Ghost Rider Jay

as many of you may now i wrecked the front of my brand new vette a month and a half ago and i am still waiting on the front rails. other members have brought it to my attention that the car needs to be stripped in order to replace these parts and that they are probably planning on just cutting and welding on the new rails and calling it a day ruining the cars structural integrity. with that being said...i luckily purchased gap insurance on the car. the damages are currently at $17,777.00 with this half *** welding abortion. if i can get the insurance to total the car and then the gap insurance take over the rest of the money....will i get my down payment back to put into getting a new one??? how does this gap insurance work? what are my options or rights??? please help! thanks guys!

Pork Fat

Gap Insurance is designed to pay the difference in what you owe and what the cars current actual cash value is (before the wreck).So, if you owe more than the car is worth, the G I kicks in.

Pork Fat

Sent you a PM.

tjackson82

I know that gap insurance is usually included in most leases, but I'm looking for gap insurance on a straigght purchase. My insurer, State Farm, doesn't offer gap or replacement value insurance. Can anyone point me toward a place where I can buy either gap or replacement insurance as an addenda to my current policy?

PhotoLad

I'm really sorry to hear about your accident, most importantly you're OK
We do have some recent experence in this type of wreck last year with our 06 vert. It was 3 weeks old less than 500 miles and some guy in a Mustang got sideways at an intersection, over corrected, kept on the gas and got airborne across the center divide and landed on our front end while my wife and daughter were waiting at the light. They were OK thank goodness.

So the car goes to our Chevy dealer with a supposedly decent body shop, and they say it is a big job but they can do it. I call a few other good body shops and they say the job is too big and won't do it. None of the other shops liked the idea of cutting the frame rails under the seats and welding in a new section, especially since it is a vert and the only real structure.

The chevy dealer assures me it will be OK and their guy has the training to weld it, later I find out from other dealers that training consisted of watching a 1 1/2 hour video OK change of plan, I assure them they don't want me as a customer, because they've never seen anyone as **** as me and they probably can't make the car perfect. So please do whatever it takes to make this car total, and I may buy the next one from you

So after a 2 hour teardown their estimate is 34K and could go more after further disassembly. My insurance AAA, comes up with 29K and knows it may go higher. Before we got dollar amounts, I told AAA I wanted it to total and they said only if the repairs exceed 50% of value. It didn't bother them it was a vert, and said the repairs were guarnteed for as long as we owned the car. Gee that's very reassuring when the car folds in half in the next accident and someone loses a life

I don't now your insurance company or state laws, but here, by law, over 80% had to be a total. I was very happy with our 50%

So they total the car, pay us MSRP minus $154 for miles used, and we order an 07 and are even happier with the AO over the DSOM Bought from forum vendors both times and a GMID, did I mention we're happy I was real worried about the depreceaction, but our insurance said less than 6 moths old and they the use MSRP. They even reimbursed the sales tax

Jay, you need to get a better estimate on your repairs, and if necessary, demand if the frame rails need the be replaced, they start with full rails and replace all the componets on the frame, not cut the rails. That may change their tune. I don't think anyone would want the car back after all that work, remove the interior, center console, carpet, cut out the floor pans, cut frame rails, remove engine, cut and re-weld subframe below windshield, take apart dash for airbags carrier.

Talk to your insurance company, your car is so new and closer to totaling because the coupe is about 8K less than the vert. You may not need the gap. Your damages look even worse than ours. I'm posting some pics for you to compare, have they done a teardown on yours ?

Nothing appeared to touch the front of our engine, your's I'm not so sure. Besides our frame rails, was power steering rack, abs brake master, cracked engine cradle.

Good luck, hope to hear back from you.

Greg

shopdog

A properly engineered joint, properly welded, can be stronger than the original. But those two "propers" are the gotcha. A simple perpendicular butt weld won't do. It will stress crack in service. A proper repair requires stepping the joint, running the weld beads primarily longitudinally rather than transversely, and using interrupted beads rather than running a continuous bead (the latter creates a serious stress riser because the expansion rate of the weld will be different from the bulk metal).

There are many thousands of large trucks, trailers, and industrial equipment out there running with rewelded frames. When the job was done properly, they almost never break again at the weld. The joint is actually stronger than the base metal. But there are also some nightmare repairs out there, and they do break at the weld because they weren't engineered or executed properly.

There are handbooks and detailed technical specs from manufacturers telling the welder how to properly engineer the joint. Following these instructions is not hard, one merely has to be competent to read and execute shop drawings. But hand welding is an art that requires constant practice to maintain competence. A guy who does this sort of repair every day will have honed skills, but a guy in a body shop who does structural welding maybe twice a year may not.

I do every sort of welding, but I don't do it every day. If I have to do a critical weld, I'll practice it several times on scrap before attempting the actual weld. I usually notice a big difference between the first practice weld and the last as my hand-eye skills get tuned up for the task. The best welders I know all do this when tackling a welding job they haven't done in a while. A lot of body shop guys won't take the time to do this. Either they believe they are God's gift to welding and don't need to practice, or they are under so much time pressure they simply skip this step.

not08crmanymore

when you finance they usually ask if you want it.Talk to whomever you financed with.

Cjunkie

Gap Ins can only be purchased AT THE TIME OF SALE and will cover and will pay whatever your insurance company wont in the time of a total. on a Corvette (or any car really today) i always recommend gap unless your putting a sizeable downstroke (about 10k on a Vette) and a MANUFACTURERS SERVICE CONTRACT, but were crooked dealers.....things like this happen, wed dont plan it nor do we want it but its life, good part is your ok chatting with us. hope things works out.

Cjunkie

Gap is included in most MANUFACTURERS leases, it is not included in most BANK-LENDING INSTITUTION, leases, so unless you leases from the OEM/MANFACTURER you need to buy gap ins. BTW it can only be bought AT THE TIME OF SALE.

mich150

If your buying gap insurance you can't afford the car or really dumb.

yarbsea

You have no flippen idea what you are saying. You are the idiot.

People with money SHOULD finance the entire price of the vehicle, and get GAP coverage...and here's why...

If you finance the whole thing with GAP and total it the first month (or whenever), you are out NOTHING but the sales tax. Enjoy!

If you put 20k down on the purchase or even stranger pay the whole thing in full, then when you crash it - ENJOY eating your 10k loss.

Think before you make stuff up

mneblett

I have to admit this is one of the most ignorant posts I've seen for a while -- care to provide any logic or substance to support your bald assertion?? Or should we all just assume this was simply another stupid troll post?

BTW, your credibility might rise a scintilla if you at least learned a bit of English (it's "you're," not "your," and there's a missing "are" at the end of the sentence).

I can't wait for the intellectually stimulating response

Seeker135

Some major insurance company is advertising full replacement coverage for your car. Similar to marine insurance "new for old" I guess. 'Course CRS kicked in and I can't remember the name but you can probably Google it.
Good luck.

gilly6993

do you even own a vette?

mich150

That's why I pay cash and put liability insurance on mine. Oh, and why I can afford my cars. I just joined this forum and have never in my life see so many people want to beat on their chest about their new car and how many vettes they have had etc... It's a car people. Thanks for the english lesson, I stand corrected. There are a few who know what they are talking about on this board and it is a great source of information. The other 90% are kids and people who live paycheck to paycheck to own a Corvette. Each to their own I guess. See ya.

BigGeek

Nope. You won't get your down payment back. Gap insurance just allows you to walk away owing nothing if you are upside down on your loan.

What you wanted was "replacement insurance" which is incredibly more expensive, and few companies offer it on cars.

The good news is if you have Allstate (I think it's Allstate), if you totalled it <3000 miles, they replace it with an equivalent NEW one.

BigGeek

Trust the ShopDog. There is no one I trust more when it comes to repairs.

I always worry about the frame being knocked out of kilter further back.

VetteR1

Simple math on what will happen if you still owe:

Insurance to pays = $40,000.00
Loan = $45,000.00
GAP = Will pay the $5000.00
No GAP= you pay the $5000.00

I included GAP insurance and refinanced the vehicle loan from the Credit Union. The GAP insurance cost $175.00 and I was able to refinance the loan at 6.0% rather than 8.5% rate from GM. I purchased GAP from GM that charged by $850.00, I was able to cancel and get a refund of $800.00 from it. Good luck!

wbauerfeld

I too just joined this forum and I have found it to be very helpful, friendly, and intelectual. Several different backgrounds of people with one thing in common, owning a great car! On the topic, I just bought me first Vette this summer. I have wanted one since I was a kid, and have been planning/saving for some time now. When the 0% for 60 mo. came available I jumped on it. Picked out my Vette and drove it away without paying a dime. Yep, financed the whole thing, sales tax, plates, and all. Why not take Free Use of someone elses money, makes sense to me. My money is earning interest. SO OF COURSE I bought the GAP insurance. It was less than 1% of the whole loan. I have never bought GAP insurance b4 but this really made sense to me. I spent $500 on GAP insurance, but If I invest $60K to earn 5% interest for one year that nets me $2500 in one year. Are you following the math Mich150 or am I going to fast? You paid for your car and how much income will you make off of that money this year??? you said "If your buying gap insurance you can't afford the car or really dumb." Mich150, I can afford the car, and I will make and extra $2500 this year alone in investing the money for my vette. who is really dumb now?

User 020720

Only thing dumb is your post.