corvettemaster

Got off work today and was driving home. Some guy pulled out and ran right into my passenger side. Then the guy takes off never to be seen again. It was dark and I didn't see what kind of vehicle or the license plate number. It was too dark. Some guy in a firebird behind told police it was a Chevy pick-up truck. Pretty bad damage to my car, but probably not to his truck. Fiberglass is broken all the way from the front fender, down the door, and to the rear quarter panel. The state and local police are all investigating. So far they haven't found him. He hit me at about 8:05, and I just got home from talking to about 5 different police officers for over an hour and a half. Hopefully they find him, other wise I am screwed. I do have full coverage, but I am only 16 years old and my insurance is going to sky rocket! This goes to tell you that it doesn't matter how well you take care of your car, there still something bound to happen. This was my baby and I was about to cry after I saw the damage. :sad: :sad: I took such good care of this 82K original miles, never hit, perfect example of a 1981. It will never drive the same though. All the hard work I put into is gone. Especially if the insurance company "totals" it.

I'll try to get some pics soon. It will probably be a couple of days before I can get any developed.

I am one pissed off individual right now!!! :mad :mad :mad :mad :mad :mad :mad :mad :mad

MotorHead

Hope they find the guy. Just remember as one Corvette shop owner told me,
"Anything can be fixed"

This just happened and it pretty traumatic right now, in a few days it will get better, trust me. Just an example of what happend to me a young girl pulled out of her driveway without looking and poked a hole in my door. I ended up with a new paint job ( I still had to pay some ) that I would never have never been able to afford :D

stickboy

that sux :mad I hope they find the guy

faster69

man that bites!! glad you didn't get hurt. I say - lets find the guy that hit your car and :smash: :smash: :smash: :smash: :smash: both his legs :mad :mad :mad

Alwyn678

:cry :cry That has to be my biggest fear...A hit and run driver....I have had countless cars smashed while in parking lots so I kinda know how ya feel .......It really Sux

81VETTOM

I am working to finish mine up, from a similar problem. Are you going to fix or do you know yet?

MikeC

Sorry to hear about your car. It sucks about the hit and run, whats happening to people in todays society? Nobody wants to take responsibility for their actions!

Your insurance won't go up will it? I can't see that happening when you have witnesses saying that it was not your fault.

ylose

a claim is a claim in the insurance eyes...3-6 months his insurance will bounce up. Its what we call highway roberry around here...no one regulates them and they can jack up your rates as far as they want to...if you dont like you have to go elsewhere....and it will soon happen there....and the worst is it wasnt even your fault...but you claimed it...thats all that matters.

I wish they were regulated like everything else....you cant drive without insurance(well your dumb if you do)...and hung by the ***** from them if you do claim with them !! :eek:


I got an even better one....my insurance claimed an accident that didnt even happen...then raised my insurance.....Its on my record now...nothing I can do about it......I tried everything....they have no tickets, names, or events..(cause it never happened)....nothing....but they created a claim and said I had underbody damage on my truck.....(if a frame is damaged they have to total it by default)....I even said well if I have a claim of underbody damage then total my truck and send me my money.....they refused.......lol...i got screwed over both ways ! :smash:



[Modified by ylose, 1:38 PM 2/20/2002]

SprintCarDriver

:cry So sorry to hear this. Hope they find the fool and nuke him..
:mad :mad :mad

dman535

Just for S#its and Giggles, camp out at the same location around the same time. I have no idea what kind of traffic goes through there. But you might spot a Chevy Pickup truck with signs of damage. Never know forensics can be awfully telling and this guy with the truck is in a world of hurt, especially for a hit and run.

Corz

back in july I hit a deer with my 69.. being 18 years old i thought that i wouldnt be able to have insurance after this (going 85 in a 35 and smashing a deer) the officer asked me how fast i was going and i told him about 50.. he looked at where the deer was and where my car was resting and called bs. but told me that he wouldnt write me up for speeding or anything because i was balling my eyes out (who says it only works for females). so i got out of a ticket that way. Talked with the insurance company (which is Hagerty Classic) stating that you must have 5 years of experience to be on a policy so it was under poppa's name. They simply asked me if i was a licenced driver in the state of CT which i am, and said ok the car is covered with me driving.

off to the body shop for an estimate.. 8400 BUCKS (no deer jokes please) insurance company was going to total the car because it was more then 75% of the value. talked to the insurance adjuster and my boss (at the body shop) dropped the insurance estimate to 7500 bucks.. (i wasnt gunna lose my baby) and i opted to only have the bodywork primed which saved me some cash, and payed the 500 bucks to bring the car home.. primed the nose that nite, painted it the next nite (i had a crap load of white left over) and assembled the nose (bumper, grille) the day after.. (got it home on a tuesday, drove it to school on friday.. (the next month, my rates went up 20 bucks and he value went up 2 Grand.. go figure)

See if you can opt to only have the body work primed, then shell out the cash to have the side painted.. it would be worth it in the long run in case the insurace company wants to total it.

JackCooper

Hmm... if my car got hit and the insurance wanted to total it out, I'd
let them...but only after I pulled my built 350 and dropped in a POS
305 (that runs) I happen to have sitting in my junk pile.

And I'd pull my cd player and stuff too.
Insurance would never know the difference, being as they never asked
what type of motor is in the car.

After all, its not like they figure in what you've done to the motor's innards.

When my mom wrecked her 94 Le Baron back in 96, she let the insurance
total it out, and then bought it back from the salvage yard for 500 bucks!
LOL.

We fixed it for 2k and pocketed the rest of the money.

corvettemaster

Well, here is the update:
As of right now, I have not turned it into my insurance company as they will total it out for sure. No doubt in my mind. I drove it to go get estimates after school today. The body shop told me that it would be at least $8500, if not in the low 5 figure range. I took some pics today and hopefully will get them developed soon. The body shop said I would have to replace the whole doghouse, passenger side mirror and door, rear quarter panel, rear deck, plus more. The part of the body that goes up between the t-tops and the rear window (don't know the proper name) even is cracked from the impact. Plus when you open the passenger door, there is holes and cracks EVERYWHERE on the inside part of the car where the door shuts and locks. It is a mess, but the car still drives. My rear tail lights on the passenger side don't work though. Go figure. I still don't know what to do. The police do have a pretty good lead. I'll keep you all updated.

81VETTOM

on mine the insurance estimate from the body shop that was to originally paint it, was to total, basically they did not want to do the work. I ended up getting a front clip, and having a restoration shop do the work. Mine looked bad, but heck it really wasn't that much structural problems just busted fiberglass. Now I am really close to paint and on the road again. I don't carry collision, why use their money and I pay for it even more. If I wreck it, I got to pay. I hope you can get it fixed and get the jerk that hit you, but if not, you may want to consider buying another, 81 and using you nice parts to restore it, and parting out the rest. Not really great options, but you are in a understanding crowd. If you do decide to part out keep us other 81's in mind. Best of luck.

dennisr

When my 81 was hit a few weeks I too was in a panic. I thought i just wanted rid of the car and not deal with it. After a few days I realized I couldnt part with it and it's in the shop right now. My estimate was just under 7K and they didnt say anything about totaling it. Not sure what number they would use for that. I am turning this into a positive by paying the extra to have the entire car repainted and even add a little custom work. When it's done it will look better than ever. Hope it all works out for you.

Good Luck,

Frankenvette

I was hit once my a drunk driver who then took off down the street. We were stopped and the guy never even used his brakes. Just slammed right into the rear of our car. I jumped out of my wife's car, ran down the street and caught the guy. Pulled him out of the drivers side window. I wanted to beat the living sh*& out of him, but several witnesses came running behind me. I just knew I would hurt him and get thrown in jail myself. Hopefully the police will solve your problem by finding the guy and allowing you to claim on his insurance if he has any. Good luck!

Regards,

Jim

MikeZiggy

My 80 got totalled in December, I was really too distraught to talk about it on the forum and then just decided to keep it to myself. I never wanted the thing back, the damage was really bad and I did not have the patience to wait for it to be repaired. I also realized a vette that had been hit this bad would not have the monitary value a normal one would , it did carry a lot of sentimental value though. I got 13,000$ for the car and the insurance wanted 4,700$ to buy it back. I decided to just look for another one, still havent found it. I know exactly how you feel, its real rough but you do get over it. My insurance rates did not go up but thats because the other drivers insurance covered it. If I get in another accident I become high risk and the insurance goes up. My advice is to keep your head up and make sure you get lots from the insurance company, dont except anything your not happy with.

corvettemaster

Well the car is going to be totaled. The police have a real good lead. They found a guy in a vehicle that was described hitting me, and it had fiberglass fibers all over it. They want a sample from my car and they are going to test them. It could take up to 4 months though :eek: Bad thing is, I know the guy they suspect, and just can't believe it could be him. He is 18 though, and will go to jail if it was him. I have heard from several people, that he was riding around that night and was smokin. :crazy:
I have put so much work into the car, and would really like to keep it, but my Dad told me yesterday to forget about it and start looking for another one. There is no doubt it will be another Vette. I don't know what year. I have several options. I could buy another C3, as in 75-82. Or I could go with a C4, as in late 80's, early 90's. I probably won't be able to find one with a LT-1 in my price range though. There is one paticular one I am looking at though, an 82 CE. I always wanted one, and am thinking about getting one of them.
Any ideas on what I should do? I could fix the '81, buy another C3, or go with a C4.

Richard Cooper

CorvetteMaster,
Very sorry to hear about your accident. Glad that you were not hurt. Hopefully the police will get the idiot that did it. If he goes to jail,well too bad. He can't be any kind of a friend or he would have never left you there without stopping to make sure you were OK. I also like the 82's. Take care and good luck.