Wrecked the VX... could be totalled :(

[goffaramma]

Driving back from a wedding in the rain I was rear ended and pushed into the car in front of me. The poor VX is crushed in front and beat up from behind. The other guy was at fault, so his insurance is taking care of everything, but my car could be finished. The garage that has the car (very professional and nice people) told me that the only other Vehicross they've ever seen came in two weeks ago with similar damage (to the front only), however, they got the only front end they could find for that one, and they searched the entire US.

Does anyone know where you can get front (and rear) ends for our cars? Right now, the exterior work is estimated to cost $6,000. That doesn't include anything inside the engine bay (radiator etc.) that was damaged. The indurance people are going out today to take a look and decide if they're going to fix it at all.

The worst part of all this is that I just received my front and rear skid plates from Ron yesterday... although I guess it's better this way. If they were already on the car, they'd be done too.

Any ideas about how to get a front and/or rear is appreciated.
Thanks,
Dave

[VXD959]

Dave,

Sorry to hear that...the most important thing is that you are OK.

I don't have an answer for your question, but if the VX is totalled and you are not planning to get another VX, I'm interested in getting the roof rack (if you have it) and ron's skid plates (are they painted?).

Regards,

[biju]

This is terrible news - sorry this happened. If it does get totaled - you'll have to jump right back into the fam w/ another VX purchase!

Keep us posted on the process (fixing or totaling out).

best wishes...

-biju.

[Joe_Black]

Wow, sorry to hear that. At least it sounds like you escaped injury, which is the important part.

As for the VX, as I understand it the general rule for insurance companies is if repairs get near 75% of value they look at totalling the vehicle. What I'm also discovering is that most auto-body places ramp up the estimate to not have to deal with a unique vehicle. Since the VX is body-on-frame it's pretty easy to do body work on, far easier than most shops let on. (Hopefully Chopper will chime in here with his expertise!)

Good luck and hope it works out so you can restore your VX to original condition!

[Anita]

Dave,

So sorry to hear this news. I hope you'll be able to put her back together.

[nfpgasmask]

Glad to hear you are ok tho.

This kind of situation makes me wonder. If the VX is "totalled" would the insurance company fund for a replacement VX or what? How does that work? I mean, I guess it depends on your insurance, but in this type of situation, I would imagine the ideal thing would be to replace your VX with another and keep the damaged one for spare parts, but that would be having your cake and eating it too....but if the insurance company gives you money toward a replacement, couldn't you keep the damaged one also?

Hopefully you will get it worked out.

Bart

[Zorak]

If your car is considered a total loss, insurance company will pay "market value". For a low volume vehicle like the VX they will probably rely on NADA/KBB value. You may want to start collecting classified ads for VX's for same year/mileage in case they try to low-ball you on the offer, (especially as it is the other guy's insurance), so you have proof of what VX's are selling for.

If you want to keep the salvage, the insurance company will just deduct the amount they would get from salvage company from what they are paying you for the total, however it would depend on the laws of your state. I think some states do not allow you to retain ownership if the vehicle is declared a total loss....

[Bimati]

Sucks, man. Glad you are OK!

Don't know if Tone still has some front cladding. Here is the front bumper rienforcement bar for you...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/REINF...spagenameZWDVW

Take care. You have an entire community here to help if you end up parting out, and I hope it all works out for you.

Bim

[SPAZZ]

knock those losers upside the head and sell the milk.

If you do happen to part your VX out, you will get more for it than salvaging it out. Serious. Again, sorry for your loss. I understand your frustration. Mine was $17,000 to fix from just a soft rollover from a dead stand still. I would NOT want to find out what would happen in an accident going down the highway and it rolled over


I will take the front Full Complete CV's off your hands if it comes to this. (Complete Cv's From the Green axle cups on the axles to the outer shafts that extend through the hub flanges).

[BigDave]

Hi,
Glad there were no injuries, but hey what a bummer about the truck. Might want to try down here for bits, had heard about a rolled one a while back. If you buy it back from the insurance Co you may come out of it OK>

Cheers.........

[goffaramma]

Wow. Thanks for all the support!

If they end up deciding it's a total loss, I'll definitely part it out if I can. I'm not sure how it works in SC, but we'll see. I'll keep you all posted.

I should know something today or tomorrow, but it looks like the repair shop is estimating about $6500 because they would have to get all new parts (no used parts found). I'm hoping they'll consider that less than 75% of total value as Joe_Black mentioned that's where they pretty much cut it off.

Again, thanks so much for the support! I'll be back with more news soon.

Dave

[Joe_Black]

Hopefully Velvis will post in this thread as this is basically what he went through with his Ebony. As most know he now has my Dragon and I picked up his Ebony after it was totalled out, and it's new destiny is as a rally truck. You may want to shoot him a PM to get his experiences with this situation, it may prove useful and/or informative.

[LittleBeast]

Sorry to hear about your accident but once again I am glad to hear you are ok. The car before the last car I totalled and bought back from the insurance company was a Pontiac Grand Prix. The motor was shot because of flooding here in Houston. Anyways, insurance company screwed me over and only gave me $3,500 for it but I turned around and bought it back from the insurance company for $500 and put a new motor in it for $2,800 and still had $200 to cover getting it reapproved for the road. The last car that someone totalled while it was parked outside, the insurance company again only gave me like $2,700 for the car and they wanted like $1,000 for me to buy the car back, that is when I decided to buy the VX.
In short if it is totalled as you can tell there will be many many many people just on this forum alone that need parts, if you decide to part out you can definitely make out ok on the deal, maybe even save enough for another VX, but see what they will give you first, I have gone through this more than just the two times mentioned and only once did the insurance company actually give a fair settlement for the totalled vehicle, and see what they will sell the totalled VX back to you for, normally it is a lower price given that you were the owner. I hope it can be fixed but if not I am sure you will find a way to make good of a seemingly very bad situation, and maybe serve as a blessing to many others as well as yourself.
"And we know in ALL things God works for the good of those who love him." Romans 8:28

[Hotsauce]

I had the front bumper, lights, and grill damaged recently due to the gross neglegence of a parking lot. Both required replacement.

I made them rent me a loaner truck while mine was in the shop waiting for parts. The front bumper cover took over 3 months to get from Japan, and the truck rental was $70/day on their tab.


John C.

[dietz99vcross]

Sorry to hear about the accident. We just finished getting raked over the coals by our insurance company when my son totaled his 2002 Elantra GT. They offered a low ball price based off recent sales in the area (turns out they original offer was based off 1 vehicle in the state that was deemed comparable). I gave them info from autotrader, NADA, Kelley Blue Book, and Ebay and was told those were not accurate representations of selling prices ????? Had them recalculate using a larger area than just Michigan and they came back with an offer that was $700 less. At this point the only offer I was left was to pay $200-300 to get an independent apprasial and have that apprasier meet with the insurance companies independent appraiser and have them settle on a price (I would not be involved in this negotiation). Decided that the original offer was the safe way, as I could have got a lower $ amount and had to cover the cost of the appraisal. Hopefully you can have better luck with insurance, but don't be rushed. It took me almost 2 months of bickering. Good luck