Yes- my car has already suffered major injury . I was rear-ended over a month ago, and now that its finally all over, I decided to post my experience and some pics so you all can know what to expect if, heaven forbid, it happens to you. I had just stopped at a stoplight on a 4-lane road, and the person behind me stopped, but then this guy apparently deided to change into our lane and hadn't realized we stopped (must've been looking behind him WHILE changing into the lane) and pretty much just smashed into the car behind me, which then hit me. The guy behind me said he wasn't even stopped that close behind me and he was pressing the brakes as hard as he could while sliding towards me. He even said he was thinking what a nice car it was beforehand, and I told him he got a nice close look at it. Anyway, the guy who hit both of us got a careless driving ticket, and so his insurance paid for everything, including a rental car for me for the 5 weeks my car was in the shop. (Beleive me, drive a Protege for that long- when you get back in this car, you'll never want out ) So I took the car the the body shop the dealer (not the insurance company) recommended and uses themselves (Accurate Auto Body in Aurora, CO, for anyone living near Denver). The bumper was flattened, the trunk lid was bent, the whole drivers side floor inside the trunk was bent upwards (if you lift up the carpet and foam, you'll see a seam in the floor of the trunk on either side which breaks open and collapses in an accident), the drivers side rear-quarter panel had to be replaced because the bumper pushed into it and dented it, the muffler and whatever it attaches to also had to be replaced, and the driver's rear-wheelwell had to be welded because it cracked from everything behind it being pushed forward. Amazingly enough the taillights were fine. Oh, and the impact screwed up the CD changer (I think the discs got knocked out of whatever they sit in) but the dealership decided it was a warranty issue becasue it had the same error message that everyone's been getting, so they replaced it for free. It took over two weeks for the parts to come in, and then it took 98 hours of labor to fix everything. The total to fix the car came to over $8,000. Probably more than either of the other cars in the accident was even worth. The shop did an amazing job though. They kept me informed the whole way, seemed very competent, and I always got to talk to the owner/manager directly- it was so much easier to just deal with one person that always knew what was going on. They had to blend to paint all the way up almost to the front doors, and they didn't tape anything, they took out the windows on the back doors and rear window, the back seat, everything inside the trunk, the taillights and the insides of the rear doors so they could paint it more like they do at the factory, and they painted to car and the bumper all at the same time in the same room for a good match. I actually saw it just after it had been painted before they put everything back on it- not a sight for the weak at heart Apparently the car did a good job absorbing the shock though, because even though I got hit more on the driver's side, the alignment was just fine when they tested it. I've had my car back for over a week now, and have had no problems with squeaks or with things not lining up or working, and only had to bring it back to get a few small spots in the paint that were dull or orange-peeley buffed out (but I'm super-picky). So, needless to say, it was traumatic, but it all seems to have come out ok, and I'm just hoping that I got my accident over early and won't have one for a while But believe me, I stop a long ways behind the person in front of me now and am always checking my rearview when I slow down I hope this doesn't happen to any of you!!!!!!



13979-rear crash.jpg

 

Another pic



13980-drivers crash.jpg

 

One more



13981-passenger crash.jpg

 

Goddamn!!! Just seeing that makes me want to cry. It's great that everything turned out for you without any fuss... It could have been a real nightmare if the insurance companies wanted to fight over it.

Red/Canadian

 

Sorry to see a g in that condition, but it seems like everything worked out. 8 grand is a large amount, good thing that person had insurance. Thats my biggest fear when driving in a city like Houston, people driving with no coverage.

 

Daniele, you seemed to handle the whole situation very well. I hope you are fine throughout all of this. No injuries to the neck or spine. Most of your post mentioned your car not so much you. You also mentioned somethign we all should practice... leaving a fair amount of distance from the car in front of you. That is a big safety factor! Happy new Year and safe driving!

 

ouch..

im glad it turned out well though.

..pestilence..

 

man, that's terrible. at least you're ok.
i was almost in a little fender bender on tuesday. some guy was blazing out of a parking garage in my apt. complex while i was passing the exit of the garage. I would've hit him, but it would've been his fault for not yielding. plus he was talking on a cell phone. luckily, the G has awesome brakes and i stopped short of hitting him. that would've make for a terrible way to start the new year!

'03 G35 Sedan: ivory/aero body/sport/sunroof
Warning: Objects in mirror are FASTER than they appear

 

Wow that is really bad

 

Congrats on the way you handled the situation. It's a sad thing too see your car in that condition.

 

Same thing happened to me in my 93 Altima. Only the
idiot who plowed into my trunk did it at about 45 mph
while I was stopped and never saw me, so no brakes
were ever applied.
Just straight into my rear seat. Totaled the Altima.
Bought the G35 Sedan a week later! When stopping behind
another driver at a stop light, you need to keep enough
distance between cars so that you can see the rear wheels
of the car in front of you. This is because if someone smashes
into your car, you won't be shoved into the car in front of you.
Nobody actaully does this, most idiots try to touch bumpers.

2003 TwBlue 5AT Sedan, sunroof,
Graphite Leather, splashguards, HKS exhaust,
12 wire Grounding kit, 350Z duct, Stillen CAI
Underbody rear diffusers, Drilled alum pedals

 

hey where are the number 11 and 12 wires on your car- just curious?

2003.5 DP Sedan (Everything but Nav)
Injen CAI
10 Wire HyperGround
Crawford Plenum (V4)
H-Liner
Polk Tweeter Upgrade (EX-3500)
Coming Soon: Lite Crank Pulley, Motion Sensor

 

It always feels weird to read a thread like this one and then realize that the first post was over a year ago.

Hopefully the repairs worked out well over the long haul.

 

I picked up 3 factory grounds that are not included in Gordon's
basic 8 wire setup.
1.) Massive ground at base of washer fluid resivoir to hood sensor.
2) ground in brake fliud well on fender to drivers side strut.
3) ground next to battery on fender to battery.

I posted a pick of my setup on the Hypergrounding thread.
The 2 new wires are to the ECU and from ECU to TCU

2003 TwBlue 5AT Sedan, sunroof,
Graphite Leather, splashguards, HKS exhaust,
14 wire Grounding kit, 350Z duct, Stillen CAI
Underbody rear diffusers, Drilled alum pedals