Totalled cb9

[92accordwagon]

Does anyone know if my wagon is totalled?
I can't upload a pic on this for some reason so I'll just describe it for you, this lady pulled in front of me and we hit but the damage is only on the front of the car, the rest of it looks perfect, do any of you guys know if insurance is not gonna wanna pay for the damage?

[deevergote]

Here's how to post pictures.

Your description does absolutely nothing to describe the extent of the damage, therefore, nobody here can tell you if the car is totaled. If the damage affected any of the areas where important suspension components are attached, then it may never be 100% straight again. A good body shop can pull the frame, and even weld in new bits from another car... but if it's tweaked, it will never be perfect. My own car was hit in the front before I bought it. Repaired so that I never even knew, until I went to change a part that required certain mounting holes to be in specific places...
My car was hit again last December. Smashed in the front by an idiot high on heroin. Damage didn't look that bad, but the suspension damage was bad enough that I deemed the car unworthy of being fixed. It was my baby for 15 years, and the reason why I'm here on this site. I had to let it go.

Your car is worth about $1000 to insurance. "Totaled" according to many insurance companies is 75% of the car's value. Major body work, even purely cosmetic work, is likely to cost far more than $750. You could buy it back if insurance totals it, of course. Use that money to have it fixed at a budget repair shop, like Maaco. It all depends on whether it's worth it to you or not.

[Fleetw00d]

We really need a picture to assess it. Can you describe the amount of damage? I assume at least front bumper? Did it get into the radiator support, hood, fenders? I got tagged in the rear of my 90 LX which involved just the bumper assembly and pushing the trunk structure in about 1/2 inch (no damage to trunk lid). Because body shops have to provide auditable quotes, they have to use at least aftermarket (not U Pull salvage yard) prices for parts. The initial estimate for my rear bumper was $1400 which included a new bracket, beam, cover & paint and work to push the trunk structure back out. That would have totaled my car (90 LX with 300k+ miles and $4000 just invested in quarter panels new bumper covers, refinished OEM wheels, paint, new trim, etc). They tweaked the estimate down to $1100 to stay under the "total" threshold. I did most of the work (straightened the trunk, staightened the bumper bracket, already had a beam); new cover and paint cost me $300.

Unless your car is in very good condition otherwise, it will likely qualify for being totaled. That doesn't necessarily mean that you can't keep it and fix it.

[deevergote]

The cost of painting the repaired front end alone is likely going to exceed 75% of the car's assessed value, honestly. Add in parts and repair labor, and I guarantee it'll be totaled... without even seeing it. Insurance-wise, these cars are essentially worthless.
As long as the suspension isn't shot, though, it'll possibly be worth it to buy it back from insurance, take whatever you're left with, and pay to have it fixed yourself. You can cut corners doing it yourself... mismatched panels for the time being, a primered hood, etc...

[lbus9168]

front end panel damage shouldn't be too hard to fix, the thing id be concerned with is if the chassis or suspension has any damage. its easy to replace a front bar. it gets harder to replace a front radiator support. Its much, much harder to replace bent shock towers.

as above, show us some photos and i think we can help you from there.

[h22sparkle]

i remember those days. Honestly a dash-cam actually is always good to have just for stuff like this.

[G. Wiffington]

Here's how to post pictures.

Your description does absolutely nothing to describe the extent of the damage, therefore, nobody here can tell you if the car is totaled. If the damage affected any of the areas where important suspension components are attached, then it may never be 100% straight again. A good body shop can pull the frame, and even weld in new bits from another car... but if it's tweaked, it will never be perfect. My own car was hit in the front before I bought it. Repaired so that I never even knew, until I went to change a part that required certain mounting holes to be in specific places...
My car was hit again last December. Smashed in the front by an idiot high on heroin. Damage didn't look that bad, but the suspension damage was bad enough that I deemed the car unworthy of being fixed. It was my baby for 15 years, and the reason why I'm here on this site. I had to let it go.

Yeah I had the same problem when I bought mine..there was damage done to the front passenger side so like you said, when I went to put in new bushings & suspension pieces some parts would not line up properly. Sucks!

Damn so that is why you were parting out your car!? Such a shame that a JUNKIE'S carelessness for others had to destroy your car. Good thing you are okay.

[oni_cb7]

Without seeing the car... yes, your car is totaled.

From experience, I was rear-ended in my cb7 (around 2009). The damage was minor and the car only needed the rear bumper skin and support, and one of those corner pieces under the taillights. Now, you must factor in that the insurance will include painting the replacement pieces. The car was totaled out by insurance. The car got a salvage title and I got the money to fix the car (I fixed it enough to not look terrible and deposited the rest into my savings).


Deev: can you explain the following "it'll possibly be worth it to buy it back from insurance".

You have to buy the car back from insurance? From my experience, the car stays with you no matter what. In California, the insurance company provides you with the amount it would take to fix the vehicle. If they are going to give you the amount to replace the vehicle, then they keep the car. I've never heard of having to buy your own car back from an insurance company after an accident. (I've only had to pay towyard fees to get my car out of someone's yard).

In what case would an insurance company keep your property and force you to buy it back?

[deevergote]

You essentially pay the insurance company the amount that they would expect to get from selling the car at auction or as scrap. If, say, they'd give you $1000 and keep the car, you can take $750 and keep the car yourself. You essentially buy your car back for $250. That's in the case of the car being totaled. If the insurance company totals your car, they're not going to pay to get it repaired. Either you take the full cash amount that they're willing to give for the vehicle, or you take the vehicle itself and a lesser cash amount.


G. Wiffington, yeah... the junkie completely wrecked it. December 6th, at about 8am. My fiancee and I woke up to a thump outside (wasn't very loud, strangely...) She looked out the window and said "my car has been hit, and a car is upside down." The guy hit my CB7 so hard that he flipped his CL onto its roof, and pushed my car back about 4 feet (and up onto the curb)... right into my fiancee's beloved and pristine 2003 Mini Cooper S. All three cars were done for.




As you can see, the damage to my car doesn't look that bad... but the suspension stuff underneath was wrecked. My Collective Racing traction bar (a very rare piece) was actually broken! I sold the car to another CB7tuner, and he had a guy look at it to see if it could be saved. The verdict was no... so he took all the good bits off of it and sent the shell to the scrap heap. The next time I saw him, he gave me my VIN plate (I'm gonna miss ol' 666! which is what my VIN ended in. )

Here's the piece of work that did it. This picture is taken from his Wanted bulletin issued by the county... for failure to appear for his court hearing, which was in regards to the heroin he had on his person at the time he destroyed my car.

[Night Wolf]

what ever happened to him?

[deevergote]

Not sure. As of June, there was a warrant out for his arrest. Not sure if they ever caught him. I've thought about calling to ask. He lives right across the street from a pizza place I like, so I figure I'm going to see him outside eventually! I really want to call the cops on him and get his ass locked up.

[h22sparkle]

I dont even know him and I want to wreck him. Its effd up how peoples problems become yours and you didnt have anything to do with it. He knew it was coming and he needs to pay one way or another to own up for his misdeeds and accept responsibility.

[deevergote]

That's why I think I might call and see if that warrant is still open. Calling the cops and getting him arrested would be adequate revenge. It'll never make it right... I'll never have my car back... but at least it's a way to make him suffer more, without resorting to illegal activities myself! Personal or property damage would be satisfying, but I'd end up rotting in jail right next to him if I did something stupid like that!

92accordwagon, sorry to jack your thread... though you haven't logged on since you made it, so I suppose you probably don't really even care. (also, how the hell was the name "92accordwagon" never taken over the last 13 years? )

[G. Wiffington]

Damn!! He was driving that crazy that he flipped his car..what a moron. & at 8 in the morning? Good thing nobody was hurt. (besides the junkie but F him anyways) What a shame!!

Sorry we jacked your thread 92accordwagon!

[deevergote]

The junkie wasn't even hurt... sadly. He was up and walking around. Trying to rescue the gallon of milk that he had in the car (you can see it spilling out on the ground there.) He had milk, a small tablet or large phone (probably playing with it...) and apparently some heroin on him at the time. He was going the wrong way down my one-way street, claiming to be blinded by the sun (which was indeed blinding). But to flip the car, he had to be exceeding the 25mph speed limit by a hell of a lot... not to mention the fact that he was going the wrong way to begin with! If he was going home with his milk, he was driving in the wrong direction.