Fender bender X 2 = Nice Paint Job

[goody90q45]

I had a little ($3700) fender bender at work last summer where a contractor darted out of a parking spot as I drove by. I got the entire driver side from front fender to rear bumper painted (and a door replaced) at his insurance company's expense. Fast forward to last week.......

I had a little ($2900) fender bender in the parking lot of my repair shop last week. I was making a slow backwards u-turn to pick up the wife who had dropped her car off, carefully watching out my PS side view mirror for @#%&$ backing out of parking spots, when I scraped a pole on the DS taking out the bumper, headlight, fender, tire and rim (don't ask). All are being replaced with new. This time the front bumper, hood, and everything else up to the rear bumper are being painted. This lapse in concentration cost me the $500 deductable since I couldn't blame the pole.

Lesson learned: Sh@t happens. I got my whole car painted over a 6 month period for $500. I get her back later in the week. She's going to look nice. I'll post pics.

[redtop91]

I scraped a pole on the DS taking out the tire and rim (don't ask). All are being replaced with new.

How did you do that LOL.

[Rex]

FYI, there's another Cali Q on ebay with injector troubles listed for cheap. Won't pass smog and he's expecting to sell as "inoperable".

[3Q Jay]

ouch. look at the bright side though, no salvage title. hound your insurance to make sure all new factory parts.don't settle for less than the perfection your car deserves to be.

[3Q Jay]

FYI, there's another Cali Q on ebay with injector troubles listed for cheap. Won't pass smog and he's expecting to sell as "inoperable".

rex, could you link that? i didn't find it. Goody and i are looking for a partout. or maybe it's a keeper/fixer and i can dump the M-I-L's POS malibu.

[goody90q45]

FYI, there's another Cali Q on ebay with injector troubles listed for cheap. Won't pass smog and he's expecting to sell as "inoperable".

There's a couple of Q's right now in the Bay area and L.A. (craigslist) with running engines and trannies for less than $1000. If it's running rough chances are it's just injectors and plugs.

I'm with Jay though. He's got SoCal covered and I'm looking in NorCal for the 94-95 active with gray interior. We're patient. Although, if I can find another $200 Q close to home I'd probably jump on it.

[Rex]

rex, could you link that? i didn't find it. Goody and i are looking for a partout. or maybe it's a keeper/fixer and i can dump the M-I-L's POS malibu.

Looks like someone already jumped on it for the $2500 BIN.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors...wItemSeems to have had some nice touches ...

all original with the exception of the Stillen exhaust and the 17 inch Avez wheels

[lino]

oh man! Good thing you're ok and and that it's only surface damage. Should turn out great if the painter does a good job. For $500 you're the ultimate winner. Can't wait to see the pics.

[goody90q45]

oh man! Good thing you're ok and and that it's only surface damage. Should turn out great if the painter does a good job. For $500 you're the ultimate winner.......

The body shop I'm using is a AAA approved shop and the owner tells me the paint job is guaranteed for life. They remove all the parts from the car, remove all the trim pieces and replace with new, paint each piece separately, and reassemble when the paint process is complete. The PS turned out great and I brought my spoiler to them for painting a couple of months later. It's a heck of a deal for $500. I bet it would be at least $2500 if I wanted the entire car painted out-of-pocket.

[Jeff Williams]

Mike, BE CAREFUL MAN!!!

I know it is a sick feeling driving around in a crunched car.

I have had a cracked rear bumper on Lola for nearly a year, waiting for the "right time" to put her in the paint shop. Now, after Evie cracked the front end, I have a rattle can fix on the hood and bumper. It is a good think I waited, so I can get it all done at once.

My insurance company almost totaled the car for $3600 worth of damage. The cutoff was $2,900 and they weren't budging. The woman who inspected my car was an A#1 BI%$# about it. She was drooling over the car, thinking she was going to get it for nothing. I got another quote for $2,700 fixing the hood and bumper rather than replacing it, and they sent me a check.

THis should be enough to paint both the front and the rear, and get my new spoiler painted and installed (he he ). I am going to try to fit a front air dam to the car first. I have a few ideas (90's thunderbird SC front spoiler). I wish I had access to a bunch of air dams, so I can see which works the best and looks the best.

[silver2k2]

Happy to hear you are getting it all new paint. That is going to be nice.

That ebay car is making me sick that is just what I am looking for I have been looking every day I dont know how missed it

[goody90q45]

Mike, BE CAREFUL MAN!!! I know it is a sick feeling driving around in a crunched car.........I have had a cracked rear bumper on Lola for nearly a year, waiting for the "right time" to put her in the paint shop.

All the accidents that are my fault happen when I'm driving in reverse. I've had a few in the past years. I don't have a problem driving in the forward direction and my last real claim was in the early 80's.

I'm with you in that I could only drive her looking ugly for a few days (Thursday-Monday) while I looked into getting a cheap parts car (there was a '95 in SF for $600) and doing the work myself. After doing the math, the cost of the paint job made it prohibitive.

I couldn't stand to see her all beat up (but driveable) and I reported the accident on Monday, got the estimate and approval on Tuesday, and put her into the shop this past Wednesday. My front bumper was also cracked badly on both corners and looked nasty so this was an opportune accident (if there is such a thing) which resulted in a well deserved paint job.

[lino]

All the accidents that are my fault happen when I'm driving in reverse. I've had a few in the past years. I don't have a problem driving in the forward direction and my last real claim was in the early 80's.

I know your car is hot Mike and it's Q-fast, but maybe hitting the in reverse is excessive

Is this the kind of thing you're used to doing



I'm looking forward to the spring when a bunch of us members can post pics of a spring detailing of our cars as oppossed to all damage we've suffered over the last couple of months.

[goody90q45]

.....I'm looking forward to the spring when a bunch of us members can post pics of a spring detailing of our cars as oppossed to all damage we've suffered over the last couple of months.

Does it seem like the only Q's making it through the winter untouched are the ones parked in the garage and not driven until spring?

I got my Q back yesterday afternoon and she looks real nice. New headlamp assembly, turn signal, bumper cover, fender, and all the molding. New paint on the entire hood, bumper, and DS to the rear bumper. (Remember that the entire PS was painted last year.)

The paint job looks great and an uncracked bumper looks even better. It really cleans up the look of the front end. They weren't able to repair the chrome rim (in my sig) so I got $350 credit toward a new rim, tire and missing fog lamp insert which the shop forgot to order. With the credit my deductable was less than $150.

I'll probably start a post in the WTB forum but can you guys feed me a couple of web sites that may have this 16" rim? Thanks

[lino]

Wow! Car looks right on. I'm real happy for you. $150 out of pocket...that's what I call a deal. Did you get your door mirror painted?

[Rex]

...I'll probably start a post in the WTB forum but can you guys feed me a couple of web sites that may have this 16" rim? Thanks

Check our Nissan classifieds, the 240SX guys some times run these. Also, I see them from time to time on tt.net, but they want alot for them .

Nice to see the car back to "normal".