My accident experience

[red rider]

Hello, everyone, Happy New Year,
had the unfortunate experience last Wednesday night of being involved in a chargeable accident, where I failed to yield to oncoming traffic, as a consequence my 2011 Kizashi SLS AWD was hit squarely on the right front corner by a 2012 Toyota Prius. The Toyota had a damaged bumper, both fenders, hood, both lights were popped out, bags did not deploy in either car, fortunately, no injuries. (no pictures, happened at night). My car had a damaged right front fender, damaged bumper, not easily visible, broken right head lamp and right running light, broken right inner fender liner which was rubbing against the tire.
Called my ins co, took it to a well known body shop next day, they took pictures, sustained a slightly bent right front frame rail which was realigned, right fender needed replacement, damaged bumper impact brace, foam and bumper, replaced, Also replaced, broken headlamp, signal marker, also ended up needing a 4 wheel alignment since the left rear wheel was out of alignment.
All in all between parts, (per estimator, very expensive) paint, materials, labor, total of $4601.00 minus my 1K deductible, got the car back tonight, they did a nice job, a few niggling details which they took care of today. I have always felt very secure in my car, it has an almost vault like sense of solidity.
In retrospect, it could have been worse. This has been a wake up call for me, the last chargeable accident I had was 14 years ago. No matter, how good of a driver you are, a simple lapse in judgment, lack of situational awareness, emotional upset, preoccupation, etc. and your life can change in a heart beat. Be careful out there.

[sx4rocious]

at least you weren't hurt! Cars can be replaced...

Very fast turnaround! one week? WOW! good body shop!

[Moto]

glad to hear nobody got hurt, and the car pulled through as well.

[bootymac]

Glad you're okay! What details did the body shop forget?

[red rider]

They had failed to reconnect a sensor which was tied into the AC, on the left side of the engine bay, curiously, no error codes were generated? The gap in the hood was uneven, I asked that they realign the hood. A rubber stopper that sits on top of the grill, left side next to the latch was missing. Finally, despite their assurance that the front end alignment was in spec, the car kept wandering, pulling. I spoke with the Suzuki service advisor with many years of front end experience and he suggested, first off, a 4 wheel alignment, that in fact, revealed that my left rear tire was out of spec, despite the fact that I had an alignment in June when I got new tires. Voila, the steering is nice and heavy, feels planted and stable, tracks straight. LIfe is good, I will be exceedingly careful from this point forward. Wishing you all the best, be well.

[KuroNekko]

Glad to hear that you and the Prius driver were uninjured.
Also good to hear the Kizashi was repaired.
Drive safe!

[KansasKid]

Yeah, I'm in the process of trying to replace my Kia. The longer I wait, the more anxious I get that I'm going to f-something up in one of my current cars or have to make some sort of catastrophic trip to the hospital, etc. etc. There's a little voice in the back of my head that keeps nagging me and making me worried about stuff that is really, really unlikely and causing me more stress than I should be allowing it.

Glad to here that you were able to come through unharmed, and that your Kizashi's still kicking. Thanks for sharing.

[paininthenuts]

Hello, everyone, Happy New Year,
had the unfortunate experience last Wednesday night of being involved in a chargeable accident, where I failed to yield to oncoming traffic, as a consequence my 2011 Kizashi SLS AWD was hit squarely on the right front corner by a 2012 Toyota Prius. The Toyota had a damaged bumper, both fenders, hood, both lights were popped out, bags did not deploy in either car, fortunately, no injuries. (no pictures, happened at night). My car had a damaged right front fender, damaged bumper, not easily visible, broken right head lamp and right running light, broken right inner fender liner which was rubbing against the tire.
Called my ins co, took it to a well known body shop next day, they took pictures, sustained a slightly bent right front frame rail which was realigned, right fender needed replacement, damaged bumper impact brace, foam and bumper, replaced, Also replaced, broken headlamp, signal marker, also ended up needing a 4 wheel alignment since the left rear wheel was out of alignment.
All in all between parts, (per estimator, very expensive) paint, materials, labor, total of $4601.00 minus my 1K deductible, got the car back tonight, they did a nice job, a few niggling details which they took care of today. I have always felt very secure in my car, it has an almost vault like sense of solidity.
In retrospect, it could have been worse. This has been a wake up call for me, the last chargeable accident I had was 14 years ago. No matter, how good of a driver you are, a simple lapse in judgment, lack of situational awareness, emotional upset, preoccupation, etc. and your life can change in a heart beat. Be careful out there.

I hope the accident didn't make you spill your beer