rockinbboy

iTrader: (1)

Hey guys,

Do you guys know of any good, reputable repair shops in the area? Will the dealer be the best bet? I had hit a guard rail last night so my front bumber is scaffed along with my right head light cover (headlamp still works). The hood appears to be in good shape with no damage. Feed back would be appreciated. I am wondering if it would be worth fixing on my own or go through insurance. I turned 25 recently too, so much for my premium going down. I have 0 claims and 0 accidents btw. Guys got any suggestions?

This really sucks...but I guess it one of those hard lessons learned. I am really lucky I didn't hit anyone else or nobody else hit me. I was taking a sharp ramp around 30 mph and as I was starting to merge into I-270 south my back end came loose and the car started to rotate clockwise. It all happend really quick and I am not sure if I steered properly or applied the proper amount of brake to loose control. Anyways...long story short..as I begain my clockwise spin I faced the guardrail and my car had moved towards it. I couldn't do anything other than stare in horror..thinking "oh f$%k, why me..why now..this is going to suck..". I sat there dumbfounded...checked the damage briefly since I was already on my way to VA. Arrrrg....the frustration . Stupid thing was before I took that ramp I checked my speed limit and was thinking to myself to go slow cause the roads were all wet and stuff from all the rain today. I consider myself a very cautious driver and not aggressive at all in conditions like these...just feel like I royally got smacked in the face and had no control of it.



Yeah, I know some of ya'll are gonna flame on me and think I was going a lot faster than what I am claming, but I can tell you I never went over 40 mph. I know I was under that speed the whole time. Oh I was in 3rd gear too if that makes any difference in my story. The other point that I strongly belive was a contributing factor to the loss of traction is that the road surface had changed from asphault to concrete right where I began to spin. It was also at that point where the ramp merges and becomes straight, so as my car became straight where the merge began I gave it a tad bit of gas to get myself going but considering there was some loss of traction right at that junction point it my attempt to give some gas didn't help. See my lil sucky MS paint drawing.


I was so frustated that I found an empty lot later tonight and tried to duplicated spinning out and trying to control my car. It was very hard to do. I am not used to how to counter steer properly and how to to brake/apply gas in a situation like this. Do you guys got any suggestions or similiar encounters? Most of the time when I read posts about people loosing the back end end up hitting their car on something. Never expected myself to be one of those people. Rain + RWD + change in surface conditions + turning = go slower than a grandma

Anyways...here are the pics. Sorry for the long venting.








Assessing the damage, I am surprised how well the bumber held up. It didn't get crumpled or anything. Its just scuffed up real bad (replacement would be probably ideal). The head lamp appears to be pushed in a bit since its no longer flush with the hood. I don't suppose they sell a cover just for the headlamp do they? Hate to think I need to replace the entire headlamp assembly to fix that scaffing.

mykel

iTrader: (12)

Sucks man.

The weather yesterday was a b**ch. After I got off work, my friend and I was just messing around and at a light we both gave it a little gas. Of course I don't have LSD in my car, so I slipped a little but I maintained control. He drove passed me and flashed his emergency lights like a smart asz.

In all honesty though, from your story, I thought the damages to your car would be worse.

rockinbboy

iTrader: (1)

Yeah...I am suprised myself too. Z OEM bumer is a lot tougher than it looks..that or I must not have hit that guard rail as hard as I thought.

abui01

iTrader: (68)

That's not all that bad, I wouldn't sweat it, just buy a used bumper from someone on the boards. Stuff like this happens all the time in the rain w/ a RWD car, we just need to counter steer when it does. Your headlamp is perfectly fine, the bodyshop will probably just readjust the bolts to align it properly again, no big damage done there, and I bet a few scuffs under the lamp wouldn't hurt that much.

If you want to learn a few tricks in rain driving, (laugh at me if you will)checkout: Initial D dvd!

The other day at work, a similar incident happened to one of my friends, except he was a victim of an out of control driver (S2k). My buddy has a E46, parked infront of a redlight when he spots a red s2k floooooring it down route 7 in the rain, chirps 2nd gear causing him to lose traction and sent him into a spin, smacks a curb @ like 50mph, flies over the curb and rams my friend in the rear end @ 20mph. The s2k's smacked it so hard the rear wheels were tucked under his car, (of course at the moment he didn't notice since he was still in the car) he then floors it in 1st to try to run away! After that, he gets out, doesn't even apologize for his stupidity, his excuse was "hey, chit happens, dont blame me, it's an accident." Some 28 yr old fat dude that "tracks his car" working at SAIC off route 7 (stay away from any Red 05+ S2k's with exhausts, the guy can't drive)

However, luckily for you you didn't hit anyone, it could've been worse, and lucky it's just the front bumper which is easily repairable. I wouldn't hassle insurance about it because a used bumper would range you somewhere between 50-100 bucks. You can realign the headlight yourself

Bill_the_Cat

iTrader: (1)

Try them out. My wife hit a buck on RT80 with her Honda Odyssey a couple years back. Dan's Auto Body repaired, detailed the car inside and outside. The minivan looked like spanky new off the dealer lot. Their paint shop is solid.

Dan's Auto Body, Inc.
5909 Enterprise Ct.
Frederick, MD 21703
301-831-4308

Good luck and hope you get her fix soon.

rockinbboy

iTrader: (1)

^ thanks Bill, I will give them a call.


Initial D huh? Alright, might have to check that out. How much damage was on your friend's car? Well that 2k was being a real idiot trying to go faster than he should have been. Fortunetly nobody got hurt. Dunno whats up with the "track my car" excuse..lol.


Well, today I went back and I looked at the heallamp housing. I really don't know how it got pushed down. I am not seeing a whole lot of bolts that I can get to other than the main one at the very top. I can only guess that the bumper is not pushing the lamp up anymore so thats why it looks like it has "sunk" in a bit and not flush with the hood.

davidv

iTrader: (2)

Summit Point, WV 11/2004

Ouch! I like the 350Z in the rain. I also like my tires. You mentioned practicing in an empty parking lot in the rain. Good idea but its difficult to find a lot big enough to get up enough speed. A good place to practice is Summit Point, VW. And yes they drive in the rain.

drivenCSZ

iTrader: (2)

thats not that bad at all, the front bumper is one of the cheapest/easiest parts to replace.

abstrakt

iTrader: (10)

Ouch, sorry to see that. Isn't there a dealership up in Frederick that everyone recommends for body work?

rockinbboy

iTrader: (1)

Well I called the dealership up, but they body shops are only open on weekdays. I'll have to wait to get an estimate.

05-Z

iTrader: (4)

If you need help putting a new bumper on let me know. Doesn't look that bad, have you tried touch-up paint?

abui01

iTrader: (68)

There's a blue front bumper (03-05) sitting at the old Vertex in the back, I bet they'd love to have a customer come crate that away for them, give them a call!

BTW: Initial D is a cartoon with crazy real-life driving tips. They go through every cornering technique in dry, rain, snow, talk about every platform, FWD, RWD, AWD, advantages vs disadvantages, vehicle weight, N/A vs FI, the list goes on forever

rockinbboy

iTrader: (1)

Oh definetly....if I decide on getting a new bumber I'll much rather install it with the help of someone since replacing the bumber is one of the easiest things to do from what I hear.

I prefer the 06 bumber . As far as I know I am the only 06 blue Z around the area and I definetly don't know anyone in the area who has an 06 OEM bumber laying around. I've heard about the Inital D cartoon. Is it a series or just a movie.


I will keep that in mind....but I think that is too far for me. I won't go for a new bumber unless the cost of fixing this one is too much which I fear may be.

rockinbboy

iTrader: (1)

On a side note...it was a good thing I didn't get a clear bra.

Osix350Z

iTrader: (2)

Oh man.. NOT THE 06!!!!!!!!!!!!! Damn man, I'm sorry to hear that.. At lest you are ok and noone was hurt.. She will be back to normal soon.. Good luck finding a body shop, new headlight and front bumper cover + paint and you're good.

abui01

iTrader: (68)

The first 2 seasons are series, the third season continues the series through a movie, and the fourth season is back to the series. There's also a real life version (a movie) which explains different driving techniques as well, but doesn't explain it as well as the series.

Honestly, if you get an 03-05 bumper with a lip, I dont think anybody could really tell the difference. Then again, you could always get the aerosync full bumper replacement or something similar.

atar350

Whats with all the Z owners sliding into guard rails jezus lol. That sucks, just like all the other accidents, but if you guys want to take turns in the rain fast, make sure there arent any curbs or guard rails nearby, most of these threads the owner states he wasnt trying to slide or go to fast, but come on....I smell that BS.

I myself love to slide around turns when its raining, but the ones I do, I make sure there is alot of road, room, and not anyone around, I have spun around a couple of times out of alot of slide/drifts, but since nothing was around, no damage. I just do a donut and get going straight again....

abui01

iTrader: (68)

You must be a professional race car driver with ungodly skills all the way from California coming to our lowly region of mid-a to bathe us with your divine knowledge of perfect vehicle control on wet roads. All hail thee. We mid-a's happen to enjoy ramming our cars into guardrails, therefore we can call our bumpers "modified....." If it was really BS, why would anyone post pics of it and show the world? If I did something stupid, I'd get it fixed and have no one else hear about it until the next meet to save myself some embarassment. He posted it for tips/numbers to bodyshops/assessment of damage. Constructive criticism is great, but calling someone out on BS doesn't help the immediate situation.

PumpedVA

iTrader: (25)

I agree with abui01 call old vertex about that bumper or looking to find a used one . maybe you can pocket some insurance $$.

Install it yourself takes less than 20min.

abui01

iTrader: (68)

wasnt that YOUR old bumper? lol, Steve showed me pics of ur car in the shop when u had ur lambos installed. Whoevers bumper that is still has his front license plate tacked on there from god knows when, definitely must not live in Fairfax County.