Chargerless
#11
02-02-2010, 03:40 AM
Oh man!!! What a bummer!!
I can imagine that it is like someone hitting the family dog.
I've also heard of people buying back their totaled cars and getting them repaired.
A car can be totaled just because of the KBB or NADA resale value, not because it is unrepairable. Looking at the pictures, I would say that this is the situation.
A lot of good body shops are willing to work with you in these situations. Most of these shops are run by car guys and appreciate the attachment to a car like yours. If you are willing to kick in a some extra bucks to cover the difference between the insurance check and the cost of repair, you may be able to get #389 back rolling again for nominal out of pocket cost. Since they are not dealing with the insurance company at this point, they usually willing to discount parts and labor to help you out. They could do the specialty stuff like platform straightening and maybe you could do small stuff to help offset the cost.
I can imagine that it is like someone hitting the family dog.
I've also heard of people buying back their totaled cars and getting them repaired.
A car can be totaled just because of the KBB or NADA resale value, not because it is unrepairable. Looking at the pictures, I would say that this is the situation.
A lot of good body shops are willing to work with you in these situations. Most of these shops are run by car guys and appreciate the attachment to a car like yours. If you are willing to kick in a some extra bucks to cover the difference between the insurance check and the cost of repair, you may be able to get #389 back rolling again for nominal out of pocket cost. Since they are not dealing with the insurance company at this point, they usually willing to discount parts and labor to help you out. They could do the specialty stuff like platform straightening and maybe you could do small stuff to help offset the cost.
#12
02-02-2010, 03:46 AM
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Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: dekalb IL
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A lot of good body shops are willing to work with you in these situations. Most of these shops are run by car guys and appreciate the attachment to a car like yours. If you are willing to kick in a some extra bucks to cover the difference between the insurance check and the cost of repair, you may be able to get #389 back rolling again for nominal out of pocket cost. Since they are not dealing with the insurance company at this point, they usually willing to discount parts and labor to help you out. They could do the specialty stuff like platform straightening and maybe you could do small stuff to help offset the cost.
just make sure you dont give the body shop the check..figure out a place to cash it..otherwise you can get really screwed
now im no expert, nor can i be 100% sure just by looking a cell picture..but i would say that she can be fixed..maybe even if its just enough to get it driveable again then fix the other **** like lining up the fenders, and **** later
thats to nice of a car to let go that easily IMO
#13
02-02-2010, 04:45 AM
The "Trucks" show on the Spike TV channel did this with a relatively recent Silverado and the repair actually came out cheaper than what the insurance company totaled the truck for! A lot depends on how much you can do yourself.
Keep in mind that the insurance companies base their decision on the average price that they could sell the car for today. It's all about the money. If you can show them a comparably equipped car that recently sold for more than their offer, you could negotiate the "totaled" amount up. Since you were planning on keeping the car, a replacement vehicle might be more expensive in the long term - even if you have to buy a cheap beater to get around in while your car is being repaired. (You can always sell the beater after to recover some of that cost or give it to your (grand)kid to learn to drive on). It's a matter of whether you want to go through the hassle with the insurance company or not.
Keep in mind that the insurance companies base their decision on the average price that they could sell the car for today. It's all about the money. If you can show them a comparably equipped car that recently sold for more than their offer, you could negotiate the "totaled" amount up. Since you were planning on keeping the car, a replacement vehicle might be more expensive in the long term - even if you have to buy a cheap beater to get around in while your car is being repaired. (You can always sell the beater after to recover some of that cost or give it to your (grand)kid to learn to drive on). It's a matter of whether you want to go through the hassle with the insurance company or not.
#14
02-05-2010, 10:12 PM
That sux Randall glad to see no one got hurt...Looks like you can yank that cam out and sell it if you dont get another 5.7