You may remember seeing my post a week ago how I wrecked my car.

https://www.thirdgen.org/techbb2/sho...hreadid=180045

I have been quoted $5000 to fix all of her except the wheels. The frame is slightly bent but they thing they can straighten her out. The whole left side needs to be replaced. My car was practically new before the accident so I kinda want to spend the money. However, she has now lost her perfect image and will no longer we wearing her origonal red metallic paint. Should I part her out, pass her on to someone for a good price for them to fix her. Sell her as is and get a fourth gen with a loan. Fix her an have one of the bext looking 35,000 mile RS's anywhere. What would you do if you were me?

 

Hrm... how much money do you think you'd be able to spend on another car? Do you have another car to drive while this one is gone? Personally if I was in your situation I couldn't deal with having that knowledge in the back of my mind of what happened to it. It just wouldn't be the same ya know? If it were me, I'd probably get rid of it. Let it help out some other 3rd gens out there or become some else's project. I'd get another car. It'd just be too sad for me to keep it after something like that happened to it.

(And hardcore 3rd genners, I never said anything about what car to get next, so I'm not sellin out the 3rd gen)

 

Im sure the insurance co. will total it out at that cost. So if you had full covg. or were not at fault, i'd say buy it back for the little amount that tehy'll give it to you for, find a cheap body to put all the parts in and reincarnate the thing. You dont want a crappy 4th gen, trust me

 

Damn man, if you dont fix it you're stupid. Its not messed up that bad.

 

If you are going to get a fourth gen with a loan why not just put a personal loan and mod the crap out of her. Working on fourth gens is an extremely huge pita!! Get it fixed, repaint it, put some money into a killer drivetrain and there ya go. Maybe even buy yourself a daily driver.

 

I agree with HG. I know thirdgens aren't that spectacular but I took pride in how perfect mine was. It never even had a single snowflake ever touch her. She just wouldn't be the same. Driving another car isn't a problem other than the fact that I am not in my summer car I recently had collision taken off my insurance because since the car was 13 years old the insurance wouldn't give me anything for it. So what ever money goes into it comes out of my pocket. I could probably get some good money parting her out but that is a pain everytime someone wants something and I get small amounts of money here and there. I have been looking at some '95 Z's which are running about $8 to $10 thousand for t-top, leather, 6 spd, and LT1. I would like to get about 4 or 5 grand out of the thirdgen if possible and because ever part of her was so perfect someone could buy her and fix her and she would be good as new. Other than the damage from the wreck everypart of her is perfect and sellable.
uhg uhg uhg, this sucks

 

Fourth Gens are not bad until you have to work on them, then...
....Good luck I took a friend and I two days to change the opti and the spark plugs. They are really nice cars though.

 

id keep it ....of course i do get attached to cars though, thats really low miles looks like you have some money in it already, besides after its fixed you can show ppl the pics of when it was wrecked and they wont believe you just my .02

good luck whatever you do

 

I really dont see where your going to find 5 grand, in parts, or as a whole, the car is raped, 4th gens are a bish to work on, get yourself a cheap body that hasnt been wrecked, and reincarnate it.

 

I would get most of my money by selling all my bolts ons and my interior. I have over $3000 in wheels, tires and suspension stuff. Not to mention a $1000 stereo and a practally new interior. I know fourth gens are a bitch to work on but in my opinion so our thirdgens. You can take a fourth gen a lot farther to out of the box that is. I am tempted to finance an LS1. My roomate has a 2002 SS and it is just flat out incredicble. After rding in a car like his it is hard to lay down 5 grand for a good looking slow car. But mine does handle a lot better

 

that would be my decision maker right there.

i'd keep the car, and fix it. hell with what the insurance co says, they're a bunch of crooks anyway.

 

You could make a thirdgen ALOT faster than an ls1 for alot less. Yea some of the creature comforts would go, but speed is easy to come by.

 

I myself rather than spending five grand to fix that would find another car to buy and then take everything that is better from the wreck and swap it into the new one. Then afterwards sell all the spare parts.
Just my thoughts!

 

I would also have to say that I would try to find a body and transplant it all.There is no way you would get 5K from it though.You would be very lucky to get half that.Keep the car and use its parts

 

Well after listening to you guys and pondering many posibilities, i think I will fix the car and keep her. I can't aford a new car right now and I could get by with spending the 5 grand to fix her up. I will ask for them to re-paint the whole car and do a couple other things as well. I may just have them straighten the car and immediately make it my project and do what I can to her to save some money. This is a long term project but I geuss it will be worth it.

 

I forgot to reply about the "making her fast" comment. I know that any car can be made faster than any other car, but a fourth gen is fast right out of the box. You have a much better platform for power. There aren't as many weak links and they don't rattle as much

 

Glad to see your fixing it!! She seemed to be a real looker pre-accident.

I catch myself wanting to take out a loan for a 4th gen...but they absolutely, totally, unbelievably SUCK *** to work on.

Not to mention dude, now that your car is wrecked..when it's fixed...it's going to really kill the value of it...all the more reason to mod & customize the hell out of it if thats what your heart desires!

 

If you feel the need to upgrade don't bother with a 4th-gen. For the same money you can get a really nice C-4 corvette. LS1's are going for $12K + up, the 92 + up vette's can be had for the same money or less. Right out of the box you have a better, faster, superb handling car. The LT1 can be slightly modded and hang with LS1 4th-gens. The suspension, brakes, and trannyare great. I picked my Vette up for $11K with 49K miles.

Dave

 

What I will probably do is get her straightned out and look for all of the other body panels myself. That will give me time to build either a new 350 or stick with the 305 (already have a cam and heads were around the corner to go on it). I never thought I would see the day where I would be using my car as a "project car." Well at least she will be pretty kick *** when she is done. And she will look so good it will cover the hurt of her not being "totaly origonal."

 

sad how something like this can turn your life upside down... i know the feeling wrecked my car once (my fault) and then had the car hit at the same place twice while it was parked... once infront of my house... other time at the shopping center... i owned it since i was 17, im 20 now.... and when i wrecked it at 17 i decided to fix it instead of buying another one.... and you know what.... im happy i did... they car will never be perfect... but at least i know i still have my first car... so my vote is for fixing it!

 

Well, the insurance co. may SAY it is $5000, but sometimes you can 'sway' some shops into getting it cheaper for straight cash

Perfect example (sorta) is my cousin... he called a local exhaust shop to see what it would cost to have a set of true dual exhausts made for his '52 Ford pickup. Over the phone he was quoted $450 plus muffler and tips. Later, he went down to the shop in person and basically said something like "hey, would you cut me a deal if i paid in straight cash?".

The price now? $350 for pipes and mufflers, tips extra.

Alot of privately owned shops (ie. not a wide spread chain like Macco) will do this... yea, its a little dirty, but some will do it, and i don't just mean exhaust shops. You just have to find that body shop that will

And I would keep that car... that is a beautiful car which obviously has alot of time, effort and cash in it. You'll be kicking yourself for letting it go later. Especially when it's time to work on that 4th gen...