Hi everyone,

Someone drove into my beloved 96 GT.

The loss-adjustor is coming on Thursday; I was just wondering if anyone knew roughly how much this will cost to fix? On top of the body damage apparently the rear tires are out of alignment, although it was a low-speed collision.

Basically I'm worried they'll want to write the car off, as I only paid $4,500 for it (six months ago)! :-(

Thanks,

Richard
PS Pics are also here: http://www.orang-utan.com/crash1.jpg and http://www.orang-utan.com/crash2.jpg


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I'm no expert in any sense here, but i dont think its totaled...

 

mmm..tough call the body damage is not too bad, just the door and a panel. What's worrysome is the 'out of alignment' in the rear. I can't see the frame being bent on a low speed collision but it can definitely mess up the driveshaft, axles, control arms and shock mounting areas.

 

Well I agree, but I think they write off cars which are sufficiently badly damaged for the estimated repair bill to be 70% or greater the value of the car...?

So basically will it cost more than $3,000 to sort out three body panels, the front bumper, and fix the alignment...?

thanks.

 

The body damage is less than 3 grand. The insurance company will probly be able to get it done somewhere around 1-2k. Its just gonna depend if theres a lot of damage that isnt visible, but id bet on them repairing it.

 

Cool, thanks! Do you know how the severity of "unseen" damage is ascertained?

Thanks,

Richard

 

You will need to get the quarterpanel repaired,
Either a new or used door, deffinately not a skin because it looks like there might be damage
to the intrusion beam,
A new or used fender, aftermarket ones are cheap & flimsey and fit like ***,
With the fender off they will be able to see if the left apron is damaged,
if it is, it is def. repairable,
Also they can repair the bumper cover.

The most expensive part will be the door.

I would usually be able to push a job like that through my shop in 5-6 days.

Most def. not totalled.

It would have to be damaged more than 75% of its book value.

Hope this makes you feel better.

 

Just remember, you're entitled to a replacement, you don't have to settle for a check. This is especially important with the harder to replace vehicles.

Some jack@$$ pulled out in front of my '71, damaging the fender and grille for a total of $5k (NOS parts and primo repair shop). They at-fault insurance tried to total it and offered me a check for $2500 (lucky for him it was over the phone...I would probably still be in jail otherwise). I told him as calm as I could that he could either fix the car, buy me an exact replacement, or we could go to court. The repairs were promptly 'approved.'

 

Also your alignment problem sounds like your strut got bent.

 

Like what most people have said... Its the unseen damage that you have to worry about... I hit a dirt enbankment at about 40 miles per hour... The airbags deployed and my front bumber was cracked in 3 places and paints all messed up on the left side... Also, the panel above my wheel was bent a little... Didn't seen like much, but I bent the frame... Needless to say, this was about a month ago and I still don't have the car back... When it is all said and done, it is about $3000 to fix, but I got a great deal on everything since the guy doing it all is a good friend... Good luck!