Great job of making sure you didn't wind up in a head-on collision.

Even though your XFire is messed up, you likely wound up with the best scenario that could have played out given the fact situation.

 

Thanks for the well wishes everyone, definately glad to be alive and ok.
Initial report from the body shop has it costing around 11k for repairs, but he hasn't yet had it up on a lift to look at the suspension, axle and other things. He's got it at about 51% now and said that they'd total it at 70%. His computer has the value of the car at 23K. Seems a bit low to me but we'll know more about the cost of repair tomorrow (Fri). I'm on the fence about whether to fix it, or total it and try to get another one. He did say that I had some "say" in the matter, not just State Farm. I"m going to call SF and have a chat with them. Again, thanks everyone for your concerns and well wishes. I'll update as I learn more.

 

I don't intend to push you off the fence, but I'd be all for claiming a total loss if possible. I hate to see an SRT go, but I hate even more to see one mangled and then repaired only to give you or someone else trouble. I worked in a body shop for a few years (paint and paint-prep). I almost always recommend someone to total it out if they can...go figure.

Without seeing it, it is tough to say...but if they get anywhere near that 70% mark I'd push for the total. Why? Simply because there are a lot of them on the market right now and a replacement shouldn't be hard to find.

You can also total it, buy it back for a LOT less, pay out of pocket to fix it and often times come up with extra cash in your pocket...but that's another story.

Keep us posted!

SQ

 

This is really sad, 5 days is tooooo soon. I am very glad you two are ok. Sounds like excellent driving too but this is not how I like to hear testimonials on how good the crossfire is!
Boy, our little community is starting the new year off upside down

 

Damn! Sorry to hear about the accident, but I'm pleased that you and your wife are OK.

My heart goes out to you. I've had new cars ruined by bad drivers. My Eclipse was in a "double header" just after I bought it. Fortunately for me, it wasn't too bad, and I got it fixed. The headlights have never lined up right since. They can't be adjusted far enough to make them right. So I just got used to it. If I had it to do over, I would have liked to have totalled the car and bought a new one. But it all worked out. Except for the headlights, I've never had any other trouble, and at 90,000 miles on it now, that's saying something. It's one of the most reliable cars I've ever had.

Hang in there!!

 

Sorry to read that, the airbags concern me a bit, I'm glad you two are ok.

I'm hiding until this is over.

 

I hit the drivers door of mine pretty hard as my car was slid over about 6 feet. I have bruising on and inside my arm, hip, and leg, and my back is having some problems. Having said that, believe me, having been in an accident with airbag deployment, if the airbag had gone off on my drivers door, I would be in a lot worse shape than I am now. Those things are VIOLENT when they blow. That is why children can be killed by them. I was knocked unconcious for a few seconds by an airbag to the face in one accident.

I am sure that these airbags are working fine...they are just set to go off on an impact that's so hard, you would possibly be killed if the airbag didn't go off. Airbags are not meant to prevent injury, they're meant to prevent death in lethal hits.

 

exactly. depending where your arms are, airbags can be a really brutal experience. from the way you both were discussing your accidents it seemed perfectly clear an airbag would not have been tripped. they can cause much physical damage and it looks like from your lack of serious accident injury, they performed correctly.

 

i know...i may wait until May to take mine out again. this is gettin' scary.

 

Thank God you both are ok. That is the main thing. Cars can be fixed but a human life is irreplacable. May the rest of your year be only the best for you and your family. Take care. Patty

 

Sorry to 'hear' about your car, Wedge! Glad everyone is in one piece!

 

So Wedge what did you decide to do with the car?

 

Had two different shops look at it and give estimates. First one said $13K in damage, the second one said $12k. Neither was enough to total the car so it's being fixed. The second shop is Mercedes certified so that's where it is. In fact, when ordering parts there was a rear suspension piece that they couldn't get from Chrysler but the shop recognized is as a Mercedes piece, so he called Mercedes and got it. Same part #. At least it's being repaired by folks who know how to work on Mercedes' if not Crossfires. His guestimate for completion is mid to late Feb. I go over to the shop every once in awhile to watch the work and hang out with the car. Only had it 5 days but missing it a bunch.

 

It's great to see that they will be doing a good job on it!
I wish you well with it!
SF

 

Wedge, so glad to hear you both walked away from that one. I hope you wife's back is better. So sad that that you only had 5 days in your XF.

My wife and I travel that road -- I assume you mean 128, from 101 to Hwy 1 around Albion -- at least once a year. That's some twisty road there, which in the winter can be pretty fog-bound, and in the stretch between Boonville and Cloverdale the elevation could be quite dangerous. I salute your driving skills.

 

Hey Wingman, yeah, 128 is a fun road. Got to ride it last year with my FJ motorcycle club when they had their West Coast rally in Mendocino. My wife and I were on hwy 20 headed West out of Willits, a bit further North on 101 from Cloverdale, straight shot into Fort Bragg. Same type of road just not quite as long.

And thanks for the wellwishes everyone

 

Anyway we can introduce legislature to ban Hondas here in the states?? It's a matter of safety....