[SailorMan]

I recently purchased (Dec. 10th) a new '04 FX35 after getting what I thought was a good a price. About 2 weeks ago we had a big snow storm on Cape Cod and a rather large tree fell. On the way down it managed to find my brand new FX as well as my house. That makes quite a sound BTW. This of course left my roof no longer looking "new". The damage was unfortunately not enough to total the vehicle and it is now at a shop being fixed.

Before I brought it in I was offered $26,500 for it as is by a car broker in Boston which I turned down. I paid $34,500. The repair is likely to come in at around $9,000. The question I have is should I keep the FX or trade it in for a new one? This time I would likely get the Tech Pkg. I doubt I'll get more than 29-30K at trade. She has 1,500 miles at this stage. Any thoughts/comments would be welcome. As you may have noted I'm new to this forum.

Will post more pics

 

[Sweet Fx]

OUCH :shock:

That is so sad, at least it can be fixed.

 

[leebay88]

WOW makes me want to

Sucks it was such a new car. I don't know what I would do in your situation.

Tech is def worth it IMO. Good Luck

 

[2Fast4U]

Sorry to hear about your car, I'm glad no one was hurt.
Good thing I find about your car is it's white and the damage is on top of the car. Any body shop should be able to fix it and hopefully not alot of ppl can tell. I think you should keep it.
There is some changes in'06 models...

 

[ShadyJC]

Sailorman, first off, welcome to the forum... sorry to see and hear about the damage to the car... I was in an accident not too long ago and repair cost is approximately the same as yours, ~$9-10K. I went thru the same agonizing debate as you, after the car has been messed up, do you still want it any more? I get my car back later this week but most likely I will just stick with it, the financial loss of trading in a car so soon after getting it is too great.

My accident here -->
http://www.infinitifx.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=2608

 

[revOevoM]

Ouch is right! Bummer about the tree.

It's hard to tell what the force was when the tree hit the FX. Looks like a testimony to the roof structure. The rear window looks unbroken. I'd havta agree with Shady on this one. Seems like a relatively clean fix.

And, welcome.

 

[SailorMan]

Thanks to all for the thoughts and comments. The house took almost the entire force of the tree. Had the tree come down on the FX only it would have been absolutley crushed. No windows are broken. As you will see in the pics the doors no longer line up.

Shady- I checked out your accident and feel your pain. Would like to know how your repair comes out so keep us updated. I will likely shop mine around for a trade and will let you know what kind of numbers I get.

The shop will be sending me pics as the repair moves along and I will post those as they come in.

 

[SailorMan]

More pics

 

[msu79gt82]

1st - welcome to the group

2nd - ouch; BTW your homeowners insurance should also help pay for the damage. In fact it may be better to claim against homeowners as opposed to the auto??

3rd - hard to say as far as trade goes. How bad do you want the tech package?

 

[SailorMan]

More pics

 

[krzys4]

Let me be another FXer to say OUCH...
Sorry to hear about that SailorMan.

 

[93til]

Yikes. Hope everything turns out OK.

I had a tree fall on my house too. The tree wasn't that old - 15 years. And it only dented the gutter. No major damage at all.

 

[FromHereToInfiniti]

You know that feeling you guys get when you see another man gettin' kicked in the groin? OUUUUUUUUUUUCH!!!!

 

[ricofx45]

Sorry to see that.
Are you sure 9 grand will cover it if their is any frame damage or all those panels are out of shape from the impact? To get the roof and doors back to correct alignment and the bending of the panels, like the rear quarter that you showed, I would think 9 grand would be just the beginning. I hope you're going to a top body shop and not one that the insurance recommends.
Good luck with it.

 

[GAMacky]

Sorry to see that... :shock: Definitely feeling your pain. Hope everything turns out ok.

 

[WasRXNowFX]

Ouch... I feel for you. Nice FX, too... I like them white ones alot. Good luck, hope it gets FiXed up real soon, real nice.

 

[MustGoFastR]

OUCH. Crushing, simply crushing. :wink:

 

[SailorMan]

Sorry to see that.
Are you sure 9 grand will cover it if their is any frame damage or all those panels are out of shape from the impact? To get the roof and doors back to correct alignment and the bending of the panels, like the rear quarter that you showed, I would think 9 grand would be just the beginning. I hope you're going to a top body shop and not one that the insurance recommends.
Good luck with it.

I hope it is a good shop, we'll find out in a few weeks. I'm confident they will do a good cosmetic job given the location of the damage.

As for the cost: After being told in great detail what it will take to complete the repair I'm surprised at the figure myself. They will be replacing the entire right side roof/frame structure called a
"Uniside" not to be confused with "Unibody" which seems like a huge job. It is my understanding this peice includes the A-B-C pillars as well as the rear quarter panel. In addition all the glass, doors and interior (seats etc.) are removed. The roof skin is replaced and everything has to be painted. Seems like a lot of work for $9,000.

The shop does not contract with any insurance companies. The manager said to me "I don't need an insurance company to tell me how to fix a car, never have and never will". I was told they do all their work in house and the work is gauranteed for as long as I own the vehicle.

Ultimately I think the issue is not one of cosmetics but that of safety. The "Uniside" structure is welded in as it is in the factory - I was told 23 weld points. God forbid the vehicle is in a rollover and the welds are not done correctly......if the head injury doesn't kill you the neck fracture will. This is why as soon as is financially feasible I will likely dump this FX.

Any guesses as to trade in value?

 

[GraFX35]

I'd be worried about the structural integrity as well...you never know. Now you can get the '05 FX! G/L

 

[bradical]

so are you going to get a new FX with tech, or stick with the same thing as before? if you are going to take a hit like this , you might as well go all out and get tech....you'll enjoy it