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Like the thread title says, my '89 was totaled after a driver turned left in front of me. I just had the insurance assessor out and got the numbers. As much as I love the car, I don't want to dig myself into a hole by trying to get it back on the road, so here I am asking for opinions. The write-up estimated $11.5k to repair with new/reman parts, $9.3k value on the car, and $1900 for me to keep the car, so $7.4k payout total if I keep it. I figure that getting a donor could cover most of the bigger items, though the color of the car will make it hard to find one that wouldn't need paint (only 9200 medium blue metallic cars made, according to Corvette Central).
As it is, the frame rail that runs parallel to the engine looks straight but the upper A-arm mounting points are bent and thus unusable. I will be doing some teardown this weekend to get a better idea if the frame appears bent, and will have it checked by a body shop before declaring it roadworthy, but for this exercise assume the frame is okay. As far as I can tell, the front suspension cradle is entirely separate from the frame rail and could be replaced in my garage. The drivetrain is in perfect shape, it even scraped its way back to my garage under its own power. The A-arms themselves look straight but it's hard to tell and I'd replace them in case there's damage I can't see, plus any donor and most used cradle listings include them. Front leaf likely needs replaced as I know these don't hold up if they're even scratched too deep.
I could go on, but it seems like $1500 for a non-paint-matched donor (minus what I can scrape back with a part out) plus $1000-2000 for painting, plus another $1000-2000 for misc odds and ends. Am I missing anything big? Am I signing myself up for financial torture by following my heart? Absent a repair, is it worth $1900 to part this out? I'm very curious to see what you all think.
Like the thread title says, my '89 was totaled after a driver turned left in front of me. I just had the insurance assessor out and got the numbers. As much as I love the car, I don't want to dig myself into a hole by trying to get it back on the road, so here I am asking for opinions. The write-up estimated $11.5k to repair with new/reman parts, $9.3k value on the car, and $1900 for me to keep the car, so $7.4k payout total if I keep it. I figure that getting a donor could cover most of the bigger items, though the color of the car will make it hard to find one that wouldn't need paint (only 9200 medium blue metallic cars made, according to Corvette Central).
As it is, the frame rail that runs parallel to the engine looks straight but the upper A-arm mounting points are bent and thus unusable. I will be doing some teardown this weekend to get a better idea if the frame appears bent, and will have it checked by a body shop before declaring it roadworthy, but for this exercise assume the frame is okay. As far as I can tell, the front suspension cradle is entirely separate from the frame rail and could be replaced in my garage. The drivetrain is in perfect shape, it even scraped its way back to my garage under its own power. The A-arms themselves look straight but it's hard to tell and I'd replace them in case there's damage I can't see, plus any donor and most used cradle listings include them. Front leaf likely needs replaced as I know these don't hold up if they're even scratched too deep.
I could go on, but it seems like $1500 for a non-paint-matched donor (minus what I can scrape back with a part out) plus $1000-2000 for painting, plus another $1000-2000 for misc odds and ends. Am I missing anything big? Am I signing myself up for financial torture by following my heart? I'm very curious to see what you all think.
I'll start with your cost estimate for paint. Triple to quadruple that. Part it!!!
I'll start with your cost estimate for paint. Triple to quadruple that. Part it!!!
This is another worry. I'd only want to paint the replaced parts, assuming I can't get a color-matched donor, but I'd heard that Corvettes can be very costly to paint due to the fiberglass. Worth noting however that I'd only paint the bumper and hood, the rest of the car wouldn't be touched.
This is another worry. I'd only want to paint the replaced parts, assuming I can't get a color-matched donor, but I'd heard that Corvettes can be very costly to paint due to the fiberglass.
lt will cost more to paint and repair it than it will be worth in the end. Part it!
Buy back and part out. Be forewarned, parting out a vehicle sucks. It takes a lot of time and the amount of space required is massive once you start pulling things apart. it is also a major time suck of cleaning and taking photos, and then posting things either here or on the forum. Also it seems as if people have scaled back on purchasing from part outs unless it is a smoking deal, which means you worked for pennies on the dollar. Then at the end you have a shell full of parts you couldn't sell that you need to dispose of.
But for the repair
Front bumper
Hood
Hood hinge(s)
Driving light
Side Marker
impact absorber
impact bar
frame horn
inner fender front middle and rear
Everything in the front of the driver side nose. Horn, EVAP etc
Cradle
Upper A-Arm
Lower A-Arm
Spindle/knuckle
Upper and lower ball joints
Driver fender panel
Misc hardware and other small parts not revealed until removed/inspected
Is it repairable by you highly probably if you have a nice tool kit and are a fair mechanic. As said the cradle and a ton of parts if the wings are bent that will require a body shop that can tug it back and if needed cut and weld up replacement (not cheap) but doable.
Now the reluctant option, if you can do it for a no loss of cash maybe, but in the end you have a car with a savage/wreck title so unless you just like the car great. But it's street value is Hurt.
Unless it's a manual and has a D44 rear-end, I'd be on the fence for even parting it out...I understand the motor/trans, interior, etc would get you to $1,900+ in value for what's salvageable, but like mentioned already, it takes time and space and if you're not a true DIY'er/experienced mechanic you'll be in over your head! What really concerns me about your photos, is the targa top split in half!!!! If that happened because of the impact energy transfer and not being directly hit by the other vehicle....the whole body/frame is probably more tweaked than just needing a new cradle and A-arms!!! My personal opinion is, after a hit like that, it'll never be the same, no matter what you do!!! (I realize there are ways and very talented people that can do amazing work, but I wouldn't want it afterwards) I've seen a lot of REALLY nice lower mile C4s for $8-10k lately (especially with winter coming quickly)....so unless there's a lot of bolt-ons, mint interior, fresh motor, etc and you're an experienced knuckle buster....I'd wash my hands of it, get your $9,300 check and start shopping!!!! Just my $0.02 worth, good luck, I feel for ya👍
Last edited by '78CorvetteS.A.; 10-13-2023 at 09:11 PM.
I didn't catch the roof damage, I don't think that is totally frame tweak I kinda think someone has. Hell of a Headache from no or slide out of belt but the accident could have bent it enough to crack the roof and something blew it out
long short car did bend beyond the firewall, now how well did it settle back to normal.
I would not part it out after the shipping prices and fees went way up plus seller protections went down (on Ebay). Some years back it was fun to do and even made money on shipping under cost.
All the replies to this thread are good ones!!! One more thought, to the OP, you're talking about buying a $1,500 donor car (if you could find the right one for that)....and you've been told that essentially, now your '89 is a $1,900 donor car, plus all the other expenses, your time, shop/s time, etc$, etc$, etc$....You have a formula of, take 2 donor cars (your's and parts car) + pile of time + pile of $ = Salvage title '89 C4 with a total cost of $10-$15k and a value of $4-$5k....That's why I suggest finding the nicest $10k, NO-ACCIDENT C4 you can! This will be the best all around way to get you as close to your pre-accident ownership position as possible! I do like the suggested idea of selling it "complete", yourself...this will add more money to your new C4 fund👍
Last edited by '78CorvetteS.A.; 10-13-2023 at 09:47 PM.
I would do this ....... post a snapshot of the SPID and mention your location. Gather maybe a couple quick offers for the car 'AS IS / WHERE IS' and see what might happen. You've 3 likely very nice wheels with center caps and a fourth cap. An '89 M6 depending on when built could be a 3.33 D44 and an often sought after part.
I agree about having a conversation with the insurance company regarding value. The other driver was charged? Your conversation is with his/hers or your carrier? Car is in a storage facility now generating accumulating storage or was it moved to your desired location?
Location might be everything - where are you located?
10-13-2023, 04:00 PM
Totaled car, considering options
