Got into and accident... What to do :(

[Cutlass372]

Here are the pics:

http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2706209730063370706pYwjLL

The front rad support is bent (not THAT bad, but it made the fan get stuck till I discovered it). Other then that.. Pass. headlight is cracked, headlight buckets, fenders, hood, grille, bumper, turn signal lense and housing, front valance, and the front wings for the hood and bumper.. I took care of the insurance stuff and they are working out an estimate and if they will total it or not. Look at some of the pics on the beginning pages to see the rust areas and let me know what you think. At this point I am some what considering flying to california and driving one home.. Just looking for some opinions, let me know what you would do.

Thanks, Elliot

Edited November 21, 2009 by Cutlass372

[FastWoman]

I don't see anything that can't be fixed. Parts are available. Sorry it happened, but I don't think you have to ditch the car. (If you're intent on ditching it, I might be willing to buy it from you for cheap! )

[Arne]

They will total it. Count on it. At that point you will need to decide if you want to take a settlement and repair it, or go to something else. And with the rust I see there, if they give you very much for it, take the money and run.

Of course that's just my perspective, coming from a West Coast mindset.

[IdahoKidd]

Bummer about the car. I am with Arne, it will be totaled. Take the money, buy it back (as salvage) and use the parts for a different car. I know you are east coast, but you can find a very solid Z here for a grand. Lots of 280's for less than that. Out of curiousity, and if you don't mind sharing, IF it does total, let us know what they give you. It sort of helps determine what some of us might consider under similar circumstances.

Leonard

[Z Babe]

My question is: Is the frame bent? If not, and you love the car and/or have a lot of money invested in it, I would keep it and repair it myself. That, of course, would be entirely up to you though.

[psdenno]

Doesn't look that bad unless the chassis is bent. All of the above advice is solid, take your pick.

Dennis

[Walter Moore]

At the minimum you need a hood, headlight buckets, a bumper, and whatever parts were damaged near the radiator. If the rest of the car is worth the trouble it could be fixed, but on older cars, unless you have collector car insurance, they aren't going to give you much for it.

My car looked worse when I started.

[Cutlass372]

I forgot to mention one very important detail.. I am dealing with his insurance company because he admitted to hitting me. So I guess they can't total the car, but just have to pay me out if they don't want to fix it. The estimate is being done through progressive and not a body shop (probably not as good for me)..

Thanks for all the replys so far, maybe there is hope for her yet.. but we will see.

[conedodger]

No they can total the car... You need to establish value and quickly. They will come to you with an offer and it will be quite low. When this happened to me they offered $1700.00 and I ended up getting $14,000.00 less $600 salvage value. I then stripped and sold off everything of value on the car even the dented hulk. I made another $20,000.00 off of that. But without some evidence, arguable evidence - you are pretty much stuck with their offer. Look to comparable sales, auctions, you can even have an appraiser look at the car in it's current condition to establish it's preaccident condition.

Don't be fooled though, they can and certainly will total your car.

[IdahoKidd]

Keep in mind when establishing value, it will be what "your" car was worth before the accident, not some car on ebay. I don't want to hurt your feelings and I don't mean this as an insult in any way, but before the wreck, from the pictures, in my area that car would sell for around $500. Be prepared for them to offer something to that amount. To defend yourself, you need to have the best pictures of your car that you have. When they value your car, they will take into account the paint, the interior, the rust, the tires, the glass, all of it. I was offered $600 for a subaru wagon that was rearended. Even with receipts of over $2000 above purchase price,( I had bought the car for a grand and repaired it) and a host of pictures, we went to court. The judge told me my sweat equity was of no value, that the car could be replaced in the condition if was in prior to the accident for the thousand dollars I orignially paid for it and that it had a salvalge value of $400. All I ever got was a bent car and $600.00. I asked him to find me that replacement car he spoke of. Court adjourned.

I know myself, and it sounds like others, are following this pretty close as it could happen to one of us. How do you put a value on hopes and dreams? I know in my heart that none of my cars, from my 500SEC down to my 57 Volvo would bring the money from a "total" that it would take to replace them, leaving sentimental value aside. It makes one stop and think about all the time and money one puts into his car only to have someone else just take it all away. Please let us know so we can add to our own learning curve when our turn comes.

Good luck!

[mgmoreau]

I would recommend that anyone with a classic car that they have invested a lot of time and money into, (basically all the members on this site I would guess!) should secure a "Stated Value" insurance policy. Hagerty and Grundy are two of the biggest classic car insurers. These policies allow you to insure your car for what you believe would be the market price to replace the car with a car in similar condition. I have my 72 Z insured with Hagerty for $25,000. When I applied for the policy I had to provide them with pictures of the car and they accepted the value without any question. They can require an appraisal if they feel the value you want to insure a car for is over stated. This policy only costs me $230.00 a year. That rate is based on the car being garaged and driven less than 3000 miles a year. It also includes towing coverage to get your classic home in the event of a breakdown. You can't go wrong for that price!

Edited November 19, 2009 by mgmoreau

[Weasel73240Z]

I use Hagerty also, and I think my premium this year was $130. But my stated value is only $12,000. Maybe I should bump that up? I definitely drive less than 3K a year.