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I don't understand your statement. His car wasn't damaged until the accident so why wouldn't it be worth 45,000 that makes no sense. I'm also guessing on price but regardless it's 80% of value or more to total. So what was your point? What the value will be after the accident. That's is irrelevant for this thread no one is talking value after the accident. Only why is it being totaled with so little damage
Insurance companies do things which appear to make no sense. The OP should be able to get a statement from the ins co. for why the vehicle is totaled rather than have us speculate.
It may not be relevant to your post directly, but my point is that after the repair it won't be a $45k car. It'll be $35k (or whatever) car. The OP should let the ins co. total it out unless (presumably) he feels that the loss of value is irrelevant to his enjoyment of the vehicle.
Best financial option could be to take that $45k and go shopping for a $45k car instead off keeping a $35k car.
A Corvette with light appearing damage like the OP's might bring a good sale price to the insurance company for used for parts or a salvage title sale. Their net of payout versus the net of sale price for them might not be as big of a delta for a wrecked Corvette as it used to be. Especially with good used parts being harder to come by. Just a theory...
A local high quality body shop got a 2015 C7 that had been rear ended at rather low speed. It looked like minor damage but he showed me the pics he took to justify his his repair bill to the insurance company. There was a lot of hidden damage in there, and not just "unbolt & replace" parts.
OP should get a good inspection and repair estimate before buying the car back for himself.
I think the original question was answered. The car has multiple sensors and the impact met the speed and force criteria to deploy the airbags. I don't think I've seen that criteria published on the C7 like it was for older generations.
As for the damage....You mention the $200 grill. If the car is a 3LT you're looking at a couple thousand for the dash. Then you have to add in the cost of the airbags in the seats, steering wheel airbag, likely the seat belt tensioners, any hidden damage, a new bumper cover or at least paint repair. Put it all together and next thing you know, you have $5k in parts or more. It seems a lot of quality shops these days are $150-$200/hr so if it takes a guy a week to do the repairs, that's $6k-$8k in labor. By the time it's all said and done, you have a $10k-$15k repair bill.
You don't say the year of the car and regardless I don't think $15k should total it. The point however is that the repair is not $200.
I had a gal decide a stop sign was optional in Feb 2019 and pulled out in front of me (I didn't have a stop sign). The impact was at ~10mph and no airbags deployed. No headlight, fender, engine, radiator, AC, or hood damage. The repair bill to her insurance company was just over $10k
St. Jude Donor '08-'09-'10-'11-'12-'13-'14-'15-'16
My daughter had an accident with her non corvette car.
Airbags deployed.
The biggest issue is most body shops will just send the vehicle to the manufacture’s
dealership.
The body shop won’t take the responsibility for the airbag system.
We all know what dealerships charge for parts and labor.
Insurance companies, as you know, are in business to make money. They can sell your wrecked Corvette at an auction. Someone will buy it either for parts or to restore it. I totaled my first Corvette after it did a 360 on a two lane road, went over an embankment and did another 360 and slammed into three trees. State Farm gave me more than I paid for it.
I have purchased several repairable vehicles and airbags are very simple to install as well as the sensors. I don't do it myself however a competent body professional would have no problem. They are no different than a chevy pickup or any GM vehicle other than it's a Corvette airbag. OP you are lucky the insurance is willing to total it out and that is your best avenue. Good luck on your car search and post pictures!
09-25-2023, 12:07 PM
