Anybody have any good recommendations? Finally(hopefully) getting around to dealing with the damage done to the 370 and am trying to find a good shop at least semi-local. I had a quote done by a local shop that my boss referred me to and it seemed...higher then I expected.

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"We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office." -Aesop

Ugh, now have quotes from shops ranging from $2500 all the way up to $5000. Just want to get this dealt with, depresses me every time I see the car.

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"We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office." -Aesop

Insurance not covering it? That sucks, man. I loved that 370

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-Chris

Thankfully insurance is covering it, but I am trying to minimize any headaches with the adjuster and go into it with a couple quotes. Dealing with insurance is one of the unquestionable ways to get my blood pressure up.

_________________
"We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office." -Aesop

Usually your carrier will have prearranged affiliations with certain body
shops in your town or local area, whereby all the administrative and
logistical hassle is basically eliminated due to their association. There
is no arm twisting to have the work performed at one of your carrier's
"preferred customers" since you may have preferences of your own,
but it sure does make the task a lot easier.

Thanks for reminding me, I still have to get the paint on the roof of the
green Z repaired from where someone put something on it at the car
show last Sept. I will use one of my carrier's affiliates and it will cost
me nothing but the time to leave the car off and pick it up.

All Z Best,..............................Kathy & Rick

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All Z Best,.......Kathy & Rick

1969 Z.CAR (#00013 10/69) 8/30/76
1969 ITSA.Z (#00171 11/69) 8/24/73
1970 OLD.Z (#06289 6/70) original owner
1971 510 2dr since 12/31/75
1969 1600 rdstr (our 160-Z)
1971 (#19851 1/71) sold
1975 75.Z (#01343 1/75)

Cam ~

Why not contact our member Phil Wallace, sales manager at Nissan of Middletown (860-632-6550)? He deals with body issues for a living in his position, and he's a Z owner with the same exacting standards as yours.

In fact, Phil's classic 300ZX Twin Turbo is our Member Ride of the Month for April.

Phil is also very active on 370Z.Com, where he offers many tips about your car: http://www.the370z.com/nissan-370z-gene ... alers.html

When you've given up in disgust trying to do it yrslf, call a professional.

And remember, you're both Z brothers of the CTZCC! Tell him we sent you.

Frank

Rick,
part of the reason I am doing said digging is that I previously got it pretty good from a previous insurance providers default shop, kinda made me a little paranoid about it all

Frank,
Thanks for the heads up. I will try giving him a shout and see if he has any good places. I am meeting up with the inspector some time this week, hopefully they make my life easy and toss out a reasonable number

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"We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office." -Aesop

there's no need to worry about estimates or prices if your insurance is paying. Take it to the dealer. Then if you go to sell the car in the future you will be able to say that the repairs were all done by a dealer. If the insurance estimator gives you less money than the dealer says you need, let them contact each other and hash it out. You have the legal right to have the car fixed where you want, and there is absolutely no reason that you should be worrying about this like you are, or be shopping around for estimates. If the adjuster tries to steer you somewhere cheaper, just tell him that it's a new car and you want it dealer serviced. And relax. The adjuster and the dealer do this all day long; let them worry for you.

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71 on a rotisserie, two more in pieces in my shed...and a 69 1600 waiting for me to get to it

If you wouldn't mind traveling a little I would recommend,
Lane's Unlimited in Guilford. he is off rt80 near the intersection of rt77, and 80.

Best of luck, Dave

Back in '04 my beloved Dodge Stealth got backed-into by a huge cargo van and the damage was about the same as that suffered by your 370. I lived in Cromwell at the time, and I found a place called Joseph's Autobody (right off of Rt. 372) to take my car to. It took a couple of weeks, but they definitely did a perfect job with the colors and blending them into the folds of the car. The insurance company cut me a check for around $1400, but the repairs cost about $2200. Insurance company paid the difference as well.

Remember, you can take your car to ANY repair facility, regardless of its affiliation with your insurance carrier. And the insurance co. HAS to pay the full amount (if the damage is not your fault).

As a side note, not too long ago I got a quote to have the front bumper of my 'ex'-Nissan Altima SE-R (traded for the Z) from the body shop afiliated with Barberino Nissan right there in Wallingford. I forgot the place's name, but his shop is RIGHT THERE adjacent to the parts department at Barberino, and he's been doing all their body work forever. I spoke with him and not only did he give a great quote for the job, he also made me feel very comfortable that he was going to 'do it right' (aka, remove the bumper, apply several coats of paint & clearcoat, etc). I never got the job done because I traded it in, but I definitely would have tried this guy out.

For what it's worth-

Myron

...and by the way, if I find any cigarette burns on my front bumper, you're going to be paying for that, too. I don't know if your insurance company covers "careless highway disposal of burning objects"

Mark C is 100% correct. You pick the bodyshop. Your insurance company will negotiate with them. Be careful though because deals can always be made to lessen the expense. Know what you want and stick to your guns. This may be a good way to find out exactly where your insurance company stands where you are concerned.
I have only had experience with Dowling Auto Body(Dowling Ford) in Cheshire.

Well, I wound up taking the advice of my boss and went with a shop right up the road. A&R Collision Repair in Wallingford had done an amazing job repairing his truck after a winter accident, and had previously sprayed his 911 to boot.

I just got a chance to inspect the car, will be picking it up tomorrow morning and all I have to say is WOW. They did a flawless job repairing the damaged quarter/bumper and went the extra mile respraying the door, sideskirt and fender to insure a perfect match. The white 370's are worst affected by miss-matching colors on the side skirts because of the plastic, that side of the car actually looks better then it did off the showroom floor.

Joe and the staff were incredibly helpful, friendly and professional. I really can't rave enough about them. It is my understanding that at this point they do mostly insurance work, but anyone looking for top-notch work should check them out.

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"We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office." -Aesop

Great! Finally! I guess that means we can expect to zee your Z at tmrw's monthly meeting, 7-9PM at Middletown Nissan?

And thanks for adding this info to our VENDOR RAVES AND GRIPES forum.

Frank

Yup, fate smiled and decided to let me have my car back in time for the next monthly meeting

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"We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office." -Aesop