trash

I guess just another rant but I can now feel how some of you feel when someone doing something careless causes you to lose a car you love. I was heading north on a 2 lane road yesterday afternoon and I had the right of way (just going through) at an intersection, was going 35-40 mph and a 16 year old kid in a newer model tahoe heading southbound took a left hand turn (his left) before my eyes. Didnt have time to even take my foot off the gas. Heres what it used to look like and what it looks like now He was given a citation for failure to yeild. It was a 93, 6 speed manual, my DD, loved it and cherished it. It died with 161k on the clock, was completely stock except for the wheels and a muffler, drove like a top and got 26 mpg on 87 octane. I had the chrome Zr1's and the regular nittos with 18k miles on them and had never done a burnout, tires still looked new. The dash thats been so well known to crack on these cars was in Perfect and I mean perfect shape but was shattered with the impact and the airbags, my console and original radio were also in perfect condition. Its the 1st vehicle Ive ever had this to happen to so I guess thats why Im pretty sad about it. But life will go on.

stantheman601

im sorry to hear that. i feel you pain. i cant see the pics but is there anyway to get it fixed? if not i hope you can find another one in as good of shape as yours was. good luck and im glad you are okay. your not hurt are you? you didnt say so i assumed you were fine except for heart break

trash

I think it can be fixed. Ill sure try anyways. The interior IMO is going to be the hardest part. My dash was completely shattered and I know as good as anyone else how hard it is to find a dash in good condition.

MTL_Z28

Well you're ok so that's what's important. Also the damage doesn't look too bad. What's the extent of the damage besides the bumper, hood, fender and obviously the interior?? Or is that enough for your insurance company to declare it a total loss?

What a shame it was such a clean car...

trash

I am ok, perfectly fine, I know I should be more grateful than I am about it but its easy to take for granted and I shouldnt I know. They told me over the phone even before looking at it that it was going to be a total loss, and I told them I could not accept that, and she said well with the age of the vehicle and the extensive damage and the air bag deployment would simply mean that its probably totalled. I had to get off the phone not long after that before I got angry. The feild adjuster was supposed to come and look at it today, I had it towed to my home. Of course he never showed up and never called Going to be a big hassle Im afraid. Good thing is I found one just like it, same year, paint, m6 with around 100k less miles, I will probably pick it up and use that in the meantime until I can get this one peiced back together for normal DD duties. Hands down the 93 Z is my favorite car, dont really have any desire for expensive exotic cars. I tell ya though its starting to get hard to find these older LT1's in good shape, they are few and far between and uncommonly seen around these parts.

trash

Heres a few better pics of the damage. It doesnt appear to be as bad as I first thought. Got the hood open today. I know Im looking at a new front clip, radiator and supports. Front right fender and inner fender. Tie rod and spindle for right front, new wheel and tire, power steering resivoir*sp and lines. I know there will be alot of other unforseen things though.

Imo It doesnt look as bad as I first thought. I know there will be alot of unforseen things though. Any opinions?

rexcellent

I had just about the same amount of damage on mine except it was the driver's side. That was 1 1/2 yrs ago and I am still tweaking things here and there but it is finally back to driving good again. Of course, I did a lot of work myself and salvaged as many parts off of here and locally so I wound up only spending around $2500 to get it fixed. Insurance claimed it a total loss so I have a salvage title now but I'm not too worried about it. Mine was in excellent shape before the wreck but these cars are not worth a whole lot nowadays so any type of frame damage pretty much makes it a total loss. Just be patient and look for used body parts, they will be cheaper and fit much better than cheap aftermarket ones. I even had some insurance money left over when I was done. Good Luck!

Spartan7

Good to hear you're ok, and I feel your pain. My 96 Camaro was just hit recently. And I know you don't want to hear it, but it's probably going to be a total loss. You can salvage it and fix it yourself though so you can keep it, but the insurance company just totaled mine. They only valued it at $4700.

bombebomb

Why make the engine deal with cheap 87 octane? To me it sounds like you should of bought a v6, no burns outs(this shows more than just that), low octane fuel.

If I was you I would try to fix it, the damage does not look that bad.

Also, thanks for the good detail on the story I hate when they lack details.

powerslide350

THe fender support and the rad support are going to be the biggest ordeal. The whole front end is going to have to be taken down, cut off and re stitched. I have a 93 Z just like yours, red/ tux top, but mine is an auto. Young/ older drivers worry me the most. I hope it works out for you man and glad your ok.

trash

I ran 93 ocatane for a good 6 months and yeilded the same MPG and could tell no difference in performance. I actually switched to 87 by accident, hit the wrong button at the gas station and it made absolutely no difference. I tried to treat this car as nicely as I could, it was my DD and I do not like to rag on it especially when it gets me to work everyday. I do understand when your saying though I know its a "hot rod" or pony car but Im long past those days of burning out and shredding my tires and/or glazing my clutch and wondering why it cost so much to fix and keep up and why I cant get anymore than 10k miles out of a tire that should last 3 or 4 times longer.

Spartan7: I dont mean to pry into your business but did they outright offer you that cash amount or did you have to fight for it? Ive got all my pictures, receipts and records ready to fight the insurance company, its a job just getting those clowns to do what they are supposed to do.

thanks for the support I definately want to peice it back together.

bombebomb

So why do you have a v8 I am highly confused, why not buy a buick century and have a nice ride to work instead of a v8 muscle car with no comfort compared to an 'old persons car'.

Have you began pricing things yet? I know with cars of our age they get totaled really easy by the insurance company.

FormulaSS

Glad you're okay! That's what counts because the car can easily be replaced or repaired if you choose to do so. To me that looks like a total. The cost to repair and the age/value of the car will put it in the total zone. It is amazing how much and how quickly the body repair adds up. Good luck with the rebuild!

96 Z 28

Well I can tell you there is no way insurance will fix it

I had similar damage on mine about 1 1/2 years ago, and it was $6000 worth of work in a shop. But my airbags didn't go off, and they are typically about $1000 each, so right there you are at 1/2 value Insurance will only fix it if the damage is <= to about 75% value.

So that means you'll have to buy it back and fix it yourself. That will mean a new front clip, and I would make sure the frame is straight, cause if not that's a big fix, which you can't do yourself As stated start scouring salvage yards, you may even be able to find airbags there as well.

Good Luck with the re-build if you go forward with it

trash

Where your parts priced new? just wondering. Found steering wheel centerpeice with airbag for $50 on ebay, same price for the passenger side. Guy locally has a good dash (very hard to find im finding out) he wants $50 for it. He also has a spindle but its a v6 car, are the v6 spindles the same?