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So, our son glanced at the green light and when he looked back down, the lady in front had stopped short. You can see the result. Mushed the pass. headlight in about 2 feet... Messed up everything from the eng. forward. The Sube, nose low, slid under the bumper of the Kia van, rump roast high.

Anyway, I had it towed to a body shop and the guy says it would be totaled (if I had insurance)... since the car wasn't covered, it'll be cash out of my pocket and he says around $5k. Maybe $3500 if I can scrounge a parts car. He says it ripped the metal off the frame rail. So... I have a couple questions....

 

IF we sell this car as is, what should we reasonably expect to get? It's an 03 Legacy wagon, 85k miles, dual sunroofs. Assume engine forward and front clip are toast. Engine starts and runs perfect, trans. is just fine. Airbags and interior, all glass perfect. We drove it onto the roll back.

 

Does it look to you, in the pic, like the body guy is right? Is that really that bad?

Any advice would be appreciated.... In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the old subie retirement home.

Thanks,

Mike

post-14285-136027645039_thumb.jpg

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$300 hood, $200 fender, $100 lights, $200 bumper...you'll get to $1,000 in parts quickly even with minimum stuff and assuming cheap prices. radiator, condensor, radiator support, fender liner and the bars that support it usually bend. add labor and any painting to match at $200 per panel. stuff isn't going to "Bolt up", it will need massaged to line up and bolt on.

 

if you decide to sell, let me know what you want out of it, i'm in Morgantown.

Edited by grossgary
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Since the airbags didn't pop, the frame rail is probably still in OK shape. It also doesn't look like the hit went far enough back to start shifting strut towers.

 

Honestly I'd accept that the car will never look the same, get a hood, quarter panel, lights, and bumper off a junk car and beat the inner fender back enough so you can get the new quarter panel to bolt to it. Yank ************ around using a hook tied to a strap around a tree and backing the car away, and a sledgehammer for the finer adjustments.

 

Take a good look at the brake lines going to the ABS pump in that corner, you don't want any kinked or crushed ones.

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I'm going to be replacing this car with something in the $3,000 to $3,500 range, so the closer I get to that the better. 3 kids at WVU so money is super tight right now. One guy I've already talked to has said he'd go $1,500, maybe a little more. I've got several business contacts who are into selling and/or rebuilding Subies, as well as other salvage customers, so I've got a lot of calls to make today or tomorrow. Probably also throw it in the Expo this week.... maybe I'll just leave it unpriced.

 

I'll send you a private msg with my contact info in case you want to look it over. It's at Allen's right now.

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So, our son glanced at the green light and when he looked back down, the lady in front had stopped short. You can see the result.

 

didn't you just go through this a bit ago??

 

with 3 kids i think i'd lock them in a room with one set of keys and tell them the last one standing gets a car, the other two are on their own.

 

my condolences.

 

oh yeah, if you are going to have a fleet of cars it would be best to have them all the same make, model and year group. that way one parts car will serve them all. it sounds like you should have a parts car, or two.

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The first one wasn't a wreck.... engine threw a rod through the top of the case.... that car's still going fine. Henderson's engine, by the way was a great find.... quietest subie engine I've ever heard!

 

I'll mention the raquetball class, but I think they've got their pe credits out of the way.... one senior theatre major (95 Impreza), one sophmore Anthropology, (95 legacy) and one Commications Sophmore with the 99 Legacy...

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Yeah... poor Chuck... he was the one my wife drove... our son had him while we worked out the sputtering issue with the 99 that I posted in another thread. Turned out to be a loose Engine to Firewall connector.

 

4 Soobs and a 97 Town Car ("The Mary Todd") :)

 

I've taken some new pics of the car and I'll post those here shortly. Also asked the body shop for a full estimate on the repair, but I really think I'll be selling it as is.

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Isnt insurance required in WV?
yes, only liability is required. his car is only covered if he has comprehensive ("full coverage"), which is not required by state law. that's required by lenders if the car still has a lien against it but seems like he doesn't.

 

i might be using the wrong terms or they may differ for different companies/parts of the country, but you're more experienced than me so i'm sure you know what i mean..or think i mean?

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We made a conscious decision to not buy full coverage and save the money.... willingly took the risk, so we can't complain. Over 20 years of insuring our cars, I'm sure we're still well ahead.

 

"Collision" coverage protects your car against damage you cause.

"Liability" covers damage you cause to other cars and property... and people.

"Comprehensive" coverage covers damage beyond anyone's control, such as a deer strike, tree falling on the car, theft, etc.

Uninsured / Underinsured motorist is self explanatory....

 

We had everything except Collision.... :-\

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Damage doesn't look that bad. Can't see what is broken inside the sheet metal, until the sheet metal is peeled away. Looks like maybe an entire "front clip" minus driver side fender, and bumper, or bumper cover would be a good starting point in parts to start a rebuild. To me the car looks very repairable. Suggest not giving up on Chuck just yet.

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As long as the air bags didn't go off you should be able to shop around for parts and do it yourself
it's nice they didn't go off but actually air bags are easy and cheap from a DIY perspective. i've done a few and i'd much rather do air bag stuff than body work. remove, replace, done. the massaging, alignments, panels, and painting are the expensive part.
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We made a conscious decision to not buy full coverage and save the money.... willingly took the risk, so we can't complain. Over 20 years of insuring our cars, I'm sure we're still well ahead.

 

"Collision" coverage protects your car against damage you cause.

"Liability" covers damage you cause to other cars and property... and people.

"Comprehensive" coverage covers damage beyond anyone's control, such as a deer strike, tree falling on the car, theft, etc.

Uninsured / Underinsured motorist is self explanatory....

 

We had everything except Collision.... :-\

 

Ah, ok. In your original post you said you had no insurance, so I was wondering what was up.

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Here's a link to a slideshow of the damage, as well as pics from the accident site...

 

http://www.fpcvirtual.com/tours/87/index.cfm?imageID=934

 

I put the car in our magazine this week, and I've got some interest .... seems like I might get $2,000 0 $2,500 of him...

 

Wish I had the time and expertise to fix him myself, but I have zero of both .... especially when it comes to body work. I can track down a loose connector or a bad sensor.... but body work... outside in November? no way!

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Here's a link to a slideshow of the damage, as well as pics from the accident site...

 

http://www.fpcvirtual.com/tours/87/index.cfm?imageID=934

 

I put the car in our magazine this week, and I've got some interest .... seems like I might get $2,000 0 $2,500 of him...

 

Wish I had the time and expertise to fix him myself, but I have zero of both .... especially when it comes to body work. I can track down a loose connector or a bad sensor.... but body work... outside in November? no way!

 

Mike

I sent you a private message

Or, just email me at avalanche54321 at yahoo dot com

Bill

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  • 2 weeks later...

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