DUI+hit & run= Screwed

[Ed]

Originally posted by sblake01

In the words of John McEnroe, "You can't be serious!"

Ohhh, you betcha! A big hammer can fix alot. Even that fender. With a little body filler I could make that dent disappear!

[Rusty1]

Ed,

I sincerely hope that you are not applying your body repair techniques on the Z you are restoring?

On the insurance side of things. In Oz if you are insured and can identify the offending driver most insurers will cover the repair cost to your car at no penalty to yourself or your driving record. I don't know how insurance compnies in the U.S. operate but it is certainly worth finding out about.

Good luck.

[4381821]

I got 2 estimates today, and the average equals $3,930.80, hahah. talk about suck.

[kmack]

Originally posted by sblake01

In the words of John McEnroe, "You can't be serious!"

I'll agree with Ed here. You'd be amazed at how much front-end damage you can fix with just a chain and a tree. Granted it won't ever look pretty, but it'll be good enough to allow you to drive the car.

I rear-ended a pick-up truck with a VW Scirrocco. Hit hard enough that I lost 1st, 3rd, and 5th gears. Shift linkage got out of whack. Limped over to my girlfriend's house, borrow a heavy chain, and hooked it up to the big oak tree out front. Threw it into reverse and started backing up, hard! After the fourth pull, got all my gears back and drove the 55 miles home. And yes I did have the frame straightened out at a later date.

My sister had an '85 Buick Regal that she ran into those concrete poles in front of the gas pumps. Pulled that heavy steel bumper damn-near straight using the same process.

Yes, it's a crude method for fixing some types of damage, but for a cheap/throw-away car, it can do the trick for little to no cost.

4381821,

$3900 seems like a lot for the damage shown in the pic. Must be something else we can't see. If you don't care too much about what the car looks like, then yes you will be able to get it inspection legal for around $200-300. Scour the junkyards for a headlight assembly and turn-signal, forget about the grill, pull out or cut the front of the fender, and replace or repair anything else that might be bent behind the bumper and in front of the tire.

As long as the car will run and nothing is rubbing or out of alignment, then drive it until you get your Z finished. You're young and everyone has to have a beater-car at some point of another. I've had a few of them....they're called "throw-away" cars.

[eob]

Is it really worth the time and hassle? Dented motors never drive the same, ever, and that one looks like the inner-wing is also badly curved. If the wheel also got slammed into the kerb on impact, you could be looking at bearing or driveshaft damage too.

Pick up the cheapest old Honda Civic you can find and move on. Well.. maybe not a Civic but you get my drift

[Ed]

Originally posted by Rusty1

Ed,

I sincerely hope that you are not applying your body repair techniques on the Z you are restoring?

I wouldn't dream of it. As a matter of fact I'm not doing any body work on it. The little that there is to do I'm having done by a pro. Along with the paint.

But on a lighter side, I learned alot about doing body work by working on cars just like this. What better opportunity to learn? I can also see how the estimate for repairs is so high. New pannels, new lights, new this, new that. Labor etc....

A chain, a big tree, a big hammer, get that thing on the road and drive it until it falls apart!

Yaa, you betcha!

[frank13]

with Ed. Good Chain or bumber jack can work all sorts of wonders. I fell asleep once between jobs looking for parts at the breakers and wrapped the front end of my 87 300ZX around a steel signal pole. Right in the muddle of the bumper. Fixed it with a comealong, chain and the bumper jack. Bought a used radiator, and reused the original bumper cove all for $200. :devious:

[tanny]

Rusty 1,

How do US insurance companies operate? By breaking out the scalpel, excising your wallet, then declaring the operation a success but the patient went broke. Victor.

[peterc]

Hey 4,

Having been on the wrong side of hit-and runs myself, as well as a few self-inflicted injuries when I was a poor student (now I'm just poor ), I have to agree with Ed.

If the insurance implications are negative, i.e. making a claim will affect your rates, then fixing it yourself is a real cheap alternative. I'm assuming of course, from the pic, that the damage is only cosmetic and that the car's mechanicals were not damaged.

Once you remove the bumper, and broken lights, the fender will be relatively easy to straighten out and repair. It may not look professional, depending on your skills, but then again its an old car that only cost you $1k in the first place, so it's not supposed to look concours.

Pick up replacement lights and bumper from the wreckers and you're back in action.

Hell. if you're completely unable to do ANY body work yourself, just rplace the broken lights and you should be legal to drive, unless there's a dress code for cars in your state.

Cheers,

Peter