My wife had a lady in a F150 dual cab truck turn left in front of her from the oncoming traffic lane yesterday. She was travelling around 40mph and only had ~ 50ft. to brake. The result was a G35 with a thoroughly smashed front end and a "slightly" perturbed, but uninjured, wife. Actually, most of the damage was on the right side of the bumper with the right front quarter panel and the hood buckling. On closer inspection, I would have expected more structural damage from this type of impact.
In any case, my question is concerning not-at-fault insurance claims. The other driver's insurance, State Farm, is paying for everything and has been very compliant so far. We have been given a Volvo S60 rental until our vehicle is repaired. What I am concerned about is the condition of the vehicle after repairs and the type of repairs.
Since the vehicle was barely 2 mos. old, can I demand that every scratched/damaged part on the vehicle be replaced with genuine Infiniti parts? I have heard that the repairs might be with "reconditioned" parts. Am I stuck with what repairs/parts State Farm deems neccessary?

Thanks in advance for your advice!

 

absolutely, you need to demand ONLY OEM Infiniti parts be used, and parts NOT be repaired in ANY way, but replaced.

Be clear on this, your dealership WILL NOT be under any obligation to perform warranty work on parts that are not OEM Infiniti brand parts. I know this first hand.

You should also ask for the compensation for the "depreciative value" of your car due to the accident... not sure if thats available in your state, but you should be sure to ask. Clearly, it will not be worth as much as an identical car that was never wrecked. Good luck.

6MT coupe, red/willow, premium, aero

 

You'll have no problems with State Farm. They don't hassle you about that kind of stuff or where you get your car repaired. Take it to whomever the Infiniti dealer recommends and she'll be good as new in no time!

 

When I had my accident, I was really worried about diminished value... my dad said "So, you're planning on getting rid of you car at some point?" Then I realized, this will be one of those "keep it in the garage and take it out when I want a fun ride" cars that will always stay with me. Phew. If someone wants it, I'm not letting the new parts get in the way of my price, anyway. It's worth more to me as a car than as liquidity.

G

2003.5 Black w/ Willow G35
Premium / Sport / Aero / Winter / Navi / Tint

 

If any of you are interested in seeing pictures of how the G sedan holds up to an 30mph offset frontal impact with a F150, go to this link http://www.brianaskye.com/g35.htm
After looking at these pictures, can anybody tell me whether or not the front bumper brace (aluminum beam seen through hood latch area) is actually supposed to be straight?

 

Thanks for all of the advice. It has been very helpful, especially those links - THANKS GSAFE (sorry to hear about your wife having a similar accident). State Farm has agreed to compensate for depreciative value (I never would have known about this without all of your input). The amount will be determined after repairs are completed.
We are still waiting on a repair estimate. When we have that information, I will post an update. I'm guessing at least 4 grand?


Thanks again for sharing your experiences and further advice/thoughts are still appreciated!

 

glad things are working out for you.... as far as i know, an insurance co will pretty much never tell you about or offer to pay diminished value for an accident unless you request it.

6MT coupe, red/willow, premium, aero

 

Well so far, the repair estimate is at $5300. You guys were right about State Farm, they have already sent us a check to get the repairs started with no hassle what so ever. Bad news is that the frame is slightly tweaked. Not so long ago, if a frame was bent, the car was pretty much totaled from what I've heard. Now, it appears that the frames are able to be straightened (to an extent). I'm not very comfortable with having this done. Has anybody had experience with this type of repair?

 

I'm not sure where exactly the frame damage is, other than it's on the passenger side. Luckily the shop that is handling the repairs, Continental Cars in Austin TX, has the frame straightening rig which uses lasers and a computer.

My estimate shows the Rt headlamp assembly to cost $247.87. That's quite a difference in price. Maybe your estimate was for both housings?? I was told that they initially expect to be finished with repairs in 3-4 wks. Driving this anemic Volvo S60 rental is really making us miss the extra 100hp in the G. I guess I should count our blessings, we could have been stuck in a Geo Metro[img]/w3timages/icons/tongue.gif[/img].

Has anyone taken a look at the pictures of the wreck? http://www.brianaskye.com/g35.htm I was curious about whether or not that aluminum beam behind the bumper is supposed to be straight. ,,,and yes, my wife has named her car Gigi. We also have a 490hp (crank) TT Supra which she calls "The Beast".

 

Well, we got our G back yesterday from the body shop. I can't believe how good a job Continental Automotive (Austin, TX) did with the repairs, and it only took 19 days for completion. The final repair bill was $6800. We had forgotten how quick the G was and how well it handled after driving around a rental for 3 weeks. Now we just have to deal with the diminshed value claim.

GSafe, you were right about the pricing on the headlight housing. The original estimate we were given was incorrect.

Thanks again for all the advice.