My PT meets a tree, tree wins

[amx1397]

Pinstripe, check with your state, and insureance co, as if your car was worth 12,000 , and now after all repairs it is worth 8,000 then your insureance owes you 4,000 dollars "IRPT" said it before in this post but ,just want to make sure you are aware of such a law.it may not be a law in calf. but worth checking. IT IS A FLORIDA LAW.

[IRPT]

quote:Originally posted by bigdogdad

You must have just woke up IRPT. I beat you giving out an imformational link It's fun to help. That's what is so great about this forum. Everyone tries to get their hands dirty.[?]

Yep you did, been a little busy this morning, have only been able to check in real quick and look around. You're right though, this is a great forum and everyone does help out. It amazing how much information is available! Many on here have helped my out with their informational posts and it is fun to help, I really enjoy it.

[Pinstripe]

Thanks everyone for the advice. If you would like to see my car's condition after the hit here is a link.

http://www.pinstripe.com/pt/

I will check with my insurance broker for coverage but I have my doubts. I do have what is called "upside down" insurance to make sure I am protected in case the car was totaled and I still owed money on it.

The frame arm is an upper arm that runs around the hood. It's more cosmetic then functional since it holds the hood, fender, grill and radiator in place. The light that isn't getting replaced has a water leak so I will have Chrysler replace it. I feel confident in the repair shop so far. They are paying attention to every detail. All the logos are coming off to be replaced including the doors so they can make a perfect paint blend. The mascot for the shop is a Chrysler Prowler, which they have kept at 100 miles. The wierdest damage was the CD tray under the passenger seat which shot out like a bullet sending CDs all over the inside of the car.

While my car has been in the shop they have had in a BMW Roadster, new VW Bug with very much the same damage. Both of those cars went to the junk yard.

Thanks again for all your good advice.

[KingKole02]

Someone once told me, Life throws you a lemon, make lemonade. From the looks of your cruiser I would say that some of the parts you could get fixed as after markets to replace the factory.

Blood hell, I hope the tree took more damage than your PT. They want what to replace it?!?!?!? Like 10,000 grand. WTF the front fascia is 1,000 to replace new alone, I can imagine the cost of the rest of the front and that frame bar.

[Pinstripe]

quote:Originally posted by KingKole02

Someone once told me, Life throws you a lemon, make lemonade. From the looks of your cruiser I would say that some of the parts you could get fixed as after markets to replace the factory.

Blood hell, I hope the tree took more damage than your PT. They want what to replace it?!?!?!? Like 10,000 grand. WTF the front fascia is 1,000 to replace new alone, I can imagine the cost of the rest of the front and that frame bar.

The tree is fine. It had been hit dozens of times before me and had no bark from about the four foot mark down. Right after I hit a woman came along and did exactly the same skid and almost hit me. The road in question is a very narrow winding mountain road (Hwy 128 on N. California coast connecting Hwy 1 and 101). The highway department uses tar from a can to fix cracks, just plain ol' tar. On this corner there is a strip of about 20 feet of tar that runs along side the double yellow line. When it rains the tar turns to oil and the rest is history.

Frankly I was glad the tree was there, on the other side was a 300 foot cliff.

The nice thing was that dozens of people stopped to help us and a wedding party all dressed up took out chains and pulled the car out of the bank in the pouring rain. People can be nice. (Bad thing... $479 towing fee)

PS Parts cost is $4,091.75, the rest is labor at $4,740.00

[Hooligan]

I definatly would be contacting DC to see why the air bag(s) did not deploy. You might want to contact Consumers Report or a Government Agency, not sure if it would be Dept of Transportation. Good luck and I'm glad you weren't hurt.

[ZZCruzr]

I just saw your post! Sorry about the car, but glad to hear you're okay. I looked at the picture, it seems crazy that the damage I see costs that much to fix! It is no wonder that car insurance is costly!
It also makes me wonder how the highway department guys sleep at night, knowing that they are creating unsafe road conditions to save a few bucks, or time.

[tangerinedream1845]

well that really sucks .... it always seams the one that you like the most always gets the shaft ..... I had a Honda I just hated the car it cost so much to kix if anything went wrong with it and i tried to sell it and no one wanted to buy the car ...I got to the point where i never took the key out of it I would park it any where ... and i did that for almost a year and NO one took the car ...LOL I finely use the car at a all entry King of the Hill Contest ( it's like stock car racing and a smash up derby all wraped up in one ) need less to say it had to be draged off the track at the end of the race and went to Honda Hell ...lol

[Rolo]

quote:Originally posted by tangerinedream1845
... it always seams the one that you like the most always gets the shaft ...

ehehehehehe...hopefully!


This whole ordeal sounds messed up.

First, federal law requires high-accident areas to be fixed, starting with the highest dollar-damage areas. If this area is a death trap, then your DOT is negligent and continues to knowingly endanger the public. I would bring this to the insurance company's attention, as well as whatever local safety department, state insurance commissioner, etc.

Second, how much was the car worth before the accident? I believe that if the cost of repairs exceeds a certain percentage (like 80%) of the value of the vehicle, it is considered totalled. Check your policy and local laws. Next time, make sure it is totalled.

Either way, you may want to consider taking the cash, buying a new PT, and hock the old one. We all know that a car just "ain't right" after an accident, no matter how much time is spent on repairs. Why spend $9K+ on something that is messed up and could never hold value? Seriously spend some time doing calculations and weiging all of your options.

Also, if your insurance company also provides loans, run that by them.

That's a bummer that happened, life can be the big SUCK sometimes, but be happy with how you handle it. Keep us posted and good luck!

[Pinstripe]

Thanks again for all the encouragement and information. I don't much like to deal with insurance companies as I lost my home in Oakland in the 1991 Oakland Hills Fire and spent over a year fighting my insurance company every day.

As for the highway department... the way the law is in California if you are involved in a one driver accident you are at fault no matter what the circumstances. This is done to keep the counties and state off the hook and they can't be sued. The highway patrolman who came to the scene advised me not to push the point or he would have to cite me. Had he cited me it would have put a point on my drivers record and cost me with insurance. If you report a one driver accident to your local California Highway Patrol office the report stays there and goes no farther. This keeps it off my record and (please don't hate me, keeps the accident off the cars record since the DMV never sees the report).

The work starts this week on the car... engine gets pulled first. Hey at least I get all new fluids out of the deal. [8]