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Well, it sure seems that a lot of us are getting into trouble these days.

I'm worried I'm going to get totalled, so I'm putting this up for inspection and ideas on how to handle this. I've talked a good bit with Brian, Hardy, and Scott. I'm developing a game plan and I'll probably be seeing how things go tomarrow.

Shots can be found HERE. (before and after shots).

Edit: Additional Shots added HERE

Long story short:

Driving in the hills to find some snow, we were driving maybe 30 miles an hour. I found the road and slowed down to make the turn. I looked in my rear view mirror an the car behind me must have been looking at the sign and was coming up on me fast. I gunned it and tried to veer to the right off the side of the road. It was too late, and the minute I did that he hit me and I got launched off the side of the road over a small ditch and against and up the side of the mountain. (I got launched so hard probably because of not having brakes on and having the gas on). The impact of hitting the side of the hill damaged my fender, but it could have been worse. The damage could have been a LOT worse.

The front fender is damaged, but the lights are all ok. The bumper was smashed in and the gas tank was crumpled a bit. The rear lights are all ok. The trunk lid back panel thing was pushed in and I have to push it pretty hard to get the trunk to close and stay shut. The rear driver's side door rubs against he panel, but it isn't THAT obvious that it would and there is a small dent in the roof. I didn't actually notice that until Brian pointed it out. Everything tracks fine. My exhaust and tires are fine. No problem driving it around.

There is a shot of my tire tread in those pictures too.


I really want this car back to shape. I'm wondering if there is any way I can increase the sale value above bluebook because of hte condition it was in pre-accident. My car was pretty cherry. No oil leaks or usage. Nice interior with no rips, everything worked. I've never really had to deal with this before, so advice or ideas would be nice. If I have to buy it back, is there a way I could get more than blue book. BB is like $2500.

-Ryan

Edit: url location, also, what I thought was the gas tank initially is the spare tire well. So I'm not actually sure of the condition of the gas tank.

Gah. . . if those are Nero M&S's, I want your tires.

Tried to get them for my car, but they're going to be out of my size for another 6 weeks, at least.

Don't know about the damage, though. Since it encompasses both ends of the car, that *might* drive the costs of repair up quite a bit.

Yeah, they are M&S's. Just got them installed, and am really glad they are ok.

Holy crap, what's going on that people keep running into us?! I think everyone else is jealous.

That really, really sucks. From the look of the damage I would think that they wouldn't total the car though. It all looks pretty easily fixable, from the photos at least.

Well, from the shots it doesn't look that bad. But the blue book of the car is 2500. So....

The dent in the roof and rear door problem bothers me. I'm hoping it is just the side fender that was pushed back a bit. The other car hit me at a bit of an angle.

Easy: Total car.

Buy car from insurance company.

Use leftover money for junkyard parts.

The fenders are the same for Turbo and N/A, as are the rear bumpers IIRC.

The front fender is easy to replace.

The bumper's come up on e-bay every once in a while too.

Get the car painted, or try to paint it "close enough" yourself.

Someone backed into my sister, and the insurance company totaled the car. Gave her $3600.

She took the $3600, went to the insurance company and bought the car back for $450 (I think).

The car had a salvage title, but it was still drivable. She used the leftover money to repair it.

So, if you do what I suggested, you'll get a Salvage title (therefore never being able to sell the vehicle for anywhere near KBB), but get to keep the car.

I'm sorry this happened, Ryan. I'm glad nobody got injured or killed though.

From the looks of it, the damage is pretty much just cosmetic, though, right? I mean, you could just keep this car as is, if you wanted to, couldn't you?

Can't you Californians buy nearly rust-free BCs for peanuts anyways? If it's totaled you could buy it back and put all its nice stuff into a 90 or 91 non-turbo...

Yeah, but if it is salvaged it just gets totalled easier in another accident.

So, either way it may suck. Thanks Vikash, I understand what your saying. Right now though, I LOVE this car. I've done to much to let it go at this point. At least I can't really consider it yet.

We'll just have to see what they say after the estimates.

Has anyone ever had an company value a car more than what KBB says its worth??

-Ryan

Oh and yes, I could keep the car as is and drive it. I'm driving it now. There is no problems with drivability. The heat sheild around the exhaust by the gas tank rattles a lot more often now, but that is the only annoyance.

What do you mean it gets totalled easier in another accident if it is salvaged now? Do you mean if it has a salvage title it'll be easily totalled? Cuz a transplant would work around that...

I remember someone else on the BBS recently mentioning a time when a friend of his got an insurance company to give him more than KBB for a wrecked car by finding another example of a similar car for sale at a much higher price or something. I want to say it was 123c talking about a friend with a 123 Benz, but I don't remember...

Yeah, you could show them that NH with the McLaren kit car guy who's still trying to sell his car on ebay like it's an Aston Martin Zagato - maybe the'll give you enough for a house downpayment.

Steve

If it gets totalled again in another similar accident, just buy it back in the exact same manner, only cheaper this time around

Sorry that happened, glad everyone's okay though.

Man, bummer. I hate that sh!t where you are just minding your own business and get whacked.

I think that is a total. There is a lot of time in fixing two separate ends, and the front looks pretty tweeked.

I would guess $3000 range from the average shop, to fix it right, and that's if the uni is straight. If not its total for sure.

I don't know what book value they will use but Rhode Island just tried to charge me sales tax on $3125 blue book value for my 92 NA wagon with 166,000 miles. Nice book they got here.

OK, from an insurance standpoint- the roof dent will cause a total out- because that in itself would be too much to fix.

But yes, buy back the salvage title and keep the car.

But if you need another ( I am posting this on the sale section too) I found a local 91 SS ( 4eat sadly) with everything original.
they want 3300, obo. ( I dont see them getting 3300)

I am in Spokane, WA. I could look at it if you are interested.
their number is: 509-954-1323. The picture is B/W but the car looks to be blue or maroon. No mileage posted.

Yeah, if you could look at that for me, that would be cool. Hardy just spammed my messenger with cars as well. One had only 100k miles.

So far all have been autos

I REALLY don't feel like doing another tranny swap, hehe, but I still have a good working tranny which will need a rebuild eventually that I could swap in. I have my LSD which is in good shape, and my engine is great, so in theory, I could piece back a car....its a lot of work.

So far everywere I've looked its a total. I've got one more place I'm going to look at. Maaco. I don't know what kind of work they do really, but they were suggested to me by a shop because of a cheaper deal with paint.

It seems that my paint job is causing a big problem. The paint is a 3 stage pearl white that looks REALLY good. So, they say that it will cost at LEAST 2k just to try and match it up right.

I went to one place that doesn't deal with insurance companies, just private parties. He said that in California, you are not required to use the comapany that the inurance suggests, you have a right to choose. He priced me repairs of 2500 minus paint. He is getting a bunch of parts from Subaru Suzuki Kia recycling center (most of you should know of hte place). He also will leave minor fractures in the behind the scenes bumper parts. I forgot the name of the specific piece. It goes between the bumper beam and the cover.

He says that he actually would take it to maaco and get a two stage fake pearl paint. It will look darker, and be more like what a dodge stratus or some car like that looks like. It won't be as nice, but it will be cheaper.

The other problem comes from the rear. Because it is pushed in, and I have to push in the trunk panel to shut the trunk, that back piece will have to be removed and put back in, the piece that the tail lights bolt into and the trunk latches to. That requires welding.

All in all, he gave me a pretty nice, honest deal. So there is hope, but it comes down to this:

No one really said that they would keep the car. The all said to scrap it and go for another. The guy with the cheapest price said that I run the risk of the trunk not being totally lined up right and I've heard of possable leaking and stuff like that. Some of the things are just worst case scenario I'm sure, but I'm trying to figure out if it is smarter to go with another car. I don't want to have a car fixed just to have issues down the road with excessive creaking, leaking, trunk latch problems, etc. If it gets fixed, i want it in a reletively durable condition. Know what I mean?

So for now, I'm waiting for insurance to get back to me, and then I'll go from there. I probably should pull off my wheels and my exhaust just incase I am unable to later.

Oh, the bluebook I've seen for hte car has ranged from 2700 to 3700. The value I was looking at was private party, not retail.

-Ryan

Heed the warnings about leaks in misalignerd body panels.

My 1987 BMW 325is is a fine vehicle in all respects, except for the fact that I got nailed by a truck 4 days after buying it in 1994. The car was mint showroom. The damage was bad to the bodywork above the bumper.

In spite of having the best shop in the area fix it (it looked great), that accident is now responsible for the fact that the car has lost most of its value and I no longer really want to keep it. The trunk area has numerous rust spots starting, with leaks into the trunk that I can't seem to stop. Basically, all the areas that were hit are rusting, and the entire rest of the car is 100% rust-free.

A big bang like your car took loosens up the factory spot welds and tends to open seams that were sealed at the factory, and rust usually ensues.

If I were you I would take advantage of the total, I have usually gotten more from insurance companies than I could have on the open market.

Plus shopping can be fun

What concerns me is the crease in the roof. If nothing hit your roof to make it crease, then that means that your chassis got tweaked pretty good. If you got it on a rack, your chassis dimensions more than likely will be off. You 4 wheels might not be equidistant from each other anymore.

And I have to strongly recommend against Maaco paint jobs... if you plan on keeping the car.

I truly hate to agree with the naysayers due to the consequences, but the truth is what it is and the damage sounds and looks pretty bad. If you could do the work (and do it right, which is why I say if you could do it as nobody else will fix it properly - that's a promise), I'd still be concerned with the tweaked roof. Any body shop you go to will not do their best to prevent rust return (like hot galvanize dip, use wax agents, etc. on the backs of replacement panels and in seams). You'll be lucky if they do anything at all even if you pay them to.

I'm an idiot when it comes to my car, but even I would have to pull the plug through blurred eyes for the tweaked roof (unless I come into lots of money).

Steve

Ah geez, I was just getting my hopes up that it was salvagable.

Everyone says it isn't as bad as it looks until I mention the roof and door.

I talked to a mechanic I trust, and he said that he has a frame man he can send me to that he trusts and sends his stuff to. This guy will also do a 4 wheel alignment and make sure things are good.

At that point I can have some other place finish off the work. The mechanic did say that I am always playing the risk of leaks or rust or whatever. MAN I wish there was a more clear answer.

In all honesty though, (reaching for posative, here) other cars have had body work with decent results right? Am I just asking for trouble by getting it fixed? I fully expect the dent in the roof to not fully come out. The dent isn't large. I should get a picture so you guys know what I am seeing.

-Ryan

The dent and door are strong evidence that the chassis is warped. since it was a rear collision, i wouldn't be surprised if you've just gotten a bargain anti-squat kit. It's entirely possible that everything that bent is neither structural nor part of the suspension/drivetrain. I'd take it to an allignment shop and see what they say. If the frame needs straightening, or it needs crash bolts, i would invest in a different car . Also check that the differential is not altered.

You've seen my quarterpanel, that was my first attempt at body work. I'm sure i could have made it as good as it is now (its quite good imho, for those who havent seen) in about a day. Your damage is nothing in comparison.

What i see as the best thing:

1) car is totalled because of expense for cosmetics
2) can be alligned- critical components are not tweaked
3) sledge the spare tire well until it comes into spec, replace all the rear bumper impact absorbtion stuff with jy parts, get a new skin, get that painted
4) remove fender, and massage into shape. hammer a piece of wood to get door ding creases out. paint is ok
5) massage the roof out. Haven't seen pics, but gentle use with an acytelyne torch with help
6) adjust the door hinge so it no longer binds. a couple gentle taps with the sledge may be necessary

This will take you about 12 hours. This is exactly what a body shop would do, whether they said they'd do something else or not. I'm happy to help where i can.

Let me get pictures of the roof and door. If you look down the side of the car you wouldn't know that anything was wrong. None of the driver's side of hte car is dented in any way.

The roof I missed until Brian pointed it out, but if you look at it at an angle you can notice it. The paint hides it pretty good.

-Ryan

Man, I don't know. My previous comment was based soley on the pictures you linked. I thought it was just the front bumper, front quarter panel, rear bumper and trunk. I didn't catch the roof or door thing. That makes it much worse....

Hopefully it's not too bad and even if they total it it's salvageable and can be ressurected. If not, I still think it's worth buying back and having as a parts car though.

Thing is, the jobs where the stuff is fixed properly (looks good fo more than 2 years) is big money and usually only done to 'classic' cars. These guys (if you can find one you can trust, which can be a real crap shoot) likely won't take a Legacy job and will cost a lot of money. Depends on how long you want this to last. If just a couple years and the alignment checks out, then maybe it's worth it and maybe about the same as swapping to a cheap N/A. If you want it to last it's real chancy and will cost some $. It may be worth it to you, if you can find a good place. Try to find someone by word of mouth that has had their car done years ago and still owns it if you can. Those shops usually don't need to advertise, but may be real busy. The other issue is that a lot of big money restorations end up garaged anyway, so visible corrosion resistance doesn't always mean it was done real well.

The other thing to consider is where you live - where I am this is far more important than in more temperate climates.

Steve

Because I can't seem to edit that album I've made another one HERE.

Please look at this guys and let me know what you think. The shot of the passenger side rear door gap actually looks worse in this picture than it does in real life. I think it has to do with the shadows and the lighting.

I totally appreciate all your comments and ideas, I'm just wondering if this helps you guys visualize what I'm up against. Thanks for the input.

I've edited the first post as well. Pictures are coming up right now, so they may not all be there if you look this instant.

EDIT: Pictures are all up now.

-Ryan

Yeah, you need to get it on the frame rack. They can always fix it, its just can you afford the time . You get hit for something like $100 for the first hour and then the hourly rate after that. See if a good mechanic can see where this binding is happening in the chassis. I will try to get my body guy to look at these pictures tonight, he has been doing this longer than I have been alive and will be able to give you REAL advise.