Hey guys!

Quick question, I got rear ended last week brought it into the shop to get it appraised for about 11k... My car is a 2009 G37 Sedan.

I was reading that since our cars are Unibody it's basically frame damage.. but the guy at the shop is recommending the repair instead of a total... I really don't want to deal with issues later down the line if it should have been totaled... Do you think you could look at the appraisal and see if the damage is enough for me to talk to him about seeing if it should be totaled out instead?

They're having to redo some of the rails...

I've attached the estimate!


Thank you for your time!

 

why repair a car that has frame damage? How's the guy going to repair the frame? Does he have the same exact machine Infiniti has?

 

Even if they fix it, not gonna be the same. Plus when it's time to trade you got lower value of it. Unless your a keeper, so deal with it. How much do owe/paid? Btw body frame should be total loss. Good luck though.

 

Lots of people unfamiliar with collision repair will say vehicle should be totaled if there is "frame" damage. Sorry, but it doesn't really work that way. Laws vary from state to state on how much damage in dollars as a percentage of current market value a vehicle must sustain before it is considered a total loss. For example, in my state that is 75%. If the cost to repair is less that that, the vehicle pretty much has to be repaired. However, as a claimant, you have the right to sue for diminishment of value. Unfortunately, the repairs have to be completed before you can do this. With this in mind, your adjuster could possibly construct a total loss if the cost of repairs are close to the total loss threshold. This means that if he can show his company that the cost of repairs along with the DOV claim and the estimated salvage return make sense economically, they may still total it. Getting past that though; the estimate looks pretty complete. The rail can certainly be repaired properly if it is not kinked past 90 degrees and the tech has full access with the attached floor area being replaced. As a matter of fact, the estimate may be a little "heavy", like a worst case scenario. I'd be a little surprised if everything on that estimate is needed (remember I haven't seen the car); they may have written it for the benefit of the adjuster to facilitate a TL decision. On the flip side, in my experience, an estimate of that size will likely have about a 10% supplement of additional missed stuff, unless a complete teardown was done. The good news is that this repair can be done properly, just check it over carefully with someone you trust for proper gaps, welds, seam sealer, suspension alignment, and water test for leaks. You are unlikely to have additional problems down the road if all these check out. Don't forget to mention to the adjuster that you intend to make a claim for DOV when repairs are completed as early in the process as possible. Good luck!

 

Time to start shopping for a new car

Good luck

Telcoman

 

I brought it to the infiniti body shop (Sewell Body Shop in Dallas,TX)

I still owe about 15.5k... the damage is about 11k! I'm not sure thats why I was worried about this shop.


Awesome thanks! The adjuster for my shop told me to wait until the car is complete then I can do a DOV for it since they're fighting to get OEM parts like the bumper for me. A complete tear down was done -- it didn't look as bad as I thought it was since it just seemed like the bumper was almost knocked off, but it was pretty bad internally. I hope it's still a solid drive afterwards, if not I'm going to see if I can trade it in for as much as I owe...

I wish it was that easy lol.... We will see how I get on the DOV and hopefully be able to trade it in/ sell it for as much as I owe!