My mom's 2002 LeSabre was totaled yesterday by a teenaged girl driving a farm truck. Luckily, no one was seriously hurt. Is it wrong that after making sure my mom was OK, the first thing that went through my head was that I should get the engine and trans out of it for a future swap into a Fiero?



I just passed the four-year mark on my Quad 4 swap and am in no position to start making preparations for another one, but it almost feels like this 3800 just fell into my lap.

[This message has been edited by Quad Raider (edited 01-10-2015).]

Go for it.

You do realize that when insurance pays out for a totaled vehicle that they do not let you keep the vehicle.

quote Originally posted by lateFormula: You do realize that when insurance pays out for a totaled vehicle that they do not let you keep the vehicle.

I feel like I have heard of some instances of some people being allowed to keep their cars, I know of some people who have rebuilt them.

Even if insurance takes the car, you could buy it for salvage price, few hundred $, and take what you want, and then you could scrap the car.

quote Originally posted by lateFormula: You do realize that when insurance pays out for a totaled vehicle that they do not let you keep the vehicle.

Yes. That's just one of the many reasons why it's not realistic for me to even think about getting the parts.

Salvage value on a 13 year old totaled Buick is going to be next to nothing. If you know the motor's been taken care of, has reasonably low mileage, and you're okay with n/a, its probably not a bad way to go.

Most insurance companies I've dealt with will give you the option of buying back the vehicle. I've done that with 3 of mine.

quote Originally posted by lateFormula: You do realize that when insurance pays out for a totaled vehicle that they do not let you keep the vehicle.

They do if u buy it back from them for next to nothing. I did this to my 3800 swapped Coupe when I was TBONED back in 08 or so. I had to pay them something like $32 for it..

Never mind the car for now, I'm glad your mom is ok. I'm also glad that there was no one in the back seat. That could have turned tragic really quick.

quote Originally posted by MstangsBware: They do if u buy it back from them for next to nothing. I did this to my 3800 swapped Coupe when I was TBONED back in 08 or so. I had to pay them something like $32 for it..

I agree with this. They will almost give you the car.

[This message has been edited by IMSA GT (edited 01-10-2015).]

Glad everyone is Ok.... Wow! Just how fast was that girl driving! That is one helluva impact!

As others have stated, the insurance will offer you an amount to total out the vehicle. Then tell them you would like to buy the car back, and they will take a couple to a few hundred off of their offer. After you get the engine out, you still should be able to get $150 ~ $200 from the junk yard for the remainder of the car for scrap weight.

Yes, some companies will let you keep the car for the price they determine it's worth, or give you more if they take it. I've done it a couple of times.

We're still waiting to see what the insurance company decides. We don't even know if the other driver had insurance.

It was nice of you to make sure your mom was okay first but try to "at least" wait for the engine to cool down before rolling out the cherry picker & tool chest.

Spoon

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"Kilgore Trout once wrote a short story which was a dialogue between two pieces of yeast. They were discussing the possible purposes of life as they ate sugar and suffocated in their own excrement. Because of their limited intelligence, they never came close to guessing that they were making champagne." - Kurt Vonnegut

Buy it back from the insurance, if you decide not to do the swap you can probably still make some money selling it on craigslist.

it depends on the car... my buddy had a caviler totaled.. the insurance paid out on the car and told him to keep it.

We're still waiting to hear what the insurance company is going to do. I'm a little disappointed in how it's handled things so far. Mom's had the same insurance for more than 40 years but getting information from the agent has been a chore.