A Seven Owner's Worst Nightmare!
 

This happened last night:

http://memimage.cardomain.net/member...73_49_full.jpg

It was about midnight, no traffic around, and I was stopped at a light in the right hand lane (opposite to the turning lane). My buddy pulls up at the light opposite direction to me, and waves for me to follow him. I check my mirrors, no-one around, so I go for a quick U turn when the light changes. Then bam! A Civic appears out of my left side, out of no-where, he must have pulled from a parking lot, and gunned it for the light once he seen the other one turning yellow. So I'm screwed, I was doing an illegal u-turn, and side-swiped the guy's Civic. The damage isn't too bad, but since its an old car, it will most likely be a total loss. It hurts to see my baby like that, I would give anything to fix it, but its rusty, and going to take a tonne of cash; that I don't have.

Question is, I'm sure some of you have lost your seven in an accident before, how much did you collect in insurance money, or how much does it take to write off an old car like this.

it doesn't look that bad, looks like just the fender and header panel were actually messed up, you could probably fix it for about $500 im guessing

Shit dude, if you lived nearby I'd give you a white fender in damn near perfect condition....

But I have to tell you, you're kind of reminding me of the selfish relative wringing his hands over the anticipation of the reading of the will before it has even been decided if the illness is terminal or not.

Well, maybe its just because I have a mind tearing headache right now. I'm sure you actually love your 7... :)

Should be ok mate!
Just hope there is no strutual damage!!

I repaired one in worse shape. The previous owner drove it under a pickup truck with the lights up. Bought the parts from a local junk yard. Parts plus paint cost less than $500.

Yes. But its the insurance that decides if the car's a loss or not, not me. Since its an old car, the book value is next to nothing, and they're trying to get older cars off the road for cleaner cars. Heck a door ding could probably write the car off. I love my 7, but for a while I've been thinking of selling it for one in better shape, well I have fixed this one up a tonne, its seen better days, I'm hoping I get it back, this car was my first true love, and it kills me to see it like that, I almost want to tear when I look out my driveway and see its not there. I guess it is my fualt, but I never imagined me losing my car other than selling it, or totalling it in a drift event.

Well for one insurance companies are in the cost game they don't care about cleaner burning cars. Underwriters don't use that as a criteria for policy.

If you have insurance for collision then make them fix it. Period... don't give in.

That's why you paid for coverage.

It doesn't mean the insurance company will take your car away. You, the owner, makes that choice. Really, the damage isn't that severe.

The insurance company does not decide if they fix your car,you do. Since your already getting pinched for fixing the other guys car, than just pay out of pocket for yours. In NC, if the insurance company pay out is less than $1800, then your insurance doesn't go up. Happend once with my wife in a fender bender that was her fault. The other guys vehicle cost $1200 to fix, her car was estimated at $2500. I paid about $800 in parts, did all the work myself, and $200 to get the fender painted. So there $2500 estiment cost me a grand, plus my insurance didn't go up.

Thanks for posting that thread about the DHL truck, gave me some ideas on how I should approch this. I'll fight to get it fixed, or I'm not going to take less than $2000, seeing as its a GSL-SE, has the glass sun-roof, and less than 200,000 KMS. Right now, I have to pay for his $200 deductable, and my own, plus a lisence sircharge, and a $140 ticket for an illegal u-turn. I guess I'll have to wait till monday to see if I'm going to have to fight my insurance company for the coverage I pay over $1000 a year for.

Officially a write off. The car has over $2500 in damages, and the insurance company values it at $600. I'll be in touch with them to get the ammount to replace this car, becuase right now, I cannot find another GSL-SE in Canada. And not another RX7 in Canada for less than $3000 CDN. The only question is, do I buy the car back to put it into a drift event summer... :D

$2500 seems like a lot. Anything besides body damage?

"Officially a write off. The car has over $2500 in damages, and the insurance company values it at $600. "

So say >>>then replace it for $600<<< to the insurance company

The Province of Manitoba has a very unique car insurance system compared to other provinces (ie. states) in Canada. Manitoba's car insurance is 100% goverment owned and run and coming back here from Ontario ( where I had State Farm ) is pretty scary. Because there is no competition , the repair rates are very high and cars are written off for small damges . The province then pays you next to nothing and sends the car to public auction where over 300 cars are sold every week. You can go and try to buy it back for less , but no guarantees. Most 7's at these auctions are bought between 400 and 1500$, depending on whats on them.

You should just keep the car and tell them to keep their 600$. Insurance on old cars is really just there in case you hurt someone and there are medical claims. Not even normal private insurance see's value in these cars like we do. Unfortunately you got burned on the the illegal U-turn, keep the car and fix your mistake.

Oh and let me know when it goes to auction :))

strip all the primo parts off it, steering wheel, seats, engine, and especially those ignitors......let them put it up for auction......you buy it back for cheap.......and re install the parts

Thats a pretty nasty hit, I would say it pushed the entire front drivers side of the uni-body inwards towards the passenger side about a 1/8 of an inch. It looks like it also pushed the bumper inward and upward, which has probably added a twist to the front of the unibody and helped cause the passenger side of the bumper to seperate.

Even if you get a new fender, header panel, and bumper, the parts may never fit correctly again. You may never get a gap between the panels, and/or they may want to overlap in places and they wont line up with the old bolt/screw holes.

I bet that the $2500 you have been qouted is it the absolute cheapest (probably low quality) shop they could find. You need to find out if you can even get them to cover the car at all (If you have liability they probably wont) and take it to a different shop and get the work done.

Otherwise you'll have to do it yourself out of pocket, but I am sure that the forum members will help you do it on the cheap.

They only take it from you if you accept their terms. Tell them to keep their $600. You would be spending part of that to buy it back if not all of it. Worse case scenario is that it is not repairable and you can part it out for alot more than that, especially an SE.
later,
Bill

There is no such thing as unrepairable, and if there were, this car is definately not that!


The only limit is how much cash you have, and how badly you want it.

$600? What bs... protest it. Ask for $1000 at least.

The engine core is worth 500 alone...

I got my money for it. $1800, I listed all the work I had done, and how rare SE's are (I couldn't find anouther example of an SE in Canada), and I managed to get almost what I wanted for it. I'll be buying the car back too and then fixing it into a drift car for the summer if it is repairable, or parting it out. But the car won't be road worthy in Canada without over a grand in rust repair, so maybe it was a good thing it was a write off, becuase I had no idea it was that rotted away.

Well at least they paid up. Good luck on getting it all resolved as far as new ride etc.