Updated for new readers - 24th November 2009

Issue of a high repair bill for a low speed front impact on a GT-R

I consider myself a fairly competent driver, I can drive reasonably quickly on a circuit, and read the road ahead enough to make good progress on the public highway. But I had an accident, and it was all my own doing.I had a low speed crash into the back of a white van, it was a badly surfaced road, we were stopped, pulled away.... and the person infront of the van stopped for no reason, causing the van to tap the tow bar of the car infront and me in sympathy to do the same to the van.Ok enough of the excuses, I am posting here to make sure noone makes the same mistake I did. I thought long and hard about posting this, but i think it is important that other GTR owners see this so they aren't stung by a careless accident and the GTR Tax!I bumped into tho the white vans tow bar causing this small crack in my bumper...Unfortunately it also set off the Pedestrain Saftey system, where the bonnet pops up....Which is a one use system....You need to replace the bumper, rams, bonnet hinges....and of course the ECUWhen the accident happened i called my dealer and asked them to collect the car and told them i would just pay for it without putting it through my insurance.Then i found out the total cost of the repairs.Eleven Thousand Pounds.I'm pleased to report the car has been repaired perfectly, even if it took 5 weeks!But I fear GTR insurance won't be so cheap next year for any of us. Sorry about that! But don't do what I did. And if you hit a pedestrain, make sure you are reveresingThis issue has been raised with Nissan UK and following their investigations they have asked me to post the following statement:"As a company we cannot comment in any detail on an individual customer case. This is a private matter and we are currently in contact with the customer, his insurance company and the dealer to help resolve this particular situation.What we can confirm is that Nissan has a policy of continuous improvement, and as such is constantly reviewing parts prices, suppliers, and customers’ feedback. In this instance, thanks to the comments received, we have discovered a computing error regarding the price of the actuators and this has now been rectified.Nissan apologises for any inconvenience this may have caused and if there should be any customers who have purchased such components at the incorrect price they will be fully reimbursed with the difference. However, based on the level of product demand we believe this was the first time such an instance has occurred.The GT-R has been designed to meet the latest legal and safety standards for all new cars. This innovative pop up bonnet system is required as there is insufficient clearance between the bonnet and the top of the engine to comply with the European directive 70/156/ EEC as amended by 2003/ 102/ EC for pedestrian safety.For your information the bonnet system only operates if the bumper is hit in a certain way and under a series of strict parameters. Not every time you bump the bumper, or if the vehicle is stationary."This information will also be posted into the first post of this thread, so anyone reading it will see it.I think we should recognise and appreciate how Nissan have fully investigated this now, stated the position and reasons for both errors in pricing and also the existence for these pieces.They have also (as has been posted by the owner), spoken to the owner personally about this and provided a nice gesture in the form of a jacket. As far as Nissan and I are concerned this is the end of the issue.Guy