Accident in leased 2018 Leaf

[NoReleaf]

Hey now, everyone. (And thanks for all the responses.) Anecdotes are welcome. Opinions are welcome. Both experience and speculation are welcome.

If I implied that I would rather avoid disclosure of the accident to NMAC, I did not mean to. Not the issue. I see specific language in my lease contract about disclosure - what is missing is any detail about how to go about it. I've called NMAC twice already (phone menu no help, on hold for a live person forever) and will contact them one way or the other.

I was really wondering whether anyone had had a "should have gone to a Nissan dealership instead" or "wouldn't take it to a Nissan dealership again!" experience with post-accident repair.

After a conversation with someone with my insurance company, I feel more confident that they will back me up if I find the repair unsatisfactory in some way - wherever I take it. I think I'll just go with the insurance company's choice of repair shop. Now that I'm thinking a bit more clearly about it, I don't think anything substandard about the repair would be waiting around to bite me in two and a half years.

[LeftieBiker]

I was really wondering whether anyone had had a "should have gone to a Nissan dealership instead" or "wouldn't take it to a Nissan dealership again!" experience with post-accident repair.

As with most other services, the quality will vary quite a bit from dealership to dealership. If you do use a Nissan dealer to repair the damage, make sure that you check them out - and the same applies to independent shops - on Yelp and other similar sites, first.

[NoReleaf]

https://www.nissanfinance.com/nmac/arti ... /?ln=en_US

Thanks for the link, nrvous. I have no idea what they mean with "for us to endorse your insurance check" - as far as I know, I will pay my deductible upon collection of my vehicle and the rest is between insurance company and repair shop, no check to "endorse" - but I'll find out soon enough.

[NoReleaf]

If you do use a Nissan dealer to repair the damage, make sure that you check them out - and the same applies to independent shops - on Yelp and other similar sites, first.

Yeah, did it. Mixed reviews for both, no consensus. That one guy who was great to someone was a bum to someone else. I've been to the one shop for an estimate already. They seem alright.

[rogersleaf]

https://www.nissanfinance.com/nmac/arti ... /?ln=en_US

Thanks for the link, nrvous. I have no idea what they mean with "for us to endorse your insurance check" - as far as I know, I will pay my deductible upon collection of my vehicle and the rest is between insurance company and repair shop, no check to "endorse" - but I'll find out soon enough.

Your finance company or bank will be the “loss payee” and will need to endorse the settlement. On larger claims they will commonly inspect the repairs before endorsing.

[RonDawg]

I was really wondering whether anyone had had a "should have gone to a Nissan dealership instead" or "wouldn't take it to a Nissan dealership again!" experience with post-accident repair.

I believe this was mentioned earlier, but most dealerships do NOT have their own body repair facilities. They contract out to a local body shop for that.

After a conversation with someone with my insurance company, I feel more confident that they will back me up if I find the repair unsatisfactory in some way - wherever I take it. I think I'll just go with the insurance company's choice of repair shop. Now that I'm thinking a bit more clearly about it, I don't think anything substandard about the repair would be waiting around to bite me in two and a half years.

Just make sure that they warranty their work for at least the time you have remaining on your lease. I had the paint of a repair I had done crack on me a year later, because they laid the paint on so thick.

[EeveeSF]

Sadly, this is exactly the information I was looking for just now. I too have a 2018 Leased LEAF, 6 months almost to the day, and I crushed the front bumper. Thanks for all the wisdom found here.

Good luck with your repair as well.

[ducky8888]

My advice would be to go to a body shop that guarantees their work. I have a 2019 leaf that was rear ended on my 6th day of ownership with less than 500 miles on the odometer (not leased). I opted to go to a body shop that was not dealer associated (but owned by a company that also owns dealerships). They offered a "lifetime" warranty on their work. If you go to a similar place then if it does not pass inspection you can return to the body shop to have fixed for free.

My accident sounds like there was similar damage, the entire right rear quarter panel was crushed, but mine did chip the tail light. Once the interior was removed they also discovered that there was damage to the interior trunk panels. Dont forget that there are also sensors (maybe dependent on trim/options) behind the bumper and those can add up quickly. Also, the car will need a pre and post scan, which most body shops should be able to do either in house or with a sub-contractor. In my case they needed to cut out the entire quarter panel, which extends almost all the way to the roof and about half way under the door.

[LeafTaxi]

Sadly, this is exactly the information I was looking for just now. I too have a 2018 Leased LEAF, 6 months almost to the day, and I crushed the front bumper. Thanks for all the wisdom found here.

Good luck with your repair as well.

Someone hit me in a high school parking lot, and left a kink in the bottom of my front bumper. I took off the undershield, and heated it very, very gently from the inside with a heat gun, until I could push the kink out with a gloved hand. Now it's just a paint scratch. There are huge amounts of empty space inside that front bumper.