5:55 will forever be a bad time in the morning
 

So today on the way to work I was listening to Free Beer and Hot Wings like I always do. They were talking about how if you had bought Tuna in the last 10 years you could get a $25 check from sunkist for shorting you a tenth of an ounce on every can they sold.

Well I was cruising right on along at about 45 MPH on the same road that I always travel down in the mornings. The next thing I know I see a white car pulling out in front of me from a stop sign. I see him and he has plenty of time to get across the intersection... but he stops. He got the deer in the headlights effect and I proceeded to slam on the breaks first a little because I thought he would move then really hard and locked them up and slid about 15 to 20 feet. BANG I smack the guy in the front left quarter panel.

I hit the guy hard enough for the column to collapse and then bend my Grant steering wheel about 4 inches forward. I say some choice words and get out quickly to check on the guy. The guy gets out and says he is alright.

The next bit really pisses me off....

The guy proceeds to get back in his car and find his phone and finish the conversation he was having with the person... The guy was nice and I didn't get mad. I wanted to cry a little because I knew as soon as I hit him the car was totaled.

The police show up and the guy tries to blame me because I was supposedly speeding... The police officer responds by saying "were you sitting at a stop sign... yea. did you pull away from that stop sign and him hit you... yea. then it doesn't matter if he was or wasn't speeding.

1up for the cop saying that he was at fault without saying it lol.

Everything went on and I had to get a wrecker for the car. The car probably would have started but the radiator and fan are smashed into the front of the motor so no water or anything. Also that $250 radiator I got from Mazdatrix maybe a month ago has a nice bend right in the middle of about 10 degrees so its shot just looking at it.

But anyways the moral of the story... watch out for other idiots on the road. Thankfully no one was hurt but sad to see one more RX7 pulled off the road.

Josh

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...3bc7dd79ce.jpg

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...89af6c8f1c.jpg

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glad you're alright, car is fixable BTW, although its rather a big job

awful. that really sucks. your car looked really clean.

Yea I know it is just depends on what insurance wants to do with it...

Thanks. It was nice... had its quirks but I enjoyed it.

I would have changed the radio station to "heavy metal"..

(*glad you're Ok man..!..cars are fixable.)

That's a shame. And you were just getting the hang of carb stuff.

Glad you're ok. Will you do another 7?

The insurance company will do what is cheapest for them and their bottom line period. No consideration is given to any attachment you may have to the car. Cold reality is, its a business and they use every angle to keep as much of your money as possibile for themselves. It is fixable, but it will probablly cost you some.

I don't trust anybody on the road. To me, it doesn't matter if your driving a tank or a skateboard, you need to be focused on whats happening around you, anticipating what boneheaded move will come your way next. I'm just glad I dont live in a large metropolitan area. Cars have become phonebooths on wheels. Seems like my favoriate saying anymore is "Shut the fawk up and DRIVE"

Sorry for your loss... but yes, that is fixable. Front-clip damage is not always a death-knell like a rear -end or hard side hit can be

Glad you weren't hurt. Sad truth is our cars are not especially survivor-friendly; Few small cars from that time period are. Above-average for the era, but that's a pretty low bar.

I know you don't feel specially lucky just now, but this could have been far worse.

I haven't carried collision insurance on my 1985 GSL-SE in years, but just added it back after seeing this post. Only cost me an additional $50 per year - but yes, they are likely to total it for any serious wreck...

Thanks but they make me laugh in the mornings at 5:45 so its nice on the drive in.

Yea I have a good background in carbs just not ones with so many vacuum lines lol. And yes I will do another one just not sure on what year. I really would like a T2 but I have to wait on the insurance company at the moment. Mine seems to think they will total the car and if they do I am going to see if I can't just keep it that away I can give the nice parts to you guys at great prices.

Yea I was actually yelling that at the lady in front of me on the way home since she nearly side swiped me in my truck then nearly rear ended the person in front of her several times.

Thanks for the encouragement but more than likely the car will end up being parted out.

yea absolutely. It was costing me only 170 every 6 months to have full coverage and with yours being more valuable I would look into antique auto insurance since they will not total a car and always bring it back to the way you had it no matter what the cost. I just think that way you can't daily it but they don't have to know that.

Damn, I really hate to see that car messed up. I hope you can come to a settlement with the insurance company to get it, as the parts value to guys on here is probably more than they would have paid out in a settlement for the vehicle. So sorry to see it,

You forgot to mention the "this is gonna suck" moment before impact. I hate that moment.

Sorry for your loss.

Well the only thing I can get off of it is the louvers. The insurance company totaled it and are writing me a check for the NADA value. I would buy it back for the parts but I have no place to store it with me being at an apartment complex.

Yea everything will work out. Hopefully I can find a new one soon.

Too bad you couldn't pull the carb and ship it to me. I could work on it while you look for another 7. Then I could ship it back to you in exchange for the one from new 7. But if that sounds like too much work, I understand.

I'll see what I can do but currently I can't touch the car

That sucks. People on the road are idiots. I daily my 7 from spring to fall and I've had a few close calls. I've come to EXPECT that people don't see my car, and treat every other driver as if they don't see me.
The guy was on his phone too? Just goes to show you...

Is your car still sitting a the tow lot? Are they charging you storage fees? There isn't any rule/law that says you can't have possession of the car.

This really sucks, hope you come back better and stronger from this!

+1

Glad no one was hurt.

That was how I was driving everyday but still can't help that. The guy can say he didn't see me but it was still mostly dark outside and I had my headlights on so there is no way he didn't see me.

It's there policy I guess to keep people from stealing things off the car while in there lot.

I plan to get another one but for now I'm going to get an engagement ring for my girlfriend of 6.5 years.

Only my pride and my heart...

if anyone needs a good parts car my car is now up for auction.

Hopefully I am going to get the louvers today but everything else is staying there.

https://www.iaai.com/Vehicles/Vehicl...oadRecent=True

Man I'm sorry for your loss that asshole deserves his license revoked and any type of motor vehicle confiscated for his crime against such such a beautiful rex.

Thats almost the exact scenario that totaled my 84' SE. She was the same color red, and just as clean.

Except I live in PA, and the cop did label me at fault. The other driver in my case was an attractive blonde nurse crying her eyeballs out to the officer as soon as he arrived.

I fought it, but lost. PA ruled that I "failed to maintain control of my vehicle". Claiming that my accident couldnt have been avoided by putting my car into the opposite lane to avoid the "stalled motorist". She was also on her cell phone. She later admitted to be lost, and reading her GPS...

Mine also had the mazdatrix radiator, but mine somehow survived and was installed in my current project. In fact, I was able to salvage nearly every speed part from my SE for my current project car.

I am truly sorry to see this. rest in piece little FB...

yea i wish they had

Yea mine was pretty hard since he was sitting still and I was on a road with a 40mph speed limit. The guy I also hit was on his cell phone talking to someone.

Atleast I tore up his brand new 2015 hyundai sonata

Not involving my SE, but work car, I had a similar result from a blonde crying her arse off to the cop complaining her husband was going to kill her. She crossed into my lane crossing over a solid white line from a turn only lane, hit my rear quarter panel and didn't get a ticket. The insurance companies had to fight it out and because she lied her arse off, my insurance company ended up paying for my damage and jacking up my rates. I saw the same cop later in a mall and confronted him about it. He claimed he couldn't remember the details, but of course would never let a crying blonde affect his professional integrity.