Zulu

So there I am driving home from work when this little girl driving her little Neon decides that she needs to turn left just as I enter the very same intersection she is turning through.Now I know that everyone is in such a hurry to get to work(I know I am EveryDAMNday ),but when you can't see the oncoming traffic because there is a big-assed(big assed,bigass???) van in the oncoming turn lane,I tend to wait(call me crazy)untill I am certain that I will not get in an accident(that pesky right of way thing) and get charged.
Now everyone is ok so don't get all worried about me or the girl in the missile...I mean the other car...but damn is my zoom-zoom totally f'ed up.I was hit in the driver's side front corner.The fender is balled up like used tinfoil around the tire and the front clip is lowered to about 1" off the ground(who needs springs???).The grill is poped out at an unusual angle and all the lights on that side are smashed to all get out(you can't even tell there was a lens on the foglight).When I tried to move the car for the tow truck the steering wouldn't turn very far and the car would not go forward AT ALL.

In all the damage list so far is:
front clip
drivers side front fender
rim and tire
hood
drivers side lights(ALL OF THEM)
grill

Possible damage:
strut assy
rads
sub frame(If I even Have one?)
anything in that corner

K, ranting done(for now)
By the way I think her car is a write off

Identity_X

sorry to hear that man

Sir Nuke

this ABSOLUTELY and TOTALLY sucks.....I KNOW exactly what you mean about the turn....there is a specific corner that I have to take to get to our post office that is EXACTLY like that...why the city doesn't put in a specific left turn lane and signal there I will never know...its such a pain....I have sat there in the intersection waiting for a SURE clear shot before till the damn light truned red...then i KNEW it was clear! lol

we feel you pain dude....we really do.

Zulu

Thanks guys,I know it's no Buzzard meets windshield story ,but I thought y'all might like to know(and I needed to vent )After I wrote the 1st post I went to get the ball rolling and to clean out my car(to prevent sticky fingers).I let the local dealership know that they would have a fair sized order coming(they were very concerned when I pulled in driving my dad's honda....yuck)and talked to My prefered body shop(at a chev dealership).Now I have to wait for my damned insurance company to contact me so I can "get it done".They are gonna be pissed when I tell them I want ALL OEM parts($$$$$ ) but I have only had the car less than a year and am an impatient and stubborn SOB( ask anyone).

I was thinking though;what about getting the MP3 front clip if I need a replacement and putting in the side markers like theirs?
The only thing is the legality issue(corner markers).I've been thinking about this Idea for a while now.I thought if I ever got in an accident I would do it(Never thought or wanted it to happen though).
Anyone elsethink that this might have been a subconcious effort on my part(psychic waves?)?

Sir Nuke

dude...you got a much worse deal than a BUZZARD smackdown on your windshield.....you had some serious damage done....

IF you like the look of the side markers....go for it. Hope it all works out of you. and do NOT settle for anything less than OEM parts.....there is a reason that aftermarket parts are usually a lot cheaper moneywise....for quality wise they are a lot cheaper too!

avro05

I feel for you, I just got my car back a week ago myself (see post "Found my first chip today")

I agree, get nothing but oem and take it to a pace you know does good work. The place I took mike did an unbelievable job, there's nothing that shows the front end is two weeks newer than the rest of the car

Zulu

The dealerships I worked at had newspaper articles and corperate memeo type stuff about the quality of aftermarket replacement parts.One was about a korean replacement hood that was sooo shitty that the latch mechanism let go on the highway causing a major accident.Things like that make me require OEM(and the fact that I only buy the best I can for me so why not for my car ).At any rate the insurance company called and the car should be at the repair shop by now.
Not bad for a company that is going out of business at the end of the month(the insurance company that is).

And I do like that look NUKE but I doubt they will go for the idea

Sir Nuke

TELL the body shop which front end to buy....as far as the insurance comapny is concerned they won't know the difference between Mazda part numbers....and I can't imagine that the price difference is much if any. the side marker lights....well they are having to by MARKER lights anyway...how would they know? they won't! go for it.

Sir Nuke

you even need to be **** about getting OEM glass if you ever need it...as you may or may not know last weekend I had a buzzard take out my windshield...I had OEM glass put back in...it didn't cose me a cent more...maybe the insurance place...but not me....the shop I use ONLY uses OEM glass unless the customer specifically asks for aftermarket. I was talkin to the guy as he was doing the job, they come to your house and do the work, and he was pointing out all the differences....there are a lot.

Zulu

Well,I went to get the rental and the appraiser and the estimator were looking at my car with the hood open....AHHHHH!!!
The bottles,intake and everything was broken/smashed etc.AND to top it all off the suspension is trashed(that explains why the wheels wouldn't turn).The top front cross member is bent and the grill mounts are snapped off.That was about all I could handle so I didn't look any further,but the estimator said that I would have to wait until monday for the estimate because the external damage needs to be PULLED BACK so he can see what else is FUBAR!

So in short;Picked the right body shop to do the work,Car megga F'ed up ,and I have to drive a diarrhea coloured Grand Am!

Sir Nuke

this SERIOUSLY sucks....hope they can put her back together like she belongs.

Zulu

If anyone can do it they can.They are one of the two best body shops in the area,if not the best...

And thanks for the sympathy Nuke,But I only will have the Grand Am for a little while.It's not like I bought one