NSX Accident. Please advice!

[irisman]

This afternoon, a Greyhound bus rear ended my NSX-T (97, gray, 30200 miles).

From what I can see:
1. The hood of the trunk is not center – Body panels not aligned.
2. Crack below the tail light
3. The bottom of the tail light is pushed inward – The top corners of the tail light are not even with quarter panels (both sides).
4. The CD-changer is not operational
5. Scratches on rear bumper, bent license plate

Please, can anyone advice me where to go to have it repairs? I am very concerned about the condition (geometry) of the frame and any other damages that are not very easy to detect.

I heard about this body shop at San Pedro, CA. Can they also check the condition of a NSX frame? I live in Riverside, CA 92503. Is there any reputable body shops in my area that anyone would recommend? Thanks!

 

[dyee]

Sorry to hear about your dilema. I don't havean answer. How did a bus get close enough to you to rearend you. Remember, if you're far ahead of the pack then there is no way car to car contact can happen. If you don't like driving fast then cars are always gonna be around the NSX or any car for that matter. My hind sight $.02 for you.

 

[Autophile]

Ugh, sorry to hear about that. I don't have any advice to give, but I just wanted to say I feel for you. [On a similar note, my NSX was rear-ended a week ago, too, by a diesel truck, but the damage to my car was mostly cosmetic.]

 

[LJSB]

I am not familiar with the shops in your area however I am addressing your question about measuring the geometry of the unibody substructure.(the NSX is of unibody consrtuction not frame)
There a number of ways this can be accomplished by a competent repairer but if you want peace of mind I have this suggestion.
Choose a shop that has either Chief's Genesis Measuring System or a Car-O-Liner Car-O-Tronic Vision, which is what we use.
These systems can give accurate, 3 dimensional measurements of all control points within a one millimeter tolerance and provide you a easy to read/understand written report of the results.
Plain laser and mechanical measuring are generations behind the technology and accuracy of these systems
I explained this and many aspects of body NSX repair, and how to choose a shop after a accident in a technical seminar at the recent NSXPO 2004, the one that California NSXCA members did almost a complete boycot of.

 

[jgtcnsx]

if i were you.i would take it to a bodyshop and see what they say you will need.then i would try to get all the parts you need off of someone off of this website. then take them to a body shop and get put on. as for the cd player. try tpo find a shop that installs radios and see what they say. sorry about that, hope everything works out for you

 

[irisman]

Sorry to hear about your dilema. I don't havean answer. How did a bus get close enough to you to rearend you. Remember, if you're far ahead of the pack then there is no way car to car contact can happen. If you don't like driving fast then cars are always gonna be around the NSX or any car for that matter. My hind sight $.02 for you.

Thanks! I was in a stop & go traffic - rush hour on State Route 91.

 

[Meeyatch1]

...I heard about this body shop at San Pedro, CA. Can they also check the condition of a NSX frame?...

If you are talking about San Pedro Auto Body, they are the ones that Honda/Acura used (not sure if they still do or not) to fix new cars that were damaged in transportation. I figure they must have a good idea what they are doing if Honda/Acura trusted them on new cars. Good luck!!

 

[irisman]

Ugh, sorry to hear about that. I don't have any advice to give, but I just wanted to say I feel for you. [On a similar note, my NSX was rear-ended a week ago, too, by a diesel truck, but the damage to my car was mostly cosmetic.]

Sorry about your accident too. What did or will you do to fix the car?

 

[irisman]

if i were you.i would take it to a bodyshop and see what they say you will need.then i would try to get all the parts you need off of someone off of this website. then take them to a body shop and get put on. as for the cd player. try tpo find a shop that installs radios and see what they say. sorry about that, hope everything works out for you

Thanks for the idea. I might do it.

 

[Autophile]

Sorry about your accident too. What did or will you do to fix the car?

My accident was minor, as my car just suffered some scratches and dents on my rear bumper cover. Luckily, my car received no structural body damage. I am currently working with the insurance companies to get it fixed. Both insurance companies involved (mine and the other driver's) inspected my car, and both said they will not buy me a new bumper cover. Rather, they offered to have mine repaired, which I don't have a lot of confidence about. (How do they repair dented plastic? Filler, heat + pressure?) If my cover had a tear, then they would buy a new cover. The truck driver's insurer offered the better deal, so I will probably bite the bullet and get my cover "repaired" with their greater allowance for color matching, etc.

 

[irisman]

My accident was minor, as my car just suffered some scratches and dents on my rear bumper cover. Luckily, my car received no structural body damage. I am currently working with the insurance companies to get it fixed. Both insurance companies involved (mine and the other driver's) inspected my car, and both said they will not buy me a new bumper cover. Rather, they offered to have mine repaired, which I don't have a lot of confidence about. (How do they repair dented plastic? Filler, heat + pressure?) If my cover had a tear, then they would buy a new cover. The truck driver's insurer offered the better deal, so I will probably bite the bullet and get my cover "repaired" with their greater allowance for color matching, etc.

For minor job, one of the members (Tantheman) on his thread dated 04-28-03 recommended Mitch Lanzini, 17901 Sampson Lane, Huntington Beach, CA 92647, (714) 375-2828.

CChung on 04-30-03 recommended Javier (310) 387-1875.

Please search above threads, so you could read them yourself. Have u tried to contact these people? Good luck! I wish I had a small job.

 

[irisman]

If you are talking about San Pedro Auto Body, they are the ones that Honda/Acura used (not sure if they still do or not) to fix new cars that were damaged in transportation. I figure they must have a good idea what they are doing if Honda/Acura trusted them on new cars. Good luck!!

Yes, it's the one. I'll contact them this week. Thanks!

 

[irisman]

I am not familiar with the shops in your area however I am addressing your question about measuring the geometry of the unibody substructure.(the NSX is of unibody consrtuction not frame)
There a number of ways this can be accomplished by a competent repairer but if you want peace of mind I have this suggestion.
Choose a shop that has either Chief's Genesis Measuring System or a Car-O-Liner Car-O-Tronic Vision, which is what we use.
These systems can give accurate, 3 dimensional measurements of all control points within a one millimeter tolerance and provide you a easy to read/understand written report of the results.
Plain laser and mechanical measuring are generations behind the technology and accuracy of these systems
I explained this and many aspects of body NSX repair, and how to choose a shop after a accident in a technical seminar at the recent NSXPO 2004, the one that California NSXCA members did almost a complete boycot of.

Thanks for the advices. So, I could narrow my search for a shop which has either equipment. By the way, I opened your website. Impressive! The problem only ... I wish you were here and I wish you knew some good body shops in my area. I'll be willing to drive up to 100 miles to get the car repaired properly.

 

[jgtcnsx]

Thanks for the idea. I might do it.

no problem wow this the quote thread

 

[levytv]

if you are near them san pedro autobody is very very good.

 

[irisman]

if you are near them san pedro autobody is very very good.

I plan to visit them. Thanks!

 

[irisman]

This is a follow up about this thread. I visited five bodyshops and decided on San Pedro Auto Body (approx. 60 miles away). SPAB has my car now and hope for the best. The CD changer (OEM) does not work. I got an error message E-01 and could not retrieve the magazine from the changer. At this point, I don't know if the insurance company will replace or repair it.

Please advice/comment.
If the insurance replaces it, any suggestion what's brand beside the OEM?
Is Clarion good? Which Clarion? DCZ625 or DC625? Does Clarion manufacture 10 disc capacity CD changer for NSX 97?
If the insurance repairs it, what are the benefits and disadvantages?
Well ... by now you know that I don't know anything about matter.

 

[Meeyatch1]

This is a follow up about this thread. I visited five bodyshops and decided on San Pedro Auto Body (approx. 60 miles away). SPAB has my car now and hope for the best. The CD changer (OEM) does not work. I got an error message E-01 and could not retrieve the magazine from the changer. At this point, I don't know if the insurance company will replace or repair it.

Please advice/comment.
If the insurance replaces it, any suggestion what's brand beside the OEM?
Is Clarion good? Which Clarion? DCZ625 or DC625? Does Clarion manufacture 10 disc capacity CD changer for NSX 97?
If the insurance repairs it, what are the benefits and disadvantages?
Well ... by now you know that I don't know anything about matter.

Glad to hear your car is getting fixed. As for the CD changer, if it is OEM now I would just try and put another OEM unit in there. No reason to mess with what works. :smile:

 

[Tom239]

Glad to hear your car is getting fixed. As for the CD changer, if it is OEM now I would just try and put another OEM unit in there. No reason to mess with what works. :smile:

I like being able to play mp3 encoded files (many more songs per disk); when my OEM changer failed I got an Alpine CHA-S634. I wish my OEM changer had failed earlier :biggrin:

Also-- I realize this probably isn't the reason you saw a problem, but a changer may not be able to eject the magazine if the battery is low.

 

[druby]

Sorry to hear about your accident I am just getting done with my car in the shop for the past 2 months from an accident. I hydroplaned on the interstate and slid into the guardrail. Fortunately I had slowed down when the rain hit (it was 1:30 AM). My son didn't even wake up in the passenger seat. From looking at the car both rear tail lights worked and and the damage looked mostly cosmetic as the bumper was scratched up the spoiler was ed and the tail pipe was bent along with a small dent on the trunk lid. Using the car the trunk opened and locked fine and the car felt OK. After they had the car for a month and had taken off the rear end they found that the trunk floor panel was bent and the rails were also slightly bent. It seems aluminum bends easily in an accident but is very difficult to fix. Parts are hard to find and can take 2 months to ship from Japan. Long story long my car will hopefully be back in my hands next week after going into the shop the last week of September and $25,000 worth of parts and labor. It will be like I have a new car all over again after not seeing for so long.

Good luck I hope your story turns out better than mine,

 

[irisman]

Sorry to hear about your accident I am just getting done with my car in the shop for the past 2 months from an accident. I hydroplaned on the interstate and slid into the guardrail. Fortunately I had slowed down when the rain hit (it was 1:30 AM). My son didn't even wake up in the passenger seat. From looking at the car both rear tail lights worked and and the damage looked mostly cosmetic as the bumper was scratched up the spoiler was ed and the tail pipe was bent along with a small dent on the trunk lid. Using the car the trunk opened and locked fine and the car felt OK. After they had the car for a month and had taken off the rear end they found that the trunk floor panel was bent and the rails were also slightly bent. It seems aluminum bends easily in an accident but is very difficult to fix. Parts are hard to find and can take 2 months to ship from Japan. Long story long my car will hopefully be back in my hands next week after going into the shop the last week of September and $25,000 worth of parts and labor. It will be like I have a new car all over again after not seeing for so long.

Good luck I hope your story turns out better than mine,

Sorry for your accident too. Two months and $25K! My goodness! Well as long as your car will be fixed correctly that what's matter, right? It will take about two weeks (est.) and $7K (est.) for my car. I'll let you know.

 

[diablo2469]

yeah, i got rear ended last month too! but my 91 NSX is totaled, even though 75% of the car is in perfect condition. the impact bent my left frame rail. the parts alone were $10,000 for a new rear, left quarter, trunk, spoiler,etc. and since the rail was bent, about another $10,000 in labor to remove the engine and everything to get to the rail to straighten it out. Please make sure they inspect other than exterior cosmetic. body re-alignment is very expensive at the core. they probably wont total your 97 out. hey you know, if they salvage my car out, you can probably take the parts off of my car.

 

[irisman]

yeah, i got rear ended last month too! but my 91 NSX is totaled, even though 75% of the car is in perfect condition. the impact bent my left frame rail. the parts alone were $10,000 for a new rear, left quarter, trunk, spoiler,etc. and since the rail was bent, about another $10,000 in labor to remove the engine and everything to get to the rail to straighten it out. Please make sure they inspect other than exterior cosmetic. body re-alignment is very expensive at the core. they probably wont total your 97 out. hey you know, if they salvage my car out, you can probably take the parts off of my car.

Sorry to hear that. You're right ... that's my main concern ... if the unibody substructure is intact or not? Well ... let see. I'll know next week. Since the insurance will pay, I rather have new OEM parts. Thanks for the offer.

My left rear wheel (OEM) has scratches. Unfortunately your rear wheel will not fit to mine (91 vs. 97). However, if someone has and will sell OEM rear wheel for 97 (17"x8.5" with 7 spokes), I'll seriously consider it.

 

[LJSB]

The reason I made the suggestions I made in my first post on this thread were to avoid situations like this. Body geometry is something that can and should be diagnosed prior to parts being ordered and repairs begun.
Your first stated concern was geometry and it should have been addressed first and not left to become a incidental discovery. In fairness some areas can't be measured until they can be accessed and this may be the case.
I know that getting some structural parts for the NSX from OEM can be very costly and extremely time consuming. Structural members can take weeks going into months to acquire. Good, undamaged used sections in my opinion are more cost effective, mean less down time and can include the brackets and pieces that link structures together. Wait 6 weeks for one part and find it is wrong, or does not include a vital part that also needs to be ordered (additional time down) and then discover it may not be available unless purchasing an entire additional structural section can mean multi-month repairs. In my book once disassembled the sooner something is reassembled the better the focus,quality and timeliness of the repair. A correctly or incorrectly installed part is just that regardless if it is new or used. This is something you and the repairer need to discuss and agree upon and doing so here will only lead to second guessing, confusion and doubt from people that don't know the situation that you specifically have. In other words, keeping a open line of communication with the folks actually involved in the repair is important. Decide there, not here. :wink:

 

[irisman]

The reason I made the suggestions I made in my first post on this thread were to avoid situations like this. Body geometry is something that can and should be diagnosed prior to parts being ordered and repairs begun.
Your first stated concern was geometry and it should have been addressed first and not left to become a incidental discovery. In fairness some areas can't be measured until they can be accessed and this may be the case.
I know that getting some structural parts for the NSX from OEM can be very costly and extremely time consuming. Structural members can take weeks going into months to acquire. Good, undamaged used sections in my opinion are more cost effective, mean less down time and can include the brackets and pieces that link structures together. Wait 6 weeks for one part and find it is wrong, or does not include a vital part that also needs to be ordered (additional time down) and then discover it may not be available unless purchasing an entire additional structural section can mean multi-month repairs. In my book once disassembled the sooner something is reassembled the better the focus,quality and timeliness of the repair. A correctly or incorrectly installed part is just that regardless if it is new or used. This is something you and the repairer need to discuss and agree upon and doing so here will only lead to second guessing, confusion and doubt from people that don't know the situation that you specifically have. In other words, keeping a open line of communication with the folks actually involved in the repair is important. Decide there, not here. :wink:

Thanks again for your opinion. Five body shops I visited said (based on their visual inspections) that no unibody substructure damage occurred. However they could not be sure till the car (damaged area) had been dismantled. I chose SPAB, since a lot of members (thru NSX prime) recommended this body shop. I also noticed (based on our conversation with the owner) that he had a lot of NSX customers and some of their damages were worse than mine. He also owns a red-91 NSX. I hope I have done the right thing. The initial estimate was $4.5K and now is $7K. The owner was not in last Friday, but I’ll call him next week to find out about the increased cost and the unibody substructure issue again.