Zboy

Its called diminished value. Here in Massachuseets people have lost cases for first part claims which is where mine would fall. There was a case in which the person got the claim but his was third party claim.

Zboy

Mine is Track version so 6 speed manual. I did hit the clutch, did not help. The slip and spin was at a relatively acute angle.

Zboy

My other car is a 2000 Celica. This is my first rear wheel drive car so yes, I am inexperienced for these conditions in a rear wheel car.

Actually, there were a lot of crashes that night. As I Said, right after I pull the Z at the depot, a tow truck with a busted Lincoln Navigator drives in. 15 minutes later someone drove off the rode and into the woods. The maintence people's radio was busy with accident reports while I was waiting for my friend to pick me up.

BTW, I was going at 35-40 in 5th gear. I dont think the car had to do as much with it. Any other rear wheel car would have behaved the same. I belive it was the tires. But then again thats just my humble opinion.

Zboy

hey Eduardo,

It was most probably me. I live in Framingham, which is next to Natick and I am out driving the Z a lot. 10,000 miles in 2 months!

The only other Zs I have seen out here is a Chrome silver and a silverstone one.

Zboy

Thanks everyone for your advice and suggestions! As for taking a rock and scratching my Z...I cant do it. It just hurts even thinking of doing it.

My Z is at autobody shop right next to Nissan dealership I bought my car at. Right below the autobody sign is a sign which says "Original Nissan parts" The salesman who I bought the Z from recommended this shop to me and, he told me to mention to the guy over there that, he sent me there and that I would be taken good care of. Hope he is right.

The autobody shop is in Connecticut while I live in Massachusetts. Anyone see any problems I might have? Also, my friend said that if I talk tothe auto body guy, he can save me from paying the $500 deductible? How?

bobbyz

iTrader: (1)

How can he save you the deducatble?
Tack on an extra $500 to the repair bill and give you $500 to pay the deductable.

jimflash

I'm not a cop but fluffing the estimate to save your paying the deductible is another bigtime no-no for both you and the shop. You and the shop would probably not get caught but is the risk worth it? Follow your instincts and be aware of the entire picture. Not my biz but since you asked I would pay the five yards and f'geddaboudit. Enjoy that great Z!

InternetABYSS

Im saying get the whole car painted and have the insurance pay for it...if ya gotta scratch it more or sweet talk do it...you will be happier with a orange peel free car......take a bad thing and make it good...thats what I always say.

jackccity

Sorry hear about your accident---that's a real sad thing to have happen.

The Birdgestone 040s are summer tires and CAN NOT be depended upon in any type of high water or snow, let alone icy driving conditions. Their tread design is set up for dry road adhesion.

Many Audi owners cracked their cars up until Audi finally confessed that their summer tires should not be driven in those types of adverse weather conditions. Europeans all have two sets of tires---one for the summer and one for the winter.

Nissan should do the same thing and caution everyone !!!

No matter how good/ experienced of a driver you are, you will not be able to change physics governing this fact.

If you planning to drive your Z in these conditions, either park it, or get tires which can handle these weather conditions.
Its that simple.

I was really upset to find out that my Enthusiast was coming with 040s---not that they are bad on dry pavement---which is how they do the road tests for the car mags---but because I knew they are terrible as an all season tire.

There is alot of good research on the Tire Rack site ( I don't work for them), but I found it really helpful in getting the information you need to make a bad-weather tire decision.

I stongly encourage you all to get the proper tires for the season---or park it for the winter.

Lots of Z accidents hurts all of us for insurance--plus the personal misery and pain.

I'm using Michelin Sport A/Ss and I know others who trying dedicated Blizzak snows and switching out as the seasons change.

CaptainAwesome

Do you think it would have helped if ZBoy would have had a little *** on him? I mean, come on... 115 Lbs.

buda

Bad luck. In the future, if you feel compelled to drive in the snow investigate buying winter wheels and snow tires. Check out the Bridgestone Blizzak as it is an incredible tire on both snow and ice.

I was first exposed to them while attending a high performance ice and snow driving course hosted by Bridgestone at Steamboat Springs. We used a combination of standard rental cars and small 4x4s as well as two other cars outfitted with the Blizzaks. All I can say is that they are well worth the money.

Good Luck with the repairs and painting.

baven

First of all, I can comment on the insurance aspects first hand.

1-Your ins. co doesnt owe you a thing for the "lost value" of a car that has been in an accident compared to one that has. If they give it to you, which they wont, it would be out of the kindness of their heart.

2-Can you force them to replace all damaged panels? No. That is the decision of the adjuster. If he wants to repair every panel he can as long as it doesn't break a few cardinal safety rules, which vary by the panel, things like 90 degree inception, crumple zone, structural fatigue, and cutting points.

3-Repaint whole car? Keep dreaming. The adjuster will pay to paint the damages panels, either full/partial/spot paint at his discretion and will blend with major adjacent panels only if damage is in contact with said panel, again at his discretion.

4-Three stage paint? Uh no. To my knowledge Nissan offers no three stage paints on the Nissan name, I believe a few select models and years and colors for the Infi's used some, but not a Nissan and certianly not a Z. Three stage paint is often referred to as pearl/mica coating, which is not available on Z's, and even then they can match it.

5-Damage mitigation vs. proliferation. If you fail to protect your car against further damage from an accident or you excentuate the damage already existing, that will at least get you a denial of the entire claim and possibly charged with several counts of fraud ranging from mail, insurance, phone, wire, and computer.

6-Rates. Go up? Yup, probably 30%.

7-Why were you driving a RWD sports car w/performance tires on snow in the first place? No sympathy, its your fault, if you want to drive the car in poor weather get a set of winter tires with Blizzaks or at least winter tires, then the car will handle as well as anything, its more about the type of tires etc.

ethan84ae

Talking about winter driving for a second - isn't it generally better to be in a lower gear when it is slippery out - 35-40 mph is <I>really</I> slow for 5th under any conditions... perhaps you would have had more traction in 3rd at that speed...?

daveatrpm

First:

I am a New ENgland native, I have driven in all sorts of snow, ice, etc. I think studded snow tires are the best if you must drive your Z in the winter. They will not destroy your rims, and chains could break and damage the bodu around the wheels.

Second:

Diminished value claim for extra depreciation is highly unlikely or impossible for folks who are in an accident that is their fault. If someone caused you to wreck, or hit you, you might be able to go after their ins. co for something like that. I do not know the
Massachusettes ins practices and laws though.

Third:

Do not purposely damage your car. Insurance adjusters will pick that up, and you will find yourself in trouble if they do. The marks and damge from the guard rails would need to be consistent with the fabricated damage. I also find it ironic that on a site that demands dealer integrity and honesty, you are getting suggestions to commit fraud, in order to improve your position with an insurance company.

Fourth:

Any parts that are replaced will NOT be replaced with painted parts. They will be replaced then painted, undamaged parts will be blended (Partially painted to make the transition less noticeable from one part to the other) but not totally painted. Under no circumstance should you repaint undamaged parts that do not need to be painted. Body shop paint quality is far behind factory paint quality. I believe your car is black, it should be easy to match the color.

Good luck

Dean

baven,

I'm not particularly supersitious, but your type of "shut up, you're screwed" post is an open invitation to BAD KARMA.

Zbay, it's only a car. Hang in there.

Dean

cotmfk

I actually think it is better to be in a higher gear in slippery conditions. You have less torque at the same speed this way, whcih means that you have a throttle that is less sensitive to throttle response. IE: each inch of travel means less of an adjustment, so you can be more precise in the amount of throttle you want to put forth. This is the same thing as when you are starting and you sue a second or even third gear start.

Them Bones

1. I think a lower gear is probably better in slippery conditions. With a high gear, small changes in throttle position = large change in vehicle speed = you will have a very hard time keeping the wheels from breaking free. In the lower gears, keep the revs up just a bit and don't make any sudden/large changes to throttle position. Pretend there is an eggshell between your foot and the gas pedal.

2. Do not put any weight in the back of the car! I've heard this mentioned a couple times. You may be able to take off a little better, but the back end will swing out in a turn and you won't be able to stop as well when just moving forward.

I've driven several rear-wheel drive cars through winters here, including an old 280ZX and newer Mustang Cobra. I can't emphasize smoothness enough. I spun the 280 when pushing on the gas just a little in fourth gear @ 40 MPH. After that, I knew what it took to lose traction and never had another problem in the snow. I drove the Mustang to work one day and passed several SUVs off the road in a ditch. The Mustang obviously had performance summer tires (Goodrich 3rd gen Comp T/As) and is lighter in the rear than the Z. More HP and torque too, so my opinion should be worth something. The only thing that kept me from moving was deep snow. The front tires would just try to plow through and no go.

There is one thing I'm curious about. A couple people have said the Z's tires don't stick when it's cold??? I never had a problem with the Mustang sticking in the frigid cold once the tires warmed up. I'll be buying a Z or G35C soon, so I'd like to know if there's any truth to the not being able to drive in cold weather thing (even when dry). Is it just the track model, or all Zs? I've seen a lot of talk on the G35 boards about winter driving too.

I wonder if the tight suspension is part of the problem - no weight transfer when accelerating or braking. I'd like to hear from people who have installed snow tires. How does it drive now?

-TB

markaidan

Here's what you do Zboy. You scrap the 350Z, buy yourself an M3 and never look back! You will love yourself in the morning....