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When I bought (new) my 2005 Chevy Malibu, I knew I had a cool car. The 6 cyl. engine was made by Honda (Chevy traded On Star to Accura for that) and the chassis was a Saab S3 (GM owned SAAB at the time).
Anyway, the car has 214+k miles and is still running strong. Until this afternoon.
While leaving from his driveway, the neighbor's kid hit the accelerator instead of the brakes. This is the result.
Won't know the extent of the damage until it get evaluated and into a shop.
Now, the dilemma is to make sure the car gets fixed and not deemed totaled. Of course, totaled means 2 things; 1. It ain't worth fixing 2. It can't be driven (bent frame as an example).
If they total it, what ever money I get will not buy me squat. I guess I could try to find a 2005 Malibu out there but I would have no history (to speak of ) on it. My car has been well maintained.
The kid was pretty shook up but I reminded him that my 1st accident as a 16 year old resulted in 100 stitches on my forehead and 30 on my knee which led to the demise of said body part. That lead to a knee replacement at the tender age of 50!
Stay tuned for the "rest of the story".
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That'll buff out .....
Good news is the kid (or you) didn't hurt themselves - other than the shattering of the kids ego
Interested to hear the "rest of the story" as time progresses
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Interested to hear the "rest of the story" as time progresses
QX30?
Last edited by hookup (Feb-05-23 8:14AM)
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hookup wrote:
QX30?
Stop it!
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That is unfortunate. Like George said, at least no one was hurt. Hope it comes to a positive conclusion.
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If it's more than the door....totaled. You could buy it back and get it 90% back in order. Looks mostly superficial, but it's hard to say only looking at it on the outside.
Personally, I believe any kid who has an accident to that point should have their license suspended until they are more capable and mature to drive. Always thought that even at that age. Too many ideas that kids at that age are mature. Also with all the distraction these days. Regardless, glad no one was hurt. Who cares about egos...failures and challenges help build character.
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After my accident when I was 16, I didn't want to drive anymore. My dad had to force me to drive again. I was downshifting and messed that up. Total inexperience move.
Two friends were hurt as well although not as bad.
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backtofuturetoyota wrote:
If it's more than the door....totaled. You could buy it back and get it 90% back in order. Looks mostly superficial, but it's hard to say only looking at it on the outside.
Please explain the middle sentence...
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Ernie wrote:
backtofuturetoyota wrote:
If it's more than the door....totaled. You could buy it back and get it 90% back in order. Looks mostly superficial, but it's hard to say only looking at it on the outside.
Please explain the middle sentence...
If the insurance company says it will cost more to repair (to like normal condition) than it's worth (totaled), they often will allow you to purchase it back as is along with your insurance claim. So they may offer it to you for 1k and give you say 4k for the claim. Just guesstimating numbers here.
When my 2008 truck was totaled by a semi truck, they offered it back to me for 7k in 2019 in the condition that it was damaged in. It had 150k miles. This was very unusual to offer it back at such a high price, but they understood that the truck actually had a lot of value in it.
Most typical older type vehicles (maybe like yours) will be offered back at 1k. So you might be able to purchase it back for 1k and have the minimal amount of repairs done to make it look good and functional as long as the frame isn't bent and no safety/engineering issues are present. If it's a vehicle you love and don't mind spending the money into....it's an option.
For me, as long as the suspension/frame/steering linkages weren't damaged, these are repairable without loss of drive quality. Just a thought.
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Got it...that's my same impression.
The key is whether I can actually get it fixed. Once their insurance company looks at it, I will ask that it goes somewhere (my choice) to get looked at an analyzed.
Of course, the car had value to me because it was paid for many times over and is reliable. plus, it was expertly maintained. Heck, I just dropped some major coin in it not too long ago. Not sure the insurance company will give a hoot about that.
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This is where the "total" concern is...
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Ernie wrote:
hookup wrote:
QX30?
Stop it!
I'm good at spending other peoples money
This is where the "total" concern is...
Ouch. Looks like some serious front end work.
How fast was the kid traveling? Looks like the kid punched it!
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He backed out of his driveway so his rear end was pointed at my car. He hit the accelerator instead of the brakes. He was only 20-25' form my car but just drove it into the curb.
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Oof, glad everyone is okay. Your response to the kid is very gracious. I sure can learn a thing or two from your example. Judging from the first photo it looks like just the door would need to be replaced and a little of the front fender to be pulled out and buffed. From the subsequent photo of your car being pushed into the curb...well hopefully no major suspension damage from that.
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That really stinks Ernie. Maybe you can provide receipts of your investment to the insurance company to show your proper care for it. The last photo is concerning, but you would be surprised what some shops can do to fix things. I bet there are a lot of these in the parts yards too!
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Wasted the better part of the day on hold while trying to get their insurance company to get moving. And such a beautiful day to waste.
This is gonna be a “fun” ride…
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Ernie wrote:
This is gonna be a “fun” ride…
Fun?
LOL
I spent three years fighting with Geico for a settlement and finally got something close to what I wanted. Not fun
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