Accident...

[cposk]

I'm going to start this tread off with

I was on my way to work Sunday morning, it was a little damp out but had not rained or anything. I was coming up to a red light and I braked but the car was not stopping. I slid into the intersection and was T'ed by a turning car. I was not speeding or anything and there was plenty of room to stop. I guess I just locked up the brakes... It happened so fast I don't really remember and at first, the only thing I was worried about was making sure the other guy was ok... (thank god he was in a car and not on a motorcycle)

The front right wheel took the impact. The bumper is definitely shot, the hood was scratched up pretty badly. I didn't have a chance to open it. The control arm is broken and I'm pretty sure the steering rack is bent as I couldn't really turn the wheel. I was able to drive it out of the intersection and up onto the back of the tow truck. Drivetrain seemed fine. Airbags did not deploy.

I'll get pictures when I can. FML.

 

[plumcrazy]

at least nobody was hurt. cars can be fixed

 

[LifeIsGood]

I'm glad you and everyone else are okay. Does your viper have ABS (2001-02)?

 

[Silver04]

at least nobody was hurt. cars can be fixed

Absolutely - that sux, though!

 

[plumcrazy]

its a 98 so no ABS

 

[cposk]

No, it's a 98.

"I guess I just locked up the brakes..."

 

[ROCKET62]

Glad that you're ok. Age/type of tires?

 

[FastZilla]

Glad there were no human injuries! Even with new PS2 tires the non-ABS cars simply do not stop as well as modern ABS cars even with crappy tires the ABS is superior. I have had several close calls with the Gen1 from simply not actively thinking about the extra distance needed with no ABS.

Cars can be fixed.

 

[cposk]

Just got off the phone with the shop. They are going to do the damage estimate tomorrow. According to them, it could take weeks-months to source parts, mainly the hood if necessary.

 

[Mopar Steve]

As many have said, the important thing is you and everyone else is ok. It doesn't sound like your car will be fixed though. "steering rack bent and control arm broken" likely has frame damage. Also, hood badly damaged needs replacement, just sent it over the top. Start working with your insurance company for replacement value or hopefully you had an agreed value policy. This is a difficult situation, not impossible. There are many people here that will be glad to help. Good luck.

 

[cposk]

As many have said, the important thing is you and everyone else is ok. It doesn't sound like your car will be fixed though. "steering rack bent and control arm broken" likely has frame damage. Also, hood badly damaged needs replacement, just sent it over the top. Start working with your insurance company for replacement value or hopefully you had an agreed value policy. This is a difficult situation, not impossible. There are many people here that will be glad to help. Good luck.

I have USAA... I just finished reading through GTSR 91's thread last week

My family has had very good service/fair settlements from USAA on the cars my sisters have totaled. Lets hope that luck continues.

 

[DrTaco]

Sorry to hear about the car, but glad no one was hurt. Just remember you're not the first or last to go through this, and you have an entire community here that can help you sort out all the BS during the next few days/weeks/months.

 

[Vipertastic]

Best of luck with repairs/replacement.

I have USAA... I just finished reading through GTSR 91's thread last week

My family has had very good service/fair settlements from USAA on the cars my sisters have totaled. Lets hope that luck continues.

I read that as it progressed. Luck was certainly not on his side. I believe USAA reacted that way because the car was "heavily modified." Kind of sux that he wasn't even in possesion of his car when the "accident" happened.

Best of luck.

 

[Solid Red 98]

Man that is scary. Most importanatly, no one was hurt. Here is a hood on fleabay to give you an idea of potential costs. http://www.ebay.com/itm/1999-2002-D...ies&hash=item255a9cbefa&vxp=mtr#ht_989wt_1165
Good luck with it. Our Gen1 and 2 Vipers total pretty easily when the hood is involved--unfortunately. If the frame is involved.... This is a great community whose experienced members have seen it all.

 

[Fatboy 18]

What brakes are you running?

Sorry to hear about the car

 

[Mopar Steve]

Here is another wake up call to everyone reading this. Be sure you have an Agreed value policy. NOT stated or any other type. The only policy that pays a guaranteed dollar amount is Agreed Value. Read your policy don't just ask your agent, many times they don't understand the difference.

 

[speedracervr4]

Glad to hear you're ok...Cars can be replaced.

 

[VYPR BYT 94]

Sorry to hear. Glad it wasn't worse. Hopefully it won't take the entire viper season in your area to get back on the road in it or another.

 

[Mopar Steve]

Here is another wake up call to everyone reading this. Be sure you have an Agreed value policy. NOT stated or any other type. The only policy that pays a guaranteed dollar amount is Agreed Value. Read your policy don't just ask your agent, many times they don't understand the difference.

 

[Paul Hawker]

Had the same thing happen in Seattle. I was coming down an on ramp and a car was stopped at the bottom. I hit my brakes (non Viper) and simply slid into him. It was not the brakes, but the road itself was slippery.

It may not have mattered what type of brakes the Viper had. If the road had mud or oil on it, the car was going to slide no matter how good the brakes.

Jon B at parts rack seems to be the go to guy for insurance replacement parts. He has purchased lots of doner cars that have good take off parts when OEM is not available. Also check with Viper Parts of America for parts that are no longer available from Dodge. They bought up lots of spares, and sell them pretty reasonable

Sorry about your Viper.

 

[LifeIsGood]

There's an echo in this thread...

 

[Bird325]

Glad nobody was hurt ... that's the key point to pick up from the above. I had a T-Bone in my Avalanche last year (front right wheel- totalled the other car). The only reason that I mention that is that I have USAA also and they were very reasonable and worked with me. You have to watch out for the 'outsourced' adjuster that they will be using. Mine was awful and it took a lot of calls to USAA and letters to throw them under the bus and get the response from USAA that was due in the first place. Once I pointed out that their outsourced vendor didn't know what they were doing, USAA stepped up and covered everything that they should have.

 

[AFL in NJ]

Glad to hear that everyone is okay, sorry about your car. The other threads referring you to JonB and Viper Parts of America will help you get your baby fixed quickly as possible.

Regards,
Aaron

 

[jdeft1]

Bummer!!


By the looks of it, you haven't had the car long.....(join date a few months ago). Shame that just as the driving season starts your ride will be in the shop for a few weeks..... Hope the damage is not too bad and she's up and running sooner than you think.

 

[mattdillon]

Glad there were no human injuries! Even with new PS2 tires the non-ABS cars simply do not stop as well as modern ABS cars even with crappy tires the ABS is superior. I have had several close calls with the Gen1 from simply not actively thinking about the extra distance needed with no ABS.

Cars can be fixed.

Glad you or know one else was injured. Zilla, I've never understood why some (actually it seems like quite a few) guys don't want ABS on their car. Why is that, is it better to not have it if you're tracking your car.

 

[AbsolutHank]

Wow...sorry to hear this. It was definitely a little damp out Sunday morning for sure..probably combination of tires and/or road

 

[KNG SNKE]

If there are any random parts you need let me know, I just ripped apart a 99 in Virginia beach and have a box of random crap left.

 

[snakem04]

Cars can be replaced but people can't. Sorry to hear about the car

 

[FastZilla]

I want ABS, just not available on a Gen1. Don't know if a Gen2 system could be adapted to Gen1's and early Gen2's. Would be a great idea, just never researched it.

 

[cposk]

Sorry to hear. Glad it wasn't worse. Hopefully it won't take the entire viper season in your area to get back on the road in it or another.

I'm 22, just graduated college, and it was a stretch to purchase this car. I might be back to driving a big turbo 240sx if it is totaled. Too bad I just sold my GT3071r...

I think it was a combination of weather/road/tires/no abs. I have been driving a none abs car for a couple years (89 240sx with a kinda big turbo RB20DET) so I have some experience/I know what to do in the situation. I am amazing at how far I slid from only traveling 40mph... It is a 7 lane intersection with 2 turn lanes each way and I ended up on the other side of it.