Devastated
 

So I had just got my car back from the shop where I had my down pipe and mid pipe installed. A few miles before getting home, driving down a 2 lane road, an elderly woman pulled out into the outside lane and hesitated before she decided to go ahead and pull out in front of me.. Slammed the brakes going about 40~ mph. Brakes locked up and my front left bumper nailed her rear quarter panel.

I am completely devastated as I have owned this car for the last 5 years and have finally started to put money into it. Installed a set of stance coilovers, got a new set of wheels, finally just got my pfc commander, and obviously the straight pipe that was just installed. I absolutely love this car and can't imagine driving anything else.

My biggest fear is it will most definitely be considered totaled as the air bags went off and there is obvious frame damage and what also looks like suspension damage as the wheel pushed into the fender. Car has just under 80k miles and after seeing the kbb value at 10k I feel sick.

Do you guys think it is salvageable? And if it is considered a salvage I'm assuming they will pay me the estimated value of the car and I may not have the option to get it back at all?
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Goddamn man...that is messed up.
I've been through something like this once and the insurance company(USAA) payed the kbb valuation to pay off the loan(USAA) then sold the car at auction.

dosent look tooo bad.
new bumper, fender, headlight, bonnet and some hammering and it should be ok

I was just reading through registered fds in states and seeing how many fds have been lost past 10 years.
I'm so sorry for your car.
Looking at the intercooler piping damaged like that, front core is definitely pushed in.
I can't really see the damage on the shock tower, although the strut bar seems to be bent.
Perhaps if the shock tower is good, it can be repaired?
I hope you have good luck with this beauty.

:icon_no2: Some hammering?! The left upper rail is clearly crushed along with the core support and most likely the frame rail because the air bags did deploy. It is going to be very close to a total loss. Hopefully you kept some of your stock stuff to swap over so you don't lose your ass if it is totaled! This really sucks!

OP I would just take the money and buy another one. A salvage title is never worth it and once you buy it back and put all the money needed to fix it correctly you would have been able to buy another one with no salvage title.

Right on. The whole LT front of that car has to be over at least 2-3"

The front support got pushed in pretty good. You can tell by that intercooler coupler. Ask for a market assessment. It might be valued at 10k on KBB, but we all know they're worth more than that. Get on Craigslist, autotrader, and the for sale section and find equivalent FDs for sale and show them the price people pay for it. They'll pay you what it's worth. When my first FD was totaled they were going to pay $8k to me for it (93 touring with 42k on it). They didn't believe my mileage was correct. I had to provide a receipt from a shop with mileage on it to substantiate it. I was paid out 17,900 for it when it was all said and done. All recent work within the last year is usually compensated as well.

Sucks man I know exactly how you feel. It's a lot of work just to own one of these.

Matt

NADA high retail is $19,700.00 currently on the car. Talk with your insurance company. Prices on used FDs have never been higher. The cost to replace your car assuming it is a 93 R1 with 80k miles is around that $20k price. Do your research before talking with insurance but you may come out pretty good.

The car will definitely be totaled.

lol,well if the frame rails arnt bent, then the suspension geo should be OK, so the other stuff is cosmetic really.
We can fix anything with a hammer down in this part of the world. We dont even need wiring extensions :lol:

When I crashed in 2011 I got about $18,000 back even though my car had 146***miles on it. I even bought the car back for $1200, part it out and used some parts for my next FD.

Sorry about your car though. I had the very same thing happened to me last night. Some lady pulled in front of me even though she clearly and I mean clearly saw me coming down the road. She pulled out from the stop sign and proceeded to go even though I was already a couple hundred feet from her already. I was literally about 3-5 feet from slamming into her rear quarter panel. I'm just lucky my brakes did not lock.

They should give you fair market value, no?

The FD protected you with its life! At least you weren't hurt physically by someone else's mistake.

Jees, you could have warned us before posting that level of carnage!!

*shakes fist at elderly woman*

Sorry to see this happen bro. Hopefully you can get the most out of it and get back into an FD as soon as possible.

If she was found at fault, then their insurance has an obligation to "make whole."

Which means that they are obligated to get you back into the situation you were in before this. So kbb value means nothing when you factor in your customization and modifications, rarity of actually FINDing a lower mileage FD with a no accident history, etc.

Do not settle for their offer. And if it was her fault, make sure you end up with a car just like yours or get yours restored to how it was prior to the accident.

I've seen worse crashes brought back. Might need a new front clip. A lot will depend on your insurance and who is found at fault. The most important part is you walked away and are ok. I know it sucks but it is only a car in the end and can always be replaced. Get a police report if you already haven't. Find out who was at fault. Then get your own estimate from a reputable body shop to supplement the insurance adjuster's estimate. If they try to total it and argue over the value of the car, any receipts of work you have put in may help. Good luck.

nice wheels

Push for it to be totaled, then buy it back for a few thousand. Fix it and walk away with the extra cash...

Don't push for it to be totaled. The value of the car will be destroyed. Anyone would rather buy a single accident vehicle than a totaled one.

Matt

Fully agree. You should NEVER push for a vehicle to be totaled to make some extra cash... Because you lose way more than you made if you ever go to sell the car.

I vote totalled, once you get into the unibody structure like the radiator support and inner fender liner, it gets expensive quickly. Especially on an older car like the FD that doesn't have much of an aftermarket for original style replacement body parts.

This is a really good advertisement for getting your FD onto an agreed value collector car insurance policy. As long as you have another vehicle as your daily driver it's pretty easy to get coverage, typically for less than normal insurance. In the event of a total loss accident you get paid out the agreed value, not an arbitrary book value that is less than actual value. I'm also very involved in the Porsche world, this insurance is very common for guys that have the older air cooled classic 911 models that are rapidly appreciating.

Man I really hate threads like this.:(

You should only push for a total if you can negotiate a good settlement. As others have said, they will push KBB which may be around $8k and then they'll turn around and sell it for $4k, so they are only out $4k. If you get a good settlement and want to buy it back, don't fix it unless you want to keep it for life because it'll be a salvage title and you'll never get the money back you'll have to put into it. You could make a little money parting it out though esp if the interior is black, but that's a PITA endeavor

After talking with progressive I feel slightly relieved...they said if it is considered totaled they try to find the value a dealership in the area would sell it for and that I would also be able to buy my car back at auction price. I am going to fight for 17k at the very least. I should hear back tomorrow with an update so I will keep you guys posted.

At this point I'm hoping for totaled purely because I'm worried about the structural integrity and balance of a repaired front end... If that is the case I plan on buying the car back and finding a roller in good condition to throw my engine in. I should also be able to afford an older miata to DD :nod:

Either way I will be back into the FD game, I am in love