Body repair advice

[BillAinCT]

With 1050 miles on my 22 Leaf SL+ a 22 year-old backed into my car in Daddy's Lexus (which by the way had a backup camera!) cracking the bumper, breaking the headlight mounting bracket, and denting the left fender pretty well. I contacted the collision/repair link on the local Nissan dealer's WEB site and submitted a form. I also submitted online to a body shop that I've used before, one that other's I know have used and is known to paint very well.

The latter shop called me back first so I went there. 7 weeks later I picked up the Leaf yesterday. The painting is as expected - outstanding. However, the location of the fender left a high spot on the end at the pillar and worse the gasket for the triangle window doesn't touch the glass - about 1/16th" away. In looking at it closely, I don't see how to close that gap at the window keeping the gaps down the driver door and pillar correct. I didn't see the gap until I got home last night, so I will go back Monday and see what they say. Maybe it doesn't really matter - unless water flowing behind the fender is a bad thing.

The advice part is, can it be made right or could the replacement fender not be identical to a factory one? Should I have gone to a Nissan recommended repair shop or is this just what happens? If the current shop cannot close this gap, should I go to the Nissan shop? That would cost me, but it's an adjustment and shouldn't be significant. I hoped the car repair would turn out to be exactly like it was new.

The bumper doesn't line up with the fender and it did when I picked up the car, so something moved during my drive home so I'm going there Monday anyway for that. My feeling is they saw the old fender and it met the glass and they would have done that on the install of the new one if they could have,

Also, is there an explanation as to why the headlight is upwards of $2400? I know it's LED but why so much?

Sorry for the length. I'm just very disappointed that I had a new car for only 5 weeks and want it new again if possible.

 

[RNeil]

I don't think any dealer does collision repair. You go to a shop and your mileage may vary. Collision parts are always shockingly expensive when they can only be procured from one source and they know that insurance will pay it.

I used to own a BMW. That car had very reasonable parts. I bought trim parts that were a fraction of the cost of a Ford or Nissan.

 

[BillAinCT]

I don't think any dealer does collision repair. You go to a shop and your mileage may vary.

Yes, I figure that is the case but now I'm assuming that a link to a shop on the dealer site might be one with more experience working on Leaf's than where I went. In hindsight I should have at least expected this to be true. I asked the shop when I dropped off the car if they had worked on EVs and he said yes but not a Leaf. I know I'm getting ahead of myself but I expected a new bumper and fender to be pretty basic work. The part around the window is tricky.

 

[LHN]

Sorry for the length. I'm just very disappointed that I had a new car for only 5 weeks and want it new again if possible.

That sucks. I don't have any advice, but I feel bad for you.

I had a new car and someone scratched it before I had even made my first car payment! I was so pissed off. People told me to just ignore it--"Cars get scratched all the time" but that's not my style. I paid to have it fixed and I am glad I did.

 

[rogersleaf]

Sorry for the length. I'm just very disappointed that I had a new car for only 5 weeks and want it new again if possible.

There is nothing to be sorry about. Someone else damaged your property. A good faith attempt was made to fix it. The fix is falling short of expectations. The advice would be to contact the shop and the insurance adjuster to get the shortfall fixed.

 

[jlv]

The advice would be to contact the shop and the insurance adjuster to get the shortfall fixed.

^THIS. It sounds like the shop didn't correctly fix the car. They should be on the hook to do what they were paid.

 

[Drew21]

Definitely take it back to the shop as soon as possible and go over all of the issues with a manager.

If they run a good business, they should fix it to OEM standards for you. Your repaired vehicle is their advertisement for future business, so if they care they will fix it to your satisfaction. I once asked a body shop to do a cheap/quick repair on an old car, where I explicitly told them that I didn't care if the paint was properly matched/blended as I was just looking to prevent rust, and they refused for that very reason.

Did they replace or repair the fender? If the body lines are weird I would suspect a (poor) repair. Can you post some pictures?

As to your bumper cover, maybe some of the retaining clips were broken during removal/installation, which could allow it to look fine when you pick up the car and then a bit wonky later if wind and road vibration cause it to move.

As to the cost of the rear light, it's my experience that replacement parts are either super expensive or unbelievably cheap, and beforehand I can never guess which it will be. In many cases, it's worth an hour of your time to call a few junkyards to see if they have any donor vehicles. It's unlikely for a 2022 car, but maybe the lights match from previous years.

 

[Nubo]

Agreed; have the shop make it right. Even though you may not be able to see how it's possible; they are experts at moving metal and rectifying problems like these.

As far as going to body shop recommended by the dealership -- well, how much do you trust dealerships, and sweetheart deals? I'd rely more on customer recommendations in your area. In my experience the dealer's body-shop partners are less motivated as they are getting a steady stream of business funneled to them. Find a shop that depends on word of mouth.

 

[LeftieBiker]

My 2018 SL got T-boned in slow motion, and while the shop I used was populated with Jerks, they made it look like new. Any parts that unbolt should be replaced with new OEM, or at least new OEM equivalent.

 

[BillAinCT]

First, thank you all for your comments. All who said they should make it right, were of course right!

I was hammered at work Monday and yesterday and over the 4 days driving, it had actually gotten worse. More uneven alignment and the fender was slightly further out than the door edge. In that time, people at work more observant than I am noticed that the wheel liner was on the wrong side of the fender in one section and both sides were missing the push-in round holders. And there was a mar in the clear coat on the charge port that was new. I also noticed when I charged Monday that the cover was much harder to push down to latch and was slightly below the bumper then before.

I went there this morning. I pointed out the 6 items (but I had forgetting about the hard to latch port cover). The owner said they'd take care of it today - he would personally do the work. He did say they can't get help and what they have isn't great. He apologized for the work.

He drove me to work! Only 5 miles. He drove my Leaf back to me at work at 11:30. It was raining and snowing so it was a little hard to scrutinize, but by feel and what I could see it was perfect. I even said the pillar alignment was better than the other side. He smiled and said, "I know". He said they buffed out the clear coat mar. I believe him.

Then I remembered the charge port latching. I showed him. I said it wasn't nearly so hard to latch. He said bring it by and he'll fix it while I wait. Does anyone know if that adjustment is easy and how to do it? I just want to raise the latching assembly 50-100mil or so. I can stop by there but it saves everyone time if I can make this simple adjustment at home.

I did get ahead of myself. They made good on the repair and it looks great.

 

[BillAinCT]

Did they replace or repair the fender? If the body lines are weird I would suspect a (poor) repair. Can you post some pictures?

To answer since you asked, everything was new - fender, bumper, and headlight. I was told at work maybe they used OEM replacements to explain the bad fitment, but I think it was just poorly done. Fortunately, they do paint well and in the sunlight Monday it was outstanding.

As to the cost of the rear light, it's my experience that replacement parts are either super expensive or unbelievably cheap, and beforehand I can never guess which it will be. In many cases, it's worth an hour of your time to call a few junkyards to see if they have any donor vehicles. It's unlikely for a 2022 car, but maybe the lights match from previous years.

As the other party's insurance was on the hook for the repairs, I asked for all new parts. So for me the cost wasn't an issue. But if I ever busted a headlight on my own I sure wouldn't be happy to pay $2400 out of pocket. I would pursue a junkyard for sure.

Are the 2017-2022 models all the same? Wasn't 2017 a model year change? Was 2017 and later kind of a Gen 3 Leaf? Or Gen 2 and 2011 to 2017 are all the same?

 

[LeftieBiker]

The body was revised for the 2018 model year. It's essentially the same car underneath, but the outer sheet metal is all different in Gen II.