I was up early on a drive to see the sunrise this morning, and on my way back I ran across a rock slide that I didn't see until it was too late. Nailed a big rock and swerved off the road and bounded across a dirt/rock patch. Could've been a lot worse considering there are lots of cliffs on that road.

I took it in to the collision repair shop, they're estimating at least 6K. Lower valence, fog lights, quarter panel, possible steering damage, possible suspension damage. Also, there was a playing card in the spokes sound coming from the drive shaft.

Besides the deductible, there are some good parts of this story. I get a new lower grille area and front valence, which was rock chipped anyway, new rocker panels, and I am trying to find out how much an SRT splitter would be over and above a Limited splitter, maybe I'll upgrade while its in the shop?

 

Interestingly enough the SRT6 front bumper skin costs less than the limiteds. Go for it!

 

This sounds amazingly like an explanation my son would give me. Of course he would forget to mention that "up early" could also be interpreted as "forgot to go to bed the night before" and when he mentions "rockslide" he would forget to state "that I caused when I veered off the road and hit the cliff" . . . etc., etc.

 

Its a good thing I'm over the whole staying out all night thing...I had the day off and I went to bed early specifically to go on this drive...so much for my relaxing day off.

 

I've had my red limited coupe ninety days and have lurked here a bit to learn and see where I might fit in. Well, today I also had a crash but a really bad one. I'm hoping and praying it will be totaled. I wonder if anyone knows the formula for that? (percent of value and/or such).
I didn't get a good look at the damage but the front bumper to windshield was in play as well as the driver door and left front fender. So this is very mechanical rather than cosmetic. In other words for me the car is history, but I hope insurance feels the same way. What with foreign parts and specialized labor, I feel it must be totaled.
Any thoughts.
I want to share that the car really protected me well and besides the soreness I just have burns on my arms from the bags. (but it all did exactly what it was designed to do, thank gd).
I will have another.

RP

 

Glad to hear you're ok! For my little off roading excursion they are estimating at least 6K, and that's basically just a lower bumper and some minor parts. From the sound of it, with the airbags deploying and all, you might be in luck?

 

Thanks for the encouraging thought. Twisted luck of course. I want my car but it is gone as far as I'm concerned. I think anyone who loves cars has always thought of the horrible possibility of a new car crashed just short of totaled. I'm in I can't believe it land right now.
I can tell you that I am really glad I got the gap insurance. (with the Crossfire being somewhat exotic on these shores, I wouldn't have driven it away without that).

Good luck to you.
RP

 

Had a similar incident be ready to be without your car for a while, took them 3 months to get the parts from 5 different states. And the owner of the shop is a friend. Good Luck.

 

Thanks for the comments. If not totaled then I do want them to spend forever. One great thing is that my parts and service manager is a friend and only one person will paint my car and he knows who he is. They both know I am OCD, so they also know that in the end if it is not totaled they will wish it had been.
A funny aside...my luggage came today after having to fuss so much about not getting it. It is really first class. No wonder they are being so stingy with it.

Later,
Rp

 

I would hope it's totaled as well. I've had two car that were wrecked pretty bad and not totaled. They are NEVER the same again. The first one was a Toyota Celica. I dropped that like a Lead Balloon. The other is my current S2000. I still have it, because I leased it, and I'm stuck with it for two more years...

 

~ any pics you care to share yet??

 

good to hear the damage is minor considering you went off-roading and could have went hang gliding of the cliffs, =) was it in PCH???

makes my incident that i posted awhile back miniscule... i swerved to avoid a giant pothole just to find myself directly in the path of a giant protruding manhole!!! lovely streets of LA... would be nice if we can get just get 1 billion dollars of the money going to Iraq to re-asphalt the roads so i don't have to pay for a freaking alignment.

 

Thanks to all for comments. Andrew no picks yet but maybe this weekend. I've just spent my first 24 hours in bed for whiplash and the doctor said I could expect more for most of this week.
I have degenerating disk in my back, so I am really lucky, although that can show up later. I'm not counting on it though.

Funny thing, I was in bed, a knock at the door and ups with the luggage that goes with the car. I'm really impressed but it did take some doing with Ms. Clawson.

Now, if I can get a car to go with the luggage.

RP

 

I was back home in San Diego, it was on Sunrise Highway. As for the hang gliding, yeah, it was a little too close for comfort. The thing that sucks about insurance is that they are wanting to put my claim as a collision, which puts it on the same level as someone hitting a parked car. In reality it was a freak rock slide that I happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and I may possibly be punished for it. I thought the insurance companies were around to help me, not screw me...

 

Insurance companies are out to make money. Any help rendered to you is purely coincidental and unintended.

Phyrephlyte -

If your Crossfire is totaled will you be thinking of replacing it with an SRT-6?