My shop, AutoNation Collision Center Miami, is certified by GM

Thanks for the encouraging words!

I am 95% sure the kid was texting, in Miami texting is the norm. I was standstill for a while.
I have seen police officers texting....

When the kid open his door he was a bit disoriented because the airbag. He had his phone in his hand.

 

Thanks, I asked for a reason:
I have been lucky enough in 60 years of driving NOT to have an accident with another car. A few what I call "off road excursions" but that is when I was driving aggressively and only had my car/Jeep at risk! No harm to other than the car! I still drive aggressively at 77 but only test max lateral "g" force where there is an open field to the outside and no people. And never with anyone but my self in the car.

I also attribute my record, in addition to luck, to watching all mirrors all the time. With so many distracted drivers on the road NOT easy today. I have my iPhone set to not receive calls when moving. Never setup Blue Tooth so I would not be tempted!

My current MO when approaching a Red stop light is if someone is behind or coming up fast enough to be on my bumper I slow to a crawl and creep-up to the light so they don't have a stopped car. Know it's a PIA for some as in SC we are "allowed" to use a phone when the car is stopped, as at a light! I see folks who have stopped with thumps working away and the phone on top of the wheel as the light turns green. Someone behind beeps!

We recently had a young gal killed at an intersection on the 4 lane highway near my home when she was crossing the intersection from a 2 lane rural road. The officer said he sees accidents that way all the time. Folks see a Green light, then get a text message and even if they just look to see who called the light turns Red, they go through it never seeing it was Red. In this case a log truck was on the highway, and no way can they stop quickly! Shame.

I'm afraid some young folk (old as well) won't make getting older. Reminded of our Co-Managing Director of our German operation. I was on their Board an frequently visited customers with him. Hated to drive with him, as he only drove one way on the Autobahn- foot to the floor. Typically we were going ~150 mph in the biggest engine Mercedes (company car) and passing trucks at 3 times their speed. Cars behind the truck would pull out in the "fast lane" to get around and he would have to use max braking. Once day I asked how often that happens and he said NOT Often, people that do that don't last long! His attitude was survival of the fittest!

Wish they would treat distracted driving like DUI with steep insurance penalties etc. Until they do we'll just lose, particularly young folks- shame!

 

Because of the strike imposed "parts embargo" it didn't make a difference time wise, but there was a local shop that I initially had my car taken to. It was there I was shown the frame rail damage, and then told by the owner that they wouldn't be able to do the necessary repairs because they weren't certified to do aluminum frame work. He had done work on my wife's and daughter's SUV's so I knew him and he was upfront about the situation. That's when the car was moved to the shop that's doing work. It's a shop that is certified and has worked on my cars since 2000, a shop who's reputation and work I have been familiar with for a long time. The "certification" conversation must be had, but I'm sure your insurance company would point it out if no one else did.

 

^^^
When I interviewed several shops for this possible book, the one who does a lot of Vettes in our area said he did not do enough new ones to pay for the equipment training and tech time to deal with certification. He recommend talking to the shop in town that is certified.

I interviewed that manager and one thing he said was the car companies insist on all OEM parts and the insurance companies have to agree. Even ones who will typically say to use "equivalent parts." He said you must also follow the manufacturers procedures which always call for knew parts.

Talked to another from out of state who does lots of Vettes and other aluminum frame repair, often front clips. I asked if it were possible to repair say a dented aluminum rear cross member rather than replace, which might involve removing the rear tub, a major job. He said he just went thorough that with a Vette that was rear ended and just had a dent in the rear cross member. He first asked the owner who was happy to have it simply repaired. Then he called the insurance adjuster who looked at the damage and agreed to the repair (and the lower cost!) He said it's really up to your reputation and the adjuster, if it is allowed. FWIW

 

There are two tubs on a coupe. The bottom, the storage area. Mine was cracked in a few places, and the top "tub" that attaches the hatch assembly to the car, that also had to be replaced. My insurance company only allows OEM parts. A different policy would have gotten the parts and the job done faster, but what kind of car would I have gotten in return? Probably not one that I would be happy with.

 

Got the details of the repair bill. The Frame part is the number 5. Also the Shop has to "pull and square" the frame,. Frame work takes 13 hours.

 

forgot to add this two "small" frame parts, it is weird that the insurance did not declared total loss. I prefer keep the car becaue I was looking for this color, M7, Z07 and stage 2 aero package

 

That's the top & bottom tubs I mentioned in post #45. Hopefully you'll set a chance to see some of the "guts" of your C7 if you want to. It's really fascinating to see all that's under it's composite "skin".