Um, we’ve pretty much all told you that YOUR FRIEND needs to step up to the plate and pay for the repair. It’s their problem
If they are not made to pay for this repair, you can be sure they will learn that they can do whatever they want, and there will be no consequences for them
Sometimes the hard and expensive lessons are the ones that stick
The mistakes that cost me a lot of money, those are the ones I remember. I didn’t make those mistakes twice
I agree that an “unconventional” repair may be the only economical way to get this car driveable again. Used parts, chinese parts, whatever it takes. If there is the same Volvo in a salvage yard that was rearended, that’s the one to use for parts. Maybe even an “off the books” repair
I don’t normally recommend this approach, but it may be the only viable option at this point
Is your friend even in a financial position to pay for the repair . . . ?
“It sounds like you guys are pretty confident it’s not going to be like 2-3k, but over $5k”
Collision repair is almost always more expensive than people imagine it to be. Even simple collision repair (replacing fenders/hood/trunk lid/bumper–and then repainting everything so that it matches frequently exceeds $2-$3k.
Once you get into the territory of having to replace steering, suspension, and chassis parts (plus very possibly axle and transmission repairs and grafting other things like strut towers or floor pans)–in addition to body panel replacement, it could easily get into the range of $10k, which–of course–would be insane to spend on a car that old.
Is your friend going to step up to the plate and compensate you for your loss?
Nope, he’s broke and not like a long time friend or anything. He could just walk away and never speak to me again. It sounded like he’s at most willing to kick in a little bit once he did his taxes and got a refund, but I don’t think anywhere near what it’s going to be.
I don’t need it be looking like new, which is a bummer because it was in great condition when I bought it a month ago.
Even if you don’t particularly care about the outward appearance of the car, I seriously doubt if the car would be drivable in a safe condition (or reliable) without an expenditure of over $5k.
However, I sincerely hope that I am wrong, so your next step should be to have a well-reputed body shop give you an estimate.
Please post back with the details of the shop’s estimate.
Yeah, hopefully that will be tomorrow. If it’s 5k then it seems I should just try and come up with enough to buy another one for 8-9k. I was just being very hopeful that it wasn’t going to be as bad as some gut reactions, but I am thinking that is very unlikely at this point. I don’t know much about cars but I was hoping axle and and other parts would be more in the 2-3k range.
Someone said I might be able to sell it as is for like 3k that they can use for parts because the engine looked pretty intact.
Nobody is going to pay $3000 for a badly damaged vehicle like this when a drivable one can be bought for $4,500. You might get $500 for that car if someone is really interested.
Collision coverage is really not that expensive, but to each his own but not having it should be a business decision not based on not having the money is all. You don’t want to wreck a rental car without have a policy with collision coverage. At any rate, your friend may just think he can walk away, but you can certainly follow him with a court judgement. He caused you significant damage and is liable whether he has any money or not. Will he ever have a job? You can garnish his wages. Does he own anything? You can put a lien on it. In other words you can shadow him for a long long time. Of course if he tries to get a job and his future employer sees a judgement against him, he as well as I would have said good bye. Maybe his folks will loan him the money and then he can work at Burger King at night to pay it back.
If you have the ability and equipment to try and fix it yourself, you can do some things to reduce the cost. The structural damage could be farmed out to someone else while you do the bolt ons and maybe finishing. There is a repairable lot here and they pick the best ones out to repair but they farm out the frame straightening to a guy down the street. I think he said usually he can get them back in shape again for a day or two labor. So you might want to contact one of these folks to see if they can offer any help or not. With that kind of CV damage though you may also have a transmission problem that you won’t be able to tell until you get it all together again. Boston may not be the easiest place though to get the work done.
Or just sell the thing to a repairable outfit for a few thousand and take your buddy to court for the balance. Most repairable outfits though are looking for cars just a few years old though to make it profitable. Body work is the same cost on old cars as new cars.
“I don’t know of a single person that has collision insurance on a ten year-old vehicle that’s paid for.”
Have we met? I thought we did Tester, years ago. Hi, I’m CSA! We’re out here.
I live in a “No-Fault” state. I own 7 cars. I paid cash for every one. I always have full coverage, including collision, on every single one. My oldest vehicle is a mint 20 model-year old.
Also, let’s just say that I have way beyond the minimum of liability (actually above the maximum) insurance, too.
I live in a very rural area and insurance, even collision insurance, isn’t nearly as expensive as in more urban areas where most collisions, thefts, vandalism and fires, occur, as it should be.
Couple that with a great major company and agent that works with me. With seven cars and I’m down to only three drivers, I suspend collision on some vehicles for several months of the year.
I’ve done this for nearly 30 years and it’s always proven a wise strategy and I get a good night’s sleep.
Thanks for the craigslist link. Mine only had 93k on it. I just moved out to Boston and was hoping to get like 3 years out of it. I bought with the last of my savings because my new job required it. I get that being damaged like that, the mileage doesn’t matter, just putting a little perspective. If I bought that for 4500 w/ 160k mileage, I feel like I may just be throwing good money after bad.
Bing, as for contacting “these fellows” I am not sure who you are talking about. I know I could probably try and sue him, but he could just try and deny it. There was no police report and even if I go after him in court, collecting the money is a whole other issue and I am kind of stuck right now.
Again I am really appreciative to all of you offering your knowledge and insight. I am in a real bad bind here as I just moved to this town, just got this job, and just bought this car with my savings.
It’s not mandatory here. Mandatory insurance coverage here is totally inadequate.
My agent won’t sell inadequate policies. She tells those folks to go elsewhere.
CSA
So you mean to tell me, that if you allow a person to drive your vehicle that has a valid drivers license, but doesn’t have auto insurance because they don’t own a vehicle, and they get in an accident with your vehicle and damages someones property and they’re at fault, your insurance company doesn’t cover that?
To the OP, yes the damage is severe in that the whole driver’s side suspension is toast, and there is body work and painting. I’d guess you are looking at $10,000 from a good body shop for this repair. The car will have some value for parts, you have to contact a salvage yard for a quote, but they don’t pay much because they have you over a barrel.
This is just a very tough spot for you and I don’t see any good option to recover your losses.
@Westfool You are in a tough spot. Pursuing this friend through the legal process may or may not get you what you need to replace the car. And the emotional toll and frustration you’ll go through may not be worth whatever money you might get. I hope this friend has a conscience and will try to do whatever he/she can to make it right.
Unfortunately, people who help others sometimes get “punished,” so to speak. I hope this does not sour you on helping others in the future, but maybe to be a little more cautious on when and how you help.
The OP deserves sympathy . The only unsolicited advice I have is until you are stable in your income and employment situation is to avoid the high end luxury type vehicles. I drive a VOLVO but even I would not purchase a 10 year old Volvo ,BMW or something along those lines.
I’m in agreement with Uncle Turbo about this being a 10 grand repair. The end result may still be questionable even after that expenditure.
As to Tester’s comment about drivers in someone else’s car that is true here in OK. The insurance policy will cover whoever is listed on that policy as being a driver.
If a car is loaned out to a non-listed person and the person who borrowed the car crashes it the insurance is off the hook.
That does not absolve the owner of the car from having the living crap sued out of him for whatever damages and inuries occurred while the other person was behind the wheel.