93 STS never had a chance :-(

[petrov]

Well after feeling pretty much on top of the world with the Northstar back on the road fresh from successful Timeserting (April of this year) - yep the carpet was yanked from underneath me in a frustrating way. My pearl white machine was neatly parked in a restaurant parking lot eagerly awaiting to be fired up and return to the road it so feels at home with. What an incredible treat to drive this car!

The car was hit by a Toyota Camry that ran a red light and got clipped in the rear which sent it careening over a curb, glanced slightly off a light standard and into my rear passenger door/rear passenger wheel (seems to be bent inwards at the top - maybe wheel hub/bearing assy or rim?)/rear quarter panel/rear skirt/small dent in front passenger door and as a result of being pushed over into the van on the driver's side the area behind the drivers rear wheel.

The driver was charged with failure to stop at a red light and driving with an expired drivers licence!!!

Now comes the agonizing wait of the repair estimate. I am also a little anxious knowing that the market value of the vehicle ($1800-$3000CAN) may sadly force the hand of the Insurance adjuster to sign the death certificate. Where or how do you replace a car like this as the street value is nowhere close to its real value...guess I'm biased though LOL but with just cause!

The car since the Timesert repair has ran impeccably which was about $2800CAN included a starter rebuild. Since then I have only had to replace the fuel filler pipe $470CAN which I installed myself. I had replaced the transmission as well about six years ago $3000CAN at the dealer and I installed a new alternator two years ago $380CAN. Anyhow needless to say a lot of sweat and respect was showered on this car. I enjoyed every minute of it because I knew the exhilaration of driving it again was the motivating factor!

The driveway sure does not look the same without the STS and there is a huge void right now. I need those wheels back and if it doesn't happen - then I need another true driving and responsive Cadillac.

Enjoy those cars folks as you never now when it may be your last! I will keep you posted as I expect to hear back from the garage on Thursday.

I have lit a few candles and plan on saying my prayers tonight...big thanks to all you out there for posting those helpful responses over these years guiding me to get the STS back on the road!!

Petrov

[petrov]

Another picture....

[lothos]

Wow, that's some bad luck. I'm sorry. I hope everything works out for you.

[KHE]

The damage doesn't look that bad - it is definitely repairable. Most insurance companies will work with you on settling a claim on an older car. Show them the receipts for the Timesert repair, etc. as well as pictures of the condition of the car prior to the accident. You can ask the insurance co. to find another '93 that is in the same condition as your car prior to the accident if they want to total it for a low value.

[Cadillac Jim]

Yeah, I had an insurance agent try to cheap out my 1969 Chevrolet station wagon with the 427 cid engine in 1976. I told him to find me another, and no substitutes for (a) 427 cid engine and ( 9-passenger station wagon. I didn't hear back from him, and had no problem with getting repairs authorized.

Of course, the cause of my accident was almost as clear-cut as yours. I was in the car and it was moving, but an 18-year-old, obviously inexperienced, shot out in front of me with no chance in a totally blind driveway, instead of stopping, and we had witnesses. It may have totaled his dad's new Dodge Diplomat; the left headlight toppled into the street as the kid tried to straighten it up, as I was reeling in my radar detector's wiring to put it in the glove compartment. When the cop got there, he took one look and said "Is there any question about what happened here?" and the kid hung his head like a bad puppy.

And, my damage was limited to some sheet metal damage on the right front fender. That huge 1969 Chevrolet bumper cut through that Dodge Diplomat like butter, without visible damage to my bumper. All I needed was a fender and headlight, as I recall.

[Logan]

The rear suspension looks involved. Notice the tilt of the rear wheel.

Yeah, they will write a check on a 15 year old car.

[Ed Hall]

Without any doubt, the insurance company is going to want to total it out. However, It can definitely be repaired but it's not going to be cheap because the amount of sheet metal damaged. The rear door should be replaced. The rear fender can be pulled out. Is there damage on the other side? How about the front? The pearl white paint will also be a challenge to match perfectly. Look for a shop that has either a Iwata or Sata paint gun. These guns are the best out there when it comes to painting pearl paints.

Since you Timeserted the engine, this car is not worth getting rid of. You might consider letting the insurance company totalling it out and buying the car back. Find a rear door from http://car-part.com/ or junkyard the same color. On the rear fender, if you're skillfull, it is possible to push that out and at distances over 10 ft, it would be hardly noticeable.

The tilt on the rear suspension might be able to adjusted out.

[Ranger]

OUCH! There is likely some damage on the drivers side as well. Sorry to hear of it. Hope it works out for you.

[petrov]

Thanks for the replies everyone.

I know there is damage on the driver's side just at back of the rear wheel well - some paint scuffing and minor metal damage. I will have a better idea once I get over to the garage tomorrow.

I spoke with the Insurance claims rep on the phone and it seems that he has been given the impression from the garage the repairs are extensive to support a write off. I felt a little skeptical that perhaps he was testing me to see if I may accept that. Anyhow thats when I took the opportunity to explain to him the recent engine job, condition of the car and that a cheque may not come close to the actual value of my STS. I even offered to forego the rental if that expense could be considered towards the repair but the rep said no impact.

I am trying to stay positive on this one and am strongly hoping to buy it back if the insurance decides to cut the cheque. As Logan mentioned it may depend on the seriousness of suspension damage or even structural that is a difficult repair. I can tinker in mechanical repairs but body work is not my bag especially to the degree this car requires. It just needs to look good, you know what I mean?

Thanks again. I'm off to dig up some receipts!!

Cheers

[Cadillac Jim]

Everything is negotiable. Insurance company adjusters have no shame and can be truly intimidating in an unsupportable position. Just be firm and insist that they fix the car. The terms of their contract are that they repair the damage done or agree on an adjustment. Thus you can insist that they fix the damage.

[MAC]

My sympathy goes out to you as I know what it's like to get hit by an unlicensed driver.

Sorry to say that it looks like a total loss. That is some pretty extensive damage for a car with an $1,800 to $3,000 book value.

I was also hit by a 17-year-old unlicensed driver in the early 90s. I was at a traffic light and as the light turned green for me, I accelerated into the intersection. Luckily I didn't punch it or else I would have been struck on the driver's door. When I spotted him I slammed on the brakes and so did he. I stopped and he impacted me at a slow rate of speed. If you can believe it, his mother knew he was illegally driving. A witness vouched for me and he also did admitted that he ran a red light.

[BodybyFisher]

Good luck with this, I hope they repair it.

I almost lost my Deville last weekend, I got a green arrow and began to move across a 4 lane highway and an EXPLORER went through the red light, I definately had the arrow. I saw the car coming out of my peripheral vision and hit the brakes, he also hit the brakes and swerved to miss me, luckily no one was behind me to hit me from the rear.

The lesson here is this, I was on my cell phone, NORMALLY, I look, because I was on my CELL, I was partially shielded to my left and didnt look directly, my peripheral vision picked him up, if not, I was creamed

[Cadillac Jim]

My Garmin has Bluetooth so I operate hands-free in the car. If you don't like the boomy sound of a speakerphone-type Bluetooth, you can get a really good Bluetooth earpiece or headset for about $50, which is less than your first ticket and a whole lot less than the cost of any accident.

[BodybyFisher]

My Garmin has Bluetooth so I operate hands-free in the car. If you don't like the boomy sound of a speakerphone-type Bluetooth, you can get a really good Bluetooth earpiece or headset for about $50, which is less than your first ticket and a whole lot less than the cost of any accident.

I need to do that

[navion]

My Garmin has Bluetooth so I operate hands-free in the car. If you don't like the boomy sound of a speakerphone-type Bluetooth, you can get a really good Bluetooth earpiece or headset for about $50, which is less than your first ticket and a whole lot less than the cost of any accident.

I need to do that

I wish that there was a way to clone the phones in my Caddy & pick-up to use my number. It would be nice to use the built in speaker phone, but I just can't justify having another two cell phone bills.

On-Star, while nice in concept is prohibitively expensive for a lot of people. I think that they should offer a crash reporting feature for something like $50.00 per year. I would be tempted to sign up for that.

$50.00 per year multiplied by the number of cars that have inactive On-Star accounts?

If only a quarter of them were signed up that would be a pile of cash!

Helllo!! GM, are you listening?

Britt