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As the title states a distracted driver decided to turn with out yielding to oncoming traffic. Long story short, they killed my thirdgen! I need advice from guys with collision repair experience (I have none) should I trash the body or can be saved?!! Thanks to anyone who can help.
looks like you seriously lucked out with the rocker panel not being pushed in and buckled, thats when it gets a little dicey. Also should be relieved that the door took the heat instead of the quarter panel.
Sonjaab is correct, get a new door and then hammer out the quarter. worst case scenario is you have to cut out the damaged section and weld one in from a donor car.
If insurance is involved they will consider the vehicle a total loss. They will take one look at it and see an old car with no interior which will have a low intrinsic value and will need real body work done to it becuase the damage isn't limited to the door. If it was just a door you would be fine but it involves the area below the B pillar which will take actual body work. You would probably be best to go to a wrecking yard with a battery powered hack saw and remove that portion from another F body and weld it in. However there may be a brace there that complicates the procedure.
I went down this road with insurance a few months ago, my car was a show car in show car condition and they wanted to say it was only worth a few thousand. If insurance is involved be prepared to do your homework and fight them. However, considering that you have no body experience and what that car is probably worth you would be better off to take your parts off of that car and look for a car that has been repainted and is together. I would guess that the bill from a body shop to paint the entire car and fix the offending area would be at least $5K.
Just going to venture a guess that the door jamb took a bit of damage. The lock striker for example probably got pushed around a bit. At any rate, the B pillar is structural, pretty good chance that's not just going to hammer out, or pull out. Make friends with a skilled body man. Get some good advice from a skilled professional, preferably not one who's in a production collision shop while he's on the clock. A cut/weld section from a donor car would probably save a lot of time.
Since the original poster said this was a "hit & run" I'm left with the impression that he didn't get the other driver's info , and since I doubt he had any more than basic "get it on the road" insurance (protection for others' property / bodily injury but NO coverage for the car itself) , insurance will be a non issue here . As was well said , of course that's repairable and does not make the car "totaled" but there will be a bit more to it than just "pop it out , mud it up , and hit it with some paint" , a cut panel from a wrecking yard being the best suggestion for a decent repair .
I highly appreciate you guys help. And yes I jus have liability,(Was wating to finish car for full coverage). Have all interior pieces also, just left the body shop. And yes door was all bondo, body guy said.Sucks. Got their tag, officer says they have insurance. Not sure why they ran. And correct insurance will total it out instantly. Smh. I really would like to repair it or swap my parts to a donor, but this my first time dealing with this. Thanks everyone
I highly appreciate you guys help. And yes I jus have liability,(Was wating to finish car for full coverage). Have all interior pieces also, just left the body shop. And yes door was all bondo, body guy said.Sucks. Got their tag, officer says they have insurance. Not sure why they ran. And correct insurance will total it out instantly. Smh. I really would like to repair it or swap my parts to a donor, but this my first time dealing with this. Thanks everyone
That's great that you got their license plate number , and that the hit & run driver has insurance . I'd file a claim with them and don't worry about the "totaled" thing , if they do try to pull that fine , tell them you want the totaled value minus the salvage value and that you'll be keeping the car . Granted the car will then have a "salvage title" but if your building it for yourself (best plan) what does it matter what the title says , and if your building it to sell for a profit don't bother , there won't be any profit margin , more like a huge loss , building these cars is a labor of love for the particular machine rather than any kinds of "investment opportunity" as many have learned the hard way . For example , at this point I likely have $6 or $7 thousand into Orangebird , a car I would be lucky to get $3 thousand for if I sold it . But it's my daily driver , it's WAY different than the average Huyndai or POS Prius on the road and gets positive reactions from all who see it , including me .
PS , will the Police be charging the other driver for leaving the scene of an accident resulting in property damage (A felony in the State where I live) ?
Since you got the plate and it was their fault they should definitely have to restore you.. I had a guy smash one of my Thirdgens once.. insurance wanted to total it but I had a lot of work and receipts into the car and it was my pride and joy. Since it wasn’t my fault I had to be restored because it was his reckless driving..
Cost more to fix the car than I paid for it..
It helped that I worked for a big time body shop and the owner talked to the insurance adjuster..
That looks fixable but definitely a little tricky going into the rear clip/doorjam as Drew said above.. damage to the rear of these cars is always more tricky.. Doors, fender, front end is easier.. I hope when it gets checked out it’s just a door and some massaging and filling on the rear damage..
Doesn’t look like a super hard hit though.. bummer man! Hope it gets resolved!
I'd file a claim with them and don't worry about the "totaled" thing , if they do try to pull that fine , tell them you want the totaled value minus the salvage value and that you'll be keeping the car . Granted the car will then have a "salvage title" but if your building it for yourself (best plan) what does it matter what the title says ,
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States vary. In Illinois, for example, a vehicle that has been totaled must be repaired by a licensed mechanic. In Arizona a vehicle would have to undergo a level 2 inspection which would be checking various body VIN numbers, basic safety restraint system checks and then the stuff like lights/horn/wipers. Contact your DMV at the state level (NOT local DMV!) to see if a totaled vehicle is something you could undertake. Also may need to check with your applicable HOA or municipality as I've lived in places that didn't allow un-registered or non-operational vehicles to be parked outside.
Hubby would fix that. We also have the sheet metal needed to fix it. Is there damage on drivers rear floor? That would show how badly it's been shoved.
Yea their looking at a few nights in the slammer. But they will most likely say "it was stolen" . But Orangebird I definitely wanna keep her. It's my first project car, and I've got attached to it. But like said it's a labor of love.
I'll have to check Ga laws on salvaged titles. I'm also looking for a nice donor vehicle at the moment on this site. http://www.davidt.com.
The claim will be with their insurance, eventually.
found out today, there's a dept for hit n runs, the lieutenant there said p.r hasn't even been turned in.
so no insurance has been claimed.
If you are going to cut one from a junk yard then a Milwaukee M12 Hackzall would be the answer. I myself have been hoping for a reason to buy one. You could do the cutting. Cut the donor "patch" 1/2" bigger on all sides. Let the welder do the final fitment. I would use a permanent backing plate under the weld seam to act as a heat sink. It will be a fairly long seam on what's probably 18 gauge so you don't want it to distort. Something like that will take lots of tacks that cool completely.
Most yards have a circular saw with a metal cutting blade to make cuts FAST. Look at the floor pans, and rocker after you get the door and interior panels out of the way, and give the yard directions and have them remove enough metal from the donor to replace the damaged metal that you can't repair.
Since you're dealing with an area where several panels come together and overlap, you may need to separate the pieces (drill spot welds) and fix each part individually as you build the assembly back up.
Most yards have a circular saw with a metal cutting blade to make cuts FAST. Look at the floor pans, and rocker after you get the door and interior panels out of the way, and give the yard directions and have them remove enough metal from the donor to replace the damaged metal that you can't repair.
Since you're dealing with an area where several panels come together and overlap, you may need to separate the pieces (drill spot welds) and fix each part individually as you build the assembly back up.
that's what I needed to know!
Got p.r today. Car was borrowed, guy had suspended license and on parole. Also adjuster said it looks bad. Guess I need to handle the legal part before try to fix it. This is my first totaled accident.
In the OP's case getting a lawyer would be a waste of money. Not sure if you've had to deal with lawyers but any experienced lawyer is $100+ an hour and wants a minimum of 8 hours for anything more involved than a single document.
If you end up fighting the insurance company you will need to have documented proof showing how much you deserve. Simply feeling you deserve more is not enough. Be prepared to turn down their first low ball offer and play the waiting game. If it came to further action then taking them to small claims court would be your best avenue. Every state varies on the max you can request, if lawyers are allowed and how much it costs. I've heard of guys taking insurance companies to small claims court in states where lawyers aren't allowed and the company doesn't show or agrees to settle before the court date.
If the car has sentimental value then put the time into repairing it, and if not, then buy another car and use the wrecked one as a donor car. I have bought and sold quite a few thirdgens where I have simply moved good parts from one car to another to get one step ahead in my restoration.
As for the lawyer part, a personal injury attorney usually only gets paid if they recover money for you. When I got rear ended in my '85 the guy's insurance tried to blow me off stating that my car was "old and not worth anything". All I wanted was my car repaired/replaced and my medical paid for, which was around $12,000 total. They tried to give me $2500. So when they quit talking to me I sued them and wouldn't back off until I got what I wanted.
Accident happened in February of 1998 and I settled on the claim in July of 2002 for $30k plus $6k in medical. My attorney took 1/3 so when every thing was settled I pocketed $26k.
In the OP's case getting a lawyer would be a waste of money. Not sure if you've had to deal with lawyers but any experienced lawyer is $100+ an hour and wants a minimum of 8 hours for anything more involved than a single document.
If you end up fighting the insurance company you will need to have documented proof showing how much you deserve. Simply feeling you deserve more is not enough. Be prepared to turn down their first low ball offer and play the waiting game. If it came to further action then taking them to small claims court would be your best avenue. Every state varies on the max you can request, if lawyers are allowed and how much it costs. I've heard of guys taking insurance companies to small claims court in states where lawyers aren't allowed and the company doesn't show or agrees to settle before the court date.
thanks for the advice. Also I had to get a lawyer, fractured pinky on left hand. Also just left pick a part, no power access. Batt operated saws only. What batt operated saw would complete this with least issues?
03-24-2018, 06:26 AM
If insurance is involved be prepared to do your homework and fight them. However, considering that you have no body experience and what that car is probably worth you would be better off to take your parts off of that car and look for a car that has been repainted and is together. I would guess that the bill from a body shop to paint the entire car and fix the offending area would be at least $5K. 
Hi Guys , 
That's great that you got their license plate number , and that the hit & run driver has insurance . I'd file a claim with them and don't worry about the "totaled" thing , if they do try to pull that fine , tell them you want the totaled value minus the salvage value and that you'll be keeping the car . Granted the car will then have a "salvage title" but if your building it for yourself (best plan) what does it matter what the title says , and if your building it to sell for a profit don't bother , there won't be any profit margin , more like a huge loss , building these cars is a labor of love for the particular machine rather than any kinds of "investment opportunity" as many have learned the hard way . For example , at this point I likely have $6 or $7 thousand into Orangebird , a car I would be lucky to get $3 thousand for if I sold it . But it's my daily driver , it's WAY different than the average Huyndai or POS Prius on the road and gets positive reactions from all who see it , including me 
. 
PS , will the Police be charging the other driver for leaving the scene of an accident resulting in property damage (A felony in the State where I live) ? 
