well, the appraiser came and looked at my car. 4000 dollars worth of damage. anyone have a driver's side headlight housing and turn signal?
this one too
thats not as bad as I was expecting, are they going to pay for the damage?
Uh, yeah....right.
$4K? They're going to want to total it.
no, they are going to to total it. i am keeping the car, but i won't get very much. the appraiser said he would do what he can, but i will probably be lucky to a couple grand total.
and no, it's really not as bad as it could be, it's the rear quarter panel that realy costs alot to replace, especially with the top on it. they would have to take part of it off and fix the body and put it back on. it would just cost too much.
I'll get it fixed somehow, it's just going to take a while. i can replace the light housing, and the fender, and the door, but that quarter panel is going to be tough. especially since i have no access to anyone who does that kind of thing.unfortunately.
British cigaretteGOTRY!@! :shoothead
that too... :(
Where do you live? Man once Im out of school, if you get a quarter. I will help you. Quarters arent horrible to replace, and I'll be ASE Certified in 15 more months. ICAR Certified too.
cool, thanks! i am in grandview, mo, south of KC.
I have a headlight bucket with the turnsignal. I'll get some pictures of it for you.
I also have a mint quarter on an '86 thats going to be junked soon. If I only had some way to cut it and get it to you...
Let me know if there's anything you need, I probably have it.
hey fred ya got a solid drivers fender and door? if so i can take a little road trip to get em if ya like. (sorry for the hijack)
no prob...
that's not as bad as i was expecting, but it's still enough. that really sucks, man. i hope you find a way to get that rear quarter replaced.
I think the big issue with that was that i have the Carraige top on it. the insurance people said that it has to be taken off at least partially to replace the quarter panel.
This is one reason I'm afraid to drive my T-bird. If someone so much as busts a taillight, my insurance will want to total it.
Oh man...that is NOT good. As you might already be aware, those fake tops are usually just a fiberglass shell with the material attached. But the shell gets glued and screwed into the roof. In other words, if you wanted to remove that top completely, you'd have a hell of a lot of blood, sweat, tears, swearing and anger in doing so. The only solution I can think of is to cut the fiberglass shell (and material) just above the seam, replace the panel, and see if an upholstery shop can match the material. Then they can make a fiberglass patch, patch the new material in, button up the small details (snaps, etc.) and you should be good to go.
Unfortunately all of that work would likely be at your expense. However, if any body shop would be willing to put a replacement quarter panel onto a 20-year-old car, you're already very, very lucky.
You might want to check around at some upholstery shops in the meantime...see if they can help you out. It's worth a shot.
would it be possible to cut the panel right at the top and replace it? it could be welded and the seam ground flush, fill the pits and repaint? theoreticly, it could be replaced without removing the top.
Right, that's what I'm talking about. I think the top can be replaced on the car, with just the part that's on the quarter panel needing cut out and replaced on the new panel, and everything patched in. It really shouldn't be a huge issue for a good shop.
Not sure if your Bird is a DD,but I pay $176.00 a year and my car is covered for $5,000.00.If they want to total the car,at least I get 5k out of it. I would then buy it back and fix it.
I am only aloud 2500 miles a year though.
i say fix the head light make it road legal you got Almost $4,000 to buy another car if you want 2. Its a very nice car don't get me wrong with the market for our cars you could find a very nice ride for around $3,000-$4,000.
Trust me i hate looking at the pics of the wreck sorry man.
He's made it aparent that he wants to fix his. His car is more uncommon then just any other 87-88 or even an 83-86 . If it were me bro, I'd save the car, no matter what cost
Man I feel like I hear about more of us getting our cars cracked up than I should. Really makes me scared sometimes. Ive never had any real close calls, but still you never know. As much as I hate it maybe it is a good thing I guess...that Im at school now so only 2 days out of the week am I putting the car in harms way!!
Oh yeah, the car will be fixed. right now it's still road legal. the only light that was broken was the side marker. I thought it was a turn signal, but the turn signals didn't get touched. the headlight didn't get messed up, just the housing was busted up. i found a suposedly new one on e-bay for 6 bucks, but it doesn't have the amber lense with it. if anyone has a spare with a lense, i would gladly buy it. it's just going to be a while before it's fixed altogether. the fender and door i can fix, but the quarter panel will be another thing, i will have to save to ba able to afford that to be fixed. unfortunately, i can't do that, and i don't know anyone in the autobody buisness.
I have classic car insurance on my bird. If it gets wrecked I get what I value the car at. Plus, it only costs 125 bucks a year. Something to think about. OF course, they don't like you telling them its a daily driver.
Brian
Mine gets about 40 miles a year........... and parking insurance from the firm of My Two Big Dogs, Inc. (don't tell V8 demon)
When I can afford insurance on two vehicles, it'll likely be Liability only. Right now, I don't have to think about some idiot on the Trans Canada spilling his coffee on his crotch and erasing my car, and when I feel the need to let off some steam, I can take a rip around the lake.
*this message was not approved by FTBCF*
this is why im glad my car isnt perfect, cause if it gets wreaked ill jsut start over with a better one
^^ Yep good point. Same thing with my 38 thats far from perfect obviously being all original, I dont need to fuss over a knick or scratch, little bits of tar when theyre paving, plenty of em already! Just drive and ENJOY.
86 night cat, pm sent.
Sorry to say but the driver's fender is damaged beyond repair. The door is perfect but is on hold for another member.