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Posted by: rhit_rs Aug 12 2009, 03:22 AM

Two weeks ago I was in an accident with my 92 RS. The insurance company valued the car at $6100 (new paint, 1 yr old engine, lots of maintenance, etc). The estimate from the first body shop in Indianapolis was $5700, but the insurance company didn't want to pay to have it fixed for fear of finding additional damage. Now I have the car plus a check for $5500 (value of car minus deductable and scrap value plus cost of tax on buying a new vehicle) and the car. It is wrecked on the front left side. It needs a new front end, drivers side fender, hood, and part of a front left frame rail.

I took the car back home to the shop that just painted it because I trust them to do good work. Their labor rate is a little higher. They quoted around $4000 for labor and paint assuming I find a suitable donor car for all of the parts. I've found a couple options on parts cars - a 91 RS body here in Indianapolis that look good in the pictures for $500 and a complete 92 Z28 (77,000 miles, 305 w/ T-5) wrecked on the passenger side for $1200.

One option is to buy a parts car and pay the shop to fix it. Another is to sell the car - apparently there's been some interest at the body shop. I'm also considering parting the car out. I could sell quite a few engine parts, brand new (1 month) front koni yellows, 3 year old koni yellow rears, LS1 style front brakes, PBR rear brakes, brand new front steering parts (I don't think they were damaged), 18x8.5 chrome iroc style rims, addco sway bars, plus some interior and 5 speed parts.

I'm pretty much on the fence. I'd like to keep the car - it's been my baby for 3+ years and I've put a bunch of time and money into it already. I'm also having second thoughts about keeping it long term and this would be a decent opportunity to move on to something different (I've had my eye on bmw 318ti's) or more reliable. I won't really have a good place or time to work on a car over the next couple of years while I tackle grad school.

What are you guys' suggestions? If I get rid of the car will I regret it forever? (can anyone speak from experience on this one?)

Thanks!

Josh

Posted by: CrashTestDummy Aug 12 2009, 01:15 PM

What you do with it will have to be a personal call. It sounds like a nice ride. Our 92, though mostly stock, is a true joy to drive. I can imagine how it'd be with a 355. If you get rid of it, I'd probably sell it intact. If you part it, dibs on the Konis

I had a 72 4-spd Trans Am that got totaled, fixed, and I later sold it. I have, in a way, regretted it since selling it. It DID, however, go to a collector, so I know it went to a good home, and it also DID allow me to buy my first house. So, good did come out of the sale. Would I do it again? Yeah, if the situation was the same, probably. Would I do it now? No way.

But that decision is going to be yours to make. Good luck.

Posted by: roostmeyer Aug 12 2009, 04:41 PM

Ouch, at least it sounds like you've got a chance to get away from the accident w/o loosing the shirt off your back. I hate to say it but if you've been contemplating changing cars, there won't be a better time to walk away and part it out. I've always worried what I would get from an insurance company for my car in your situation. Just curious what was the insurer?

My vote would be to fix the car, but I know several painters that are hungry right now. You have any pics of the damage?

You should check out vorshlags XP car, I think its a 318 with m3 rear subframe and an ls1...

Posted by: CMC #37 Aug 12 2009, 05:38 PM

I'd look for a similar straight third gen, use the good performance parts on your car to fix it up, the part out the rest.

Posted by: BrianChevy Aug 13 2009, 01:10 AM

If you have any way to get parts transported I might be able to help out.

I have in an indoor warehouse a front end from a 1990 Camaro that I could part with for cheap. I have both the IROC hood and the straight hood depending on what you want to do. I don't have pictures now, but I have both front fenders with no rust, and the hood.

pm me if you have a way to get these items transported then we can talk. Shipping would kill you but maybe you can be creative.

I also have a driver's door to a 1991 Formula if you need that...

Brian LaRose
Atlanta, GA
larose_brian@emc.com

Posted by: StanIROCZ Aug 13 2009, 01:25 AM

Ditto. Your car has been wrecked and will never be completely fixed. For 4K you can find a nice solid car to start over with and have some parts from your current car that you can either swap over or sell.

I know you have new paint on your current car. What else has been done to it that can't be unbolted?

Posted by: rhit_rs Aug 13 2009, 03:15 PM

Thank you for all of the suggestions. I really appreciate yall's input.

I've considered buying another body, but I don't have the time or space to swap all of the parts over. I work in Indianpolis, start grad school at Ohio State in a little over a month, and I'd have to do all of the work back home in central Illinios. I don't have the time to run all over the country looking for a decent roller to transfer parts over to.

Now I'm down to three (maybe only two) options. I've located the front end parts that I need, so I can have it fixed for $1000 in parts (some used, some new) + $4000 in labor and paint. The owner of the body shop says it will drive just as good as it did before and the frame repair he would be doing is relatively minor and not affecting where any of the suspension bolts on. I was really leaning towards this option until I found out that the guy at the body shop told me a parts supplier that was in saw the car and it interested in buying it. He told the owner he'd give $1500 for it as a roller and $2500 as it sits with engine and trans. That would give me $8000 to buy a new car vs spending $5000 to fix mine. I really leaning towards selling it. I don't know if I could ever get $8000 out of it and it sounds like it's going to a good home. I still need to get in touch with the prospective buyer and see what his thoughts are. I don't know if he realized every thing that's been done to it. Maybe I should shut up and take the cash.

I won't lie that the fact that my parents just spent a bunch of money to have the car painted (college graduation present) isn't affecting the decision, but they're all for me making my own decision and don't want that to be a factor.

Josh

Posted by: trackbird Aug 13 2009, 04:37 PM

Talk to the buyer, get him to bump in a few more dollars and go buy Gary's 4th gen ESP car in the classifieds.

Posted by: CMC #37 Aug 13 2009, 05:08 PM

Hate to say it, but Stan is right. Move on, this car is not ever going to be the same, it is too damaged. Just unbolt what you can and find something else like Trackbird suggests.

Posted by: Sidney Aug 13 2009, 05:13 PM

To me $4,000 sounds like highway robbery. I crashed my racecar at Mid-Ohio 2 years ago with similar damage. I took it to a body shop and a couple hundred later they had pulled the subframe back. I bought a hood for $100, Fenders for $100, & $75 for a fascia. My teammate painted it for $200 in materials.

You need to sell it and find something else.

Sidney

Posted by: patred Aug 13 2009, 08:05 PM

When I wrecked my first Sentra SE-R 10+ years ago, I bought another SE-R but bought the wrecked one back from the insurance company and took off all the suspension and other go-fast stuff to use on the new car. Also sold a bunch of other stuff like interior pieces, seats, cyl head, wheels, etc. Between all the stuff I was able to re-use and how much I sold, it was well worth it.

Also, hate to say it, but it's just a thirdgen Camaro RS. There really isn't anything special about it. Replacements are easy to find.

Pat

Posted by: BrianChevy Aug 13 2009, 09:31 PM

sounds like somebody has been hanging around the rally car folks a little too much.

Posted by: 1qwikbird Aug 13 2009, 09:33 PM

Is the title now shown as totaled or something like that? I think in NJ when an insurance company total's out a car it affects the title also. So you end up with a salvage title or something like that. Then before you can put the car back on the road you have to jump through all kinds of hoops and then you still end up with a reconstructed title. Needless to say, all of that pretty much kills the value of the car.

Would you have to go through DMV to get the car cleared for use on public roads again?

I think I'd take the money and run, sell it off as one piece.

Chris

Posted by: rhit_rs Aug 14 2009, 04:18 AM

So it's decided...I'm selling the car in one piece. The buyer offered $2300 for it and I accepted. He and his 14 yr old son are going to fix it and the kid will presumably get it when he turns 16. I'm picking up a front clip sans the nose cover for the guy tomorrow and meeting him at the car on Saturday. I have no doubts that the car is fixable and if I had the time and a place to work I would think hard about doing it myself.

The car does not have a salvage title or anything like that. Thankfully the insurance didn't officially total the car since the estimate was less than what they valued the car at.

I'm finally coming to terms will selling the car. It's been fun, but I'm looking forward to driving something different. It helps that I think it's going to a good home. I think I've almost overloaded the owner with the information I've given him over the phone of what all I've done to the car, but I've kept good records and he shouldn't have any problem finding any parts he might need.

Thanks for the suggestion TB. I don't think I'm in the market for another f-body (I think mine looked better than any newer ones).

I'm leaning towards a late e36 or early e46 bmw. I'm addicted to RWD manuals now and rumor has it their suspension and steering are pretty good. Do you guys have any other suggestions on what cars I should look at? I'd like a G8, but that's a few years down the road. I might make a separate "what car should I buy?" topic now that this one has come to an end.

Thanks again to everyone for their input. It's been tough to come to terms with but life goes on. I'll have to go back through some auto-x results archives and save them so that I can tell my kids one day that I beat a such and such in an old camaro.

Posted by: trackbird Aug 14 2009, 11:56 AM

I agree with you, I didn't like the new cars appearance either. Then I prepped and drove one. It's a different feel than the 3rd gen cars, but the "turbine-like" LS1 and a set of fat tires makes a 4th gen a really fun way to get around. You might be surprised. And, it makes a ton more power than the BMW offerings (which are nice cars, as long as they don't have the typical German reliability...or lack of...which has been a topic of debate around here).

Posted by: patred Aug 14 2009, 03:44 PM

No, just 6-7 years laughing at the people at thirdgen.org who think their rattletrap V6 cars are classics. Or "1LE" means "multiply value by 5."

Edit: http://cgi.ebay.ca/Chevrolet-Camaro_W0QQitemZ250464945126QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUS_Cars_Trucks?hash=item3a50dfc3e6&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=65%3A12|66%3A2|39%3A1|72%3A1215|293%3A2|294%3A50

Pat

Posted by: trackbird Aug 14 2009, 03:59 PM

Pat was a 3rd gen owner (at least once, maybe a few times).


Yea, part of me feels like I should be "sad" that I'm cutting up a factory 1992 Z28 hardtop original 5.7 liter car. In 1992 they built like 5,600 Z28's and 1,800-ish convertibles (it was a pretty low production year for Z28's). So, it's one of 3,800-ish Z28's and the hardtop (non t-top) and original 5.7 liter car could make it possibly one of a few hundred. On the other hand, it's still pretty much worthless, even if it was mint (and it wasn't). It's a rare person who's throwing down big money for these cars. For every one of those "38 miles on the odometer, kept under a cover since new/stored as an investment" IROC's that someone pays $25k for, there are thousands of cars that change hands for a few hundred bucks to a few k. On paper, I might have a car that had collector potential...and it's still nothing terribly special. That's how it became a race car project.

Decent LS1 cars are occasionally approaching $5k. I like many things about the 3rd gens better (size, sight lines out of the car, lighter weight, no ABS, easier to work on, etc) but the 4th gen car is "worlds better" in almost every way (as a driver/street car). Nicer interior, better brakes, T56 (who buys an auto?), tons more power, etc. If I were shopping for a Camaro and had $5k in my pocket (and wanted a car to drive and enjoy and not particularly to race), I'd go looking for a "decent" LS1 car long before I'd go looking for a 3rd gen.

Posted by: BrianChevy Aug 17 2009, 07:46 PM

Pat, I was just pulling your leg about the rally cars... i KNOW.. i really know....

Your post is sad but true.... I am always surprised at what people "think" something is worth... I don't think it's F-body specific , there are some rustangs that are waaaay overpriced too. http://cgi.ebay.ca/Ford-Mustang_W0QQitemZ220463449913QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUS_Cars_Trucks?hash=item3354a54739&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

well of course, because of the popularity of the Drift series of movies, the imports are seeing some inflated sales prices too...

Posted by: rhit_rs Aug 25 2009, 12:16 AM

Well, the car was sold and delivered two weekends ago. I gave the new owner pretty much all of the leftover parts I had along with the factory service manual. While it's sad to no longer be an f-body owner, I truly enjoyed the car.

As trackbird well knows I bought a red 96 bmw 318ti last Saturday down in Chilicothe, OH. It's a plane jane 5 speed car with tiny little wheels (15x6.5) and tons of body roll. I'm thinking it will make a nice sts car with the addition of some 16x7's and some suspension work. A big thanks to Kevin for helping me get it back to Columbus and letting me park it at his house for a few weeks. Man, I owe that guy a lot of beer!