Jump to content
Ultimate Subaru Message Board

Recommended Posts

Hi All,

 

My buddy (lives in Moscow, ID for those living nearby...) and his gal-pal got in a deer accident a few days ago. Insurance company said that It's totaled and that they won't cover it... He says that the radiator, A/C unit, Hood, Bumper and Fender are toast. I'm just wondering what might be the best thing for them to do. Someone offered him $250 for the motor. I felt that that was a low-ball offer. What should he expect? It's the 2.5L

My thoughts were for him to keep it, and just replace the hood, radiator, and build a bumper for it. He said that it hasn't had a coolant issue either. Would this just be a good time to be proactive about the HG now, while things are needing love?

 

 

Thanks,

 

Greg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Miles?

 

maint history?

 

That should have the DOHC 2.5 and I'd do the HG's if they are fixing the body.

 

Usually the determining factor is if the airbags went off.

 

The airbags did go off. I feel that they should at least store it, because the list of repairs the motor are minimal. A/c, reservoir, radiator... A/c is really just optional, and the two required repairs are relatively easy to do at home. Has 140k miles. Regularly serviced on factory intervals, brand new transmission, and cv axles. . . If they do part it out, what amount should they be expecting to get for the motor? Tranny?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi All,

 

Insurance company said that It's totaled and that they won't cover it...

 

Greg

What do they mean they won't "cover it?" Either it's insured or it's not. If it's insured, the insurance company is responsible for comparable replacement value less any deductible. If it's not insured, they have no say on whether it's totalled or not.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

without seeing it, it's hard to say but generally speaking it's *very* easy to repair this thing back to running condition.

 

i would guess i could have it back on the road for 30 minutes sourcing/buying parts and an hour or less of work. car-parts.com is your friend. buy matching parts like the hood.

 

look up a thread i have with before and after pictures or links to pictures of a 96 legacy i hit a deer with at 75 mph head on. was actually not a hard repair at all. replaced:

 

hood: 10 minutes & four 12mm bolts

headlight: 15 minutes & four (a few different styles but they're all easy) 10mm bolts

fender: 15 - 30 minutes & 5-10 easy to get to 12 mm bolt

 

bumper cover just snaps into place and grille is easy.

 

with the radiator and headlights removed you just wrap some rope or preferrably heavy tow strap around the upper rad support and start pulling with a come along or another vehicle to line things back up. you can generally get it drivable in like 30 minutes. take measurements of symmetric bolts on the opposite side or look at the numbers in the factory service manual.

 

it's really not that hard to get a car back on the road in an hour if it's a minor hit - which i suspect this probably is in my book.

 

air bags aren't hard to fix either. easiest ones (i've done up to 1997 this way) - you just replace the two bags and that is it. on some newer stuff you also have to replace the computer. very easy but they require a goofy security torx bit T35ish or somethign. bags/computer often sold as a set and they're cheap $30 - $150 for both bags and computer. or just run without them.

 

you can try just replacing the bags first, if the air bag light goes off then you're golden. if not, then the computer likely needs replaced. i've never had to go past that (except the newer stuff that has the seat belt pretensioners, you replace those if they've gone off like the bags, but that's just another "device", not a big deal.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...