Re: A very bad day

[Godfrey DiGiorgi <ramarren@domain.elided>]

> Today my beloved GTV6 was struck by a big, ugly Ford sedan.

Yuck. This is exactly the sort of incident that started my Frankenstein
Spider project at the beginning of January. :(

> The damage is primarily to the driver's side fender with a
> little to the door (which now does not open.) The tire was
> punctured and something in the steering was broken as the
> steering wheel now rotates freely 360 degrees and the front
> wheels point at jaunty angles from each other. The wheel
> looks ok and no plastic trim items (i.e.. on the nose or
> bumper) were harmed. The body damage seems to be only the
> tire and sheet metal/frame.
> 
> Now the big question is: do you think they'll total or fix
> it? Any experiences or information (perhaps regarding Itegon
> Ins.) would be welcomed. If they total, do you think they'll
> believe me if I tell them that the Sperry Stage III heads
> got knocked loose in the accident?

I hate having to deal with body and chassis repairs. If you love the car,
DON'T let them take it and DON'T let them total it. (If they do total it,
you might be able to buy it back as salvage but they hate doing it, and
there are repercussions in most states with regard to titling, inspection,
etc. Also, if they total it, you will not be able to legally take the
heads off the engine unless you buy it back as salvage. When a car is
totalled out, it becomes property of the company paying out the value
to you, the former owner, and taking parts off it is not only unethical
but can be prosecuted as a criminal offense. I've had one vehicle totalled
out, a Ducati motorcycle, and I kept the motorcycle in my possession while
I negotiated the insurance settlement and salvage purchase cost in order
to not lose my valuable parts.)

A friend of mine with a GTV6 Balocco was in a similar collision several
years ago when a Honda t-boned him just forward of the driver's door. The
chassis was bent and he was determined to recover the car. So we hunted
around and found a stripped roller GTV6 donor car. He then transported
both his car and the donor to a high quality chassis rebuilder and they
did the appropriate cut and welding, straightening, restoration work. It's
now almost four years later (life does get in the way of projects like
this occasionally) and the car is almost ready to be put back on the road
again, good as new. I haven't asked what the costs of the project have
been or how he dealt with the insurance company.

My '78 Spider was struck across the nose, in front of the front wheels.
The forces of ripping the bumper completely off the car by a sideways blow
tweaked the entire chassis lengthwise, in addition to the sheetmetal
damage, so that even though the collision didn't even crack the radiator,
it was going to take quite a bit of time and effort on the chassis machine
to straighten it, and there was no guarantee that the subtle longitudinal
bowing of the chassis could be completely corrected. After consultation
with my body/chassis repair shop and with my Alfa dealer friend, and with
the insurance estimator, I accepted a $4000+ settlement PLUS the entire
wrecked but not legally totalled car. I then engaged the Alfa shop to
start building a new Spider for me based upon the fact that I had two
others, a parts car and a complete roller with a perfect chassis, to work
with. The '78 wreck and '82 parts car have been gutted as donors, the new
car is being built up on the '79 roller now and is nearing completion. 

Good luck! Think carefully about what your goals are and what options you
have at your disposal before you sign paperwork. This can all be a
nightmare, but it can also have a good end.

Godfrey

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