I spun out in the rain the other night and hit the side of an overpass nearly head on. Airbag deployed, and the bumper was pushed up and mashed all the front lights. Kind of an interesting effect. The car was still running and nothing central behind the headlights (fan, radiators, accessories) seems damaged. Sheet metal and the frame though have me worried.


I'm still somewhat in shock and haven't called my insurance company just yet. I've dealt with that once before involving someone's escaped livestock (3 horses frolicking in the road), but not with my own. This is my first solo-vehicle accident.


Aside from the philosophy and value of repairing an old car, whether or not it's doable with simple removal and replacement of bolt-on parts is what I'm trying to figure out right now.

I immediately thought the frame was wrecked and that it was totaled, but the towtruck driver thought that the bent part was not a part of the frame.

Based on these photos, I'm wondering what you all think. Obviously, it isn't as good as being here in person to look, but this is something I've never dealt with.



Front/general



Passenger Side






Looking down from the top, I wonder just where the bumper shocks start and end.

The next thing that concerns me is that there is some torn sheet metal where various brackets attach to the "big bent bars". There is also some buckling of the portion that attaches to the fenders. Not a lot, but definitely some.

Driver's Side


Passenger Side




I'm not opposed to light/minor spot welding and cutting, but I am absolutely not going to try to do anything structural with a welder/cutter.

Looking forward to opinions,
Will

Air bag deployment is probably enough to total it from the insurance companies financial perspective.

You need to have a competent body shop assess the damage. Given the age of the car and the damage I see - the insurance company is going to total it on a financial basis (repair costs will exceed some preset percentage of the car's value). Check you policy -- waiting any significant amount of time before notifying them of an accident is a no-no.

There was a police report filed, and the insurance said they have processed claims a year after an accident. The insurance rep said that time limits vary by state, but anyway.


I took photos to a body shop near me, and they recognized me from when I delivered used parts for LKQ. They went through it for me. What they said really was that the parts I was pointing to and the portions that were bent *are* part of the subframe. They are designed as *replaceable* parts of the frame, but that requires some cutting and welding.

So it would be repairable to a motivated person, but it would need the engine pulled to assess (to use a frame machine) any frame deformation behind the bent portions.

Happy Bricking ... but not for me for the near future.

Good luck with resolution of things -- glad you weren't injured.

A little light reading --- http://www.alllaw.com/articles/nolo/personal-injury/when-notify-your-own-insurance-accident.html#

I hope you are OK!
The pictures are pretty bad, try getting some from above the front of the engine showing the front frame rails on either side.

Judging from the position of the bumper it looks like there is major frame damage.

Dan