[w98seeng]

I have a 99 Se with 192,000km (115,000 miles) that was hit on the drivers side from the front quarter right down to the rear quarter.

I figure it will cost around $500 if I do all the work myself. I didn't see any frame or chassis damage, just the sheet metal is crunched.

This is a list of what the car has...

3.0L V6 DOHC Duratec engine runs great
Transmission shifts smooth
200 horse power - 200 pounds of torque
Air conditioning
Tan LEATHER interior w/power buckets
Console shift
Power Everything
Power factory sunroof
Factory rear wing
Factory mags
Automatic digital climate control
Rear air vents

And... everything works

Factory 6 CD changer - Trunk mounted
192,000km (115,000 miles)

Would you fix it? It still has a lot of mileage on it though, is it worth it?

Ian

 

[toronut]

If you've got the time and the skills I say why not fix it. However that '99 has very little book value even in mint condition.

 

[egiroux]

If you can fix it for $500 it's worth it. A car this old is not about book value, it's about transportation. Even if you only keep it another year, it's still cheaper than getting another one.

 

[jw89sho]

My biggest concern is the B pillar...

 

[Monsoon]

If you fix it how much longer do you plan to keep it? If it's 5-years or more I say "getter done". You can use my "Spot Painting" topic to do a color match and paint each section with a HVLP spot repair gun.

I'm approaching 200K miles on my Duratec if that will give you any motivation. Given the proper care I'm beginning to believe the Duratec's are 300K mile engine.

I say save the Duratec's ! Now !

Monsoon

 

[durasel]

Agreed, the B pillar would be the crucial area.

 

[JW657]

Lets see.

Front Fender and two doors. That solves the front area, but what about the quarter panel? They are far too costly to get new, and it would take a lot of skill to either weld a used one in or hammer it out to the point where you can user filler to make it look true again. You'd need to be a bondo master to make the back end look right again, not that it can't be done. Also, the center pillar should be checked for bucking.

You'll need to repaint the entire side of the car to match the colour, likely. It's not just about replacing parts, it takes tons of attention to detail and knowledge to make a car look right again.

 

[w98seeng]

My concern is to lose as little money on it as possible. Because I did not get anything from insurance, I want to try to sell it if possible. As parts I can get maybe $500, if I fix it, I might get $1500, but it's a lot of time to do a decent job. I have been trying to decide for 2 months now.

I have a couple of people on this forum interested in some parts, so it might be better to sell the parts and scrap it.

 

[JW657]

My concern is to lose as little money on it as possible. Because I did not get anything from insurance, I want to try to sell it if possible. As parts I can get maybe $500, if I fix it, I might get $1500, but it's a lot of time to do a decent job. I have been trying to decide for 2 months now.

I have a couple of people on this forum interested in some parts, so it might be better to sell the parts and scrap it.

Does the car have a title now? Make sure you let them know what kind of damage it suffered. Not accusing you or anything, but I sure as hell would want to know if the car I was buying got hit like that.

Personally, I'd be skeptical about getting it done for $500. Maybe for the parts. But after you buy all the supplies needed to prep and do the work, it will probably cost another $500 on top of that in my eyes. Paint supplies, sanding equipment, etc...

 

[godfather]

I would part it out and scrap the rest..here in Florida they will give you 400.00 for a 3000 lb car ..so the way she sits now you might have 800.00 bucks counting parts sold that you can put into another driver

 

[360alaska]

find a car with a sauced trans and swap your stuff in...

 

[w98seeng]

I would part it out and scrap the rest..here in Florida they will give you 400.00 for a 3000 lb car ..so the way she sits now you might have 800.00 bucks counting parts sold that you can put into another driver

Here I'll get $200 if I'm lucky. Also, if I take the wheels (maybe worth $200 with tires) off it, I might only get $50.

I'm gonna let it sit outside (covered naturally) My other car is inside for the winter. I might be lucky to find a donor car at the auction my dealer (Cars, not drugs ) friend goes to. If I am lucky and find one that is FL (same colour) I'm in business.

Thanks all for the suggestions. By the way, the B pillar is OK.

I'll explain the accident, then you will have a better understanding as to the damage on the car.

I was on my way home from work during rush hour. I was entering the highway and the traffic was moving about 30km/h (18 mph). I had my own lane so it's not a usual highway entrance where you immediately merge to the left.

The lane I was in goes to the right to connect with another highway and the lane to my left splits, one way to the right along with the lane I was in and one way to the left to continue on the same highway.

There was a tractor trailer next to me, who hit me in the rear quarter panel (driver's side) as he came into my lane. I was spun around so I was T-boned by the truck, remember, I was only going about 20Km/h by this time as the truck and I both slammed on our brakes. I continued to spin and I hit another car (1952 Ford in showroom condition) who was on the other side of the tractor. I ended up facing the wrong way on the other side of the truck.

The police report said I was hit by the truck but it was my fault as I didn't yield. I called the cop and said there isn't any yield sign at that entrance as it has it's one lane and I didn't have to merge over, or yield to other traffic.

He wouldn't change his mind because he said the truck driver and the other driver both said I moved over (how did the second driver see when he was on the left of the truck and I was on the right?).

I asked him why it was my fault if I didn't hit the truck, but the truck hit me, but he just kept saying I didn't yield and said he wouldn't change the report.

Needless to say, my insurance only goes by the police report so I was not covered as I did not have collision on the car.

This was a slow moving accident, so I doubt there is any real chassis damage but I will take a look when I move it outside. I can still open and close the two doors, how bad can it be?

 

[Monsoon]

I'll go back to my college years with physics on this one. When you have two objects that try to occupy the same space at the same time you have what we call a collision. This happens all the time in football games.

Size does matter on the road. Yield sign or not there are a lot of scenarios that deem common sense that probably aren't covered in the driver's manual. You can't ignore or break the law of physics when you're on the road. Physics always wins.

Knowing what to do and when to do it is the best corrective action, experience helps as well.

I see a lot and I mean a lot of all-wheel drive this or all-wheel drive that, here in Colorado in the winter time off into the snow bank you go. I don't care how many wheel drive you have, as soon as the friction breaks between the road and your tire, you're pretty much on your own.

May be you'll want to save your car as a summer project? I believe the toughest part of this job is going to be the rear quarter panel. Everything else is nuts, bolts (from the boneyard) and painting.

 

[jw89sho]

.....I'm still trying to figure out how to get two objects in the same space at the same time. Always results in custom bodywork. But it would make traffic so much easier.....

 

[blue thunder 98]

Lets see.

Front Fender and two doors. That solves the front area, but what about the quarter panel? They are far too costly to get new, and it would take a lot of skill to either weld a used one in or hammer it out to the point where you can user filler to make it look true again. You'd need to be a bondo master to make the back end look right again, not that it can't be done. Also, the center pillar should be checked for bucking.

You'll need to repaint the entire side of the car to match the colour, likely. It's not just about replacing parts, it takes tons of attention to detail and knowledge to make a car look right again.

Its not as hard as it seems to hammer out the dent. My Taurus go hit in the rear quarter and with a rock hammer and a towel I got the majority of the dent out. Then if you can find a finishing hammer you can bring it very close to stock.