The End Of An Era- Please post your opinion!
 

Hello everyone!

As some of you know I was involved in a wreck last Saturday morning. Thankfully he other driver was completely at fault, and uninjured. It was a relatively low speed crash as I was going 35-40mph and probably slowed to about 25mph at the time of impact, which was on a large family van on the rear passenger side.
~Yes I'm typically a conservative driver on the road with my seven. :)

So to be blunt, I will be dealing with insurance tomorrow and most of the next week. I'm fairly positive the car is totaled, and you can be the judge of that with the pictures below. I've spent well over $16K in parts (only counting the parts "I" purchased, and not the previous owners'.), maintenance and upgrades, with of course a vast amount of personal time to sort the car out. A claims adjuster will most likely take a look at the car to determine the value eventually. I do have MOST of the receipts but not all.


My car:
-1986 Mazda Rx7 Sport.
-215K on the chassis.
-45K on the engine.
-The engine is from a S5 turbo ii and all the drive train is also from a turbo car.
-I've got MOST receipts of any work done to the car since purchase in August of '86, including the original window sticker.
-The exterior was in 9/10 condition exterior as there are several very small door dings and 2 key marks along the drivers door.
-The interior was also a 9/10 as everything was present and in good condition with the exception of the large defroster vent.


Now for the upgrades that were ON the car:
Engine related:
-A large front mount intercooler custom built by Corksport.
-Custom intake with a K&n Filter and heat shielding
-Koyo Radiator (turbo of course)
-Vehicle specific electric fan
-Rebuilt alternator (turbo S5 alternator)
-Dual alternator pulley
-Walbro 255l fuel pump
-Battery has been relocated to the passenger side 'bin'
-S5 Turbo was freshly rebuild, and a ported wastegate
-Port matched exhaust manifolds
-Intake manifolds were also port matched
-New TPS sensor
-Every electronic device on the engine has been tested and is working/replaced
-A custom aluminum cooling panel (directs air towards the radiator)
-Autometer Gauges (Boost & Oil Pressure)
-HKS turbo timer
-Fuel Cut Defender
-T-bolt clamps on FMIC (minus 2 for the intercooler)


Chassis:
-Short shifter
-Racing Beat front sway bar end links
-Select bushings have been replaced with poly bushings
-Mazdatrix rear camber adjust bar
-AWR racing rear camber links
-Koni yellow struts on all 4 corners (adjustable)
-Racing Beat springs
-Corksport Strut tower bar
-Structural foam has been added to the void areas in the chassis
-A racing seat with custom frame rails. The seat was rebuilt, strengthened and custom fit for my build. Not a name brand seat though.
-Newer brakes & pads
-Rebuilt calipers up front
-S5 brake lights. Modernized.
-Stock Aero wing, and tire deflectors
-Corksport front lip (S4)
-Various lights were replaced with LED's
-Stock rims with newer BF-Goodrich G-Force Sport tires
-Tuner lug nuts on all-round
-Never break diff mount
-S4 Clutch LSD from a turbo
-Autovation aluminum pedal set

Electronics:
-Eclipse cd deck model #3414 (I think?)
-JL audio 8"sub in an custom enclosure behind the drivers seat
-Planet Audio dual channel amp (retail was about $300)
-Related quality amp cables and equipment
-Alpine Type R component speakers in the rear, with Alpine Type S coaxial speakers up front. Tweeters were mounted below the cd player
-Car alarm from "Compu-Star". Has: remote start, alarm, remote door locks (with additional solenoids), and 2 way pager remote (with lcd screen)
-I have custom headlights up front. Spent $500 on the kit, and about $100 more to make it work right.
-Every electronic device worked perfectly on the chassis.



Now for the upgrades that were OFF the car (spares):
-Reworked rear sub frame with new welds and was going to be re-enforced with polyurethane foam
-Functional Drop vent hood (was still testing the aerodynamics of the hood)
-AC was scheduled to be recharged
-install the last of the polyurethane bushings in the suspension
-Engine torque brace

Pictures of the car before the incident:
http://img78.imageshack.us/img78/1824/dscn3081or8.jpg
http://img235.imageshack.us/img235/9277/seat1fp3.jpg
http://img105.imageshack.us/img105/6488/dsc01659co5.jpg
http://img514.imageshack.us/img514/3136/dscn3588ti9.jpg
http://img296.imageshack.us/img296/896/dsc01661xx6.jpg
http://img57.imageshack.us/img57/6983/dsc01665tw2.jpg


Pictures of the car after the incident:
http://img529.imageshack.us/img529/1379/dscn3920er9.jpg
http://img205.imageshack.us/img205/6770/dscn3922bf0.jpg
http://img440.imageshack.us/img440/8954/dscn3923ux1.jpg



Now time for your input!

-I'd like your opinion of the value of the car, and of course any advice will be greatly appreciated.

sorry to hear about the crash but personly i dont see how the car is tottalled just by the front or is more done to the car that isnt shown?????? glad to hear your ok tho. you should keep us posted to see what the insurance say

I should have mentioned that the frame is ever so slightly tweeked. The passenger door now binds slightly while opening/closing, and the hoos is tweeked on all sides. The chassis is definitely not straight now, and I don't believe a body/frame shop can ever fix things back to 100%.

well im not an expert but im guessing that it COULD be cosidered totalled...based on the insurance's point of view, depending on whether or not your mods are taken into consideration. Most insurance companies dont cover for aftermarket mods unless its a new car with aftermarket stuff added by the dealer i believe.

Edit: If the frame is tweaked, its totalled.

It is very important to let YOUR insurance company get involved, because they are presumably not out to screw you. Keep in mind the person you will be dealing with from the other party's insurance company is some guy who makes his living getting people who are injured by his clients to sign a release for some loball number. Many of them are ruthless and will lie, cheat and mislead you any way they can. If you decide to fix the car, don't let them even SEE your title, and tell them if they send in a Total report, you will sue them, as it will cause you a lot of inconvenience. What you choose to do with the car is none of their business.

Back in the 80s, I repaired numerous wrecked RX-7s, and virtually all of them were much worse than yours because they were almost new cars. Damage like yours would not have been considered a total when the car was almost new.

Having said all that, If you don't have any body repair skills, you might want to consider picking up an FC with a dead motor and transfer all your parts to it.

I second that. had a friend with a retarted honda, that he had a lot of money put into. ne ways it got stolen. he had some reciepts of the car. pics of it when it was together. a 4 door early 90's civic, b16 and a lame bottle in the back with maaco paint.-8.5k. imagine that. i wouldnt settle for any less than what you deserve.

Dont forget if they total it you have the right to remove items from the car. Pull everything you can and sell it here or use it for a new seven.

rember if your $3000 stereo gets stolen from your $2500 rx7 they will probably just total the car and save the $500. then they will sell the damn thing to the scrapersand probably make another $200 or even more.

My bitch whore of a sister had her jeep destroyed, by another driver. She made them rebuild the whole thing. Took 6 mos.

From experience I'd say the total value of your car is 8700$. I really doubt that
they'll offer you around 4300 at most, which sucks but it's true. You might get
stuck with some lame check, and having to buy your car back. I've had to do
that a few times. Good luck and hit me up if you need any advice, I've been in
your shoes more than once.

-edit: take legal council if you can, it'll be a huge determining factor.

I've been talking to both parties claims reps and they definatly take their time. I've been pushing them to get some work done and some solid answers about a rental car and medical. So far with out looking at the information, the other person's claims rep mentioned a setlement. I am definatly gonna hold of as I'm sure they will try to get out as cheaply as possible. My neck and shoulders are really sore. I'm gonna check in with my doctor and just hope that insurance will cover the costs as all of my funds are allocated towards the condo currently and I was hoping to get a definate answer from the insurance before I commited my reserved funds. I just have to hope for the best!

I did test drive a Volvo C30 T5 sunday, and am quite pleased with the car. It could have been quiter, but had a fair amount of 'pep' to it. I have long been a fan of quirky looking hatchbacks and wagons, and I kinda dig the looks of the little vovlo. I also drove a Mazda 3 the same day- If the price is right with Mazda Motor Sports, I may just get a Mazda 3 and call it a day.

Update within an update- I just ended a call with the other partie's claim rep and they are liable for the damages so I'm in the clear with that. I'd hate to have to dispute this as its really a cut and dry case. Anyways- they will provide me with a rental and gave me a list of collision centers they can work with.
-Lacey Collision
-Olympia Auto Body
-Capitol Collision

Does anyone have experiance with any of these centers?

get as much as you can via insurance, with the buyback, and swap all that junk into another chassis. it'll take some of your time (doing the swap) but you'll def make money doing that.

You can choose any shop to repair/appraise your car. You don't have to go with who the insurance company recommends. go to www.hauryscollision.com for more information on your consumer rights and pick who you want.

Check out IPD for some of the mods you can do to a Volvo.

Woundup7, I actually called a few places and found that Lacey Collision has a few people that have been Mazda techs back when the FC was new, and they've done a few FC's before. Plus I commute right past their shop, so should the car not be totaled, I can keep a close tab on the progress. Anyways- the car is going to the shop today...

I Need Your Help!
 

Ok- So the insurance company isn't sure if the car is totaled at this point in time. I need to find some current 'comps' to judge the value of my car against. The first repair estimate was for $5K

-Please send me links of other Fc's that are in similar condition to mine and for sale. I think you could even use a few select Fb's and Fd's as the insurance will most likely just crunch #'s. Anyways, I don't know the market value of my car, but if it was complete, I'd probably list it around the $10K mark, as the car is very well sorted. The more cars I have to compare it against, the better the case of them fixing the car and not totaling it.
-Don't be picky with what you find, I'll have to sort through all of em, weather it be on the forum, or on other car related sites.

-I'm going to write a letter stating that I had bought this car as an investment opportunity as it will soon become a classic car. I have enough evidence, receipts and custom work done on the car to substantiate this.

On a side note, I've decided that Lacey Auto Body won't work on the car as they want to replace parts with 'typical' junk yard parts to keep costs down. Should the car be repaired, the whole body will need to be resprayed as color matching and blending 20+ year old paint doesn't work too well. I've heard that "Bernies Custom Paint Incorporated & Auto Body" does quality work, so I'm going to look into them now.

If you need legal assistance from top firms for cheap look into pre-paid legal. If you have questions ask me.

sorry to hear!! sucks it was a very nice car. if it does get totaled id buy it back. then posibly look into buying a different shell and swaping parts. or doing some repair work to it....

This same exact thing happened to me.. almost identical damage.. i kept the car, told them i chose to fix it myself... the paid me some cash... and i threw on some new fenders, bumper ect.. Once you start to tear it apart you can see how much damage is superficial, and how much is deep frame damage.. BTW, i have a front bumper, pass side fender, hood and headlight.... IF you want it.. PM me..

Hope this all works out for you.. sad to see a car go scrap, when its just some replaceable parts. You may have mentioned this, but who is your insurance co?

I have State Farm, as well as the old lady that pulled out in front of me. They will repair the car so long as the costs to repair the car are less than 70% of the value of the car.

i and an incident where an lady hit me in a parking lot..i was in an old accord..the her insurance company only wanted to pay me 1k for the damage..there was a some damage to the underbody but none to the frame..i took it to another shop..to get it evaluated and told the insurance man..that this shop can only gaurantee their work if they paint it off the car..so..the insurance company paid us about $2.5 k..we bought the car back and went back to the shop and said what doesnt need to be brand new..got away with only spending 1k..but it does have a totaled title..

Sorry to hear about the wreck man. Wanna buy my '89? (I just bought a WRX)

-chris

I'm still working out everything with the insurance companies. I won't be transferring my cars components to another shell as my time is spent at work mostly. Thanks for offering your shells and cars though!

You'll have to keep a close eye on them, I know they will look at your KBB value and offer that, nevermind you have like twice that in extra's. I'd buy it back and if nothing else let the local "buzzards" buy all the goodies instead of letting insurance just take the car. You usually come out ahead that way.

Update:

So the insurance co took my information and decided that an independent assessor would be best to find the value of my car. After some time trying to gather information that seemed to be lost on the insurance co's side, they've finally disclosed that the value of the car was $6350, and with tax title, etc etc $6930 as a final value. Suffice to say I am speaking to a lawyer to advise me on how to increase that amount. Also, I am dealing with the 'pain and suffering' side of things and I'm honestly not sure how to deal with that. The medical adjuster sent me the first settlement offer for $3K medical, and $800 pain and suffering. I know this isn't going to be enough to cover everything, much less the time lost for dealing with all of this.

-Well thats where I am at now... Expect more updates over the next few days.

P.S. I'm looking into a 2001 2.5 RS as a daily driver. I've found a few, but can't do anything until this is over with.

P.P.S. I have the option to 'buy the car back' then sell it as parts/parts car. If your interested send me a PM with your offer!.

Best of luck... It's tough fighting the insurance company to get your money. I fought for over a month to get an extra 3k when my old car was stolen and totalled