With the exception of a couple of posts last month, business and domestic demands have kept me away from this board for a while. To recap what brought me here back in late 2006, I had purchased a 2007 Ultimate Limited for my wife’s birthday in October after searching the sparse local 07 inventory for a pearl white with gray interior. I secured the purchase by phone from a dealer about sixty miles away, while the unit was being unloaded from the transport.

Thought I’d show ya’ll how it rests today. Got a bit of a scratch that even clay bar won’t take out. My wife was trailing me. I had looked in my rear view mirror to see it spinning on its axis from the impact, which deployed the three side bags on the passenger side.

It’s a total loss. The impact damaged the frame, floor pan and roof. It effected panel alignment in the rear and driver’s side. The drive line and electrical were effected. As for the title Do Over, we replaced it with a 08. White w/gray units were 200+ miles away so made a white/tan Internet purchase through a local dealership.

(IMG:http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y133/4CEE/AZI.jpg)
(IMG:http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y133/4CEE/AZISide.jpg)
(IMG:http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y133/4CEE/Bags.jpg)

Wow! What an impact! What hit her?

Glad she wasn't hurt.

Yeah man - I hope she's OK after that. Looks like the car took quite a wallop. I think everyone in that car would have survived - even a rear passenger. That sure makes it worth its while, eh?

Impressive picture of air bags deployment. Hope no one was hurt. We went through the same "totaled" thing last Dec with our CRV. Despite insurance coverage, it's really a pain in the a**, isn't it? In Jan. we spent 2 weeks driving replacement vehicles. The rental car provided was an Elantra. Very impressive! We decided on a Nissan Rogue AWD to replace the CRV. Does the '08 Azzie show a marked improvement in the handling department?

It was an uninsured 98 Mitsubishi Gallant. The Texas Motor Vehicle Safety Responsibility Act, in Transportation Code §601.051, states that a person may not operate a motor vehicle in this state unless financial responsibility is established for that vehicle. She, the driver of the Mits, shouldn’t have been on the road and in my opinion should have her license revoked in my opinion. Texas needs to get tough on violators.

It appears the Mits driver didn’t attempt to avoid the collision and impacted at speed. My wife was a bit sore. My eleven-year-old son was in the front passenger seat. Otherwise the passenger side bags might not have deployed due to the bypass switch that senses passenger occupancy by weight. He was complaining at the scene of chest pains, caused by the seatbelt. He later had whiplash symptoms caused by his head snapping left/right. The side curtain airbag protected his coconut from bouncing of the door glass. Had him checked out by his pediatrician. The issues have faded and he seems fine now.

Right, one of the fireman at the scene stated he never seen deployed side bags. I ordered my Vette with 3LT option, which includes side bags for my son’s protection. Hope to never use them.

I can relate to your insurance woes. I experienced a real nightmare with my insurer on a convertible Vette in 2001. The at fault parties insurer dictated excessive short cuts in returning my vehicle to its preloss condition. I filed with my insurer, who determined the vehicle to be a total loss. They went to work determining their value of my Vette by using misrepresented convertible units for sale in my area. I researched the data and found two of the units were coupes not verts. One of the real convertibles was a wrecked and repaired in rough condition. Another was in disrepair. I gave them the opportunity to get it right. They enticed me to sue, a violation of the Texas Administrative Code, Title 28, Part 1, Chapter 21, Subchapter C Rule §21.203 #5 and racked up other violations. I could go on, but I’ll just say it turned into a 3.5-year legal battle.

The current experience went smoothly, almost painless. I managed it aggressively in a polite business fashion. Repeatedly declined the repair facilities request for my authorization to proceed with estimate and repairs. My objective was for the first estimate to be true and accurate based on accessible damage in returning the unit to its preloss condition. Some repair facilities will intentionally leave off accessible damage on original estimates and pick it up later as a supplement line item, normally reserved for unseen damage. The advantage for them is to secure the work. They don’t make any money on total loss units. I would have authorized and paid for partial teardown to gain an accurate estimate, but it wasn’t necessary. I met with the insurer’s appraiser for the inspection and went over my listed details and observations. The adjuster and I agreed on the value of the total loss after a few upward adjustments.

I’ve only driven the 08 twice. Didn’t notice any difference in the ride. Even has a familiar Hyundai Clunk when driving on rough roads.

This post has been edited by White Flight: Apr 23 2008, 10:11 AM

Youch. I'd say you should sue her, but if she doesnt have insurance, she probably doesnt have any money either. Glad everyone is ok.

LOL......Anyway...... I've done some Azera crunching of my own. They are crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. :wink2:
Glad no one was hurt.

Still amazes me. They fixed that up didn't they Braz? How's the alignment now?

Seems to track good...no weird tire wear thus far. Drivers door fits better :grin:

Well, here's my contribution to Azera-smashing:

Andyman32 -

I assume you had to have the windshield replaced, not repaired. Did you have the rain-sensing windshield wiper feature (the sensing mechanism is actually in the windshield) and if so, who did the replacement. Was it a Hyundai dealer using a Hyundai factory windshield or was it a glass shop using an aftermarket windshield.

I'm just curious about your experience as I have a stone chip in my windshield now, but its small and doesn't need any thing done, but should it begin to spread, I'd need to get it repaired or replaced.

Thanks for any info you can share,

Don

White Flight -

Really glad everyone in the car was ok.

Seeing my family behind me get hit and go into a spin would have really scared me.

I don't know where your car is now, but I'd be interested in buying the mirrors.

Don

zredsox, the rain sensing is in the rear view mirror. Had it replaced.
white flight, glad everyone is OK. Stay safe.

Hi zred, it was a windshield replacement - as well as several accent strips and a mirror housing. Mine was chipped by a mailbox thrown by high school kids on a vandalism rampage, rather than a stone. It does have rain-sensing wipers but apparently the catch was that some of these windshields are HEATED around the edges, which I don't even recall reading as a feature. The glass was replaced at a Hyundai dealership but apparently they got it from a glass company. They had to re-order because the first time around the guy "didn't think it was a heated windshield". I don't recall the story behind getting the glass from a glass company but they claimed that it was the only way available; either Hyundai doesn't distribute OEM replacements or maybe they just distribute them through regional glass companies? Can't recall what the story was. But the service from this dealership's body shop was **** poor, so ALL of what I just said may have been entirely farcical.