Just got in accident..body guys - need opinions

[67coupe]

Just got in a wreck. Someone made an illegal turn in front of me. Did everything I could to miss them. Hit his front door with my left front.

I was following him on a two lane road with a turn lane in the middle. He put his left turn signal on and moved into the turn lane. He slowed down to make his left turn. Right as I'm about to pass him, he turns right across my lane and right in front of me. I hit the brakes and moved as far right as I could. It was too late, hit him doing about 15 - 20 mph.

The damage actually isn't that bad. I expected a lot worse when I was getting out of the car.

Body experts, I need your opinion. I hope insurance does not total it. Tell me what you think.

Ignore the headlight. It was broken. That is one of my dads old headlights.

 

[BlownFiveLiter]

They shouldn't total that out. I'm sure parts wouldn't even be $500 for stock stuff. Add probably close to that much to paint the front clip.

 

[gtcobra302]

About two years ago I backed into a box truck and it ruined the hatch and the spoiler on my 89 GT and the total came to 1200 and they totaled it. but I took the money and bought a hatch and spoiler for 50 bucks and painted it my self.

 

[67coupe]

The only thing I'm worried about is BOTH inner fenders are pushed slightly to the passenger side of the car. The drivers inner fender is tweaked pretty good. But, the radiator support is in good shape.

 

[MaxTheHooker]

looks like an easy fix... junkyard it up. get a few new panels - even your bumper is ok. i just wracked my lincoln into a guard rail and the bumper's indented.. thats what i'm worrying about right now. you guys make my job look like a massacre. relax, hit up the junk yard, find your panels, unbolt, bolt, align, and ship it out to maaco. no harm done, buddy. haha, take a step back and a deep breath and you'll be ok.

 

[67coupe]

Thanks Max. I do need to take a step back and calm down. It shouldn't be totaled and if it is, I'll still have lots of options.

What's the best way to fix the driver's inner fender?

 

[zzstang]

Sorry, But it will be a total loss, In most states the ins companies total cars at 75% acv!

 

[Mustang5L5]

With both inner fenders creased like that. It's not going to be an easy fix. It will need to be straightened.

EDIT: the core has been shifted to the pass side about 1/2". It's going to make bolting up the new panels tough unless it's fixed.

 

[DriveThru]

I can't believe the insurance would total that. Go to a junk-yard, get the parts and find someone to help you bolt them on. Then ship it out to somewhere to paint it. If you lived closer I would help you fix it. Parts should be cheap, its an LX. Get a hood, fender and bumper. I wouldn't fix the little crease in the core support, no real reason IMO. If you have ANY questions let me know, I'm a painter in a shop(But can do body work also). If the insurance company does total it, I would try to argue it, I had to do that awhile back for my car - they totaled it, I argued it and had it appraised, then they decided to have it fixed. Yet again, let me know if you have ANY ?'s, I'll do my best to anwser them.

PS. If you know anything about cars, you can go to a U PULL it yard and get those parts for under $100 for everything.

Good luck =)

EDIT: Looking at the pictures more, the core support SHOULD be fixed, but if you don't have it fixed I don't think it will have any bad effects, but yet again - I'm just a painter, so listen to other people that actually do body work.

 

[BK_CAULEY]

i could fix that and have it painted in 3 hours.

 

[cenok is family]

i could fix that and have it painted in 3 hours.

word. that ain't ****

 

[BLOWN 5.0 FOX]

+1 $100 at a swap meet will land you everything you need. This might be a good excuse for a color change (????) Good luck- Ive seen worse come back to life.

 

[1993SSP]

I agree, easy fixer

As for the core support, is the fan still in line with the shroud?? If so I definitely wouldnt worry about it, but a stated before you could run into some snags when bolting on new parts. Worse case I couldnt see a frame shop hitting you for a whole lot to straigthen it, not alot of pulling to be done.

 

[MAC'n89Blckstng]

I do bodywork for a living, not a backyard bodyman. That needs to be pulled on a frame bench/floor pull and needs to be measured. Unfortuanately, the value on fox body's is next to nothing so as much as a door ding will total them out. What I would do is take the front sheet metal off, bring it to a shop, have them pull it and measure it and test fit the panels and then ask them how they prep the panels for paint (grit wise, different from shop to shop) do the prep work yourself, take the panels back off and have them shoot some paint on em. That will be the easiest, cheapest and best possible way to fix that. It definitely isn't bad but its not just a hammer back into place job. If you dont pull that, your front sheet metal and hood will never line up right.

 

[RycheGT]

they will total that. the shift in the inner fender liner is bad enough. my opinion. its an easy fix though. strip the fenders, hood, and front bumper off of it. send it to a shop with a frame machine and have them pull it over. that shouldnt cost you much. maybe a couple hundred bucks. then pick up the new panels and bolt it all on. if you dont fix that it wont bolt up easily, and youll hate it forever.

 

[67coupe]

That's exactly what I'm worried about MACn89. I have no bodywork experience, but I've done everysingle mod to my car. I also work in the automotive industry (German OEM) and I could tell my looking at the inner fenders that it will probably need to be pulled.

Oh well...if they total it, I will have to buy it back (see sig). I have too much money in aftermarket parts.

Well this might open up a lot of options. Tell me what you think.

1) Buy it back fix it with the money I'll receive.

2) Buy it back, buy a 4 cyl. coupe and let the parts swap begin. I've always loved the coupe body lines.

3) Buy it back, sell off the aftermarket parts.....Terminator.

Keep the opinions coming. Talking to everyone is helping me vent. I've owned this car for 6 years. Never once broken down. Been down the drag strip over 100 times. It's my first fox and it means alot to me.

 

[hamonkeiser]

I'm an insurance appraiser. Depending on the laws inyour state, buying the car back could be a hassle. I PA it would satill be issued a salvage title & getting the car retitled as reconstructed can be a PITA. There are a few things you can do to help the car not be totaled. As stated earlier most insuracne companies will total the car at 75 to 80% ACV (some at 50%).

1. Find the salvage parts yourself before the appraiser comes & let him know where you found them. Mustang parts can be hard to find. Most appaisers will only call 3 or 4 yards that they normally deal with & if those guys don't have the parts they will order brand new (A.K.A. EXPENSIVE!)

2. If you need to, tell the appaiser you will take an "Appearance Allowance" on cosmetic items. Like the bumper cover. Most compaines will allow an appasier to offer 50% of the part price to "live" with the damage os some parts. beside you can mostly by an aftermarket bumper cover for half the price of a NEW OEM.

3. Get a couple estimates from body shops that are willing to work with you. Find the Blue book value of your stang & try to get some estimates that are 60% or less than that value. The appaiser may allow the vehicle to be repaired per the shop's estimate.

Hope that helps.

 

[67coupe]

Thanks for the reply hamonkeiser. I will do what you suggest.

Just for giggles, how much do you think to repair?

Buying the car back for purposes of rebuilding will be a last resort. Now, no matter what happens, I will buy the car back for the aftermarket parts. I have too much invested in it to let them go. I also have lots of local mustang friends who will want some of those parts.

If my car cannot be fixed, my only concern is getting enough compensation (accident not my fault) for me to move forward. Whether thats buying a new fox or something else I dont know yet.

The insurance agency you work for, how do they handle (in my case) cars with aftermarket parts? I have about $7,000 in receipts for aftermarket parts. I know friends in AL who wrecked their foxes and received compensation for their aftermarket parts.

 

[Mustang5L5]

In all honestly. You are prob going to get enough money to buy a 4-banger roller out of this. Then buy the car back and begin transferring the driveline.


I've seen it happen to often. Our cars are $1000 cars to insurance companies. They don't care that they are appreciating in value.

It's why i plan on looking into agreed value insurance plans to make sure i don't get screwed if some granny taps my rear bumper and causes $500 in damage.

 

[hamonkeiser]

If your going through the other guys company they have to reimburse you for your aftermarket equipment (note: they will need receipts & they will factor in depreciation). They have to pay to return you to preaccident condition. So if your Mustang is blown, they owe you for a blown mustang. If you go through your company it's not so easy. They owe you for what you insure. Most companies will only cover $1500 in aftermarket equipment unless you have a rider on the policy for anything above that. That's why I have an agreed value policy on mine. The laws differ from state to state. In PA there are only 3 ways an insurance company can determine value. 1. Average 2 Book Values (NADA is the standard). 2. Call 2 dealerships & average 2 price quotes. 3. Take an average selling price of at least 30 similar models that have for sale in the last 90 days & average with 1 book value. The point is you should be offered a fair amount to put you into a similar vehicle that was lost in the accident. Again, how your state determines value may be different.