Yea, it finally happened. Saturday night at about 6:30 PM. After watching idiot after moron after d!ckhead drive like an *** through the parking lot at work, my car finally took it on the back corner. From the looks of things, he floored it going backwards in the parking lot and wasn't looking what was behind him. The a$$hole didn't even have the common decency to come in and apologize for it, he just took off. Judging by the 3 lbs of dirt that was left ground into my paint and smashed QP, the POS truck my car was hit with wasn't worth the cost of the quarter panel, taillight, and bumper that he destroyed. . I'd post pics, but I don't have a digital camera. Anyways, my question is, what would it cost for a body shop to

Replace rear pass. side quarter panel
Replace rear pass. side tail light
Replace (or refinish) rear bumper cover (possibly salvageable)
Replace aero wing
Prime/paint all parts in question

This isn't enough damage to the point they'd total my car out, is it? It's the car in the sig. If insurance decides to total it out, what do they normally sell cars back to the owners for? Anyone know? TIA...

 

I guess when you said replace pass side quarter, it's the rear quarter. My rule of thumb is more than 1" depth of damage or creasing on the body line, replace it. If you bang it out, your going to have to mud the whole panel to remove the waves. If it is the rear quarter, GM still makes replacement quarters but cutting and welding doesn't come cheap. Taillight, I'd Ebay it. Replace the rear bumper cover if it is torn or cracked, you will save eventual aggrivation from trying to repair it. On the wing, I wouldn't have a clue.
As far as paint goes, it's not the paint you are paying for, it's the painter. If you get someone who can color match your car and tint the paint to account for fading, that's what seperates the men from Earl Scheib and Maaco.
Unfortunately, you don't live in AZ or I'd be able to take care of the paint and I got a good body man.
Totalling a vehicle is strictly based on your insurance carrier. Most companies total out at 65% of the average wholesale and retail values using KBB. The only way to fight 'em is to make sure you get every penny that your car is worth. I know everyone thinks their car is worth $1M, but look over the KBB values and make sure they include all options and mileage and condition prior to the accident.
Selling back cars is again depending on who the carrier is. In AZ, certain insurance companies, (no names Farmer's Insurance) will NOT let the customer buy back the total losses. Reason is for future liability problems for the insurance carrier letting a "totalled car" get back on the streets. The insurance auctions give the insurance companies a buffer zone to limit liability lawsuits.
As a forethought, I had a 89 Formula 350 back in 1991 and sold it cos I was young, dumb, stupid and couldn't control my right foot. So I just picked me up another 89 Formula 350, with 115K for $2000. Drive train is perfect, all original body panels and never been hit. I don't even have to do any body work!!! Thanks to GM and their water based paint, I got her for so cheap. It's ugly right now but won't be in another 2 weeks.
Let me know if I can help you out even though it's half way across the country.
Oh yeah, right now she's the ugly bird but will be a beautiful bird real soooon......
James

 

BTW, do not for any reason go with aftermarket parts. It's a 50/50 chance the parts don't fit or are made from inferior pieces. You are better off telling the insurance adjuster that you want used OEM GM parts from the boneyard than new aftermarket and it might keep the cost down enough to save the GTA.

 

Well, I hope it doesn't get totalled out....My bumper is not torn, creased, or dented, the paint is just really scuffed up, so I think that the bumper can probably be saved. And yes, it is the rear quarter, sorry if I didn't make that clear earlier. My car was hit in the rear corner, not on the side. If I had to guess, I'd say that it's pushed in about 2 inches right next to the taillight, and that taillight is totally shattered. The rear QP buckled a little right behind the wheel flare. I'm 100% sure that the quarter and taillight can't be saved, and the wing I'm not sure on. Do boneyard fenders (the ones used by body shops, anyway) come in generally good shape, or do the body shops remove rust, small dings, etc. before using them? I'm about to call my ins. co. right now, and see what they say. I'll keep everyone posted.

 

As long as the bumper cover didn't suffer any damage other than paint, it can be sanded and repainted.
If we put on a used fender we are obligated thru the insurance company to make the part look "as good as new", meaning to remove any dings or stuff like that after the new part has been mounted to the vehicle.
I forgot about rust, the only rust here in AZ is the color some people paint their living rooms.
James

 

lol that made my day...but anyway...i go to school for auto collision/refinishing and on all the cars that we've worked on or seen that have been damaged like that we were taught to go by this rule of thumb:
If it's more than one hour of work to repair the original panel/hood/etc., just buy a new panel and refinish it because in the end the cost of labor would be outrageous if you had someone sit and pull and work the dent out for two hours, when if you chose to replace the panel, in those same two hours the bodyman could have that panel on and ready to get primed and painted...just trying to help i hate to see such an awesome car get hit by a careless butt pipe...find out who he is and ill hunt him down for you and kick his @ss with my nerf arsenel

 

That is a good rule of thumb if you are self employed or doing custom work. The insurance companies dictate what gets repaired versus what gets replaced. That is all weighed on what I stated in my previous posts. I'm just trying to give Evan a chance to save his GTA before it becomes a donor for the rest of the Firebirds in Michigan.

Evan, man if you lived in AZ, I'd be able to hook you up. Weather's nice here 70 degree high today. Nice place for a car with t-tops..............

That is the one thing I love about Arizona than living back east, any idiot can carry a gun, you only need a permit for concealment. Therefore; I make sure I have my two Glocks close by

James

 

Heh....I am almost afraid to think what would have happened, if I had "2 Glocks close by" when it happened, lol. I can see myself running out the door, guns in hands, into the middle of the street, bustin caps at any and every moving truck I saw.

Heh, that mighta worked, if you'd let me coat some of the projectiles with skin-melting acid first. Then the guy would get what he deserved.
Heh, I can hear all the thirdgen owners in MI drooling over this prospect right now...there are very few thirdgens in boneyards around here. T/A's?? Fuggetaboutit, I've been to probably 6 diff. yards, and not a single one. Not that I saw, anyways. I think I've seen 3 birds total, in all of the yards I visited, and all of them were picked clean base models.

If I lived in AZ, I would be SO there. I think my baby is gonna need all the help it can get to keep it out of the boneyards...however, I think the shop I've got it in now will keep it out of the insurance salvage pits. I expressly told them that I DID NOT want it totaled, and if that was the case, to let me know before informing the ins. co. There's a few ways I could cut down the costs, such as providing my own taillight, having the bumper cover sanded/painted, rather than replaced, etc.

On an unhappy note, I went and got estimates today. $2500 (lowest estimate) to $3800 (highest est.) Got 5 of them. Wow, how much does this suck. One thing I found out that I thought was absolutely ridiculous - Guess how much GM thinks that a new OEM aero wing is worth?? Give up? $1528.00 . That's right - you read correctly - over fifteen hundred dollars for that piece of $hit rubber wing . RH taillight assembly? Over $300 in some shops. Some places I took it to wanted to total it, but I wouldn't let them. I said that I could get a spoiler for $445 (GTAuto) and the shop I ended up leaving it at said they'd reimburse me for it thru insurance, and they found a salvage taillight assy for $100. That was the estimate for $2500. Anything much higher, and it would exceed 65% of "book value" and they'd total it . Hopefully everything works out, I'll keep everyone posted....

 

I just had the EXACT same problem, some blind b*tch driving down 8 Mile hit me while I was stopped with my emergency lights on behind my friend who broke down. My car was "labeled" totaled but I raised hell with the inssurance company and threatened them with a law suit because they said my car was worth under 1500 (no rust 305, no snow ever) its not a prize but deffinitly worth atleast 2 g's. Anyways my estamate for the dr side rear QP, bumber, taillight, spoiler was 2800 with paint. But the way I did it with the inssurance company they "totaled it" but gave me a check for 2200 and I gotta collect the 500 from the lady so my dealership workded out a deal where I get the parts and he does the work and when it all comes out I make out with 800 extra $$ :-)

 

Oh man!


I hate memories like this! My GTA got hit by semi truck, the passenger rear quarter, about 1 in deep. Th damage was about 2500$ The inssurance wanted to total it. But my baby was insur for 8000$ before accident.
So i won the case after 6 month of hell. Here in Canada i got a special clause on my insurance for Collectable car, now the car, appraised, and in perfect condition, is insured for 13000$ .

After yours is fixed up, get that special clause from your insurance, so that the next time ( hopefully never!) they won t BS you.

Good luck man!

 

i hate the insurance co.'s out of every one they rip you the most, and when the littlest thing happens they bend you over and rip you some more.. when i had my 91 RS (v6) i was paying $307 a month, i wrecked it.. hit a wall doing about 40 mph, car was totaled no damage to anything else (not even the wall) so the insurance co. didn't lose any money from my stupidness, then 3 months later while the car was in my drive way not running i get the letter from the insur. co. saying my rate is now $350 a month... thanks for leting me ramble for a while, some times it helps..

 

Yep .40 calibers with hydroshocks make very big holes in anything they hit.