Got into a wreck. *PICS*
 

Somebody decided they didnt have to yield at a left turn, cut right in front of me and and we have this:


Other driver was issued a citation, luckily, but now I have to deal with their insurance. I'm sure they will try to total it at first, but I will negotiate. How much $ do you think it will take to fix this? How much money should I try to get if I keep the car? If they keep the car? Any help is welcome. Thanks guys.

Its a 92 formula in excellent condition. Lots of work. Lots of receipts.

Off the top of my head: Front bumper cover, impact bar, right/left fender, hood, two new front tires (fenders destroyed them), various brackets/holds.... awww man.... poor friggen car :(

Re: Got into a wreck. *PICS*
 

That sucks man. Was in kind of a similar situation, long story short ended up coming out the whole deal with 3 grand and my car. Compile all those recipts togather your gunna need em also start looking online for other trans ams for sale in the same condition as yours and same model and print em off, this will show the insurance company the price range of what your cars worth, expect to be lowballed but fight for whats right.

Re: Got into a wreck. *PICS*
 

Thanks for the tips. Im already saving some ebay auctions of 91-92 formulas going for some decent rates.

Re: Got into a wreck. *PICS*
 

Normally If they want to total it they will be giving you a higher amount of money then if they didnt. BUT almost always you can buy it back from them for like 200 bucks. My 01 Ram was rolled onto its side and the only things that needed to be replaced was the door, fender and bumper. Got 7k for it and then bought it back from them for $250, fixed everything and had 6k left over. Still driving said truck :)

Re: Got into a wreck. *PICS*
 

Thats awesome. Hope things work out for me. I'll update the thread.

Re: Got into a wreck. *PICS*
 

I hope it works out for you also!

Re: Got into a wreck. *PICS*
 

check over eday, classifieds and where ever and find cars in similar condition as your and get a list of prices, so you know what ballpark to work with.

they will total it, and honestly, it will never be right if you try/can fix it.

Re: Got into a wreck. *PICS*
 

Most important, is the rad suupprt bent? this will be a huge factor in if they want to total it. Much easier for the adjuster to get rid or a 20 year old car, ratio between value and repair cost is to high.

Can you get a few picks with the hood open during the day? I would like to see that corner of the radiator support.

Re: Got into a wreck. *PICS*
 

is the core support bent? pretty obvious in the pics its smashed, heck, you cant even find the end of it..

Re: Got into a wreck. *PICS*
 

Sorry I am looking at this on my phone, the pic is really small

Re: Got into a wreck. *PICS*
 

There is no question that your rad support and right fender apron is bent. Your front end would be out of square. How's the fender to door gap on the drivers side? The most logical way of fixing this would be to weld in a new apron and core support from a junkyard car and go from there. That being said, almost anything can be repaired. Your insurance company will without a doubt total the car, unless you can produce receipts adding up to big $$, and really fight with them.

Re: Got into a wreck. *PICS*
 

I will update this thread tomorrow with some more daytime pics, with the hood open. Adjuster comes on Monday. I've got $5,000 worth of receipts, easily.

Re: Got into a wreck. *PICS*
 

i had been in the estimating business in the recent past,with the upper frame rail and core support destroyed you can count on the total loss factor. goodluck

Re: Got into a wreck. *PICS*
 

Don't mind the cheesy stickers.

Re: Got into a wreck. *PICS*
 

unfortunately, receipts, repairs, modifications, and custom parts ect mean nothing to insurance. they are only concerned about the cars "stock" value based of mileage condition and whatnot. Unless you have an agreed value type policy.

Re: Got into a wreck. *PICS*
 

Nah. Its not my insurance paying for it. Its the other person (at fault) who's insurance is paying for it. I spoke with the claim agent and they said to bring all reciepts for all parts. I asked if everything is covered and they agreed. "car replacement" value, not "KBB" value.

At least I hope you're wrong...

Re: Got into a wreck. *PICS*
 

Bummer!!!

Re: Got into a wreck. *PICS*
 

They are going to total the car, the cost to fix VS value will be more than 70%

You will be better off trying to increase your pay off value with the reciepts, then buy it back strip the parts and look for a new one. You can repair it by grafting the apron and rad support from a donar car. It is a lot of work and will require cutting and welding, unless this is somthing you are familiar with I would take it to a shop. Good luck on what ever road you take.

Re: Got into a wreck. *PICS*
 

Fix it yourself. Plus these day if you go to the right body you can talk them down in price. Plus if you bring you own parts it will be cheaper too.

Re: Got into a wreck. *PICS*
 

Or better yet pull all the bad parts off and take it to the body shop make it straight again and put it back together your self.

Re: Got into a wreck. *PICS*
 

Bummer.

Re: Got into a wreck. *PICS*
 

Regardless of what you do your looking at a MAJOR repair bill. Any place that can put that car back to previous condition will cost you probably a minimum of a couple grand.

Repairing structure damage on these cars is something not many frame guys are interested in doing cheaply. And to reiterate what was mentioned previously, without spending $$$$ the car can never be the same again but it still wont be no matter what you do.

Re: Got into a wreck. *PICS*
 

Yea but would help cut down in cost. Less work the body shop has to do. My friend saved his truck from being totaled by taking off the bad parts and getting the the new body parts himself. 92-formula where you live?

Re: Got into a wreck. *PICS*
 

Eh I dont think its as bad as you all are making it out to be. get the bumper cover, fender, and hood off and then go from there, honestly to me it looks like something you could fix with a couple of buddies and a case of beer. Just my 2 cents tho

Re: Got into a wreck. *PICS*
 

Honestly you may be right. At this point its all just speculation. I'll update the thread after the adjuster looks at the car, and once i've got all the parts off the front to see how bad the damage really is.

Thanks again for all the words, guys. :thanks:

Re: Got into a wreck. *PICS*
 

Wrong. Do you see where everything is shoved all the way back to the inner fender well? Well the piece of structure that the fender bolts to on top may or may not be salvageable. And the corner of that core support where it meets the fender is done for. If you get an estimate and I'm wrong I will be glad to admit it but I just had the front end of my car straightened 'correctly' from an accident it had before I got it, and whoever fixed it for them did not do a good job.

The OP got hit pretty hard.

Re: Got into a wreck. *PICS*
 

a friend of mine had a 91-92 vert firebird E code car, some ***** was racing another car and for what ever reason made a hard left and swung the turn wide due to his speed. the ***** swiped his car and shoved it into the curb damaging the pas side wheels and the r drivers wheel along with rear quarter damage.

being he had recipts for work done to the car during that year that helped him get the car fixed for a total cost of $8,000. without those recipts im sure they would have canned the car.

as for the damage in your case, with that frame rail and header support being damaged in that manner its gonna be tough.

Re: Got into a wreck. *PICS*
 

This is true in most cases (such as you being at fault,hit and run, basically having to claim it thru your own insurance) You have to have a agreed vaule policy(collector car policy) to get your value of your veh. If not your stuck with ACV actual cash vaule. with isn't much for our cars.

In this case since you were not at fault for the accident, This could be a whole another ball game for you. Now if you had a appraisal (of course a prof. appraisor)for your veh, they would be stuck with paying for the appraisal vaule and not ACV that could means the difference between you getting 900 dollars and 9,000 for your car. (now if your MI you just need a agreed value policy reguardless.crazy state laws) Anyway with you recipts that should give you some extra value for your veh. I hope so anyway, nice looking bird.

So guys best thing you can do to protect your veh spend a couple hundred bucks to get your veh appraisal. It could be the best mod ever.

Or to be 100 percent sure just get a agreed vaule policy for your cars.

Let us know how it works out for you.

Re: Got into a wreck. *PICS*
 

It's to bad these cars book for next to nothing in excellent shape. That's why I have mine insured for $30 grand just in case something would ever happen. Of coarse...the insurance is "collector" insurance...so your limited to miles and such.

Re: Got into a wreck. *PICS*
 

Looks about like what my 02 did when a belligerent mexican gang member in a rental car hit me after deciding he didn't have to yield to oncoming traffic when he was turning left.

You got lucky though compared to me, the a-hole that hit my car lied to the cop and told him I was speeding when the light changed green (I was actually at a dead stop and he very obviously didn't see me). Cop believed his lie, so I ended up being partially responsible (talk about bs...that lying sack of (potatoes) better hope he doesn't see me again).

Anyway, all in all, ended up being $12,500 worth of damage to my car, so I'd say it's time for you to find a good donor car and become friends with someone that does bodywork if you plan on fixing it. Sucks man.

Re: Got into a wreck. *PICS*
 

I hope this works out for you but, honestly; have you ever had a “good experience” with an insurance company? If you have I am sure you are in the minority.

I really can’t advise you whether or not you should fix this, there are too many factors I either don’t know or, cannot assess from these pictures (true condition of the car (before accident), your sentimental attachment, improvements you have made, your automotive skills, etc.). However, I can tell you from past experience that if you do decide to fix this you need to go into it with your eyes wide-open (this ain’t going to fix itself with a sledge hammer and a case of beer!).

Here is my story: several years ago I decided to fix my sons Camaro with similar front end damage (ironically after he was screwed up the rear by an insurance company). My experience is this, you should anticipate finding unexpected/hidden damage (extra cost), everything will cost twice as much as you expect and take twice as long to finish. In my case I would have been much better off parting out the Camaro, licking my wounds and buying another car for my boy. On the other hand, if you have the time and skills (having talented friends helps too) you might be happy with the results.

Whatever happens, be prepared to battle the insurance company awhile. Remember, they do this for a living and therefore know how to get the best deal for their company. They don’t like having issues like this lingering very long, sometimes just being patient and not caving in to their low-ball offers is your best strategy.
Good luck, let us know how it goes.

Re: Got into a wreck. *PICS*
 

We'll see what the future holds for the car.

I'm posting these #'s for reference in case anyone ever gets put in a similar situation. Don't give up the fight with these companies - they will always try to lowball you.

Re: Got into a wreck. *PICS*
 

Nice job! Now you have more then enough money to fix it and have some cash in your pocket. :thumbsup:

Re: Got into a wreck. *PICS*
 

Agreed the only hard thing to get fixed on the car would be reconstructing that section of the car where the battery tray is along with some other internal stuff. Otherwise it is a pretty easy and straight forward fix that will definitely yield some leftover cash!

Re: Got into a wreck. *PICS*
 

Hate to see another nice banshee go down but you're lucky they gave you what they did

Looking at the pic you can see the car is a total. Everything from the firewall forward is obviously off. You're lucky it didnt contact the engine so all of your upgrades can be transferred over to the next car. Nab a nice one and keep on! :driving:

Re: Got into a wreck. *PICS*
 

cut it off at the firewall and build with tubes, its time to go fast ricky.

Re: Got into a wreck. *PICS*
 

Sounds like you got a fair deal, in my experiance you are the exception.

Re: Got into a wreck. *PICS*
 

....like the sound of that....

Re: Got into a wreck. *PICS*
 

*

Re: Got into a wreck. *PICS*
 

That don't look to horibly bad. Can you tell if the tower was shifted? If its just the frame rail and core sapport and a little sheet metal here and there you shouldn't have a problem fixing it. It don't look as the tire is rubbing bad either which is a plus.

Re: Got into a wreck. *PICS*
 

I'm still debating between fixing the car or parting it out and pooling the $ for something else :\

Re: Got into a wreck. *PICS*
 

Looks like a fair ammount of damage. The absorber and frame rails are waffled, and the rad. support is pretty tweaked. On top of that you have all the other stuff like the bumper support, headlight support, head lights bumper cover, etc.

I got into a little fender bender, and even that resulted in needing a new bumper support, headlight support, and some welding to restore the absorber that was damaged to something resembling its former self. I think I paid at least 300 to fix just that, doing the work myself. Even still, the front end is tweaked and things dont line up properly.

Id see you using the 6k and then some to have it fixed. My brother went that route with one of his cars, and its definitely not the same after its done. It may be easier to keep your eyes out for a good car that you can then swap everything over to, or just get something else.

Re: Got into a wreck. *PICS*
 

Dude...it hurt to look at those pics! Glad you're OK and that you got the other guy's insurance to pay. If it were me and I had some extra space, I'd keep it as a donor car and start fresh with a "new" ThirdGen.

Re: Got into a wreck. *PICS*
 

FIX IT! dont let another nice car go down the drain, it only looks bad, pull everything of, even the motor if you have to, take some measurements and start pulling, theres no trouble to fix this, keep us posted with pics we can all help here,good luck

Re: Got into a wreck. *PICS*
 

i say fix it, i would, you got 6300 big ones all screaming "fix the car" and it'll be much more satisfying to drive it after you've "built it" yourself

Re: Got into a wreck. *PICS*
 

I say fix it. its too nice of a car (even now) to be parted out...the 91-92s are getting harder and harder to find now. even if you tube the front end, keep that girl on the road!!

Re: Got into a wreck. *PICS*
 

i agree fix it maybe get some opinons from some local shops.

Re: Got into a wreck. *PICS*
 

Even if you "tube" the front clip like so many suggest (ALOT harder than they are thinking) it will never be safe for the street again and could never survive another impact like that

Find another clean car and swap all your stuff over to it

Re: Got into a wreck. *PICS*
 

:yup:

That's toast. If it caused that much damage, there's tons more you don't see.

Think of it as saving another one...the next one you buy and swap your stuff into. A nice, clean V6, maybe, that no one else would want.

Re: Got into a wreck. *PICS*
 

swap it.... ditch this car and get another... you're never going to be satisfied with the work if you fix it.. plus you'd spend half that check + on fixing it... and then you're still left with a salvage titled vehicle..