'Tis a sad day for me...

[MJC]

Well the car that got me into Q45's has now met its end. My father's trusty 96 Q has become the victim of idiot drivers and poor resale. My brother was driving the Q the other night as he does a lot now that my father bought his G35, and he noticed in his mirror while stopped at a stop light - that a truck was flying at him and not slowing down. Well he basically just braced for impact and the truck (van) slammed into him at probably 15-20mph. This sent him into the car in front of him.

I have not seen the car personally, but I am told the damage is actually quite minimal considering what happened. The trunk obviously needs to be repaired...the rear bumper, front bumper, hood, and radiator support. Pretty much everyone here knows the Q is an amazing car for the money: the comfort, the speed, reliable, confident handling, etc...well this great value also means that it's very easy to have a car be considered totalled.

I'm definitely considering buying the car from the insurance company after they total it, either to fix it, or to keep the engine and a few other parts as project pieces, even though I already have a ridiculously expensive project taking up my entire garage.

:sigh: decisions decisions. What do you all think? Buy the car back? I don't know how much they would sell it back to me for, but I figure it won't be too horribly expensive.

/Mark

[maxnix]

From that kind of impact, transmision and differential may be toast. Suspension the same. Engine block may be OK.

I would pass unless there is something compelling of high value.

Glad your brother survived. Sorry for the car's loss.

[MJC]

Thanks for your response. My brother luckily wasn't even bruised, so that's good. As for the car, I'll take a look at it and see just how hard it was hit, hopefully it's just the parts that they spoke about. I don't know how the Q reacts to accidents but I've seen my fair share of Supra wrecks and I know the car stands up extremely well, enough to salvage nearly every part off of it normally. Granted the cars are decidedly different, and even from different manufacturers but hopefully that's the same with the Q. I suppose the question is, do I want another project? Hmm, that's always the question I suppose.

/Mark

[BadQ45t]

Fight for a good settlement on and move on...you can find a replacement if you shop carefully that will be as good and not have been in a big accident.

don't forget also about the 1k in airbag replacements too.

[squeefoo]

Look for a '90 - '93 You'll like it better anyway!

[Fenvy]

that must be scary to see a car coming toward you and brace for impact

so does the truck have insurance? is he drunk?

[Q451990]

That is bad news... I hate to hear it. I don't know what the resale value of your 96Q would be, but I almost doubled mine when negotiating with State Farm on Q1. In the end I got $5350 for the car (plus an allowance for tax and tags) and then bought the car back for $350. I spent about a month beating them down - but in the end it was successful. Mine was fairly repairable - so I bought it back with the idea of parting it out or selling as-is to someone who would fix her. Luckily I fould a buyer for $700 and didn't have to do the part-out. There seems to be a glut of parts ont the market, or was earlier in the year from looking at eBay - so a part out may not be as profitable as I thought initially.

I would continue to harp on the maintenence records with the other driver's insurance. Start out way high... (like $7700 in my case) and then "compromise" to somewhere in the middle. If the car was exceptionally maintained with service records - or had recent repairs that aren't typical in the used car market (like new Bose amps) use that as amunition.

In my case I took the NADA high retail at about $3000 and then added chain guides (dealer priced), Bose Amps (dealer priced), window tint, aftermarket alarm and remote start, etc.

Their response was that my value wasn't reflected in the market... I told them the car wasn't for sale - so the value that applies was my replacement cost.

Just prepare for a long battle - took me about a month. I also documented every single phone conversation, visit to the body shop, wrecker, etc. - including the time that I spent. When we were a few hundred dollars apart, I hinted that if we couldn't settle I would include the cost of my time in any legal action that I would take. I think that pushed them over the edge.

Good luck - and I'm very sorry to hear about your Q.

Heath

[Q451990]

Here's the thread on my accident.

zer...age=1

Heath

[Q45CALIBER]

[QUOTE=MJC]Thanks for your response. My brother luckily wasn't even bruised, so that's good. As for the car, I'll take a look at it and see just how hard it was hit, hopefully it's just the parts that they spoke about. I don't know how the Q reacts to accidents but I've seen my fair share of Supra wrecks and I know the car stands up extremely well, enough to salvage nearly every part off of it normally. Granted the cars are decidedly different, and even from different manufacturers but hopefully that's the same with the Q. I suppose the question is, do I want another project? Hmm, that's always the question I suppose.

/Mark[/

MJC-Sorry for your loss with the car. I have had my fair share of accidents so I no how it is. The Q does seem to be a strong car. I had a minor fender bender with it but at about 20-25 miles a hour. It held up well..

But I have to ask because I just got a supra....In the accidents that you saw with that car(supra) did it stand up well????

[MJC]

Thanks for your response. My brother luckily wasn't even bruised, so that's good. As for the car, I'll take a look at it and see just how hard it was hit, hopefully it's just the parts that they spoke about. I don't know how the Q reacts to accidents but I've seen my fair share of Supra wrecks and I know the car stands up extremely well, enough to salvage nearly every part off of it normally. Granted the cars are decidedly different, and even from different manufacturers but hopefully that's the same with the Q. I suppose the question is, do I want another project? Hmm, that's always the question I suppose.

/Mark[/

MJC-Sorry for your loss with the car. I have had my fair share of accidents so I no how it is. The Q does seem to be a strong car. I had a minor fender bender with it but at about 20-25 miles a hour. It held up well..

But I have to ask because I just got a supra....In the accidents that you saw with that car(supra) did it stand up well????

Yes, the supra has stood up extremely well in my experience, which is sadly more than I would like to have. My first supra was wrecked by some idiot coming into my lane at the apex of a tight corner (sending me spinning into a brick pillar at 45mph). In this accident, and my friend's - whos car went into a tree at the dead center of the passenger door, and the others I've seen - the car has done an excellent job of cradling the passengers, keeping injuries minimal to non-existant.

That being said, I am not a body man, so my experience is just that, simply my experience. The targa cars, which you most likely have, have extra reinforcement through the doors - which may have helped my friend who hit the tree. Then again, the roof obviously isn't as strong, so who knows.

[doninfla]

i don't know what state your in but fere (fla) they might sell it to you but with the caveat "salvage" which i think means it will never see the road legally again. parts is another story.good luck.

[redmanfx]

Here in NC my 92 Q45a was "totalled" and fixed in 1994. I now have a title free and clear of anything that says "Salvaged." Unless you dig deep, you would never know my forest green Q used to be emerald black or was in a wreck at all.

Glad no one waas hurt bad and see what you can do with the Q.

red