nsogiba

I had the really unfortunate luck of being sideswiped by another driver while in the first 20 miles of a 1000 mile round trip to Boston and back. The driver fled the scene but I was able to catch up to him and he admitted fault. Police responded immediately after we called in his plate number and were very helpful in resolving the situation.

Now my 2000 FRC with 125K has numerous scrapes, cracks, and damage on the driver's side. I wonder if it will be totalled. Appraisal is scheduled for this Saturday. It wasn't a show car but cleaned up really nicely.

Damaged area. The left rear quarter is cracked fully through in 2 locations, and is barely hanging on.




Wheel has a scrape along the circumference, clearcoat has been scratched off on the perimeter



Mirror has a scuff


Heavy transfer on the outside of the door skin. The inside of the door where the latch is located is cracked through as well.


Sidemarker and rear bumper are banged up.








Now the worst - the rocker panel by the door striker is also cracked. Not severely, but enough to be very noticeable. My fear is that the car won't be totaled; I would assume that fixing the car and trying to sell it with accident history will be very difficult, unless at a deep discount as a track rat or the like. It's really a shame because the car was in such nice shape for its age and mileage. It runs and drives perfectly, we drove it home after the incident.

cv67

If its fixed right I wouldnt worry about resale much
Hit and runs....cowards. Had to chase down a trash truck and a moving van once for that. Illegals, no license both of them.

4XLR8N

Sorry man...that really sucks

Phanni

The fender is easy to replace, If you're lucky, you might even find one in black from a source like Vettenuts. I can't tell if the rear facia is damaged or not. They are easy to find and replace though. I doubt they'll total it, and if they do, I'd consider a buy back (it'll come with a salvage title) The door appears OK and the wheels are abundant in the aftermarket . A good fender should be less than $400, replacement labor not included, but a knowledgeable body man should do it in less than an hour.

Good luck.

Route99

Bummer!
Hate that you were hit and even worse that you had to chase down the other driver.
Glad the police were helpful. At least their report clearly shows your insurance company you were not at fault.
I agree with cuisinartvette; body damage, properly repaired, may not be an issue when you decide to sell. I've bought cars before with minor body damage and not been concerned at all. (Frame damage is another story, of course). If you were planning on keeping the car before the accident, I'd suggest you go ahead and keep it after the repairs are made. At least, if you decide to sell the car later on, keeping it for now may help a prospective buyer understand you had no concerns about the car after the repairs.
Best wishes that the repairs go smoothly and quickly.

Mickeyrx70

knewblewkorvette

Well that isn't going to buff out. Lower rocker, rear fender, and wheel replacement. Possible door and rear bumper too.

I think it will be close to being totaled. KBB lists your car at about $10K
https://www.kbb.com/chevrolet/corvet...condition=good
NADA is about the same.
http://www.nadaguides.com/Cars/2000/...dtop-2D/Values

Tsumi

Someone rear ended my Chevy Tracker a few years ago. Total repair cost was about $2000. Car was worth maybe $2500. The guy's insurance company didn't even question it or ask what car it was, they just wrote me the check for $2000. Although in your case, the damage is significantly more, so they might be more stringent about it.

Efx

Doesn't look good....

Mayor111

Anyone can get into and/or cause an accident. It happens...and I would never say to play games IF he didn't flee the scene...

If it were me - I would tell him, your pressing charges for fleeing the scene of an accident unless he pays for a total repair, repaint, new rims, and full alignment and tune-up.

Make him crap in his pants and learn a lesson. I did that when a guy hit my Caddy convertible and took off - I chased him till he literally ran out of gas...and I got an entire new paint job, new convertible top, repainted rims and new tires - just cause he was an a$$... Cost him over $6000 out of pocket when the damage he ran from was only $1200. $6000 was alot cheaper to him than me pressing charges...(cause he was a doctor).

Again, I dont promote being a jerk like this...but the more you teach these idiots a lesson, the less of them there will be...

nsogiba

None of this is necessary. The police arrived quickly and ticketed him for failure to yield and fleeing the scene. I have his insurance information and the police report states that he admitted to being 100% at fault.

Crosis

Dont approach this through emotion. If you werent planning on selling the car before the accident then dont think about the resale now. These are not collector cars and the values go down yearly. Look at it from another angle. Now you have an excuse to get flared fenders. Its just cosmetic and can be fixed and you can have an even nicer Vette.

~Josh

Value with those miles is close to bottomed out anyways.

Personally that doesn't look bad. Easily fixed.

Proletariat designs

Don't worry about the damage and resale. Heck just show any potential buyer your progress/ build thread and they should have no reservations about buying that car. I sure would not. The damage looks worse than it is. I don't see any structural damage just cosmetic .... but I'm looking at cell phone pic over the Internet. Not the best judge. Personal I'd keep the car. Even if I had to buy it back. And +1 on wider fenders

neutron82

the damage really isn't bad at all and could be fixed fairly easy and for probably less than what insurance will pay out

Jonnysugar

I had someone back into the same rear quarter panel. I had 2 body shops that estimated it at $1200-1300. The sad thing is those quarter panels, when you can find them, are pretty much $300-$500 all day long, but they charge the insurance co's $900, just to give you an idea of markup. Insurance found it not to be my fault. I doubt they will total it out. Good luck with your claim.

Vetteman Jack

Just see what the adjuster and insurance company says and go from there. Does not look all that bad so it may be worth it to get it fixed and continue to enjoy the car.

Jeff T.

Sorry to see this happen... Buttholes that run have a special place for them.

Rico7142

~Josh

Add the Magnesium wheels back on the car and resale will be higher (with the light damage) than it was with the wheels on it now.