So, there I was, driving along like the grandma that I am when this mo-ron in a 'vette savagely cut me off and did his level best to wrap his door around my left headlight.

Hard brakes and a twitch to the right saved my light, but my bumper and quarter panel are scraped, bent and really not a cool-looking as they were just before Mr. '97 vette decided to turn right from a through-lane. Now, I have the opportunity to sample yet another vehicle in the market, this time an '08 Maxima with the CVT transmission.

In recent months, Acura has loaned me an 07 TSX, an 08 TSX, an 08 TL and I have to admit it's fun driving one of these for a day or two. The Maxima is interesting... the transmission is quite smooth (considering it's a 1-speed, this makes sense) and it gets up and runs okay, but the fit and finish inside isn't up to the standards of the 08 TSX...well, maybe about the same. It is push-button start and has a button on the steering wheel for the oem NOS injector, so that's cool.

The driver of the 'vette said, "Oh, wow, I didn't even see you.." Dammit. I guess the upside is that I avoided major damage, but this is my CAR, man! Don't be bouncin' off my CAR, man!

 

Sorry to hear that dude.

I think both cars are well, but why are you getting another car?

 

Oh, I'm not replacing my RL! I'm driving the Maxima while the Acura is in the shop.

The sad part is that the plastic doors on the 'vette absorbed most of the damage to his car, so it's very slight compared to what that monster did to my innocent import.

 

yea...good stay on guard for those "blind" drivers.

That's the reason we got 200+hp under the hood...for protection!

 

Hey, this Maxima is fast. I'm very impressed with the CVT transmission. I am also in lust with the big, round exhaust tips. Too big for the RL, but badass.

 

255hp, you should try the 09 with 290...much torque steer I would assume. That one was tested by C/D at 5.8s to 60, brake torqued I assume.

 

feel sorry for u, how much does it cost to get ur car fixed @ the shop?

 

Sorry to hear about your accident. Were the "Hello Kitty" exhaust tips damaged?

Seriously, hope your RL gets well soon.

 

A minivan attempted the same stunt on me today. Thanks to your sad story I slammed the brakes that much harder...I think the guy in the GX470 behind me crapped his pants much fast.

Minivan was full of teenagers...I gave em the "crazy person" wave and he gave me the "you know what".

 

Golly, this doesn't look so bad...

 

I had less damage (no damage to fender, just bumper) and quote was $1250!

 

it shouldn't matter, the other guy's insurance should cover it.

it doesnt look that bad, and you are actually quite lucky the headlight didnt break.

 

Yeah, the other guy's insurance is picking up the tab, and they're lucky the light was undamaged... estimate is $3,071, plus my renta-Datsun. The big issue is whether they're done in time for me to drive the freshly painted car (?!) 600 miles for a vacation trip to Vegas and Hooooover dam.

As much as I appreciate the Datsun , I'd rather not drive that distance w/o my nav, XM, DVD-A and etc...

 

That guy in the corvette is a knucklehead.. hopefully his insurance goes up, alot...

 

Looks like they would only ahve to paint the bumper form your pics. Was the paint damaged on the fender as well?
"Datsun" - now that's a name I have not heard in a while. In HS, borrowed my Dad's Datsun Fairlady convertible for the first date. Then borrowed the Chrysler Newport for the second date, if you know what I mean.

 

Will they replace the fender or just repair it?

 

The fender has a few kinks in it, so I was adamant that it be replaced. Since the bumper has gouges, this means new paint on fender, bumper, hood, driver's door. Luckily, the Japanese paint used in the factory is high quality and the match will be good... since my car will now have a #%@!! CarFax trail on it, this matters.

 

the plastic corner piece on the bumper is $114
bumper unpainted $449
fender $507
Head light $1101

gosh, that's an expansive bump..... this is just the parts price without paint and labor

hope you r not paying for it!

 

Shouldn't his insurance get you a loaner of equivalent level of automobile? I don't think a Maxima is equal to an RL.

 

Ha! Insurance covers $30 day, and they're paying an upgrade to cover the Maxima because I'm too tall and attractive to fit in an Altima... they don't have to give me a like car, just one I can use. I agree that the Datsun's no Honda, but it's fine enough. (I think it's faster 0-60, too... no AWD to weigh/churn it down.)

 

and at the same time, at Hello Kitty!

 

Well, she's in primer, now. Tomorrow, a 4-wheel alignment, then new paint. Friday, final reassembly, detail and installation of my NOS system and 24" wheels (or not). Monday, I gets mah car back.

Re: the Maxima... that CVT might not be as marvelous as I first thought: I've noticed a buzz at about 2500 rpm and a weird torque steer that comes on suddenly at 3100rpm then disappears at 3500. Nice to experience the car, though.

 

how much did the entire repair cost? what did they repaired? I'm just curious about that number.....

 

$3100: new bumper ( & paint), new bumper pad (chrome trim), new fender ( & paint), new fender liner, 4-wheel alignment, buff wheel, plus related tear-down, assembly & bla bla.

 

are all the parts OEM? or aftermarket..... best go with OEM. You don't want to cut corners when it comes to RL parts.....