Here'* a fun little story for you guys. Last Friday I received a call from our security staff while at work indicating that my car (loaded 98 SSEI) had been hit in the parking lot. Expecting a fender bender, I walked out to my car. It turned out to be just a little worse than I had expected... The first driver, who claimed he was going 10-15 mph (bs) had run through an intersection in the parking lot and collided with a second car with enough force to spin that car nearly 180 degrees. The first car then deflected off, jumped the curb of one of the islands we have in our lot, and flew into the rear door and quarter panel of my Bonneville. The force was so great that the rear of my car was pushed into the next parking spot and did damage to the front fender of a fourth car. Additionally, the first car slid off of mine and did minor damage to a truck that was behind me.

Ironically, I park on end spots to avoid damage to my car...

So, that brings us to today. The insurance company wants me to total out my car, and is offering essentially a difference of $2200 between keeping the car or not. So, either I get X dollars and the car, or $2200 on top of X dollars. Does anyone have any feelings on what I should do? My Bonneville has been a great car -- she'* only got 73K miles on her and has had no significant problems thus far. Essentially all I've done is standard wear and tear stuff -- new serpentine belt, new tires, new brakes, new battery.

Looking through the estimates there are a number of things I think I could easily get by without -- the door trim panel will probably make it, and if it doesn't I'll just pick up one on my own from a scrap yard. Similarly, I don't think that repainting the front door to blend it with the paint on the back door is an absolute must -- it was painted about 1.5 years ago when someone did a low speed hit and run while I was inside a friends house. Basically, I think I can get away with not getting about $2100 worth of the repairs, which should give me some play as the estimate right now does not include replacing pieces inside the door frame should anything be found to be broken. The estimate also does not have any suspension work that might be required. She can drive right now, but the damaged wheel well rubs on the tire.

So, any opinions?

One pic:


Additional Pics:
http://ziese.dyndns.org/bonneville/wreck2.jpg
http://ziese.dyndns.org/bonneville/wreck3.jpg
http://ziese.dyndns.org/bonneville/wreck4.jpg
Police Accident Diagram:
http://ziese.dyndns.org/bonneville/wreckdiagram.jpg

id fix it. it looks like a nice car. but its up to u cuz its your car. but id fix it, it doesnt look that bad.

ive seen worse get fix. i got pics to prove it cuz it was my wifes car.

It depends on whether the frame is bent. It looks like the impact was above that. From the looks of it (what I can actually see) you could easily fix that for $2200. Go get a couple other estimates from body shops.

well, the hard part is going to be the door frame and quarter. Might have to cut that section out and weld in a new one. Aside from that and paint, a door can be had for fairly cheap, $30 according my local u-pull-it yard, not including extras. Probably could get all for under $100 if need be. Aside from that, the plastic side molding might need to be replaced along with the rocker. Looking from the hit, the wheel should be ok, but I would have it checked to verify.

Also, get me the color code for your car. You might be in luck and I think there is a 96 SSEi in the yard by me that might be your color. if you want also, PM me your number and when I go there next, I can call you with the prices. Not sure how much it'* be to ship it to you, but anything helps. I should be going friday. Color code in on the spare tire cover and is usually a 2 digit number and th letter U.

Only 73k.......... Fix it!!!!!!!!!

Thanks for the comments so far. Couple of other things before I have to jet in my rental -- a base model Grand Am

The car apparently does not have any significant frame damage. I asked the guy if it did and whether or not it would be as safe to drive after they fixed it. He indicated that it would. He talked about probably having to shift the car around but that the unibody was still intact.

The wheel and the rear bumper are two things I took off the estimate. The bumper looks like it had one screw pop off and some scuffs that aren't deep at all. The wheel has some scuffs that I can live with for what they're charging to replace it ($179 + $12 labor)

The place I went to is a reputable (and probably therefore a bit more expensive) shop. I would consider getting a second opinion, but I would have to clear the crap out of the wheel well first.

You guys think the guy was actually going 10-15?

Keep the opions coming!

Thanks!

One more thing -- you are correct.

i fully agree.....fix it..

Umm........... yes!!!!!!

give the tan ssei mats to billboost37...