i know how you guys all love to see accident pictures, so here are mine
i was stopped at a 4-way stop intersection, and didnt see this 98 mustang going from left to right because he didnt have his headlights on, and it was at night, so i smashed into his passenger side.... i'm not sure who is "at fault" here... A witness (who basically might as well not be a witness because he went back inside his house) was like "HEY MUSTANG!!! YOUR LIGHTS WERE OFF!!" . A bunch of police arrived on the scene, but they didnt file a police report or anything - they just said that our insurance companies will take care of it... And my insurance company (progressive) still hasnt called me back, so i'm not sure what will happen. My car makes this weird click click click noise when the ac is on. But it doesnt make the noise when the car is moving... only when the AC is on, and the car is idle... Any ideas what that is? I can't open my passenger side door either because of the bent side fender or whatever. Do you guys have any idea what this will cost? Thanks for your help

pics resized to 600x401 for you b/w challenged people

 

Wow... those are probably the worst red X's I've ever seen. :P

Anyway... even though I can't see the pics.. sorry about the accident...

 

Pics don't show.

You have two plusses in your favor to assign fault to the other driver:
1. other driver without lights at night.
2. 4 way stopped intersection; you are on the right (from your description) of the other car, hence, you have the right-of-way. Assuming that you were there at same time, the other driver is supposed to yield to you (under CA law).

Make sure you describe things accurately to your insurance company and their insurance company.

Good Luck.

 

Here's a (pretty basic) link to the online CA driver's handbook that describes the right-of-way at intersections. When in doubt the car on the left is to yield to the car on the right.

Now if the guy was already in the intersection at the point of time when you came to the limit line he may claim the right-of-way, however, I think that his lack of lighting at night puts him in a bad light, so to speak.

 

i think i fixed the pics now... hope that helps... and thanks for all the help

 

Nope, no advice. your screwed!!! j/k.

 

OUCH! It hurts to see any CL damaged, let alone a 2003 Nighthawk Black one!

Those are going to be some costly repairs - hopefully the 'door doesn't open issue' is just from the panels and not frame damage.

 

When you get it fixed, triple check the paint job. I am told the "pearl" is a bitch.

 

Good recommendation. I didn't realize how complex to NBP paint was until a good Zaino'ing. There are myriads of blue metallic flakes in the paint that add a nice depth to the black in the sun. Zaino really brought out the 'blueness' of my black paint.

 

yeah, i love those sparkles thanks for the tip, i'll be sure to check if they got it right... is there actually a nighthawk black pearl paint?

 

I had a similar damage last car ('97 Prelude SH). I was cross-traffic and this woman in a Lumina sedan pulled out from a cross street right in front of me without even looking my direction. My right front bumper hit the center of her front bumber about half a second after she actually looked in my direction. It was a low-speed collision, so no airbags were deployed (thankfully!).

The cost to repair was in the $2000-$2500 range, if memory serves. New right front panel, straightened hood, new headlight (maybe both...I don't remember), new indicator lights, new bumber and bumper cover and of course, paint matching. The car ran fine otherwise, with no damage to the engine, A/C or anything else that could be found.

The accident was fully her fault, both through her own acknowledgement and the police report, and we both had State Farm for insurance. Everything was handled quite smoothly and quickly.

The disappointing part of the whole thing was that the only damage she had on her car was a little black smudge from my bumper.

 

You're not going to find it at Home Depot!

Code B-92 is Nighthawk Black Pearl. I'm sure a good body shop will get it right. As you have a car that is less then one year old in a new model year I would only take it to the Acura body shop. They'll work in concert with your dealer/Acura to get you NEW body parts and correct installation. It sounds like you are also having internal engine bay issues (A/C noises). Get an OFFICIAL fix by an Acura/Honda body shop.

I wouldn't let Progressive (or the other guy's carrier) dick you around with refurbished body panels or parts. Your car is too new for that. I forgot CA law, but I think that if your car has under 5000 miles they have to give you only new parts. I'd look that statute/policy up (probably on the DMV website or some CA insurance code website).

 

This picture almost made me want to .
Please stop the torture!

 

Progressive said they have a "preferred body shop" and that they will always use new acura-genuine parts, and stuff, and then warranty their work for life... it sounded pretty good to me, so i said ok. Do you think the dealer is going to do a better job? Or if progressive will allow me to take it to a dealer (since i'm guessing they will be much more expensive?) I have 12K miles on it already anyways

 

Will they do a better job then the Acura shop? who knows? there are plenty of qualified shops that are not Acura. Will an Acura designated shop have better access to OEM parts? Maybe. Will an Acura designated shop be better attuned to Acura internals? Probably.

Make sure the parts are not Acura genuine, but OEM. It may be semantics, but I would push them.

In the end it's your choice. I'd personally go with someone that has more experience with Acuras especially since your car is new.

Check out http://www.insurance.ca.gov for the consumer bill of rights. The company cannot require you to go to their shop. I couldn't find the mileage defination of a newly crashed car (that 5000 thing that I said before). I'd call the number to find out if a new car has any more 'rights' then an older car. I remember this was the case when my wife was rear ended with 12 miles (!) on her car.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Slimey
[B].

Make sure the parts are not Acura genuine, but OEM. It may be semantics, but I would push them.






:sqnteek:

 

What exactly is the difference between acura genuine and acura oem?

 

That's what I want to know.

 

Tell them u want a new hood. I had my car fixed and told them to put a new hood on. They said ok. The insurence company didn't want to pay for the new hood, so when i got the car back, it's the first thing that i noticed. i asked if they replaced the hood. They said no. i told them to take the car back and give me the new hood that i asked for. I'm not sure who's gonna eat the cost of putthing the new hood on, but it's not gonna be me. i told them from the start to put a new one on. Sorry about the long explantion.

 

OK, it may only be my personal interpretation, but what I'm thinking:

Acura genuine - meets Acura specs, is equivalent to Acura parts, but not necessarily made by Acura (or its subsuppliers).

OEM - original equipment manufacturer, i.e.: the exact same thing you had before.

 

GAWD DAMN THAT SUCKS!!!

 

OK, I'm confused...

You got in an accident, with obvious damage and the cops didn't take a report???!!!???

Doesn't anyone else think this is odd??? I'm not discounting what happened, but a report is needed so that insurance companies can do their jobs. How is it going to be decided who was at fault?

It all just doesn't make sense...

 

 

BTW...

I also have Progressive and the way they handle claims is complete and utter shit. I got rear-ended, and when progressive looked at the damage and compared it with the estimate the claims guys said "Well, we're not paying for this so it really doesn't matter. But if we were, we'd only pay for reshaping the bumper and NOT replacing it AND we wouldn't blend the paint into the rear quarter panels as the bumpers NEVER match the rest of the car."

On that comment, I'm now shopping for new car insurance.

 

That's right. ABout 5 cops were at the scene. I was on the phone with progressive at the time, and they asked for a report number ... I asked the cop "is there an accident report number?" and he said "Oh, we're not going to file a report. You guys are just going to exchange insurance information and let the insurance companies sort it out." I was like......... :sqnteek: .... oooookkkk..... I told the insurance lady that, and they didnt say anything that would make me seem like that was a problem...

It's disappointing to hear you say progressive sucks though... The lady on the phone was nice I hope i don't get screwed over as well....

 

The people I spoke with on the phone were great too... In person = Different story.

 

Well I hope it all goes well.

 

In Los Angeles if no one was dead or injured, the police would refuse to roll to the scene.

I know of at least two incidents (one me, one my wife, about six years apart) where the Los Angeles police refused to even come to the scene. The dispatcher specifically told both of us that if there are no injuries there is no reason to send out an officer.

It doesn't surprise me that there is no report filed for a non-injury accident.

 

What did N.W.A. quote once?

 

had a similar accident in my 2001 cls (on the front passenger side)
total cost $5400.67
fixed at acura dealership body shop using all new parts
i think my impact was harder b/c i needed my frame repaired (re-wield)
neither headlights was damaged

 

Ill trade you my car right now even up-jk

 

well i just dropped my car off today - they said they will definitely be replacing the hood, and they only will use OEM acura parts, because its so new... I guess i'll get an estimate later on.... they said it'll probably take 2.5 weeks... ughh....

 

yea if the traffic cops arent available probably

 

Damn shame!

 

Well i called the body shop... progressive came out and did an estimate on the car, and the estimate is at $5962.46..... is that not crazy? BLEH....i can't believe that...

 

id say no more than 3 grand i dont know why its almost 6 grand though

sidemarker

 

Sorry about your car. I hope the insurance works out ok.