It's been a fun ride..

[Loverboy]

Well, folks, it's been great. What can I say? I love my spider, loved every mile I've driven her, cared for her like a baby, and she never once failed me.

Last weekend, I drove her 290 miles to Portland, Oregon to register for college. It'll be the last such trip she ever makes.

On the return trip, it was raining, the road was a steep downhill grade and for the first time since I've owned the car my brakes locked up on me. I hit the stone guard rail at 40mph.

My baby even made the last ride comfortable, I stepped out of the car without a scratch or a bruise on me, I wasn't even shaken up. Today, I received a call from my insurance agent. "A total loss" he called it.

I'll never forget my Fiat. My first classic car, the first time I've ever truly enjoyed driving, and the first time I've ever really loved my car.





RIP
6/1978 - 8/2010

[DUCeditor]

That's nothing short of heartbreaking. But still... You are OK. So say thanks to the sweet lady, kiss her good night, on find another. Hopefully easily and soon.

-don

[NJFIAT1981]

Hi,
So sorry to hear of your loss. Sounds like an organ donor. If you still have her part her out so that other Spider may live on. Good luck with your search for a replacement

[Nancy1340]

LB, that's just heart breaking. She did her job and kept you safe though.

I'd sure have her "doctor" take a look at her first before parting her out. But that's just me.

[kristoj]

I would seriously consider buying it back from the insurance company and repairing it (or parting it out as the case may be).

[So Cal Mark]

it sure looks repairable, insurance company ruling aside. They total everything these days

[kristoj]

It comes down to how the insurance company values the car. In this case, they probably assigned a fairly low value. That is why I am a big proponent of an 'agreed value' policy. I have my car insured for $14,000 and pay less than $300 per year, with no mileage restriction. My policy is with Grundy. Should something similar happen to my car, it would take damage in excess of $14,000 to total the car. Not a bad deal IMO.

[2ndwind]

I too would buy it back and find a donor car for the fender, take it to a good body shop an have them cut off wrecked one and weld on another.

[pooldoctorstl]

I agree, buy it back if you have the money and want to keep it. I used to sell Car-O-Liner frame equipment and have straightened wrecks a lot worse than that. Find a body shop with good frame equipment that knows how to use it and have them cut the fender off, straighten the frame if it is bent (probably is) and weld a new fender on it. A few more used suspension and body parts and you have it back. It might not cost any more than a replacement car. But don't let the insurance company send it to the crusher. Get a price for it and post it here, someone will probably want it.

Good luck,
Jeff

[kmead]

Get a price for it and post it here, someone will probably want it.

I would agree it doesn't look that bad and unlike modern cars there isn't much place to hide damage on these cars. It can either be fixed or at the least parted out.

ONe has to look at it the way the insurance company sees it, they value the car at 3k, if the cost to repair comes anywhere near that amount, the car is totaled. I would expect it would cost more than 3K to fix thus its "totaled", whether it is fixable or not.

Now if it was a 20k car with 15k of damage they would fix it without question. Its just an economic issue.

[mdrburchette]

What a heartbreaking story, but I'm glad you weren't hurt. I know it's probably easier for you to let your car go since you're in college and on a tight budget, and we all will understand. Good luck with your next one and remember, most of us were young, starting school or a family and had to let our baby go...and you see where we ended up.

[Fiat88]

Sorry about your car man. Looks fixable, though.

[sawmkw]

RIP NOT! It's a rather large dent but definately fixable!