Score 2 for Festiva / 0 for Nissan

[GenevaDirt]

Me too...my wife was feeling better today. She though about seeing a doctor about the bruises and the neck pain yesterday but she said it felt better today.

do not mess around with the neck pain...or think that it is all going away because it is starting to feel a little better.

4 years or so ago when I got rear ended in my Festy I injured my neck. Refused a ride to the hospital and thought no way it was going to last or that it would get worse. Until it happened to me I would have argued that whiplash was pretty much a farce.
The pain did not completely go away and I started getting stiffer and stiffer and had to seek help. After about 6 months of being treated I felt pretty good and we stopped treatment and started settling the law suite. Well I should have not rushed it because I still have issues and my neck feels like it needs to crack constantly on my left side. I can tilt my head and feel the pull but it will not crack...no matter what I do and it is a constant source of pain.

I hope that your wife does not get to the point I have but just do not let it go. Good luck.

[1990new]

do not mess around with the neck pain...or think that it is all going away because it is starting to feel a little better.

4 years or so ago when I got rear ended in my Festy I injured my neck. Refused a ride to the hospital and thought no way it was going to last or that it would get worse. Until it happened to me I would have argued that whiplash was pretty much a farce.
The pain did not completely go away and I started getting stiffer and stiffer and had to seek help. After about 6 months of being treated I felt pretty good and we stopped treatment and started settling the law suite. Well I should have not rushed it because I still have issues and my neck feels like it needs to crack constantly on my left side. I can tilt my head and feel the pull but it will not crack...no matter what I do and it is a constant source of pain.

I hope that your wife does not get to the point I have but just do not let it go. Good luck.

Thanks for the advise .... and sorry that you are still suffering from your accident.

Firstly: I'm sorry to hear you got in an accident! I can't believe the Altima moved when a FESTY hit it but, dang! Glad to hear you two are alright. I think I might have said something a little more obscene but everybody's different hahaha.

You can say that again...Festivas bring all kinds of people together....it should be nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Now this:

... makes me feel better. I don't know how much you all value your cars but they're quickly becoming extinct. There's nothing like a Festiva out there. I call it my road legal go kart, others might call it a collector's car at this point. They're more valuable than "fair market price" lists them. Proving to the insurance adjuster the value of the car is closer to fair than an immediate markup to 'totaled'. Where else can you get bulletproof reliability and fuel economy for such a low cost?

Hope everything turns out alright

Thanks...Great Testimonial...I'll add it to the collection that I'm preparing to fire at the adjuster.

Picked up my rental car yesterday...good for 6 days initially.
Been doing research to get sources for all the parts that will be needed for the repairs. Still looking for a source for the right front bumper energy absorbing foam piece. Have source for all AC parts needed, grill, bumper cover, and left park light. Probably need hood, left fender for sure and possibly right fender. Only a little bent..don't see whey they cant be straightened.

[1990new]

Link to Picasa photos of Accident Damage

Here is a link to pictures of the damage to my Aqua Festiva.

https://picasaweb.google.com/105052195308338442517/1992AquaFestivaAccidentOct152012?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCOHFi6azye2EMA&feat=directlink

[DriverOne]

Wow. That's a good hit. Good luck!

[1990new]

Hoping for the best..

Still negotiation with the insurance company. I faxed them about 30 pages of documentation to support the true resale value for my Festiva. Wrote a 3 page letter about the true value of Festivas in general that are in mint condition like mine and about the collector car status that the surviving Festivas will eventually become. Next round will continue on Monday. In the meantime they have been paying for a Mitsubishi Endeavor rental since last Thursday (Asked for something smaller at the nearby Hertz rental center but they said it was all they had at the moment.)
Sent insco the Festivas on Cars.com. I called today about the one in Spokane Washington (26,340 original miles 1989 for $3988 - they said it had sold yesterday, also said they had a call from someone in Denver about it today--said he would have paid to have it delivered there. Also talked to someone about the one in Bristol, TN at a Toyota Dealer (163,130 miles - asking $3500), said they would send me pictures on Monday. My aqua has higher mileage on the odometer, but the only component in the drive train that it apply to is the transmission.
Now it needs hood, front bumper with backing, grille, AC hoses and condenser, left front park lense, the front cross piece that supports the radiator and hood latch and attaches to fenders.
Lights are all still intact. Bumper took the brunt of the force. Hood holds down at safety latch, need just a little straightening to catch at the full latch otherwise it's totally safe to drive at highway speed. I just hate that it will have a salvage title.
Hoping for the best.

[1990new]

Settled Today...got what I wanted.
Now collecting parts and starting the repairs.

[MiltonHavoc]

Glad you and your wife are ok.
I'll also attest to "not playing around with neck pain." I'm a MT and I spend most of my weekends helping people recover from neck pains they have ignored in the past.
One client I finally just finished sorting out from a car wreck she had 15 years ago. Ive been working on her for two.

Also: if you have copies of the literature and papers you typed up/wrote about the true value of a Festiva; That would be something good to have stickied or kept alive for ( knock on wood) current and future festy owners that might find themselves in the same predicament.

[1990new]

Remember the documentation is the important part.

Glad you and your wife are ok.
I'll also attest to "not playing around with neck pain." I'm a MT and I spend most of my weekends helping people recover from neck pains they have ignored in the past.
One client I finally just finished sorting out from a car wreck she had 15 years ago. Ive been working on her for two.

Also: if you have copies of the literature and papers you typed up/wrote about the true value of a Festiva; That would be something good to have stickied or kept alive for ( knock on wood) current and future festy owners that might find themselves in the same predicament.

Thanks for the advise about the neck pain. My wife has not experienced any more after the first few days, took pictures of her bruises but she did not go the doctor it. So at this point we do not plan to file a personal injury claim. However we will leave them on the hook as long as the laws allows in case something should develop within that time frame.
BTW...Nothing at all was mentioned during the damage claim negotiation about personal injuries.

Also do not mention lawyers at all at this point. In any case, I doubt that you could find a lawyer who would take on an insurance company over a Festiva damage claim. As a last resort, and you have foolproof fault established, you could tell them that you will just break off negotiations and take their client to small claims court (rules vary by state..maximum amount in SC is $7500). Do not do this if you have personal injury involved! From my research, it appears that if you have much evidence at all, the judge will usually rule in your favor. This could trigger the insurance company to pay what you are asking instead of getting calls from their client. The insurance company will normally have to pay the small claims judgement for the client in any case. If it gets to this, it will definitely take longer to settle. So it's a judgement call. If you are retired and have lots of time and patience like I do, it could possibly be worth you time.

Since this subject is of limited use, I doubt that it would qualify for a sticky. The ideal place would be in a searchable document database. Anyone know if we have such a thing on the forum? I would be glad to create a sample skeleton document and generic notes about negotiation strategy and save it all there for anyone would might find a use for it in the future.
It would be difficult to make it state insurance and court law specific though.

However, all this will not be of much use if you do not have your receipts and documentation.
I suggest a hard copy log book which you keep in your car and also either take pictures of it or scan it occasionally, or
duplicate the log on your computer. Keep your receipts separated by cost of routine maintenance items and major repairs or upgrades, and picture of you major repair and upgrade work, are as they say, worth a thousand words.

Again...Buyer be ware, I'm not a lawyer. These are just some things I have learned from personal experience and/or research.