Crashed the Mustang :(

[BigBlue]

Warning: Depressing thread.

Yesterday was one of the worst days I've had in a very long time. I was on the expressway going home from work, all the way on the right lane. Something happened which I'm still trying to get a grip on; the rear of the car swung out and the entire car started hydroplaning. I blame old crappy tires and the wet road, but why it happened going straight and at the speed limit (I was going about 50-55) is beyond my comprehension. Anyway, it careened to the left and I tried to countersteer to the right, but the whole car was hydroplaning and I had zero control. The car slid three lanes over to the left and all I saw was the median wall coming at me. I braced for impact and the car hit nose first, spun around and then hit the back. The crushed rear scraped across the wall for about 15 more feet and the car came to a stop. Needless to say, the car is pretty banged up. Lucky for me, I didn't hit any other cars and I walked out with nothing more than a little neck pain.

I bought this car over ten years ago, drove it throughout my senior year in high school, was the car I first picked up my fiancee in (and she's grown fond of it as well), and beyond that, there are just too many memories and experiences attached to this car to let it go. I know it's going to cost more to repair than the car is even worth, but I find myself unable to let go of it. At this point I can't assess the reality of the damage or what to do, as my emotions are controlling my judgement. So my question to you guys is... what would you do? Is it salvageable and how much do you think something like this would cost to fix?

I'm going to ask several reputable shops in the area how much it would cost to repair it. The car had an electric fan, giving it enough clearance up front so that the engine was untouched. It still runs and goes into gear, though it only creeps forward (the passenger side control arm is bent). The front pass. side corner is caved in, but the damage didn't reach the shock tower (although I do imagine it's misaligned now). The back pass. corner is crumpled up as well, so I'm thinking some chassis straightening and a bunch of metal that needs to be replaced on the body, plus bumpers, lights, miscellaneous items, and LOTS and LOTS of body work.

Here are some pics:

 

[mdan575]

Sorry to see it, always a scary experience. I have had mine swing around at low speed and luckily just bent a rim. I don't even want to think about highway speed. Sadly I think it is probably going to be totaled. From the looks of damage extent it would be hard to not only find donor parts but expensive to replace. Alot of structural sheet metal work from the looks. Hard to say in the pictures but I am gonna guess the front end is tweaked pretty good.

 

[69 Rustang]

Sorry to see this, at least you are generally OK and nobody else was hurt. The car can always be replaced, or if you are committed repaired.

 

[hyena429]

First of all...Glad to see you are safe and sound man!! And i hear ya there...My car i owned out of high school..To me its not the cost...I would not replace her even with some horrid damage...anything can be fixed...Counts how over board you go...Good thing with your car, grande and coupe bodies are cheap....I dont think you are too in the hole over...But it is going to cost some bucks for a new paint job and some body work..Atleast the motor and drive train sounds ok.....But with a good donner car...You should be able to make her like she was or better.

Ps...Like Hcode said below...I would go threw that rear end and make sure something else did not happen.

 

[72 R Code]

What a shame. It is good that you were not hurt seriously. Mine rolled against a tree in the back yard several years ago doing a lot of damage so I know a little of what you are feeling. I hope that you are adequately insured.

 

[marks73]

Gotta love those angels on the shoulder. Metal can be fixed. Glad your OK.

 

[madwevl]

Damn man that sucks!!! I'm definitely sorry to hear. If your near VA I know of a few parts cars and would be glad to help you find some parts

 

[72HCODE]

do you think the rear diff locked up on the left side and that sent you spinning? i'm thinking a wheel bearing locked up, sent power to the right side only and you started to spin out.

or maybe the drum locked up a spring broke. or did it really feel like a true hydroplaning?

really scary glad you are ok!

 

[pegasus]

WoW, Sorry to read and see about your poor mustang, take a few days, get a few quote and then way up your options , no need to rush.

 

[Boss1Ray]

Sorry to hear about the car damage. But I am relieved to know you are ok and did not hurt anyone else.

The car will take a lot of parts, money and time. But I have seen cars being brought back from the dead.

To help, you need to locate another car and use it for the parts/pieces. Others have already mentioned this...

It will truly be a labor of love.

Best of luck to you.

Ray

 

[CZ-75]

Glads you're OK, and that you didn't hit anyone else!!!!

I feel for you with the damage... Hopefully you have good insurance, and you can get your car fixed.

 

[imusa76]

OMG!!!! I'm glad to hear your OK!! and no one got hurt.

as for the car, you could find a doner car for parts, are you having a body shop do all of the work? or are you going to do some your self? does your insurance cover this kind of damage?

because if your good with metal or willing to learn you can save a ton of $$$ doing some of the work your self. (just a thought)

 

[BigBlue]

do you think the rear diff locked up on the left side and that sent you spinning? i'm thinking a wheel bearing locked up, sent power to the right side only and you started to spin out.

or maybe the drum locked up a spring broke. or did it really feel like a true hydroplaning?

really scary glad you are ok!

That could have been it, not sure. It all happened so fast. All I remember was feeling the rear come out to the right and then the car veering left, and it all felt so smooth that I was assured the car just purely hydroplaned. But now I'm gonna have to check the rear end, hadn't even thought of that. Thanks!

First of all...Glad to see you are safe and sound man!! And i hear ya there...My car i owned out of high school..To me its not the cost...I would not replace her even with some horrid damage...anything can be fixed...Counts how over board you go...Good thing with your car, grande and coupe bodies are cheap....I dont think you are too in the hole over...But it is going to cost some bucks for a new paint job and some body work..Atleast the motor and drive train sounds ok.....But with a good donner car...You should be able to make her like she was or better.

Ps...Like Hcode said below...I would go threw that rear end and make sure something else did not happen.

Thanks! Yeah, I'm thinking a donor car is definitely the way to go. It's certainly a lot cheaper than fabricating parts. Whatever happens, I need to find a way to fix her up.

What a shame. It is good that you were not hurt seriously. Mine rolled against a tree in the back yard several years ago doing a lot of damage so I know a little of what you are feeling. I hope that you are adequately insured.

Ouch :/ What a horrible feeling that must've been. Glad to see you got it back in shape. I need all the inspiration i can get at this point lol

Damn man that sucks!!! I'm definitely sorry to hear. If your near VA I know of a few parts cars and would be glad to help you find some parts

I don't think I'll be up there any time soon, but I'll definitely keep it in mind in case I do. Thanks man, I truly appreciate it!

Sorry to hear about the car damage. But I am relieved to know you are ok and did not hurt anyone else.

The car will take a lot of parts, money and time. But I have seen cars being brought back from the dead.

To help, you need to locate another car and use it for the parts/pieces. Others have already mentioned this...

It will truly be a labor of love.

Best of luck to you.

Ray

Thanks! This car has been worked on since day one, and although my financial situation hasn't allowed me to put much time or money into it, it's advanced slowly but surely. Now I need to find a way to move mountains to make something happen. But you know how they say... where there is a will, there is a way.

 

[Qcode351mach]

Collector car insurance with an agreed price policy will pay to repair or will total the car for the agreed price..Regular insurance isn't paying to fix it that's a given..will total & give you maybe a few grand if your lucky..The car needs to be disassembled put up on the frame machine & measured out do a frame damage assessment..& a thorough damage assessment for secondary damage..the sheet metal is no biggie..rough Idea on a complete job 20-30k by the time is all said & done..The roof.. firewall..floors ..door hinge pillers ..cowl..inner rockers are the areas alot of shops are going to miss..Hard call because of the sentimental value ..since you could buy a pretty mint coupe recreate the same car for the money your going to spend fixing this one..but with out really measuring disassemble it's all a estimate..once you really know the extent of the frame structural damage you can make an educated decision.

 

[BigBlue]

OMG!!!! I'm glad to hear your OK!! and no one got hurt.

as for the car, you could find a doner car for parts, are you having a body shop do all of the work? or are you going to do some your self? does your insurance cover this kind of damage?

because if your good with metal or willing to learn you can save a ton of $$$ doing some of the work your self. (just a thought)

My insurance sucks, but is all I could afford. Now I'm stuck with paying for repairs out of my own pocket. I guess I'll have to find a donor car and then find a shop to do the repairs. I do my own mechanical work, but know zero when it comes to body. Ironically, it has zero mechanical problems and lots of chassis/body work to be done. Lucky me!

 

[Jim and Jutta]

The good part is you weren't hurt and no one else was hit. It also speaks to your character that you're not blaming it on a animal or other car that caused you have the accident.

I'm assuming you're only carrying liability insurance by the tone of your note and your question if it's salvageable and how much do we think it would cost to fix. If you do have full coverage the insurance company should be providing that information. From what I'm seeing and the fact that it's a coupe taking it to a normal repair shop for full repairs would "probably" exceed the book value of the car...only you can determine what the sentimental value is.

http://www.hagerty.com/valuationtools/HVT/VehicleSearch/Report?vc=1020540

Jim

 

[Steven Harris]

Wow, a bad day. Glad to hear that no one was hurt.

Financially speaking - the car is too far gone to merit the work.

Can the car be fixed - absolutely.

Let's say it was just the rear that suffered and not the front - it would be fixed. Or, if it was just the front that suffered and not the rear - it would be fixed. I would choose to look at it like that BUT I would also be the one fixing it and not having to pay for someone to do the work for me.

Your attachment to the car is what makes the difference.

 

[BigBlue]

Collector car insurance with an agreed price policy will pay to repair or will total the car for the agreed price..Regular insurance isn't paying to fix it that's a given..will total & give you maybe a few grand if your lucky..The car needs to be disassembled put up on the frame machine & measured out do a frame damage assessment..& a thorough damage assessment for secondary damage..the sheet metal is no biggie..rough Idea on a complete job 20-30k by the time is all said & done..The roof.. firewall..floors ..door hinge pillers ..cowl..inner rockers are the areas alot of shops are going to miss..Hard call because of the sentimental value ..since you could buy a pretty mint coupe recreate the same car for the money your going to spend fixing this one..but with out really measuring disassemble it's all a estimate..once you really know the extent of the frame structural damage you can make an educated decision.

Thanks Q, at least that gives me a basic notion of what I'm getting myself into. At this point I'm not even considering getting rid of the car. I'm just mentally preparing myself for the ridiculous amount of dough I need to dish out to get her in shape. Over the years I've put more money into it than it's worth, so I'm obviously not looking into getting a return on my investment. I guess now I have a legitimate excuse to fix all that rust it accumulated sitting on my parents' driveway all these years

The good part is you weren't hurt and no one else was hit. It also speaks to your character that you're not blaming it on a animal or other car that caused you have the accident.

I'm assuming you're only carrying liability insurance by the tone of your note and your question if it's salvageable and how much do we think it would cost to fix. If you do have full coverage the insurance company should be providing that information. From what I'm seeing and the fact that it's a coupe taking it to a normal repair shop for full repairs would "probably" exceed the book value of the car...only you can determine what the sentimental value is.

http://www.hagerty.com/valuationtools/HVT/VehicleSearch/Report?vc=1020540

Jim

Yup, only have liability insurance. Not the smartest choice, but it was all I could afford. It was either that or not drive the car at all. Now I'm thinking I should've gone with the latter -__- Thanks for that link to the value chart. I guess it will totally cost more to repair the car than what it's worth. But the sentimental value is 3 million dollars. So on that note... it should be a bargain!

 

[Don C]

Glad you're OK. Maybe now would be a good time to head for Las Vegas while your luck is high.

You may also luck out on the extent of the damage. From the pictures it doesn't look like the A and C pillars nor the roof are tweaked or wrinkled and the windshield appears to be ok and not cracked nor popped lose. So, with a little more luck, maybe mostly sheet metal.