Got in an accident (pics)
 

So I'm driving on my way to go get dinner. I'm in the left lane going about 35 mph.. there's a toyota 4runner in front of me and a buick century in front of him. I noticed that the century turned on its signal to turn left so I was going to move to the right. I checked my mirror.. no cars.. I check my blind spot.. no cars. I turn on my signal while I'm moving my eyes back forward to the road and the buick century and the toyota 4runner stopped!! I wasn't tailgating or anything (for once.. which is a suprise cuz I do it all the time) I swerved over to the other lane as fast as I could but it was too late.. if I didn't swerve over at all though, it would of been a ton worse but here are the pics.

that sucks man. really sorry about your ride.

ouch...i was in a similar situation in early december. i wasnt as lucky...im getting my car back tomorrow. is your insurance going to cover it?

But I guess on a positive side of things, I only have a $250 deductible.. The insurance adjustor (he already called.. that was quick) said that they'll be writing a check out to me and my body shop guy.. my body shop guy will in turn, write me out a check for the amount that I need to get my own parts and he'll put them on.. but the insurance company is giving me the cash to get OEM parts.. duh which are more expensive.. and any money left over will then get turned over for me. I had this happen a few years ago when I hit a deer at 75mph lol I saved so much money by buying aftermarket parts instead of OEM parts that I bought wheels and tires! Hopefully I'll come out somewhat ahead again this time.

at least u will get some money out of it

that sucks dude, but atleast you can get aftermarket stuff now :hgrin:

I know how you feel. :(

Yeah I'm kind of excited.. I found a place in town that'll sell me a body kit for $400 and that includes the painting and installation..
Anyone have any suggestions as far as headlights go? I really want projectors but I don't want any cheap ones that'll go sh1tty on me really fast like I hear about some of them..

Blackbullet, what body kit do you have in your sig?

Xenon all the way around.

You happy with it?

so what ur saying is that i should trash my car and have the insurance company pay me more then it costs eh? hmmm... excellent... brb...

j/p. id say that sucks man, but it seems like ur kinda happy it happened. but ur insurance is gonna go up now so really theyll prolly make more money off of u then u get in that check.

ouch bro that sux..whats the total dmg?

Don't know yet.. I'm going to my body shop guy tomorrow and he'll give me a quote and I'll tell him to quote me high.. but I'm sure I can get everything fixed for around $2000 or so..

Anyone know of some good projectors? Anyone at all?

tyc's

That's what I was looking at getting.. any others?

I'll get pics of my 04 Vic' up soon. Totalled, flipped multiple times, hit a tree. Looking at the car you would probably look to the morgue to find me.

ouch yeah that sux.....makes ya feel any better my former friend ran my car into the side of a mountain going 60 in the snow last year on 1-75 and caused $9000 in damage and i didnt have hte car for a month and a half

just make sure u re seal the tyc's when u get them....... other than that there is no better projector...

and yet, the tyc's still suck.

Alright so I got my estimates, the adjustor came and looked at the car.. $3103.56 worth of damage. I am getting the TYCs, VIS fenders, and the OBX M3 mirrors.

Another question about the TYCs.. you guys are saying to "seal them".. what do you mean? Flame away at me for sounding dumb but I really don't know what you guys mean haha

i guess it makes up for all those times you did. :nono: :shrug:

^Yeah you're probably right.. What goes around comes around eh?

Still need to know what 'sealing' is for the tycs.. I did a search but didn't come up with much.

what is it with civics and toyota trucks...my bro rear ended a tacoma pre runner and fuked up his hood radiator, upper tie bar, radiator mount, list goes on...anyways like within the past few months i've seen about 10-15 civics in car accidents with a toyota truck...well about 85% of them...it sucks ass tho...sry bout ur car too

is the frame bent at all?

haha i got rear ended when i was stopped and rear ended a 4runner if that counts? ohh and, get the tyc's... i think for the amount of money that the insurance company gave me for one oem light, i could get a set of tyc's :)

They said seal the tycs because some of them arent properly sealed and get that water inside of em, or moisture when u wash car. Go for HIDS with ur new tycs :P

Seal them with silicone, just a good bead all the way around the headlight, where the two parts come together. Just like when you cleared your previous headlights. btw legacy what is MECP?

Yupitsme - Yeah.. the adjustor priced the OEM headlight at $221.. and I'm getting the TYCs shipped to my door for $180ish I believe.

Racingspam - Maybe we should of bought toyotas instead eh?

Zodcivik - I'll probably just stick with the projectors until spring time so i guess that's only a couple of months.. but I'll definitely be getting HIDs because from what I've read, the light output out of the TYCs without HIDs is really bad.

Realitycheck - "MECP is the Mobile Electronics Certification Program. The program was designed and developed by the Education Committee of the Mobile Electronics Associations (now part of the Electronic Industries Association), a non-profit organization dedicated to the 12-Volt industryu. Their purpose was to test installers at their current level of ability, allowing them to earn and display a certificate which denotes a level of achievement.

MECP is also a learning and education tool that allows installers of all levels, through continued study and daily experience, to be able to grow to the next level of expertise. MECP is not just a testing program; it is a network of schools, manufacturers, dealers, installers, and concerned professionals from all over the country and Canada, whose primary goal is to help make this industry educationally sound with ongoing training and testing." That's what's quoted out of the book.
But pretty much, you get a study guide, read it through, know your sh1t, take a test. Most of the tests are divided up into:
1. Basic and Advanced Electrical (electronic components, circuitry, etc)
2. Installation Knowledge and Technique (shop safety, proper tool use, garage checks)
3. Autosound (Wave theory, crossover design, enclosure design, noise probs)
4. Cellular (cellular installation, knowledge of a cell system, etc)
5. Security (car alarms and remote starts)

There is the
1. Basic Installer (what most installers have)
2. First Class (what I have and a good majority of other installers)
3. First Class Autosound Specialist
4. First Class Cellular Specialist
5. FIrst Class Security Specialist
6. Master Installer

Each test is no doubt harder than the previous.. The Master's Installer's test is the most difficult test, there's less than 200 people in this country who have passed this test. My electronics teacher in college (who is also a car stereo guru) did not pass this test. You can take the Basic Installer's test anytime.. You can take any of the First Class installers test if you have at least one year of professional experience, and you can take the Masters if you have at least three years of professional experience.
You must pass each section with at least 70% of the questions correct and must achieve at least a 70% average of all. One of my friends took the First Class test and got 100% on the electrical knowledge, 95% on the the Autosound, but got a 62% on the security. So he averaged 85.6% but since he did not get 70% or higher on the security section, he is not MECP certified.

So in short, if you're MECP certified, you know your electronics pretty well.. I've been working in a shop doing stereos, video, navigation, alarms, remote starts, and fiberglassing for almost 2 years now and even though I am MECP certified, I still learn new stuff almost every day at work.. but if anyone is into electronics, they should look into the test. I hope that answered your question..

I never cleared my OEM headlights, I just bought some replicas that were already cleared and instead of the chrome trim, it had black trim. I've read the DIY on clearing the headlights and it says I should put them in the oven for a couple minutes. Will I be needing to do that to the TYCs and pry them apart and silicone them? Or can I just put a good bead of silicone around where the lens meets the back of the housing?