When drivers don't pay attention...

[pparaska]

bad stuff happens (well not horrible, no one was hurt!)

 

I even feel guilty mentioning this, seeing as what happened 4 years ago today...

 

But it was a somewhat momentous occasion. It seems Glenn (gmmcoy383) is always around when the neat stuff happens with me and my Z! The fact that he was there today, probably kept me from being in a different mood where I might have screamed at the driver who ... wasn't paying attention and hit the brakes too late (and didn't try to use the several lanes on either side of my Z he could have to avoid the collision) :

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Like I was telling my kids, no one was hurt, it's just metal and paint!

 

I'll probably wait until the adjusters have looked at it and get under there and replace the tank with the one I got from Doug a while back but haven't bothered to install - thank goodness!

 

After all, this puppy won't be sitting in any body/paint shop when my Friday At The Track happens on November 4th!

 

Good news - no one was hurt, the car is drivable, the driver has insurance and by 3 hours after the accident the insurance company had called me back with a new claim number and said they'd be paying to fix my car. I can probably have the shop that fixes the car just cut the ends off of the stock center bumper section that I used for the custom bumper and weld them to a new center and have it dechromed and painted. I don't think the 1/4 panel needs to be replaced - just some hammer, dolly and plastic filler ought to fix it - that'd be preferable to having the entire quarter replace, IMO.

 

Bad news - the insurance company is Geico, only uses certified auto repair shops (probably no one that just does custom paint and body work). I'm sure I'll be hassling with them to get them to return the car to it's previous condition. As Glenn pointed out, I'll probably have to play hardball with them. I'll pull Hagerty in to see what services they can provide to help get it done right. Ultimately, I want a check from Geico that matches what my body/paint guys that originally did the car want to fix it.

 

Glenn did have to pry the plate that bolts into the wheel well in front of the

filler hose away from the tire. The tank is a different shape now, but probably still holds near the same volume - just farther forward a bit .

 

Oh, more good news. With Glenn driving and me messing with the fuel map on the MegaSquirt, the car is running much better.

[auxilary]

i can relate... trust me, I can relate. been there, done that. I lucked out that the insurance guy turned out to be a Z guy and didn't total out my Z

[DavyZ]

Pete, I'm glad you didn't get whiplash or worse--you're right: it's only metal and paint, but this "accident" was completely avoidable by the other driver. I feel your pain.

 

I think you are going about getting your car repaired in the proper manner--getting Hagerty involved is a good idea and I'd love to know how this whole thing unfolds. You see, currently my car is uninsured (not driving either) and I have considered Hagerty for the 'custom' car it is after it is on the road again.

 

Good luck with the repairs, man.

 

Davy

[Drax240z]

Gah, terrible to see Pete. I hope the person that did it has some notion and respect for what they've done...

[Dan Juday]

Dang, Pete!

That sucks.

 

Keep us informed on the fight with the insurance co. Being a Hagerty client myself I'd be interested to hear if they go to bat for you.

 

Hope I never have to post one of those pics.

[pparaska]

Davy - if your car is worth anything at this point, Hagerty may insure it "in-progress". I got mine covered by them just after it was painted, before I trailered it home. I went and took pictures of it just out of the paint booth and they covered it for $20K, just on my word of how much I had in the car (the drivetrain and suspension and wheels were on it) and how much the paint/body work cost.

 

Richard - he knows now. He asked if it was a "dealer car" like a brand new car. I told him "no, it's a 30 year old custom car". He said "oh, like it'll take alot of money to fix it." I said "yes." He was a bit shook up. Of course, having me (6'2", 225 lbs, a bit athletic looking) jump out of the car within seconds of it being hit and cussing (not at him, just as I was getting out and then looking at the car) probably scared the crap out of him - he's a guy that's probably 5-6", not athletic looking. He also seemed to be a pretty nice guy. He seemed more upset than I was by the time we left the scene 15 minutes later. He was probably happy that I didn't want the police there. I didn't see the need - no one was hurt, he seemed legit, and seemed to have valid insurance paperwork. BTW, this is the same stretch of road, not 1 mile from the local county police station that almost CONSTANTLY has speed traps on it. But no fuzz today! Figures.

 

Glenn thought I was jumping out to rip his face off or something. I was just jumping out to see how bad it was - my only thought at that instant was - "$HIT! how bad IS it". I was glad to see it wasn't very bad, considering. It could have been MUCH worse. Seconds earlier, a car passed from the rear on our left at 60+ mph. We were LUCKY, all considered.

 

Yeah, his fault and all, but I've done similar stupid stuff. Like following only 4 car lengths behind a minivan at 35 in the rain, and seeing the minivan (without the driver every touching the brake pedal) swerve right and JUST miss rearending a stopped car. My poor judgement left me holding the bag - I hit the brakes as soon as that van swerved and I saw the stopped car - but I couldn't slow enough (and there was traffic, I didn't think I could swerve safely) to not cream it with my heavy 76 Cutlass. I got the ticket, I got the judge who didn't care about my story and let it stand. I got the years of increased insurance premiums. The minivan driver, probably never even looked back and saw it happen. I hold the minivan driver somewhat responsible, but I should have left more room in front of my car. But at least I was paying attention!!!

[Synlubes]

Now I understand the e-mail

 

Sorry to hear about the damage, thankfully it was not worse and no one was hurt!

I never understood how you could drive and enjoy your car out on those crazy streets.

Let me know if I can help with any Nissan parts.

[Guest tony78_280z]

If ya had those big monster 280 bumpers you would have been laughing at the messed up car the other guy had while you simply had a scratch on your bumper. I hate those big ugly things, but I've been hit three times, twice while at a stop, in park, and all three times the other persons car was messed up bad, while mine had no damage.

 

I hope you get it all fixed up just as purty as it was before at no cost to yourself.

[Mikelly]

Pete, I'm glad you and Glenn were ok, and no one else was injured...

 

This car is one of the absolute cleanest cars I've ever laid eyes on and it breaks my heart to see the damage to it...

 

Hope you get her buttoned back up soonest...

 

Mike

[EZ-E]

As others have stated I do know your pain as well. First Z I had that was hit was a 72. Not as clean as yours but it was nonetheless decent. First car that I had put a lot of money into and the first Z I had as well.

 

I pulled into the gas station, it was October and I was going to fill the car up to put away for the winter. I saw this girl get into her car, and I thought she cant see me. So Im at the top of the entrance, waiting for her to back out.

 

Mind you Im about 50-60 feet away from her, the tint in her car is so dark I cant see her sitting in it. Anyway she proceeds to back up, and I was thinking she is going to hit me. Of course BANG!!

 

Well she took out the headlight scoop, part of the hood, left front fender and driving home, took out the tire.

 

Good thing was she did admit fault, her company paid, and they were at least on the phone arguing, well the car is a 72, they will probably total it. Im thinking no, it is an antique, with plates miss!

 

Well the adjuster comes down to look at the car. First words out of his mouth are wow thats a good looking Z. I asked, oh you know the car, and he replies, do I, my first car was a Datsun 2000 roadster.

 

Well from there I knew things were going to go well, ended up getting a 1975.00 check from them.

 

It was very nice.

 

Second time I was really lucky, 1250 dollars damage to the rear of my car, from a drunk driver.

 

I was suprised though, the guy, came to mine, took my information, I had talked to my body shop, gave him the quote.

 

It took him about a month, but he paid me in full, I was very happy cuz things could have gone horribly wrong.

 

Good luck and I think all will come out ok for you.

[240hoke]

Ouch! Hate to see something like that happen especially to such a beatiful car.

Looks pretty easy to fix though...

 

You guys dont have to have the police there when there is an accident?? Thats crazy, what if the other guy just decides he didnt do it? I dont think I can claim damage without a police report, nor would they talk to me before the police report was processed. Course insurance companies are the biggest rip off ever, I got hit by a drunk guy without insurance - did 2K to the back of my bimmer - long story short i didnt get ****. But anyway Police come for door dings here lol....

[pparaska]

I called Hagerty and decided to open a claim with them, to let them deal with Geico on getting it fixed correctly. That's what I pay them for anyway - keeping the car's condition protected from things that aren't my fault, but someone else's.

 

Now to see if I can get the body/paint guys that did the car to fix it now...

 

Get ready for one of my rants on the local police...

 

No, MD doesn't require that we file a police report. If this can be handled without it, I will be happier. The less I deal with the local county police the better.

 

As I always do, I just yesterday yelled "get a real job!" to them as I passed by the 4 patrol cars in the speed trap on the highway less than a mile from where I live and this accident happened. All these guys care about is giving speeding tickets. I've gotten my share. My guess is that they are in league with the MD highway admin who sets the speed limits ridiculously low around the state. It's a huge game that just feeds the county police, government, and insurance company coffers - one I don't care to play into. The governor of MD even hinted to this fact in a letter he wrote to me as to why he DID veto (as I requested) the MD bill that would allow photo radar in the state. His letter said, in effect, "the speed limits are set in a haphazard fashion across the state, and I don't think it's fair to the public to allow them to be enforced with photo radar". That's not a quote, but the gist of his response to my letter asking him to veto the photo-radar bill that MD's state House passed 87/47 and Senate passed 27-19. I hate this state sometimes. I'm definitely out of here once I retire.

 

Howard County is a police state, as far as driving is concerned. There are probably twice as many officers as we need to keep us safe from crime, bad driving, etc. But the government and the chief need money for their coffers, so we have a too-big police force, with too many of them used for speed traps on roads that have too low speed limits. I see speed traps on my 2.5 mile commute at least once a week. Tell me there's not something wrong with that picture!

 

Sure, the guy that hit me made a mistake. But he probably has gotten ridiculous speeding tickets and paid then for that mistake. No need for him to get another ticket - I don't think he's a particularly bad driver, just someone that had other stuff on his mind and wasn't paying attention. That happens to EVERYBODY sometime or another. I care not to make his life even less happy than it is now. He seemed regretful, upset, and his rates will go up, and his old car needs to get fixed. WHo knows, his wife is probably giving him grief about it as well.

[qwik240z]

Sorry to hear about this Pete. I am glad you guys are ok and that the damage wasn't too bad.

 

Also glad you will still be able to attend the Summit Point Track Day with us.

 

Make em pay!

[johnc]

That sucks! At least you have a good attitude about it and it looks like things will get fixed as they should.

[Phantom]

Pete,

 

Bummer about your car. Great that no one was hurt. I guess that's an indirect benefit of the old Z unibody - sort of came with crumple zones.

Calling Haggerty was a good move. Geico notoriously would just glance at your car, total it, and offer you about a $2,500 settlement. I would suggest you start feeling some stiffness in your neck and back and schedule a doctor's appointment just to ensure some bargaining power with those guys.

[Mike kZ]

Pete, sorry to hear about this! Didn't you reinforce your bumpers? Do you think that helped? Let us know how Hagerty acts, I have them too.

[Pop N Wood]

Not only does MD not require a police report, if there is no personal injury involved chances are they won't even answer the call.

 

I have delt with Gieco more times than I care to admit. They have always been pretty straight up with me. They even kept my rates the same after an expensive accident went against me in arbitration. They agreed the accident wasn't my fault.

 

They prefer to pay the money directly to a body shop because the actual repair is always more expensive than the estimate. Of course I got screwed by the body shop, but that is another story. Will be interesting to see how they work with your independent guy. They told me I could take it to the shop of my choice.

 

They didn't like paying me a check the time my truck got rear ended, but they did. Later on when I noticed a big chunk of paint chipped off of the cab, they agreed to bring the truck back in and fix the additional damage that we didn't notice the first time around. I think sometimes they are just glad when a rear end accident doesn't automatically turn into a personal injury claim. Although Phantom's advice might be the best. At least talk up a potential injury just to keep them honest. If you don't actually make the claim then you have done nothing illegal or immoral.

 

Now flame suit on against everyone else who has had other experiences with them.

[pparaska]

Mike, yeah, the stock bumper center section was just a bumper cover in my case. The 1" dia black pipe and heavy duty mounts (all welded together) probably kept the center of the car from getting more damage, but the load was transfered to the right bumper mounting flange on the unibody, which is pushed in and bent down. I imagine the hat stiffener it's welded to is also buckled, bent, etc. The floor area just ahead of the rear panel and just above that is raised up an inch or two. I believe the right side rare-in-the-US original Euro tail light came out unscathed - the lower outside bulb socket was knocked loose, but the lense is fine. The housing might be cracked but that's what epoxy is for .

 

I think the lower part of the rear panel (now available from Zedd Findings and MSA) and difficult-to-find 240Z fuel tank ended up taking alot of the damage. Difficult to tell if the reinforced bumper helped much though. The car was a 90s Mazda Protege and I think the bumper just slid under mine (after hitting it with it's top corner) since he was hard on the brakes (skidding).

 

So far Hagerty is saying they will take the estimate I get from the shop of my choice and do the work to get Geico to reimburse them.

 

Pop - I had heard that if you don't have injury in a fender bender, don't bother calling the police - now I see why I'd heard that before.

 

Oh, I wouldn't give Geico one dime of my money. They are the turkeys that give police departments radar and ladar equipment (not to mention bailed out a lidar gun manufacturer) for nothing...

[fastzcars]

Oh man Pete. I'm sorry about your car, but your keeping a good attitude about. $h1t happen's that are out of our control.

[Z-Gad]

My condolences Pete...

Glad to hear you are OK. It has been my experience that in a lighter impact accident, you won't even feel the accident until the next day or two. I was wondering if you felt a little stiffer or more sore today...