My wife got hit today. I only had to deal with one car insurance claim some 20 years ago when someone cut off my way and my car was totaled and undrivable. The insurance gave me a laughable $1,600. So now we have a car that was produced for only one year, no support for software upgrades, etc and it's registered as having been in an accident. To reduce the loss of value, I would like to have the back/driver panel, the black trim above the wheel and the back bumper replaced by OEM parts and ideally serviced/fixed by Acura (who probably just outsources it to a body shop). Has anyone had any such experience with this? I will get a quote from a body shop and ask the dealership about it.

 

Insurance is regulated at a state level and the recommended processes vary substantially by state. Body shops are experts at playing the game that their state's laws permit. Recommend asking friends in your state vs posting on a national forum. 49/50 comments you receive here will not be applicable to you.

 

I went to the dealer and asked for their recommendation. The shop he recommended was out of the insurance companies network so they never tried to source used parts. All the parts used were all genuine Acura, since the limited 1 and done release of the ZDX doesn't fit too well with aftermarket manufacturers. All the parts(rt frt fender, hood, rt headlight assembly, bumper cover, wheel well trim) arrived in 2 days or less to the Acura dealer down the street from the body shop. On mine, disassembly, secondary estimate submission, prep, paint and reassembly took a little over 3 weeks to complete.

As long as the body shop follows Acura repair protocols and not the cheapest route preferred by the insurance company, all should turn out good in the end.

GOOD LUCK!!!

 

Is there a crash flu spreading on the forum? The damage looks quite familiar to me, I wonder why.

As for the repair, yes, a new bumper and wheel arch trim are needed. But the quarter panel can be repaired - there is no need to replace the quarter panel at all. Ask the body shop to pay close attention to the alignment of the wheel arch crease that swipes across the panel to the bumper, and I bet you will hardly see any damage post-repair.

I was worried about color-matching on bright colors, but it turned out just fine. If you need a reference on a body shop with ZDX experience on literally the same repair, PM me.

 

We never leased a car and only did it for this ZDX to qualify for the $7.5k tax credit. I meant paying it off in full after one month. Then my wife changed her mind I still don't like the lease but in this case it might actually be a blessing. The car doesn't belong to us but it belongs to Acura/Honda financing. Hence, from initial discussions, Acura/Honda financing seem to handle the discussion with the insurance of the person that hit our car. That I assume means Acura/Honda financing will push for an Acura approved body shop. It's still a hassle but I hope this means the repair will be done properly rather than the other person's insurance company lowballing and just do the absolute minimum/cosmetics.

 

Perhaps this is a state-by-state issue, but I've been leasing for nearly 30 years and have never dealt with Honda/Acura or GMAC in respect to damage repair here in Virginia. Same goes with a loan, as in you don't own the car in that case either.
Good move not buying out the lease, considering the red flags around the ZDX (One-of, made by a different company, etc.) Very easy at lease end to walk, trade, or buy it, depending on the market and other circumstances.
Good luck with the repairs!
John

 

Not so much luck... We put down a voluntary $5k (the max they allowed) on a CC to get some % back from the CC (of course, we pay of the CC on time). Our intention was to pay the car off the next month as we had to make at least one payment on the lease. So now we paid $5k that we didn't have to pay AND carfax/etc says the car was in an accident AND the car was only one model year AND dealers refuse software updates... That good deal we got (I think $25k off incl the $7.5 tax rebate) doesn't look that good anymore. Probably another car we will drive to the ground (or give to our son who prefers it over the G37S). In any case, Acura/Honda financing handling the claim is new to us. The accident just happened so lets see...

 

Here CA, the choice of where the vehicle is repaired is up to the owner/lease holder. I got to choose where the repairs were done.

Good Luck on the fix!!!