Estimate my Vipers damage, accident.

2snakes4us · Apr 23, 2008

Sorry about your car. that hurts deep to see the photos.
I cant help not to think could you have avoided the accident if you had newer tires on the car. that front tire looks very worn. I'm glad you came out OK. Lets hope the insurance company will take good care of you.

Bobpantax · Apr 23, 2008

The tread on the tires looks OK to me assuming the tires were not old tires and hard as a rock. Here is what he said about the accident:
I was travelling about 55mph and had to make a emergency lane change maneuver, at the same time, missing more than one car, and the rear end came out (cold tires, only driving 2 miles, cold night, about 58) and I corrected that and it tried to go the other way and brought it in line once more, then was on the brakes, locking up let off locked up and right before I hit a 13 or 14 inch concrete wall head on I managed to get the car sideways and hit pretty much right on the side

Assuming another car caused the emergency lane change maneuver, I think that he did pretty well considering the road surface was probably cold; his tires were cold; and, it was 58 outside. Also, I assume that the brakes were non ABS so the brake lock up is not unusual in a Gen I or II Viper. Getting the car sideways at the last minute was pretty skillful driving.

Pryme · Apr 23, 2008

Bobpantax said:
The tread on the tires looks OK to me assuming the tires were not old tires and hard as a rock. Here is what he said about the accident:
I was travelling about 55mph and had to make a emergency lane change maneuver, at the same time, missing more than one car, and the rear end came out (cold tires, only driving 2 miles, cold night, about 58) and I corrected that and it tried to go the other way and brought it in line once more, then was on the brakes, locking up let off locked up and right before I hit a 13 or 14 inch concrete wall head on I managed to get the car sideways and hit pretty much right on the side

Assuming another car caused the emergency lane change maneuver, I think that he did pretty well considering the road surface was probably cold; his tires were cold; and, it was 58 outside. Also, I assume that the brakes were non ABS so the brake lock up is not unusual in a Gen I or II Viper. Getting the car sideways at the last minute was pretty skillful driving.

Yeah, if I had abs I think I could have just missed the wall.

Getting it sideways before the impact was my goal as a head on could have been worse for me and my passenger. especially with no airbags.

It reminded me of growing up in MN getting squirrelly in the snow! minus the wall.

viper spray · Apr 24, 2008

Take the insurance $$ and walk..............

Pryme · Apr 24, 2008

To the guys who recommend I contact Jon B, thank you.

Jon gave me some good initial advice on my situation, even though I have not yet joined the VCA.
It was on the top of my list untill last Saturday, when this happened.

Hopefully I will get a hold of the adjuster today, I get the feeling they are not very motivated to get the ball rolling?

Updates to come.

Again, thanks to all who have given advice.

PatentLaw · Apr 24, 2008

Going against the grain here....totalled because it was a salvage car (lower initial value), but completely repairable.

You have a front facia that needs work, rotor, side sill, one wheel, most likely exhaust work. Wheel well can be repaired. Paint and prep. Can't really see the frame, so I don't know what the actual condition that it is in.

I would not try to "total" it, as it may not benefit you to do that. Just a thought.

AviP · Apr 24, 2008

PatentLaw said:
Going against the grain here....totalled because it was a salvage car (lower initial value), but completely repairable.

You have a front facia that needs work, rotor, side sill, one wheel, most likely exhaust work. Wheel well can be repaired. Paint and prep. Can't really see the frame, so I don't know what the actual condition that it is in.

I would not try to "total" it, as it may not benefit you to do that. Just a thought.

My sentiment is that since it's a salvage car to start out with, the best approach would be to total it, but it back for 20% from insurance and use the 80% minus deductible insurance payout to fix it. So it goes from one salvage title to another, but you have 80% of cash to use as follows:

1. Fix the car and add performance upgrades.
2. Sell the parts on the car individually. This might be the better option if you end up with a low true-value from the insurance adjuster. That hood looks great.

The catch is figuring out the true value of a salvaged car. Since you have had it for 2 months or so, your purchase price could be used against you.

Do let us know you purchase price and collision deductible (pm or forum) and we can make more sense of this.

Venomiss · Apr 24, 2008

Ouch! Keep us posted on what happens and very glad you walked away.

Pryme · Apr 24, 2008

I went and took 50 new and much better detailed and revealing pics!

LOTS of pics of behind the wheel, under hood, and frame from lots of angles.

uploading now.

One good slice of news is those spots on the ground are not oil, it is brake fluid.
So a line or something must have broke from hitting the brakes so hard?

Another good sign, I think?, is I can turn the steering wheel and the front wheels do move, the car is off so its obviously hard to turn plus the tire is wedged against the wheel well, but it turns.

Pryme · Apr 24, 2008

OK, I will start loading these pics, They are not in order, but the people who now these cars im sure will be able to tell what they are looking at, I dont even know what I am taking pics of for the most part, sad huh?