GSLSEforme

Took my SE out for a short ride and gas it up tonight. About 50 miles on it since complete suspension overhaul,super clean car,original paint in very good condition. Owned it since 1993,never put a scratch on it entire time i've owned it-til tonight. Girl pulled out of a side street(crossing the road i'm on). Contact would have been at right front wheel, i was going 50 mph,no one coming other way,swerved into other lane to drive around her,missed it by this much. I'm angry,i know it can be fixed,was a clean original car dammit!

Qingdao

iTrader: (3)

Yup, but could be worse... lot worse.


That area is accessible from the inside so you should be able to pop it back out with minimal bondo work. but I'm no paint body man.

LongDuck

It sucks, but get it to a good bodyshop so they can look at popping it back out. With the thickness of steel used on these cars, theres a chance it looks worse than it is. Sorry to see it, but all is not lost. Had she T-boned you, it would be far worse, so you did a good job driving it.

7aull

iTrader: (2)

Still, its a head-banger when it happens to your baby - believe me we ALL get that.
Sorry for the ag, glad it wasn't worse. She will live to fly another day

Stu Aull
80GS
Alaska

GSLSEforme

Disgusted driving back home couple miles,heard rubbing noise in r.rear when turned in my driveway,have to check that out.Looked it over real quick and didn't see anything. Looks like tire/wheel got hit too,hoping nothing got bent there. Girl was supposed to call me last night-never did. In all my years driving never had an ins.claim other than a deer hit on my truck,not even sure how to proceed . When get home from work going to call my ins.co. &hers and report the accident.

t_g_farrell

iTrader: (1)

Since its on your rear quarter panel it will be her fault for hitting you. Good work dodging
it otherwise it would be your front corner hit and they would assume your fault for hitting her.

Her insurance will want to total it and cut you a check and take the car. There are other options,
make sure you explore keeping the car and getting a check or at least buying it back.

KansasCityREPU

iTrader: (9)

I hope you got a police report and they came to the scene. In my state without a police report it's your word against theirs and your insurance ends up paying for the repair if the other drive says it was not their fault. That's if you have full coverage and not just liability.

erick31876

iTrader: (8)

It doesn't look too bad,should pull right out with a stud welder and slide hammer,it also looks like you can get to the inside of it and bang it out. Please tell me that you got a police report

GSLSEforme

Called police to report before i even got out of the car. In this state if nobody hurt,cars are driveable and no debris in road,they don't respond. "Exchange insurance information and let insurance co. work it out....and move vehicles out of right of way if haven't already done so" is what i was told. I was less than thrilled to hear this. Just got off phone with her ins. co. gave them all my info and statement of the acident. She had reported it 1/2hr before i called.

GSLSEforme

^^ This...what i'm concerned about,read several others'horror stories about this exact situation.. have had this car for a long time,maintained it myself,made a lot of upgrades,given it a lot of love,all to have it come to this.

craaaazzy

iTrader: (9)

glad to hear that you are ok but sorry that it happened. good luck fixing the beauty.

GSLSEforme

Thanks for all the responses and suggestions. Just got off the phone with claims adjuster again,other driver took responsibility for accident, her insurance company assumed liability for repairs and having independent adjuster who specializes in antiques and classic sports cars call me to set up time to look at my car at my house. Assured me they will make the car as it was before. Have some reservations as i've had dealings with this particular company previously and the outcome was not good. Will take the car to a local body shop where i know the owner to get a fair estimate of repair cost first so i have something to compare the second adjusters'findings to. Also want to get the car up in the air so i can put eyes on everything and determine source of rubbing sound i hear,check for runout on wheel and axle flange.

craaaazzy

iTrader: (9)

U should be able to take ur car to any body shop of ur choosing, the adjuster is there to just start the process and get an estimate. When some one cut in front of my car (pathfinder), I took it to a well known body shop who were known for their work, mainly European cars.

hcaulfield57

iTrader: (1)

I'm really sorry man, that totally sucks! I completely understand being upset! Glad you're okay though, and as others have said damage could have been a lot worse. It would have sucked to get your front suspension screwed up after completing it as well.

misterstyx69

iTrader: (142)

tell them the stereo stopped workin,the wipers need a switch and the engine started makin this "brapping sound"...
Milk that baby..,.heh,.,!

*sorry to hear about the ding but at least the party was willing to take responsibility.

andernamen

iTrader: (2)

Make sure the work is done right. Be involved. Mine was rear ended and never really fixed correctly. Good luck, it is a really nice looking original car.

GSLSEforme

Update: State Farm called back and said had no adjusters in my area(bs?) and take it to local body shop for estimate. So i took it to a local shop recommended by guy i do business with,took info,pics,said be in touch in a few days. Week goes by,stop in talk to guy that took pics&info,says he's been calling Mazda,waiting for the dealer to call him back on availability of parts....? I know there's no new parts available for this car,told him i thought he was just blowing me off,mentioned the sterling reputation they're supposed to have...told me he'd need the car for a couple days to check out,which i didn't like,told me he'd call me next day for a time to bring car down and wait while they looked it over....no phone call. Scheduling conflicts prevented me from going to another shop til today..verdict 2600.00 estimate. As i was leaving writer said there's good possibility ins. co. will total car and there's a couple guys here that would buy it from you.... just sent estimate off to ins. co. I'm certain others here have had to deal with this situation,any guidance,ideas,tips on how to handle this would be appreciated. Not too happy right now....

KansasCityREPU

iTrader: (9)

If they value the car at $2600, you should be able to buy it back for scrape prices ~$200. I think it's worth more than $2600. Without seeing it in person and mileage, I say it's at least worth $4000-$5000.

GSLSEforme

Worth at least that.

hcaulfield57

iTrader: (1)

While I cannot really offer any advice, I can share my sympathy for the situation. Best of luck, hope it turns out okay!

Banzai

iTrader: (13)

This is a slippery slope. Nice old cars that aren't really worth a whole bunch. It makes them affordable to many people but insurance companies won't really pay what they may be worth in the name of their own bottom line. You think you have coverage but not really, not if it's something other than minor. An agreed value policy is the way to more fully protect it. They can come with some restrictions but that is the insurance companies way of making sure you are being honest that its a hobby or fun vehicle and not a daily driver. If you want to keep it, it will more than likely cost you some out of your own pocket.

GSLSEforme

^^ This... was my next step. Car was as perfect as i could make it. Had small split in vinyl on lower part of passenger door pad. Wanted to get that fixed before had it assessed.Found used one online for a GSL,just had to switch out cloth insert in middle of door panel and put my SE one in its place..til i got it and it had a puncture hole in the vinyl i could not see in the pics sent to me,had another sent to me assured was in excellent condition,had a hole in vinyl on it also. Now had 2 door panels-sent the best of the 2 to a trim shop that a guy i've dealt with before has, now fixed,more money than i paid for door panel,oh well... picked that up day before accident. I know i'm not the only one this shi* happens to but....

Banzai

iTrader: (13)

I had a couple of my cars assessed before insuring them as well. I wanted some validation to my opinion of value when submitting for coverage. I'm not sure how helpful they really were but I provided them along with pictures and the insurance company did agree to what I asked for without any second guessing. The key I think is to remain somewhat realistic. I wouldn't think I could expect to use one as the basis for an asking price if I was trying to sell, as that is still market driven. I just wanted to protect my investment, in case something like your unfortunate situation happens.

GSLSEforme

Update: after repeated calls to State Farm,lots of unsatisfactory answers &lots of frustration i was able to talk with a supervisor about my claim. Spoke with him at length about all the run around and mis-information i had received,sent him the pics i took of my car so he could see the whole car and the condition it is in. While i wasn't a dic* about it i made sure he knew my patience had worn thin. Made sure he knew the car was hit 5/12 & a month and a half later his company was still not forthcoming with information. He asked and i gave him the name of every person i'd spoken to there along with the time and date,what they told me(to do) and what i did to comply with each instruction. He called me back today to tell me a check was being issued to me for the exact amount of the estimate i'd gotten. I asked him if they would issue supplemental funds if as car was dismantled,more damage was found-he said they would,just document any further damage,gave me his contact info and told me to call him directly if any more problems........Ok,guess i can proceed with work on the car.......when the check is in my hands. Feel a lot better about things now,been in limbo for over a month. Glad it went this way,wish it never happened. Want to finish the car and get it appraised/insured for agreed value so this can't happen again.

KansasCityREPU

iTrader: (9)

One word of advice about the check. Sometimes they sneak in a clause that says signing the check is the release of responsibility.