GTP Totaled by a tire..... Now what do I do.

[DrRodey]

Ok.. here's the readers digest version. following a semi at about 1000yds, his tire blows, and I get the retread directly into the front bumper, rips half the exhaust off underneath and tears the back bumper in half coming out the back, So Both bumpers, exhaust, misc paint hardware etc. total 2550 and change, so the Ins. company decides it's going to be totaled. So I have three options.

 

1:take the $1500 from the ins co. and rebuild the car on my own.

2:Take the $1500 from the ins co. part out the car and buy something different

3:Drive it as is till it completely falls apart, after installing a complete new exhaust system to the tune of around $400

 

What are your opinions?/other options?

[jeremy]

#2

[THe_DeTAiL3R]

#2

x2

 

 

Get that 5-speed out of there and scrap the car. You can EASILY find another GTP (or Lumina Z34) with blown engine/bad trans that you could do a nice transplant.

[Jeorge]

dont take the 1500 get the 2500 from them then get the car and part it and buy something else.

could even ask them for $3000 or so.... they just offer the min so they dont have to pay you more.

[supreme_style21]

I'm with Jeremy.

 

These cars are, honestly, worthless... as much as we love them and as much as I hate to say it, they're crap. Take the cash, sell what you can, move on. If someone hit me, I'd be sad, but fuck it.. as big of a pile as this car is turning out to be, I still, for some ungodly reason, I love it... but it'd have to die.

 

Last week, I hit a muffler, of all things, and it took a toll on my exhaust system... my dual exhaust is now almost dragging on the ground, has a few huge holes in it, and the tips are uneven, jammed into the bumper cover, and one muffler is ready to fall off. Go me. Hit part of an exhaust system and take out my own exhaust system. I was glad it didn't take out the front or rear bumpers though! Thats what I was most scared of.

[Turbocharged400sbc]

I take it was the Grand prix? well take the money (get as much as possible) and keep the car, get another 3.4 5 spd car and put the wrecked cars engine/trans in the back and get the 5 spds to work together

twin 3.4L DOHC 5 spds! WOOOO!

 

sorry I felt compelled to say that lol

[THe_DeTAiL3R]

I'm with Jeremy.

 

These cars are, honestly, worthless... as much as we love them and as much as I hate to say it, they're crap. Take the cash, sell what you can, move on. If someone hit me, I'd be sad, but fuck it.. as big of a pile as this car is turning out to be, I still, for some ungodly reason, I love it... but it'd have to die.

 

Last week, I hit a muffler, of all things, and it took a toll on my exhaust system... my dual exhaust is now almost dragging on the ground, has a few huge holes in it, and the tips are uneven, jammed into the bumper cover, and one muffler is ready to fall off. Go me. Hit part of an exhaust system and take out my own exhaust system. I was glad it didn't take out the front or rear bumpers though! Thats what I was most scared of.

 

I think red 1994-96 Grand Prix B4Us are bad luck or something .. lol

 

I feel the exact same way about my/your car.

[DrRodey]

I hate to give up on this car so soon, I've only had it for a couple months, and absolutely LOVE it. Most fun i've had outside of a Fiero. Well I have a little more thinking to do. You just might have another parts car coming.. Kinda depends on what I can find to replace this with and what I can talk the ins. co out of. Keep the opinions coming.

 

I hate to think of these as worthless, but realisticly they are.. Expensive as hell to fix/maintain, Squat for resale, nothing for aftermarket options unless you are good at fabricating stuff. Hmm.. what to do... what to do....

[runt]

I say find another car with the 3.4 DOHC in it and do a 5-sp swap. Or sell the entire car to someone who might fix it?

[White93z34]

#1

 

thats what i'd do and did... except without the money. can't say i regret it either.

[Justin]

Why would it cost $400 to replace part of your exhuast system? There should be exhuast shops that can replace the damaged parts for less that $200 easy. Patch up the rest and drive the wheels off of it.

[GnatGoSplat]

#1, but don't you also have to deduct the price to buy back the car? Usually insurance takes it if it's totaled.

 

I don't care how little these cars are worth, I can't stand to see a car with a good body go to waste. We are such a disgustingly and carelessly wasteful society as it is, please don't add to it. If you like the car, fix it. Judging by your last post, it sounds like you really want to fix it. Follow your heart.

[bartonmd]

You got lucky man... a friend of mine was driving his camaro on I-70 and a truck coming the other way lost a whole tire/wheel and it crossed the median and hit him head on... So he basically got hit by a 140mph semi tire... He was sitting next to the engine...

 

Take the money and part out/sell the car...

 

Mike

[White93z34]

coulden't have said it better shawn. i wrecked my z back in november, and i am on the road to fixing it. its been TONS of work and i probably had an EASY $8000-$10,000 in damage, to date i have in the ballpark of $1500-$2000 in repairs and thats includeing fixing the frame that i did myself.

 

5 speed LQ1 cars don't come by every day.

 

do you got pictures of it before and after the wreck? if the radiator support is ok yet i'd fix it, hell even if lower radiator support is screwed i'd fix it. it sounds like its just the front and back bumper covers and the exhust system. you could easily get 2 new bumper covers and an exhaust system fron a junkyard for prety cheep then take whats left over to paint it all.

[J]

take the money from the insurance co, and sue the trucking company for the rest

[90TGP]

#2, part it out. Let good parts live on.

[mihela816]

When my Regal got totalled, I got 2700 for it. 91, base model, 3.1. You should be able to get more than 1500 for it.

[THe_DeTAiL3R]

Again, I'll say #2. I just see SO MANY Lumina Z34s sitting around for cheap, when I go ask what's wrong with them "the engine" . I'd pull the engine (since it's good) and that RARE 5-speed, as well as any other parts on the car that are good.. strip it down.. then scrap it.

[Jcrow]

Dont take $1500! They owe you the full price of the repair! Fight

[90TGP]

How much would you want for the whole car?

[RareGMFan]

Dont take $1500! They owe you the full price of the repair! Fight

 

That depends who's insurance company he's talking about, which was the first question that came to mind when I read the first post. Did you go after the trucking company (which is what you should have done, if it was possible to get the plate numbers), or your own? If it's the trucking company, they can't tell you they're going to total your car. If someone else is at fault, and is going to pay for the damages, they have to pay for the repairs no matter WHAT it costs, not based off of what the car is worth. If it is your own (which is what I'm guessing, from the sounds of it), then yes, they can total it out and there's not much you can do about it, other then try to fight the value they're suggesting your car is worth.

 

As to what to do (if it's your own insurance).....well....that really comes down to what you want, or deem most important. If the car means that much to you (as mine do to me) monetary value is of little relevance to your decision. You just want it back, and you want it right again (#1). However, if a "financially smart" decision is more important to you, you may elect to go another route (#2). Let's see what we got, here...

 

You said the front and back bumper covers got trashed. If there is no structural damage to the bumpers themselves, this is an easy fix. I actually helped a semi-local guy last year find a '94-'96 B4U back bumper cover in the yard for $25!!! If we could have come across a front one in tact, it would have cost the same. The exhaust, even IF it cost $400 (I'd get the mufflers and cat myself, and let them do the pipe bending and labor), would bring your total to about $500 so far (giving an extra $50 for the front end rear bumper, because that's the most our local pick it yourself yards here charge for just the covers). I'd get a detailed list of what else needs to be replaced (the miscellaneous hardware you mentioned, etc) to determine what you can get the remainder of your repair done for. Unless you have some SERIOUS damage, I can't imagine it coming close to the $1,500, let alone the estimated $2,550. Remember, when a shop knows it's dealing with an insurance company, they mark everything WAY, WAY up. But I seriously think if you take the $1,500, and keep the car, you should be able to get everything done with change to spare, unless there's some other, expensive things you left out.

 

Let's say you take the money, and part it out. $1,500 cash in hand to start with (minus what you buy it back for, if anything at all). There are a handfull of parts worth something off the car (the 5-speed, if you even decide to sell that, HUD if it has it, etc). The front bumper cover, one of the most sought after pieces for B4U owners, is trashed, as is the rear, so that's eliminated from the money making process. All in all, I can't see getting much more then around $700 or so (give or take) for remaining parts (remember, gen I owners aren't looking to spend too much on parts). That brings your total to $2,200 spending money. What are you going to buy in decent running condition and not needing many repairs with that? Probably something fairly similar to the condition or yours (minus this last mishap), maybe slightly better, maybe slightly worse. :shock: It's hard to tell with cars this old until you've owned it for a bit. Unless you use the $2,200 as a down payment for something in the $8K, and up range, it's not really going to be much of an improvement over the current car, if any.

 

Therefore, IMO, if I listed all the repairs your car currently needs accurately, and that's ALL there is to it, I'd take the money, buy back the car, and fix it yourself. The only question here will be what happens to the title (salvaged, etc). Don't know how your state works as far as that goes.

 

Shawn, most insurance companys only ask for something like literally $50 or so to buy back a totalled car. My friend just wrecked a 3000GT, got over $6000 for it, AND they let him have it back.....for FREE!! They said it would cost more to tow it to a junkyard then to let him just have it, so they didn't charge him anything. So, untop of the money for totalling it out, he sold a bunch of parts for about $700 or so, then the rest of the body to someone local for $1,200. :shock:

[JoroCorona]

I agree with xtreme. The car is rare, and make sure they know that. Get some numbers and goto court. I'm pritty sure you could sue to get the whole thing repaired.

[GnatGoSplat]

I agree with xtreme. The car is rare, and make sure they know that. Get some numbers and goto court. I'm pritty sure you could sue to get the whole thing repaired.

 

I don't know about that... my stepdad always said it'll cost you more to hire a lawyer to fight an insurance company who has a panel of lawyers on staff.

 

He might not have known what he was talking about, but big companies usually DO have a few lawyers on staff.

[GP1138]

I agree with xtreme. The car is rare, and make sure they know that. Get some numbers and goto court. I'm pritty sure you could sue to get the whole thing repaired.

 

Too bad it's not one of those rare '96 GTP's! Then he'd have no problem!

[RareGMFan]

I agree with xtreme. The car is rare, and make sure they know that. Get some numbers and goto court. I'm pritty sure you could sue to get the whole thing repaired.

 

I don't know about that... my stepdad always said it'll cost you more to hire a lawyer to fight an insurance company who has a panel of lawyers on staff.

 

He might not have known what he was talking about, but big companies usually DO have a few lawyers on staff.

 

This is true. The other major problem is that it doesn't matter if it's rare, or not. You can show them aaaaaaall the numbers you want. If it's insured under normal insurance, he won't get jack over what KBB says the private party value is for the car. As my insurance told me recently (when I called to insure the red TGP, and she informed me that she thinks I'm wasting my money putting collision on the other 3 because they're not worth jack according to them), if you want the car to be insured for more, you have to put it under classic car insurance, and have it appraised. Even IF he hired lawyers, he wouldn't win a penny over what the normal KBB value is for the car. The only thing he could possibly fight for is adding in any recent repairs, and such. This really boils down to the trucking company should be the one getting nailed with the tab for this, and ALL of it (as I said in my previous post, opposing insurance companies CAN'T total your car).