Ouch man be prepared for a little fight with the insurance company over the value. When my coupe got rear-ended I had to fight over it but eventually got them to value it at about $4800.. just don't give up on it.
oh, i dont plan on giving up easy, to replace the gt with another gt in the same condition, its going to cost more than wha ti paid, 7 years ago for the car. i wnat to find a car before winter hits, even though it will be stored.
how much did you have to fight with the insurance mike? and youve been though it before. reply here or shoot me a pm or give me a call. my cell is 612-961-1038 in case you didnt have it already. i would love to know what i should be asking and talking to the insurance about. and how you faught with them. let me know, as i want to get it resolve ASAP, even if the car is totaled (likely)
Joel
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02:54 AM
motoboy171 Member
Posts: 101 From: St. Michael, MN USA Registered: Jun 2004
This might be a shameless plug, but my 87 GT is for sale in MN. I think I talked to you at MOA last time I was there. Its the one in the Mall. It has 122,xxx miles and is an auto, but you could always buy your car back and put the stick in it. Just a thought. My car has 0 rust, and a very good price. If I don't sell it in the next couple of weeks, I'm going to keep it, and do the 4.9 swap over the winter.
John 763-439-1902
[This message has been edited by motoboy171 (edited 09-14-2004).]
the car is still at the tow company, not a yard yet. im waiting to hear back from insurance still before it goes anywhere. hopefully that will be soon
i dont know what im goign to be doing yet abotu another car, i'll definatly be looking for a manual tranny though. ive kind abeen looking, but i need to wait and see what insurance has to say.
Good luck with the insurance company. It seems like today you really pay for nothing when it comes to insurance. The car looks pretty tweaked. Let me know if you part it out. I'm trying to keeping my car, and need to get rid of the luggage rack.
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05:22 PM
hyperv6 Member
Posts: 6001 From: Clinton, OH, USA Registered: Mar 2003
Don't give up on the car. In 1987 I had this happan and I still have the car, today would never know anything happaned.
I needed a whole front clip, a windshield, passenger door skin, right headlight assembly, steering wheel, turn signal, dash, front trunk wall, wheel, tire, lower control arm and shock. At the time with new parts it was almost 6 grand.
I hit a Dodge van that pulled out in front of me at 45 MPH. I was lucky he had to pay the full tab. I was going to get rid of it and now glad I kept it and fixed it. By the way I did not have my belt on that is how I bent the steering wheel and turn signal.
I really feel for you and hope the best. Been there done that and know the pain.
BTW, unless there is a reason that you can't keep the car anywhere else you need to get it out of the tow company. They're likely charging some ridiculous amount for daily storage. You can keep the car anywhere you want, after all it's your own car. I suggest getting it somewhere safe. Tow company employees seem to have a problem with "borrowing" stuff from your car like the stereo, money, etc.
BTW, unless there is a reason that you can't keep the car anywhere else you need to get it out of the tow company. They're likely charging some ridiculous amount for daily storage. You can keep the car anywhere you want, after all it's your own car. I suggest getting it somewhere safe. Tow company employees seem to have a problem with "borrowing" stuff from your car like the stereo, money, etc.
JazzMan
since it wasnt my fault, and after talkign to my insurance, the other persons insurance will be payign for all the storage. ive also gone every day and checked on the car, taken more pics, ect. i took the stereo face off, and took pretty much EVERYTHING out of the car i could. i even pulled the amp out of the trunk before it was towed away. there are a coupel of cd's in the car, and some change on the floor, and all that is still there. i think the guys at the tow yard know my pain, as they already recognize me. ive also talked to the tow company, and they also said the same thing abotu insurance, and the other drivers company payign for it.
on other notes, i filed the claim yesterday, and when i was done, they gave me a number of the person handling the case here along with a claim number and her name. i called today, but she was on the other line so i left a message becasue i have some questions for her. she never called back. when i was at the yard today, the SHO was gone also, but after i talked to the tow company, the owners took it out of there, not insurance. my freiend riding with me called me also today, and said that Liberty Mutual called him like 3 times today making sure he was ok in the accident. i gave them his numebr, so i know somthing is goign on wiht it at least. i'll be back on the phone again tommorrow tryign to get a hold of her. hopefully this will get resolved quickly
Another option is finding a GT with a good frame / blown engine cheap. Then transfering all your good parts to it. That is if you have another vehicle to drive in the mean time.
Originally posted by justa6: my freiend riding with me called me also today, and said that Liberty Mutual called him like 3 times today making sure he was ok in the accident. i gave them his numebr, so i know somthing is goign on wiht it at least. i'll be back on the phone again tommorrow tryign to get a hold of her. hopefully this will get resolved quickly
The reason they are calling him is because they don't want to be paying out an injury claim.
ok, so heres a new twist ont his crap called an accident. i went down to his insurance company today to talk to them. well, hey! guess what, the bastard only has storage insurance on the car!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! basically, the car has insurance, but only for storage purposes. the vehicle is NOT allowed to be driven on the street with only storage insurance. we went and talked to a state trooper today and he gave us some advise. im soppose to call the officer that took the report and tell him that the person did not have insureance. then, he will issue citations. i am then soppose to go down to burnsville and talk to the county attorny and file restitution, but even with that, the cop said that i might not get much. i also can do the small claims court. it all sucks for sure. im not goign to let this kid get away with it though. since the car is in his dads name, and the insurance, i WILL be going after both of them. i need to find out how much damage there is to the car, so i need to get an estimate, and i need to get the police report. when i talked to the state trooper today, he said that there wont be much of a case for the other guy, since he didnt have insurance. i sure am glad that i took all the pics of the cars right away. and took some more. i'll be taking more as i begin to disasemble the car, probabyl after i get an estimate done though. the poor baby is now back safely in my garage. but its all bruised and battered.
PO'd again, Joel
oh, and a BIG BIG THANKS to Shaun (Purple Reign) and my friend Adam. he let me use his car trailer and adam pulled it with his darango. i had the trailer all day.
heres a pic of it on the trailer getting home. i drove it the total of 30 feet thursday! get get it on the trailer and into he garage.
today i got a coupel of letters from lawyers, kinda the standard lette that comes out if youve been injured in an accident. i may call one though that said free phone consotation and talk to him about some of my options.
one thing is forsure, and that is from now on, my fieor WILL have full coverage, even if it cost me more. anycar that is irreplacable should have full coverage.
on a different note, i have a body shop guy coming out to do an estimate on the car monday, andi want to get a few estimates. this way i can find out what the total damage is and cost. after this i'll send the owner of the car a letter or call him and see if he wants to settle out of court. tell him what the value of the car is and copys of the recipt to get it out of storage, and copys of the estimates. maybe i'll get lucky, and he'll cut me a check, well, maybe a casheirs check to make sure the funds are there.
well, i got an estimate done today at a local bodyshop, and they quoted me $6300. obviously, this would probabally change as i went though it and found out what else was wrong with it too. the whole front corner is pushed in pretty hard, but unbelivabley, the left headlight motor did not get wrected. the bracket it was on is toast, and the entire sturcture was folded under, btu the motor is fine, unbelivable.
since the car wont be totaled out (lack of insurance on other partys behave) i may take the next few years and rebuidl the car. it would take some time, and work, but would be worth it to me in the long run. depending on how everything works out with the other driver, and how much money i will be getting back, i'll plan on buying another fiero. of course, this is all on hold, till i find out what is goign to happen.
Joel
[This message has been edited by justa6 (edited 09-20-2004).]
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06:13 PM
PFF
System Bot
motoboy171 Member
Posts: 101 From: St. Michael, MN USA Registered: Jun 2004
well, an update on the situation. saturday i got a call from milivits, to go over the packet of info i sent him. funny, i didnt send him anything! but i talked to him for a lil bit, and looking at the info he had, there wasnt much of a case at all if we ended up going to court. that was encouraging.
then yesterday (monday) we got a call back from the lawyer, this one was actually an investigator lawyer or somthing like that. we talked to him a little bit about the packet of infor that he had, and it sounded liek the packet that we sent the kid driving the SHO. the lawyer said that he was confused, so he was goign to call back the SHO driver and find out what was goign on exactly.
so we called the lawyer back today to find out what he found out. he said that the kid actualyl came in after getting the letter and packet of info we sent him to talk to a lawyer. hes only 19, and was very scared. turns otu that the kid wasnt soppose to be driving the vehicle, and his mother even said that she forbid him to drive it becasue it did not have proper insurance. well, he took the car out anyway, and ended up getting into an accident that he caused. the lawyer said to him that he had talked to us,a nd he also advised to the kid that he woudl be best to settle outside of court. it would be cheaper for him to do that.
the lawyer told us that he talked to the kid and the mother, and it sounded liek they want to do the right thing, so that is a plus for sure! when the lawyer talked to him yesterday, he said that we (my family) seemed really nice, and we jsut want restitution for the car. were not trying to screw the kid over by any means either, and the lawyer told him that.
so maybe i'll eb getting a phonecall somtime this week! im sure hope so. i knwo the kid is obviously scared, and in a whole heap of trouble right now with his parents (obviously) and it turns out the law too. the lawyer told him that he needs to straighten the insurance infor out with the cops, becasue he basically lied abotu the insureance. im sure that he was scared when all that was happening.
on anotehr note, in the packet of info we sent him, i sent 2 pics of my car at a car show, and he even admittied that it was a really cool car.
alright, well, thats the update, when i find otu more, i'll let you all know!
Joel
oh yeah, here is a pic of the front end with the hood off and starting to be pulled apart.
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01:16 PM
Scythe Member
Posts: 1055 From: Burke, Virginia Registered: Apr 2003
man o man, that is THE SUX. hope you get your baby back on the road, but 6300?!??! OMG! sorry, that seems a little pricey. like when i was in an accident in my 87 coupe, i hit on the frontright corner, not very bad, just bent a little metal, i took it to like 4 places, and they all quoted me like 3 grand. they wanted to slice off the front of the car, and weld a new section in place... i was like HA! U GUYS CRACK ME UP! and left. found a little place, called Mikes Body Shop, and mike, actually does some of the work, he looked at it, and said like 600 bucks. couple hours on the frame-a-majiggy, and itd be all good.
shop around, find some little mom+pop places, u could get off lucky. GL with all that.
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01:56 PM
gumert Member
Posts: 400 From: Hunderton, NJ Registered: Mar 2004
Good to hear it's all coming out good. Hopefully he'll give you enough money to cover the repairs....hehe....
Who knows, maybe you could hit him up for more and do a little engine swap while it's all apart, haha.
Anyway, keep us updated
I second everything scythe said. It sucks when something like this happens but at least you're going about it the right way. I took the money that the insurance company offered me to total it (about $1,500 - not even close to enough for a 5.7 91 with t-tops and about 70k miles) and it was towed away the next day.
Keep us updated. It seems like things will work out well for you.
man I hope his parents take it out of his hide - forbade from driving it then not only does he drive it - but he drives it illegally - then pulls illegal and stupid manuvers that cause an accident .. WTF is wrong with kids these days? (yeah i know i'm only 24, but they get worse every year)
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02:04 PM
gumert Member
Posts: 400 From: Hunderton, NJ Registered: Mar 2004
man I hope his parents take it out of his hide - forbade from driving it then not only does he drive it - but he drives it illegally - then pulls illegal and stupid manuvers that cause an accident .. WTF is wrong with kids these days? (yeah i know i'm only 24, but they get worse every year)
18 here There are a few of us younger people running around. While I have done my share of stupid things, I make it a point not to drag anyone else down with me.
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02:06 PM
Capt Fiero Member
Posts: 7657 From: British Columbia, Canada Registered: Feb 2000
After seeing that last pic with the hood off. I would not even try to rebuild her. I have been in 2 front end accidents with my car. Exact same as yours, me going straight and someone making a left in front of me. I totalled off the first Honda that I hit and was able to fix my car and the 2nd time it was just a minor brush with a crappy chevy citation. My damage was not 1/2 as bad becuase I was able to hit almost straight on and the impact beam took the grunt of the blow. I know how much work it is to fix something that is not as bad as yours and it was a royal PITA. I will almost bet the frame is bent and when you start working with bent frames, it is almost impossible to ever get it perfect again.
I would find a nice donar car with a bad motor or something and start moving parts over. Find some way to get cash out of the &*&(*&(*& people that cut in front of you, enough to pay out your car, then find a Fiero with a bad motor for 500-1000 bucks, move all the parts over, take all the left over cash and make the new car really nice. With an extra 2-3K to play with I am sure you can find some mods that you really wanted to do.
------------------ 85GT 2.9 4spd MSD Everything, Big Cam and Nitrous. www.captfiero.com
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02:08 PM
PFF
System Bot
Ken86GT Member
Posts: 97 From: Virginia, USA Registered: Sep 2004
I know exactly how you feel...Except the fault was mine in this one. Don't give up on the car; They'll never give up on you. I'll never own another car than a Fiero because of my accident. If I was driving anything other than a Fiero or a Volvo, chances are I wouldn't be here right now.
Deepest sorrow for you and your loss man...Sorry if I missed anything important in the thread, had to run off to work before I could finish reading.
Joel, really to hear about your car, but happy to hear that your ok. I would definitly go after the other guys insurance since you only have liability. If he was found at fault then it's all on him.
18 here There are a few of us younger people running around. While I have done my share of stupid things, I make it a point not to drag anyone else down with me.
take no offens e- i have younger friends also - but on average, as a whole the younger generations have less and less respect for consequences/authority/parents/friends/stranger/themselves..
well, it has been a little over a month now, and since the guy didnt have insurance, and i have tried to contact him multiple times, i have no choice. monday morning, i am going down to the court house and filing for small claims court. i sent him 2 different letters, (one was registered mail) and in the second letter gave him a deadline that if he did not try and contact me with what he plans on doing, i will be forced to take legal action.
im not going to try and get more out of him than what the car is worth. i never have. when i sent him the information on the car, and the value, i sent the blue bllok value, a copy of the repair bill, and 4 different examples of like cars in like condition, and how much they sell for. i also sent a copy of the recipt of the tow bill and storage at the tow company.
i already know that he has no case, a lawyer has talked to both of us about it, and even advised the kid that his best bet was to settle outside of court (long story). he has no case what so ever and i am confident that i will win if he continues to not settle.
i have a question for peopel in the law system, or know anything about it. im not sure if it is different from state to state (probably is) but what happens if the defendant doesnt show up for court in a case like this? any help would be greatly appreciated. i have a long paper trail of the accident and have documented everything from the accident and what we have done to show we tried.
thank you all for your concern and support through this mess. i have learned one thing though. if you have a car such as a fiero that is muhc more to you than just a car and is in exceptional condition. do not hesitate to get it appraised, and have full coverage. if i had had full coverage instead of just liability, i would have recived a settlement check through my insurance, and they would be the ones going after the other driver.
Joel
ps. i have suspension parts on the way so i can at least move it out of the garage!
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04:56 AM
skidpro1 Member
Posts: 438 From: portland,or usa Registered: Sep 2004
Did the mother, the person that owned the car have insurance? If she did her insurance should cover. Don't go after the kid go after the owner of the car.
the vehicle only had storage insurance on it. it is insured under the owner of the car (storage only). the kid was told he was forbid to drive it because it didnt have insurance, but took it anyways. trust me, the vehicle does not have proper insurance on it to be driven on the road
I realy hope the courts do the right thing for you . It seems to me you have been more then fair by him to give him this long to do the right thing. Best of luck! Tom
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01:14 AM
Formula88 Member
Posts: 53788 From: Raleigh NC Registered: Jan 2001
Don't forget to sue not only for the cost of the car, but your legal fees as well. It's his fault and you deserve to be made whole again, and the time and money you spend on legal action needs to be payed by them.
Also, you mentioned suing both the kid and the parents. Good idea. Make them all show up in court. The kid may just avoid your phone calls, but when the parents are served with a summons to appear, they'll take some action.
If no one show up, the judge will likely rule summarily against them. Not sure what would happen next, though. Perhaps a bench warrant, but I don't know.
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01:35 AM
LITEDAZE Member
Posts: 1894 From: Timmins ON Canada Registered: Apr 2004
and if the kid makes you wait too long and keeps dodging your calls/letters, top it all off with a bit of mental anguish from the accident, make yourself a couple more bucks for that lil punk making you wait
be prepared for a little fight with the insurance company over the value. When my coupe got rear-ended I had to fight over it but eventually got them to value it at about $4800.. just don't give up on it.
that's exactly where my wife's old Toyota ended up!
There are a few of us younger people running around. While I have done my share of stupid things, I make it a point not to drag anyone else down with me.
