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Got in an accident...

15K views 65 replies 28 participants last post by  el Bandido 
#1 ·
Happened monday morning on my way to school, I was heading northbound on route 7 in the right lane and a linemen truck pulling out of a parking lot didn't see me and hit my passengers side. Glad he didn't have much momentum or things could've gotten real ugly. Here's the results:




So my questions are, where is the best place to get fenders and doors for the caminos? I'm worried the body shop is going to put crap on it. They said the rear quarter is going to be repaired, while the door and fender will be replaced. Had to removed my front air dam because it was rubbing up on the tire. Is there still sheetmetal available from GM for these things? I'm asking this cause the first thing theguy from the body shop said was the other guys might try to say its totaled, I can still drive it AND the door is nearly fully functional, so its nowhere near totaled. Also since the people who hit me are a large private company, they are self insured and pay out of pocket basically upto a certain amount.
 
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#5 · (Edited)
Unfortunately once the repair costs get to 51% depending on the laws in your state it becomes the insurance companies call whether to total it or not also depends on the type of coverage you have in the contract of whats cover and whats not.
http://www.edmunds.com/auto-insurance/a-total-loss.html
What you might do is purchase the vehicle from the insurance company based on the value after the accident(it sometimes is negotiable so negotiate it if you can).If yours is in very good running shape and the interior is in excellent shape it may be worth it find another one and buy back this one to do upgrades from,just a thought.Also the parts you don't use on the replacement El Camino you might offer to other members here for a reasonable price to offset the cost of buying it back OR you might purchase the replacement parts for your present Elky and repair it yourself.
Here in California you don't have to accept what the insurance company offers you if you don't think it is a reasonable offer to you,the insurance companies are concerned with there part not yours so get yourself informed or you may be the bigger looser in this situation.So explore all of your options.
Your insurance may arbitrate the accident and tell you what the other company is offering you in compensation, but it will be minus their costs and a profit to them they don't do anything for nothing.This is just one situation possiblity and there are others i'm sure and I can think of a few others but this is the most likely one.
I just reread your post and you said they are self insured,if that means the same as here in Calif.they have posted an insurance bond saying they will as you say pay out of pocket.So go and get as many estimates of repair costs as you think is necessary and have the value estimated as to its worth before the accident and make your presentation to them yourself without your insurance,if you have to you can hand it over to your insurance and see what happens after you try yourself.Good Luck.
 
#24 ·
Unfortunately once the repair costs get to 51% depending on the laws in your state it becomes the insurance companies call whether to total it or not also depends on the type of coverage you have in the contract of whats cover and whats not.
http://www.jdoqocy.com/image-3463930-10364102http://www.edmunds.com/auto-insurance/a-total-loss.html
What you might do is purchase the vehicle from the insurance company based on the value after the accident(it sometimes is negotiable so negotiate it if you can).If yours is in very good running shape and the interior is in excellent shape it may be worth it find another one and buy back this one to do upgrades from,just a thought.Also the parts you don't use on the replacement El Camino you might offer to other members here for a reasonable price to offset the cost of buying it back OR you might purchase the replacement parts for your present Elky and repair it yourself.
Here in California you don't have to accept what the insurance company offers you if you don't think it is a reasonable offer to you,the insurance companies are concerned with there part not yours so get yourself informed or you may be the bigger looser in this situation.So explore all of your options.
Your insurance may arbitrate the accident and tell you what the other company is offering you in compensation, but it will be minus their costs and a profit to them they don't do anything for nothing.This is just one situation possiblity and there are others i'm sure and I can think of a few others but this is the most likely one.
I just reread your post and you said they are self insured,if that means the same as here in Calif.they have posted an insurance bond saying they will as you say pay out of pocket.So go and get as many estimates of repair costs as you think is necessary and have the value estimated as to its worth before the accident and make your presentation to them yourself without your insurance,if you have to you can hand it over to your insurance and see what happens after you try yourself.Good Luck.
I can only say it depends upon what type of insurance you have, and that will determine the value of the cruck. IF you have agreed value, then it must be 51% of the agreed value of the vehicle. Mine is insured at $15k, so it would have to be over $7.5k to write it off. You can buy a lot of parts for $7.5K. That's why it's a very good idea to make sure ANY vehicle over 25 y/o is an agreed value insurance policy. FWIW, my '56 has agreed value of $30k.
 
#8 ·
if the other driver was at fault and sited call an attorney.when mine was wrecked they tried to come pick up my car and give my wife a check for 1800 $ and were going to total it. it looks like a clean car take it to a classic car apraiser and have them value the car as it was before the accident. when i was done with the other persons insureance they handed me a check for 7100$plus attornies fees. you dont have to settle with thier offer.as for the quarter i would have it replaced not repaired.it will be filler from door to bumper.opg sells full new quarters for 540$,door skins for 240$ and fenders for 299$..thats 1100$ for all new body parts. i bet they have about 800 in labor just to do the quarter.tell the insurance adjuster its a classic car and you want it repaired with new parts or you will have to contact an attorney. what kind of estamate did they give you?
 
#9 ·
i will tell youthe powe of a good attorney.. in 2005 a woman pulled out in front of me in my 83 malibu.mind you this car has 540,000 miles and i had just got it back from the frame shop and was getting ready to paint it.it looked like a 200$ junker at the time of the accident.the insurance co laughed at me when i offered to settle for 4000$ damages and medical .the adjuster said they would never pay that much for that old a car. to them it was an old crappy looking 4 dr chevy. well a year and a half later we settled .25,000$ . my attorney got 30% i paid 2500 to uncle sam and the rest was profit to repair the car. it goes into the body shop in may.if they give you the run around file a small claims suit against the driver and the utility company seperatly.have them served by the marshals service.once served they will pressure the insurance co to settle this.
 
#10 ·
The quarter actually isn't that bad, the dent is shallower than it looks and it only stretches back to the wheelwell, rest of the damage to it is scratches. We will see what they say about the estimate, i'm going to keep quiet about the numbers until I hear back.
 
#11 ·
So you need a new R/F fender, a R/S door skin, and the 1/4 could go either way. Personnaly, I'd change the 1/4 if it were mine, a full 1/4 no sectioning. Then figure 2 tone paint and stripes, and a R/F marker lamp.
BTW, as was said above "totalled" doesn't describe the severity of the damage but rather the cost of repair to the value of the car. Another thing, you don't have to let them total your car. They can write close to 80% and let you fix it. But there won't be any supplements . So if you find additional hidden damage that'l be on you. But from the pics it looks to be a straight forward repair.
 
#13 ·
dont let them screw you. if you dont like thier offer just tell them you need to think about it and call an attorney.keep the car locked up and dont let them take it anywhere,you always personally control the car.dont trust them any farther than you can throw your car.they are there to get out as cheap as possible at your expense. anymore i call my attorney before i even call my insurance co. i wish you well with your car. but get your car apraised before you take any offer from them.they can still apraise your can wrecked they can see its all new damage and still give you a good prive/value for your car undamaged. be armed and aware before you deal with them.
 
#25 ·
If you want to keep them from totaling it, I think you're going to have to take some of the measures the other memebers have already posted about. For comparison...about 4 years ago my '87 Monte Carlo SS was stolen. The thief partially drove the front end into a canal and left it. No water entered the engine or trans at all, nor was there any body damage. But the interior carpet was water soaked, which caused the interior to get musty and moldy.

My insurance totaled the car; granted I didn't put up much of a fight because they gave me a very fair price for the car. My point is my car had a lot less damage than yours and they still totaled it (maybe it had something to do with the fact that it had been stolen and recovered...Im not sure). If you need a new quarter sail panel, a new door, and a new front quarter, thats going to be around or above $1500 in parts alone. I would be prepared to battle with them on this if you want to keep it.
 
#26 ·
Good News! The company that hit me has payed for the damages. I had to go to several autobody shops, the first one wanted nothing to do with it, and gave me a halfazz estimate, and kept telling me how they could get me more if i totaled it, etc. Guy was a real snob about the whole thing, didn't want his hands anywhere near my car after that.
Took it to an older highly experienced bodyman, being only a single worker the labor expenses were through the roof.
Things were looking bleak, until I ran into a gentleman who belonged the local streetrodders association. I asked him who he reccomended, and suprisingly the bodyshop was owned by a family my family had known for years, also the next bodyshop on our list. They had just done major body work to a chevelle so working on older vehicles was nothing new. They could also blend paint, but 3/4 of the car is already getting sprayed, so I'v been working like mad to cover the rest of it. Also using my fiberglass skills to fix the front spoiler mounts in favor of buying a new one, thats a couple hundred bucks right there. Unless I decided otherwise, i'm having the cruck painted dark rose metallic,similar to the older color but "cooler" looking. :poke:
 
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