I can’t believe this night happened. Some guy and I found out the hard way that both of our cars can’t occupy the same uncontrolled intersection at the same time. Police came out, took our reports, and gave him a ticket for failing to yield the right of way to the guy on the right (which was me).

She’s an ’84 GLT Wagon, beautiful condition, engine purrs (ruff idle, but I won’t hold it against her), leather has NEVER seen the light of day under it’s R-sport seat covers, limited slip rear diff, factory trailer hitch, extra set of snow wheels, nice paint, one owner with full records, everything. The 280k on the odometer was the only thing that gave away her age. I went 500 miles last year to get her in Idaho, and paid $2500 for her. She’s the first car I’ve bought with my own cash.

The driver side rear door is smashed in about 8-12 inches, mostly below the safety cross bar piece in the door. The front door still works, but only with a hard slam. The rear quarter panel is pretty munched in right in front of the tire. The car still drives like it did before, but the tire scrubs against metal when going over bumps. I’m concerned that damage occurred to the body below the door, and to the B pillar.

So now I get to deal with his insurance company tomorrow. I have no clue what to expect, I’ve never done this before. I only have liability coverage, so my insurance company won’t have anything to do with it. Best case I can imagine is they offer me $1200 (the KBB value) to walk away, as I can’t imagine the repair job being less then that. What can I do? Do I have any options?

Thanks in advance everyone!

By the way... I had a friend in that back seat right by the door. He walked away without injuries.

Truly a shame. I love your car. Your car is a prime good example of a dieing breed of great cars. I would save it - my car has been hit several times as you saw. I still have some body work to do.

I know nothing of insurance, but since it was the jerk's fault you are correct your insurance is not involved (other than to raise your rates!)

Do your homework. Have them contact me - the car IS rare and demand to be made right. I notice that I pay MORE for insurance on my 85 245Ti than a "normal" 85 245....so the car IS worth more and insurance companies know it.

Besides I still want to help you solve that idle problem!
--
http://www.fidalgo.net/~brook4/oilslubesfilters.html

Sorry about the misfortune.

I've had a lot of experience in the rebuilding arena (body shop) as well as several unfortunate problems of my own.

Most of my Volvos are ex-salvage cars. I love finding ones like yours--people who don't WANT to get rid of their cars, but have sustained some sort of body damage. That usually almost guarantees a very good car with recent maintenance and services.

That said, it doesn't sound good for your car. The bill on what I envision the damage to be sounds somewhere in the neighborhood of $3-4000. And maybe even more than that. I had an 87 240 that got cranked in the rear door, the front of the quarter (in front of the wheel) and the rear axle shaft and axle housing. Bill: over ten thousand. And it looked almost driveable.

Most of the money is spent on frame alignment and quarter panel work. The door is a breeze to align and mount. But you have to re-align EVERYTHING on the side, because usually getting hit in the door sucks the side inwards, including sometimes the rocker panel. There can be a LOT of work involved.

The quarter can be fixed, probably. Usually they're repairable unless they've been sliced wide open and otherwise demolished.

In my experience, you NEVER get the right price for your car. But most states allow for punitive damages (pain & suffering, etc.) which can bring a little more reasonable light to the situation. It's a cheap trick, but what did you think they were going to pull on you :)
--
1992 940 wagon, 72k

Thanks for your feedback. You spelt out pretty much exactly what I was expecting, that even though the door took most of it, the rocker and quarter panels got sucked in a bit, The B pillar is twisted and pushed back a bit, and the body will need to be realigned.

On the plus side, the wheel appears to have not been hit, the car *IS* drivable, minus a working drivers seat belt. I tried pulling the door open, and believe it or not it actually works. It took a heck of a slam to get it closed again, but it works, kind of.

I think this car is just going to become my “parts car”. It looks like insurance will require me to buy the cars salvage title if I want to keep it. Any idea what that will cost me? They said they take bids from junk yards on it… it’s an 84 GLT with 286k on it.

I’m going to see a doctor this afternoon. Thanks again!

I'm not sure what the salvage value is, but probably very low. My mostly-volvo junkyard of choice does not even buy pre-'86 cars any more. He says the parts market for these cars has all but dried up. If I were you, I would call around and find out what junkyards will offer to you for your car. Then use that info to your advantage when working with the insurance co.



--
Matt L. -- Cary, NC -- '89 740 sedan -- '91 740 wagon

Ben -

What a downer! Follow Topher's post, and stick to your guns, the insurance company has a vested interest in screwing you as much as possible.

Gather information on similar vehicles. Look in eBay and click "Watch this item" on similar cars. That way when the auction closes you can go to "My eBay" and get to the original offering (they are removed otherwise) and you can see what the final price was. Print it out. Note the condition, miles, and location and history. You might find a similar body style, mileage and condition but a 740. Adjust a little, it's like appraising houses where two are just the same except for a few things.

The other driver owes you a return to status quo ante (what you had before), especially since he was cited. Remember a traffic violation comes under criminal law, too. So the question is (1) what will returning you to status quo ante cost? (2) Will the money come from his pocket or his insurance company, or a little of both.

Be ready to use phone calls to the point of harassment, if necessary. Call the owner and/or the insurance company daily until you're happy.

BTW - there is a metal plate on the RH front fender cover that has trim and color codes on it. The XXX-X code is paint. Get a door from a yard with the same codes, it should match exactly other than aging.

Get a repair quote, as Topher said, from at least a Volvo dealership and from a reputable shop near where you live (so you can check progress easily) and maybe one from somewhere else.

Good Luck,

Bob

:>)


PS This is a tough lesson. Your own insurance rates will likely be hit, even though the other driver was cited. Go over what allowed the wreck to occur, and you may find that there was something that you could have done to avoid it, such as giving up the right-of-way to an obvious nutcase. After all, even if you are in the right, who owns the problem?

Cut to the chase, your have liability ins. only, the rest is out of your pocket. Sorry for your loss or setback, even if you had collision, the high mileage would kill (sorry) you. I had a 1991 Volvo 240 with 107K and the ins. co. took off 3500. the car was totaled, Fact is liab. only only helps injury. pride doesn't count. Fix the car and enjoy the ride.

I was just in an accident in my '88 740 (only 94,000 miles) about 2 months ago -I did my homework and got what I thought was a pretty good settlement from the party at fault's insurance company.

1. Make sure you have values from KBB, Edmunds.com, and the NADA.

2. If the car is driveable, take it to a reputable body shop (get a reference from your local Volvo dealer) and have your own estimate done before the ins. co. does theirs. It's free and should only take about 30 minutes.

3. Search nearby sources for similar cars for sale and make sure that what the ins. co. offers you will replace your car.

4. Do not accept their first offer unless you think it will replace your car to your satisfaction.

5. Get them to provide a rental. It's their responsibility to pay for it.

6. They should also pay sales tax and registration. They're not legally required to in all states, but most reputable companies will if you just ask.

Ultimately, their responsibility is to put you back in a car that is as similar to what you were in as is possible. Let them know that you know that and they'll deal with you much more fairly. You don't have to accept their first offer. Don't get in a hurry!! If you do, you'll settle for less than you could. They also owe you a rental until you've received your settlement.

If their first offer is $1200 tell them there is no way you can get a '84 240 wagon in excellent condition for that amount of money. Average NADA retail on an 84 wagon is around $2300. Your mileage is a little higher than average and they may want to adjust a little for that.

Do your homework and don't settle for a less than fair amount and you'll be fine. If all else fails and you get desperate, threaten to call your lawyer - even if you're just bluffing. They DO NOT want to spend the money to go to court if they can just give you the extra thousand dollars and be done with it.

Most of that, of course, is assuming the ins. co. decides to total your car. If they do, you do have the option of purchasing the salvage title and repairing the car. You'll end up spending more that way, but it's your money and your car.

When insurance companies make a settlement offer for a total loss vehicle, ask to see how the offer is made. The usual method is to inspect the vehicle for cosmetic condition and odometer mileage, and look for recent sales and cars for sale at dealers. Condition and mileage will cause the comparable cars' prices to be adjusted to approximate the value of the total loss vehicle. Sales tax and license expense (perhaps pro-rated to the unused portion of your current year license payment) should be added.

Where you could get screwed under this method of valuation is if:

a. You have a rare car and they use more common cars as comparables, with adjustments for the different model that are not reflective of the local market conditions for the rare car.

b. You have a car with much better mechanical condition than others with similar mileage, since cosmetic condition and odometer mileage are the main methods of insurance valuation (of course, if your car was in need of major mechanical work or a blower motor replacement, but was still driveable when it got crashed, you could actually come out ahead).

c. The insurance adjuster underrates the cosmetic condition of the car. You may want to clean the exterior and interior of the car as if you were going to sell it before showing it to the insurance adjuster. I.e. make the undamaged parts look as nice as possible in a cosmetic sense.

You typically can get the option to accept a reduced settlement while keeping the car. The amount of the reduction will be based on the salvage auction value of the car.

My dear departed '87 745GLE took a Toyota Corolla at 40mph in the back and was still repairable; of course, at 230,000 mi, rust causing leaks around the windshield, and an interior that looked like the battle of the Bulge had occured in there, the insurance co. decided that straightening the frame and fixing the rear quarter panels & roof would cost more than the car was worth. But I still drove it home 500mi with the back fully loaded!

Anyway, your car-- Sounds like at the least you'll be looking at a new door & a new rear quarter panel. If the frame isn't bent (and by the sounds of things it was a relatively low-speed collision, so there's a chance), then all you need to do is visit a PnP and grab a door & panel. If you don't care about driving a callico car you don't even need to paint the new panels to match right away. If the frame isn't bent and you do most of the work yourself, I'd imagine you can get her fixed up for well under a grand. Of course, if the frame is bent you'll be in for a tough sell w/the insurance co. Don't give up yet!

jeff daigle
'89 745GL 130,000 mi

Very sorry to hear the news - my condolences. Having had my wagon rear ended TWICE and having to deal with the other parties insurance, I found it time consuming, aggravating, and came out both times a little out of pocket. Basically I pushed for and took as much for the car as I could without it being totalled and that way keeping the car. First time I had just had the AC retrofitted so could claim increased value. Basically the system is a rip-off. The insurance company might say "well that's what the law says we have to pay you for the car" but of course who lobbies for these laws? As a result I now no longer pay for collision damage on either of my 240's. My case for injuries from the first accident still hasn't settled, eighteen months later. One might get a good lawyer if one has any injuries. Good luck to you.