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My 1990 Iroc was my DD and I knew at some point the inevitable would happen. Luckily, this wasn't my fault; still, my car got totaled after the claim. It still runs and drives and so I bought it back from the insurance company.
Overall they gave me $7400 and I bought it back for just over four hundred...yes, $400. That's a no brainer, especially when you see the damage: virtually all cosmetic (the hood won't close all the way, so there must be some minor damage to the core support area). I live in the Tampa area, so if you happen to have a car similar to mine, 1990 Iroc with 102K and the 5.7L, you might get more than you expect. It's still a shame that the title is now salvage and I'll have to get a rebuilt, but I never planned on selling it anyway. I'm sure I could sell it now to make some money back if I wanted to.
If anyone wants additional info on how USAA priced out my car, let me know. Or if anyone wants additional info in general.
Does anyone know where to source some of these parts I might need, other than the junkyard?
They totaled it out? Thats a crazy minimal amount of damage front clip wasn't bent.
The fender can be fixed, a PDR could get probably 90% of that out, and only a small amount would need to be fixed with traditional methods. Would save you on having to blend the doors and A-pillar.
The hood is probably screwed, lots of time in getting that straight, certainly more than just getting a fiberglass hood, or JY hood. The clip, yeah no saving that.
All in all, if they valued the car at $7400, I wonder what their break-even point was to fix it. I would have fought for it not to be totaled.
I fought for them to repair it. The issue was apparently where they could source the parts. The 7400 was their second offer. The hood is for sure gone, so is the fender I'd imagine. The nose is torn pretty bad, so I'd replace that too. Does anyone make them aftermarket?
A little over 4400 was the total cost to fix everything. A little high, but that's replacing everything vs just fixing what's there.
I fought for them to repair it. The issue was apparently where they could source the parts. The 7400 was their second offer. The hood is for sure gone, so is the fender I'd imagine. The nose is torn pretty bad, so I'd replace that too. Does anyone make them aftermarket?
A little over 4400 was the total cost to fix everything. A little high, but that's replacing everything vs just fixing what's there.
The fender can be fixed, and the paint damaged area spot painted. The nose is gone. The hood would be a pain to fix, but you could source a hood from a JY or guy who strips them for cheap enough.
I paid probably $75 for my new hood when I painted my GTA. I sourced a nose, GFX, hood, bumpers, and such for less than $300.
It's pretty easy to find parts for third gens still. Heck you could probably buy an entire roller for like a grand and get everything you need. And yes there is still company's that manafacture the front bumper. Classic Industries does brand new OER and there's also Hawks Third Gen. You got options just it depends on what you are willing to spend to get it fixed.
Does anyone know where to source some of these parts I might need, other than the junkyard?
go to your local crazy rays if any are around(i know you said other than junkyard), try ebay, and try places such as classic industries and camaro central
Imagine the costs of having the car exported to Europe though. That has to be pretty expensive.
Also if there is no titles how does one legally claim ownership of the vehicle then?
from US to europe its about 1500$ from Europe to US is over 3,000...I have no idea why but this damn continent makes everything expensive for no reason.US exports more stuffs I guess.
anyway here you don't have a title (by that I mean a paper like the one in US),here you have to prove you own the damn thing .You see in Europe license plates never expire and thats how you prove who owned it and if that person signs the selling papers then you own it and can register it on your name but you need the contract between you and seller and the old license plates.If you don't have the contract thingy you can prove with other papers that the car is yours for example reciets from parts stores ,witnesses and so on but its easy to "fake" those sheets of papers where the seller and you sign.
and if you think its easy to steal cars then the answer is yes.You will need the paperwork which comes with the plates but in theory you could pick up a car and if you are lucky and has all the papers inside you can sell it "legally"
that's not good imo ,US system is alot better and more logic.Any idiot can understand that the title is the thing that makes the car yours.Its a pain in the a$$ here to check if a car was wrecked or not.
if you want something really good about US cars with US plates you should know that they never check when US plates expire because here license plates don't expire .I know few people with american cars with US plates on them.They drive them with expired plates...no one asks them anything because theres no legal basis to ask someone "hey your plates expired" .No idea how they get insurance thou.If I'd know how to get insurance I'd have all my cars with US plates
Last edited by FirebirdUSX; 07-18-2015 at 04:34 AM.
Thanks for all the responses. I'll probably source the stuff that I'm not worried age can affect, like the core support, hood, and fender. The nose I'll probably buy aftermarket to make sure I don't get one that's in poor shape due to weathering. The fog lamp broke as you can see, but it was broken anyway so no loss there. I needed to get it painted anyway, so this helps speed that process up I guess. $4k is about the limit I'd be willing to spend on this: $1k in parts and $3k for a decent paint job should do it. I know I'll never get that value back but a freshly painted Iroc with a rebuilt title in perfect condition should still fetch around $4k, so there won't be much lost. Remember, I paid $400 to get it back...
You wont' have $1000 in parts if you are going after stock items. Look on craigslist for people parting thirdgens out. You can score fenders, a hood, and the bumper cover for less than $400. And if you want, you can spend a few hundred on a nice aftermarket Fiberglass hood of your choice.
Don't' bother with the Repro parts if there are good factory parts available. They will fit 100x better, even with the work needed to fix their defects.
If the core support needs to be pulled back into shape, or replaced, then yes, you are looking at a moderate chunk of change to fix it. But if it doesn't, then your repair could basically pay for an entire repaint of the car.
Have you looked into what its going to take to plate and insure a salvaged title in your state? That may be a problem too.
Yeah, for the 7k that they gave you, you can easily come out with a sweet ride. As posted above, 1k in parts and 3-5k for a sweet COMPLETE paint job. Hell even some wheels and rubber maybe.... Lots of options. If you plan on keeping the car, who cares about the title. The insurance company doesnt care. You will maybe have to have a custom insurance plan to fully cover you now but thats no biggie. I think State Farm told me around 140 a month for full coverage and up to 20k in insurance... When I got my z back in 98, I payed 3 k for it. Full coverage was 250 a month. So in a year I payed for the car for the cost of ins... heh. Legal Thiefrie. sobs...
(EDIT) At least here in MN its not a big deal for ins.... At least not the last time I checked...
Yeah, for the 7k that they gave you, you can easily come out with a sweet ride. As posted above, 1k in parts and 3-5k for a sweet COMPLETE paint job. Hell even some wheels and rubber maybe.... Lots of options. If you plan on keeping the car, who cares about the title. The insurance company doesnt care. You will maybe have to have a custom insurance plan to fully cover you now but thats no biggie. I think State Farm told me around 140 a month for full coverage and up to 20k in insurance... When I got my z back in 98, I payed 3 k for it. Full coverage was 250 a month. So in a year I payed for the car for the cost of ins... heh. Legal Thiefrie. sobs...
(EDIT) At least here in MN its not a big deal for ins.... At least not the last time I checked...
-Dan
In some states turning a salvage title into a rebuilt title is a difficult proposition. So just getting it plated may become a problem depending on the damage.
You'll need some documentation basically stating what the damage to he car was, and how it was repaired.
Should have it looked at by a good body shop. If no structural damage to the car, then its going to be very easy to repair. If there is structural damage it will get more expensive.
I'm doing my best to sort the parts used, as the point made above about them fitting better is a valid one. However, I'd hate to find used parts that need work. I'm sure I will have plenty of options, but I'll have to make sure I scout them out well. The noses I've found on feebay were for crazy amounts of money, like 350 to 500. I can buy a new one for 350....
I'm not planning on spending all 7k on the car. I'll buy something that's a better DD for now and turn this into a weekend cruiser. I graduate from USF in December, so hopefully I'll have a better place to store it.
The rebuilt title process doesn't seem that difficult in Florida from what I've read. There isn't any frame damage that I know of. The assessment made by the body shop I took it to didn't note any and didn't show there was in their quote to USAA, but that can always be hidden.
If anyone is selling some of these parts in the Tampa area, let me know. Thanks for the thoughts and options going forward.
So an update after many months. Bought the hood, fender, and nose new from Classic Industries. I'm sure I'll have some fitment issues, but I'll sort those out on my own. I got started tearing it down as you can see, but the apartment complex garage I'm renting isn't exactly ideal for doing all of this work; progress will be a little slow. Here are some pictures so far. I'll keep you guys up to date on the progress.
Wish I was closer- I have everything you need.
I normally get $125 for a hood, $200 for the nose and unripped chin, $30 ea on the fenders, $75 on the complete headlight bar.
Glad to see your progress. Just a question on the title. It was always my understanding that the title wouldn't change unless you didn't keep the car. Is that still the case? Did your title change? I could be wrong it seems everyone else is under the same impression you are.
I can't understand the insurance company situation?
$4400 to repair, instead they pay you $7400 and let you buy the car back for $400. It was cheaper for them if they repaired it.
most insurance companies stop at 75% and as the OP said that was the second offer first they prolly hit him at 6,500. A reason they do this is that the repair cost is an estimate, what happens when that car goes in the shop gets torn down and they find underlying damage structural damage and or mechanical damage? They have to look at the potential worst case scenario
Just from the pics, the upper part of the core support looks pretty good. You might need a new grill insert too with the hit the right fog light took, but it's hard to judge that from the pictures.
New OEM parts? I wasn't sure where to source those. If you have any sources, it may be useful for the future. I know that was part of the issue with the body shop I took it to; they couldn't source OEM parts for it anymore.
The title currently says salvage. I had the title as I owned it before the accident. USAA required me to send it to them when I accepted the insurance money. They sent it back after I bought it but with an update that it was totaled. They essentially bought it for a day and I bought it back the next...or something to that effect.
Core support is virtually untouched. There are a couple of bent brackets, but should be easy to source. The fog lamp on that side was already broken, but it had the most obvious sign of an accident. It wasn't recognizable after the accident...
I wish the insurance company had fixed it, but the final price included a bunch of work I just had done to it, i.e. new tires, ball joints, etc. They reimbursed me for part of that, though it didn't play into the overall value of the car. Plus they pay for taxes up to the value of the car, which also factored in to the money they gave me. They only issue that after you buy something else, though. I bought a 2006 Jetta TDI with 75k miles for around 8k, so it worked out in the end. I get almost 3x the mpgs....
I'll post more pics this weekend of any progress I make.
Got the nose off this afternoon. Had a little trouble with the header panel mount screws not staying in the panel itself where they mount to the fender. Fortunately the header panel broke during the impact and I was able to piece it out so I could get a pair of vice grips on the stud and loosen the nut holding the nose and fender to the panel.
I'm debating whether to use the existing brackets and hardware or source them new. I know some place like home depot or lowes will be expensive. Any suggestions?
There is some damage to the subframe where it connects to the bumper on the passenger side. You can barely see it in the pictures. I'm not sure that damage is going to matter, though. The metal bumper also has a little bit of damage, but that looks easier to fix. Any thoughts?
All in all, not a whole lot of damage. It needs to be cleaned up quite a bit, but the majority of the paint work will just be on the exterior in the end it seems.
I fought for them to repair it. The issue was apparently where they could source the parts. The 7400 was their second offer. The hood is for sure gone, so is the fender I'd imagine. The nose is torn pretty bad, so I'd replace that too. Does anyone make them aftermarket?
A little over 4400 was the total cost to fix everything. A little high, but that's replacing everything vs just fixing what's there.
beware the aftermarket rubber noses , quality is lacking .they dont fit without major tweaking
Welp, i guess that's something I'll have to work through. I'm going to hit up the junkyard next weekend to get a few brackets and such, so maybe I'll pull the nose off of one of the third gens there as well. Anyone have any pictures of an aftermarket nose attempts?
Got the replacement fender mocked up today. It took a little bit of 'persuasion' to get everything to fit correctly, but it turned out pretty well. I'll know more when I get the front end mocked up as well and I'm sure there will be more to do. When I first put it on the car I didn't think it was going to fit at all. The sloping towards the front wasn't quite as pronounced as it needed to be, but it all worked out in the end. I'll get the replacement nose mocked up in the next few days and post the pictures here. I'm not expected great things, but we'll see.
Got the nose/header panel mocked up. The aftermarket nose fits pretty well...way better than I expected from the horror stories. Check out the pictures below. The only thing that annoys me is the flat edges near the sides of the nose. I get they probably had to shave some of it off after they pulled it from the mold, but it just looks bad. The sides don't really line up well because i haven't bolted anything down. I just have one nut holding the nose on from either side. Check out the pictures below!
Got the nose put back on with the header panel and headlights installed. I painted a few brackets and cleaned up some plastics prior to putting everything together. There are a few things I left off, like the right fog light, some of the underbody guards and plastics, and a couple brackets I just don't need to get the title status changed to rebuilt. The hood fits pretty well, though the center of the nose needs to come out more to line up better with the center of the hood. For now, though, it's good enough for a trip to the DMV!
Looking at the result I can only say that these "insta total" insurance companies waste money.That car was never "totaled" like I read in the first few comments.Its sad that they waste/consider totaled 3rd gens so easy.Perfect looking car and a perfect job done fixing it.
Aftermarket nose looks great.... When I had mine replaced with a so called "GM" nose.... the flat part under the headlights isn't flat, it's wavy......
Aftermarket nose looks great.... When I had mine replaced with a so called "GM" nose.... the flat part under the headlights isn't flat, it's wavy......
That was the most concerning place for me initially. Without the structure of the header panel and the fenders, the headlight area looked wavy. Luckily after bolting it to the header panel, it was forced into shape and holds well. The rubber they make it out of is very firm compared to what I've seen in the past for aftermarket noses. I have a 1980 Firebird Formula and that aftermarket nose is virtually worthless. Each headlight (4 of them) has it's own rectangular surround in the nose and all of them are wavy and droopy. It looks horrible. I'm glad I didn't go through that this time.
FirebirdUSX, I completely agree with you. It wasn't ideal to have it totaled and I was initially frustrated that they were going to do that, but I'll be able to fix a lot more with the money they gave me than what could have been done if it were fixed. Obviously the cost of that is a salvage/rebuilt title but I don't see any reason to get rid of this car.
A minor update - I'm heading to the DMV for the initial paperwork inspection in a couple weeks. Florida requires a Builder Form that covers the major repairs (like I'm sure most states do) and I have to have the paperwork inspected prior to getting the car inspected. Once they approve the paperwork, which will cover the necessary title and builder forms, receipts, etc., they'll give me a temporary tag to use for the inspection. After that's finished I can get the new title and tag. It's a tedious process and certainly not close but it will be worth it. I need to check the brakes and oil to make sure they're good for the 60 mile drive, but I don't suspect any issues.
Finally got the car registered and titled rebuilt. Inspection was fairly straightforward but the couple of trips to east Tampa from St Petersburg was a hassle. If you are looking to get a salvage car rebuilt and want to know the process for FL, let me know and I'll give some details.
Next step is getting it painted. Anybody have some suggestions in the St. Petersburg area? I'll be taking as many things off the car as I can for paint prep, and prep what I can in my apartment complex to keep costs down. Probably still looking to spend around 3k to get it all painted the factory color. I'll need a new windshield after paint, but I don't see much else the painters will have to do other than sanding and prepping to the body.
If anyone has any recommendations, tips, or places to stay away from in the Pinellas County area, let me know.
I've decided that I'll just paint the car myself. In the past few months I bought a house with a lift and a paint booth in it (lucky me, right?) so I might as well learn how to use it. I began sanding the body this past weekend and it's slow going down to bare metal. Has anyone had good results just spraying over the old base coat? I know I should go down to bare metal, but if I use a primer surfacer will I get comparable results? What about just sanding and painting over the clear? That sounds like a bad idea as I type it...
I've started looking into buying the base and clear, with the base "ready to spray" as I don't have any experience mixing color. Anyone have any recommendations? The paint code is 75/WA9540 Brilliant Red Metallic. I've seen a gallon of the base on feebay for about 240, with the primer and clear around 80 each. I've read that whatever brand of primer I use, it's best to stick with that brand for the base and clear.
I can't seem to post pictures right now, but I'll post some as soon as I can. Thanks for all the advice in advance!
Last edited by Ransford2987; 02-13-2017 at 08:15 PM.
07-17-2015, 05:18 PM
