Accident last night with my 98 kouki
 

Yes, shame on me, and I've been suffering for a whole nite and day, but still coudln't get out of it. Last nite I spun out in a corner and foolishly stepped on the brake, which leads to a rear end body damage. The tailight is smashed, cracked; the trunk is pop up but can't open; the rear bumper is pushed in the left side (Driver's side) along with the rear quarter panel ....yes, the rear quarter panel... and back panel. Even though it is like 2 or 3 inches pushed in, the guy in the shop told me it requires to replace the whole thing: left rear quarter panel, back panel, rear bumper, tailight, and trunk (because it is slight twisted but I can't tell, and the hinge should be messed up).

I went to my friend's uncle's shop. He said it would cost 4000 dollars to fix them and I have supply rear bumper, tailight and trunk lid. Reason behind this extermely high cost is also because I'm asking him to paint my front bumper and side skirt at the same time, but even that, it seems too expensive for me to pay for my mistake. Is he charging me too much? (It is not my first car accident, and he sounds somwhat reasonable) Is there any other way I can fix it cheaper, and should I? (I'm planning to keep the car in a long term)

Here are something new I heard:
1.There are no rear quarter panel for kouki in stock anywhere in the US!
2. There are two models of 1998 rear bumpers; one is with bumper spoiler and one without (not sure); also, zenki and kouki rear quarter might not be interchangable (also not sure)
3. Rear quarter panel is not part of the frame: the front fender is removable with bolts, but rear quarter panels are are weld in.
4. I feel terriably in shame to put the first accident in this rare Kouki, but somewhat feeling lucky that the rear quarter panel is replacable so there will be no permanite damage on the car.

More debating question today. Should I buy a ~1000 car to commute for now, and wait for another week till my final over, and then start to work on the car myself slowly during summer? Or should I just let the shop do it for 4000+ dollars?

Sucks, brahhhhh.

$4,000 is about the price for that much work.

The rear quarter panel has to be pullled.
Hopefully you don't have frame damage.
If you do, that car is thrash.

You got pictures?

Feel for you man sorry it had to happen to a 240 owner. Good Luck with the repairs.

easy and cheap fix would be to just cut the fender out and get some fiberglass overfenders. ~$400 vs $4000

sorry bro. its a ****ty feeling.. you will bounce back...

depending on the location of the damage you might be able to get away with overfenders, if not, have the shop cut and weld you a new 1/4 panel. also, zenki and kouki quarters are interchangable.

any pics of the damage? itd be much easier to tell you wether or not its toast. lol. doesnt seem that bad.

thanks guys, I've been through a lot during these hours. I was in a rush, so didn't take pics. But it is very similar to this pic and it is not as serious. There is very tiny dent at the side (like next to the wheel) which caused by the force of the pushing motion. And lucky thing is the bottom rear is still good, i.e. the reinforcement is still untouched. Bad thing is the back panel pushed in a little.

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e1...yn/Hitrear.jpg

just came bk from the shop... got bad news all over. I feel like being robbed. They've already took the 1/4 window and rear window out, which the owner said costed $320. And he special ordered a part for me which I have to pay. Evenmore, hetold me the rear quarter is not part of the unibody!!!??? It is only the skin, which the real unibody is at the bottom and under it. I'm not sure if this is true,
Here is the whole story, yesterday, he special ordered a quarter panel from another donor 240sx (he said it's 95), so I asked him what happens if it doesn't fit since there are many minor differences, and then I CLEARLY heard from him that he said "we can always return it". So earlier today, I decided not to cut my "unibody" 1/4 panel and put a wide panel to cover it, also don't paint other front bumpers and skirts, he said he can lower $1200 for me. But just now, i got another call from him which basically he is forcing me to buy the used 1/4 panel front the donor car since it is already being cut and sh*t. So I told him that "you said to me in the beginning that you can always return it." but he was like "no, in the beginning, it should be like u agreed to buy it if this is the right item." I was like wtf, it is not even 98. And then he freak'in changed all of the sudden saying that this is 98.... I was like MOTHER F*****!!!

Then I told him to wait, I'm going to make some phone calls. Now, I called my friend whose the shop owner's niece. I don't know what would happen. But I'm feeling very pissed but at the sametime helpless cuz my car is sitting there without rear bumper and windows... sorry for my grammar...

Oooh...that hurts. Sorry for your car :(

Here's my question: where's your auto-insurance in all of this? Do they not cover it if you're at fault?

i don't have full insurance, I'm going to suck it up all by myself

yea, have a shop fix that. and $4000 isnt too bad.

if i was you, i would find a clean zenki shell for around $1000-$1500 and swap everything over, including the front end.

^^^ + infinity....find a clean Zenki or one with minor front end damage (check to see if the frame is ok or not)

then swap all your kouki stuff over...

If not, you can at least make a good deal of money parting out your kouki stuff

Dibs on the trunk lid! :D ...maybe...

Thanks for all you guys' well input. Everything is settled down now. Had a long talk with the friend who know the owner. The price is lowered $200 and he will still take care of everything I ask. The rear quarter panel is going to be replaced and weld at the spot where "factory welded" except for the pillar which connects to the roof. The result coming out should be comparablly back to original shape exactly. I've seen the two G35 done in the shop, and they are quite nimble.
The reason he didn't ask me to sign anything is because he said I'm his niece's friend, so that he neglected the paperwork. Anyways, I"m still thinking should I just repair it instead of replace because a cut between the roof and the rear quarter panel will be left. Even though there is pretty much no way for anybody to tell there is a weld job done there, I still feel weird about it. What you guys think? If I just repair it, I can widen the body at the sametime, but when I open the trunk, the panel precision will be slightly off and ugly inside (behind the trim carpet). Or if I just let him do the whole replacement job since the windows have already been removed and all other bumpers and skirts will be repainted due my request.

PS: there is no gurantee for me to not rear ended my car again, so if I just let it be, and cover it with wide body kit, isn't it better off this way? And I like spiritual driving alot; even after this accident, I just rethink everyday and nite I should've gas'd it instead of stepped on the brake.... Well, things will never come back when it is past.

If he fixes it back to OEM specs you most likely will never be able to notice. You said yourself that the welds will be under the carpet, so who cares? Also, isnt most of the other stuff things that would have to be done anyways, like windows and bumper?

aint no overfenders gonna cover that damage.

replace 1/4 panel or replace the car.

ironically replacing the car may be cheaper.

hahah what makes you say that? I think repair the panel along with overfenders cover or replace the whole thing are both depending on the person who did it. Anyways, the matter is which one affect the car's body and frame.

i got my 95 SE for $2600 no body damage just needed 1 tire and a gastank so ya replacing the car would be cheaper tire = $50 gas tank =$75 so entire car in good condtion $2725

if you really like the kouki look, and if yours is a manual, buy a cheap auto zenki, and swap the kouki front and manual in. or part out or sell your car, then get a zenki. either way, thats what i would do.

If you decide to forgo the Kouki, god forbid, do you have the USDM front possibly with the lip? If so, I'm gonna call dibs right now.

Otherwise, gl on getting it fixed

Sup man, sory to hear about your accident, but to be honest 4000 to fix that much damage is dirt cheap. I ran a body shop in Sacramento for 3 years and working on the S-Chassis was one of my expertise. Looking at just that one picture I can tell you that for sure the real estimate would be written closer to $8K. The quarter panel is a piece of the unibody, so for him to say its not, he's lying. The panel, along with every other metal panel that is on the main chassis is the actual unibody (multiple sheets of high strength low alloy steel HSLA sheet metal) structure. It looks like you went into whatever it was pretty fast and hard. Again, by looking at that one picture, you will need to replace the following:

Rear quarter panel and all internal substructures within that section. Floor pan, back panel, rear bumper bar, frame rail may be bent too badly to be pulled so you may even need a new frame rail (although I have seen others just pull them back out and pound on them). Trunk lid looks like its done as well (not really noticable but for sure that is done) along with the spring loaded arms for the trunk lid. Your sub-frame may even be tweaked as well.

The guy was right when he said that the quarter panel glass had to be cut, but that should be limited to 50 bux to remove and replace. The rear windshield is another story, but should cost no more than 50 or so to remove and replace (when I say replace for the glass, I mean re-install)

all 95-98 S14 chassis are all the same and are interchangable, however with the extent that it is at, call insurance, let them total the car, keep the front end and let them tow it away. Have insurance cut you a check, buy another S14. And if you do have 5 lug, take them too, pick up a set of 4 lug from some junk yard and put em in. the 5 lugs are expensive as well as the front end. Keep those, and junk the rest. Believe me, when the cost of repairs exceed the value of the car, the insurance company will just cut you a check for the value of the car (minus deductible) and take whats left of it. But the tow truck guy wont care if you take the entire front end.

Yes I've done this many times before... How do you think I saved money on my Kouki conversion with my last S14? LOL

Still, sorry to hear about the accident, but this car is done.

I just saw this post, you dont want to repair extensive damage like this, it will cost you a grip in the end, not to mention, if the guy who is doing the repairs doesnt have a frame rack with the correct measuring tools, the chassis might not come back straight. Not to mention alignment will permanently be a problem. Be on the safe side and find another chassis, transfer whatever is valuable in the Kouki over to the new chassis. But before you go and call the insurance, let them see the car as is. When they total out the car and cut you the check, swap all the parts out immediately and put all the Zenki stuff on the wrecked chassis and let the tow truck guy take it. He wont care, and insurance wont care either cause they think all the outer panels cost the same, so to them, its no loss. In the end, you'll be much more safer and save a HUGE amount of cash from repairing it.

Oh yeah, tell that guy he's stuck with the used half cut S14, it was his fault for not asking you if you wanted to buy it. If he forces you to buy it, call the Beureau of Automotive Repair and report him to them. They will get him off your back and get back whatever money you've paid him so far for "repairs" he has done.

thanks a lot for all those good info man! I've decided to repair the damage yesterday, but turns out today I'm going to replace the panels. By wrong timing and misunderstandings, this is what i'm going to end up with this choice.

Please note, the pic I posted there is not my car, my damage is a lot more minor, which only the 1/4 panel and back panel bushed in for like 3~5 inches in the left corner of the car. The shop owner told me the 1/4 panel is just act as a skin to the frame of the car, so if I replace it, then it shouldn't take any effect on the rigidity of the car and no way to find out this 1/4 panel replacement. I hope this is correct information. And I don't want to see my car go to the junk yard or anything. It is in awesome prime condition. Just that I did this such foolish damage to this perfect car.

Be sure to stop by the shop frequently to check on progress, Im sure the floor pan will need to be either fixed or replaced and the frame rail will need to be re-aligned. make sure he does the alignment in the rear.