont tell them your comming. just show up.

if you do as you say and check in ever 2 days you will should be as good as new. The frequent stop by's will not give them time to cut corners.. Also dont tell them your comming. just show up.

Thats the truth...:D

Anyway it doesent really matter. I just think something is fishey about $15,500 bill for what little bit of damage you have.

Good luck with the process though. I have had a lot of cars fixed. if you do as you say and check in ever 2 days you will should be as good as new. The frequent stop by's will not give them time to cut corners.. Also dont tell them your comming. just show up.

I thought 15k was alot too, but I have reasearched the parts cost and they are charging State Farm retail for the parts (that I know they get a 30% discount on), not sure if SF really pays retail or not, but its right at 10.3k in parts and 5k labor. Really, i do not care how much it is b/c my insurance goes up for any payout over 1k, does not matter if its 1.1k or 100k, it goes up 10% on PIP, Collision, and one more no matter what.

I do stop by w/o telling them. Stopped by today, they have not done anymore than they had as of the last pics I posted. Will drop by again on Wed. and Friday, maybe on Thursday as well.

This is starting to piss me off. Six days and nothing has been done to it. Went by today and still sitting just as it is in the pics above. all parts are in (Including the chrome grill for an LE :D ), but they have not started putting it back together yet. :mad:

That stinks. I think the shop is trying to make a point - they don't like people checking up on them everyday. I can see their point, no one wants the boss looking over everything they do. But, you're the customer and you're paying so you'll have to figure this out. If you're worried that they're doing a hack job then take it somewhere else either now, or after they finish and have their work inspected. If you decide to leave it there I'd talk to the manager and get them back to work. You may have ticked them off and will need the insurance company to lean on them.

Good luck,
dan

That stinks. I think the shop is trying to make a point - they don't like people checking up on them everyday. I can see their point, no one wants the boss looking over everything they do. But, you're the customer and you're paying so you'll have to figure this out. If you're worried that they're doing a hack job then take it somewhere else either now, or after they finish and have their work inspected. If you decide to leave it there I'd talk to the manager and get them back to work. You may have ticked them off and will need the insurance company to lean on them.

Good luck,
dan

Oh, I'm not worried about it being a hack job, I just want to document everything. But I'm like that. They told me they have had some other smaller jobs come in that they could turn around fast, so they did them first. They said that once mine is in a bay, its going to be there about 1.5 weeks. I did talk to them today and they are waiting on two parts to get started.

Do you plan on keeping the Armada once it's fixed or trade it in?

Do you plan on keeping the Armada once it's fixed or trade it in?

That is yet to bee seen, but probably keep it. No damage to frame, engine, or suspension. mosty body and airbags.

Finally!!!!! Progress.......

They cut the skirts off and were prepping the area to reattach the new skirts. In the process of removing the old skirts, they broke the windshield, so a new one is on order!!

http://www.theplaceholder.com/forums/imagehosting/2464714004dd9616.jpg

http://www.theplaceholder.com/forums/imagehosting/2464714004dd53b3.jpg

http://www.theplaceholder.com/forums/imagehosting/2464714004ddccc3.jpg

Will have more pics on Wed.

Update!

Took these Thursday, as you can see the Skirts are back on. Went by today, but all they were doing is replacing all the hoses and lines that went to the radiator / Aux coolers before they mounted the radiator.

http://www.theplaceholder.com/forums/imagehosting/2464719907c59e00.jpg

http://www.theplaceholder.com/forums/imagehosting/2464719907c5e062.jpg

http://www.theplaceholder.com/forums/imagehosting/2464719907c6170f.jpg

http://www.theplaceholder.com/forums/imagehosting/2464719908e7baa2.jpg

http://www.theplaceholder.com/forums/imagehosting/2464719908e7f14e.jpg

Making Progress!

cool updates. Keep them coming!

Well, the shop has been a bit slow this week on getting things done. As of Friday, this is where we are........

http://www.theplaceholder.com/forums/imagehosting/2464723ddb12b917.jpg

http://www.theplaceholder.com/forums/imagehosting/2464723ddb12ff62.jpg

http://www.theplaceholder.com/forums/imagehosting/2464723ddb1339f5.jpg

Notice anything about that fender?????? Its for an 08 LE.....:crikey: Yep, they had to get new fenders. They came in late friday and went to paint to get the trim paint done (interior of the fenders and trim work on them). I hop on Monday or Tuesday I will see an almost completed front end ready for paint.

As big as that compartment is we need a big block!

New Pics. These came from the Body shop, my Insurance rental ran out today, so I am now down to one car till the 7th of November. This is taking too long.

http://www.theplaceholder.com/forums/imagehosting/246472695c46a1e0.jpg

http://www.theplaceholder.com/forums/imagehosting/246472695c466754.jpg

http://www.theplaceholder.com/forums/imagehosting/246472695c461d1a.jpg

:thumbup: :thumbup:

Its In paint!!!!!!!!!!!! I only got shots of the base and sealer coats today, but I made it out of paint today!!!!! Will get more tomorrow, or might just wait till I get the final product.

http://www.theplaceholder.com/forums/imagehosting/24647293259833f4.jpg

http://www.theplaceholder.com/forums/imagehosting/2464729325986e89.jpg

http://www.theplaceholder.com/forums/imagehosting/246472932597f193.jpg

I know you are happy as can be. After they finish, give it a goog QC inspection before you take it away!

It'll soon be as good as new!

Well, its the 17th and my Mada is 10 days behind schedule now. The shop has waived my deductible and the truck is all put together, but during the test run a bunch of dash lights came on. So, they sent it to the local Nissan Dealer yesterday. I hope to get it by Monday or Tuesday.

The below pics were taken after it was painted a couple of weeks ago.

http://www.theplaceholder.com/forums/imagehosting/246473fba69ee6e1.jpg

http://www.theplaceholder.com/forums/imagehosting/246473fba69e6603.jpg

http://www.theplaceholder.com/forums/imagehosting/246473fba69eac4f.jpg

http://www.theplaceholder.com/forums/imagehosting/246473fba757dbf0.jpg

Next set of pics will be the "finished at home" product.