Goodbye Celica, I was involved in a crash the other day..... Options

[Racer_J]

Well, I'd just like to start by saying what a brilliant car the Celica is. I've enjoyed every minute of ownership over the last 3 years. I'm sorry to say though that my days with my Celica are numbered!

I had a crash the other night on the way home from work. Some guy in front of me was riding his brakes like an old woman, dropping his anchors every five minutes. Eventually we ended up in a queue (a line for our american friends) of traffic at a set of traffic lights. I noticed that the lane to my left was empty and as I needed to be in that lane further down the road, I decided to move over to the left as soon as I got through the lights. Once the traffic started moving, I checked my left hand mirror and checked over my shoulder to make sure there was nothing in my blind spot. As the lane was clear, I indicated and began to pull over. At that precise moment, they guy in front of me performs an emergency stop, can anybody guess what happened next??

I look back ahead to see this fool standing on his anchors, I do the same but it's too late. Wiped out my driver's headlight, R/H wing (fender) , bonnet (hood) and front end (on the R/H corner).

I've spoken to the insurance and they've indicated that the car "sounds like a total loss" due to it's age and the cost to repair it. Worse still, as I ran into the back of someone, liability for the accident lands squarely in my court, so I can look forward to astronomical insurance premiums next year, whoopie-doo!!

Anyway, if you're reading this, thanks for your time and listening to my rant!

If anyone has read this and feels simpathetic to my cause, I need the following items:-

1 Right Hand Wing
1 Right Hand Driver's Headlight
1 Bonnet
1 Front end.

LOL

(Just kidding)

[azian_advanced]

that's very unfortunate... do you plan on getting another celi?

[99Celica]

very sad to lose another clean celi. What will you be driving in the near future?

[JustinCapps]

well, another one bites the dust...
im very sorry man.. you should really just fix it!

[Fastbird]

Well, I'd just like to start by saying what a brilliant car the Celica is. I've enjoyed every minute of ownership over the last 3 years. I'm sorry to say though that my days with my Celica are numbered!

I had a crash the other night on the way home from work. Some guy in front of me was riding his brakes like an old woman, dropping his anchors every five minutes. Eventually we ended up in a queue (a line for our american friends) of traffic at a set of traffic lights. I noticed that the lane to my left was empty and as I needed to be in that lane further down the road, I decided to move over to the left as soon as I got through the lights. Once the traffic started moving, I checked my left hand mirror and checked over my shoulder to make sure there was nothing in my blind spot. As the lane was clear, I indicated and began to pull over. At that precise moment, they guy in front of me performs an emergency stop, can anybody guess what happened next??

I look back ahead to see this fool standing on his anchors, I do the same but it's too late. Wiped out my driver's headlight, R/H wing (fender) , bonnet (hood) and front end (on the R/H corner).

I've spoken to the insurance and they've indicated that the car "sounds like a total loss" due to it's age and the cost to repair it. Worse still, as I ran into the back of someone, liability for the accident lands squarely in my court, so I can look forward to astronomical insurance premiums next year, whoopie-doo!!

Anyway, if you're reading this, thanks for your time and listening to my rant!

If anyone has read this and feels simpathetic to my cause, I need the following items:-

1 Right Hand Wing
1 Right Hand Driver's Headlight
1 Bonnet
1 Front end.

LOL

(Just kidding)

I'm sorry to hear that man. I was involved in a VERY similar accident back in November. Costing me $3800 to rebuild it. Best of luck to you whichever way to go about it.

[richee3]

Man, this sucks! Right after you bought those new wheels too... Man, I really hope it's not totaled out. Best of luck with everything!

[Random_Stranger]

I am sorry to hear that. I am overly paranoid about getting rear ended after I got hit in December. Luckily, it was nothing! We both pulled over and not a single scratch or dent. So now I drive with caution no matter what, unless the road is clearly open and not going through lights, because you never know in this town.

I would say to repair it all, but I know how expensive that can get. Whatever you decide to do though, I hope it is worth it. As for me, no matter what I have a plan and though this car runs my life, it has changed it for the better and continues to daily.

[Racer_J]

Thanks for your kind words guys.

I'm currently looking to rebuild, been getting prices for parts. All told, i'm looking at £300 or so for the panels I need (mostly from Ebay). I know a guy with a bodyshop who spray it for not much money, so he needs to take a look at it. The thing is, the bolts on the wing under the hood have moved out of position with the deformation from the impact and i don't know if the inner wing is damaged too? While i'm on about the wing, does anyone know if the wings are easy to get off? I've obviously seen the bolts under the hood but is there any welds maybe on the 'A' pillar that secures the wing to the car?

[Random_Stranger]

Thanks for your kind words guys.

I'm currently looking to rebuild, been getting prices for parts. All told, i'm looking at £300 or so for the panels I need (mostly from Ebay). I know a guy with a bodyshop who spray it for not much money, so he needs to take a look at it. The thing is, the bolts on the wing under the hood have moved out of position with the deformation from the impact and i don't know if the inner wing is damaged too? While i'm on about the wing, does anyone know if the wings are easy to get off? I've obviously seen the bolts under the hood but is there any welds maybe on the 'A' pillar that secures the wing to the car?

Fenders come of very easily. Only way there is welds is if they were welded prior to you buying the car from another owner. I had this problem in the upper radiator support bar and just drilled out the welds and replaced it, because I didn't like the job they did. I need them to straightened one side of the body as well, just real minor it is.

Anyways, yeah, those fenders come off easily.

[Racer_J]

Thanks for your kind words guys.

I'm currently looking to rebuild, been getting prices for parts. All told, i'm looking at £300 or so for the panels I need (mostly from Ebay). I know a guy with a bodyshop who spray it for not much money, so he needs to take a look at it. The thing is, the bolts on the wing under the hood have moved out of position with the deformation from the impact and i don't know if the inner wing is damaged too? While i'm on about the wing, does anyone know if the wings are easy to get off? I've obviously seen the bolts under the hood but is there any welds maybe on the 'A' pillar that secures the wing to the car?

Fenders come of very easily. Only way there is welds is if they were welded prior to you buying the car from another owner. I had this problem in the upper radiator support bar and just drilled out the welds and replaced it, because I didn't like the job they did. I need them to straightened one side of the body as well, just real minor it is.

Anyways, yeah, those fenders come off easily.

Thanks for the advice!!

I've just got off the phone to my friend with the bodyshop and he reckons the damage probably looks a lot worse than it is? He's confident he can sort my hood out, and my nose section and just replace the fender. He says £190 for paintwork, which includes painting the new fender, respraying the hood and blowing it into the driver's door.

Sounds promising?

I'll keep you posted.

[trdproven]

At one point, I almost sold my celica when I had my exit thread, but I relooked everything, got opinions from other non-celica drivers, and they convinced me to keep it. Different story in a way but my point is, is that you have to find a way to keep it if possible. GL with the repairs, maybe this is your chance to get a different front end. I have 2 94 front bumpers but sadly even if I gave you one free, shipping would cost you more than actually buying it from where you're at.

[njccmd2002]

dude start looking out for parts, there are plenty everywhere, trash the hood and the bumper get another one, so waht if different color for a while, see if the can sort out the frame.

you ll regret it if you sell it. Heck, find a celica with a blown engine, and transplant yours....

[Racer_J]

OK guys, here's the pics:-







Not a pretty sight!

Just got back from the bodyshop, they guy there reckons he can fix it no problem and it won't cost that much either, which is good news. I just need to wait and see what the insurance say next week, fingers crossed!

At one point, I almost sold my celica when I had my exit thread, but I relooked everything, got opinions from other non-celica drivers, and they convinced me to keep it. Different story in a way but my point is, is that you have to find a way to keep it if possible. GL with the repairs, maybe this is your chance to get a different front end. I have 2 94 front bumpers but sadly even if I gave you one free, shipping would cost you more than actually buying it from where you're at.

Hey, thanks for the offer though!

[richee3]

Shi....... I hate dumb drivers.

[Racer_J]

Well guys, it's finally time for my Celica to go the journey.

Turns out the damage was worse than I initially thought. I figured it was mainly just panel damage but the structure beneath the fender has sustained quite heavy damage too. It could be repaired but it would never be a strong as it was.

Because of that, the insurance wanted to destroy the original registration document meaning if I decided to rebuild the car, it would have to be examined by VOSA (Vehicle standards Agency here in the UK) and be listed as a "total loss" or insurance write-off. This would wipe out any residual value left in the car, effectively making it worthless. If anything was to happen to it in the future or I was to sell it, I would get next to nothing for it.

Because of this, I've decided to take the settlement figure and let the car go. This might sound a bit sad as I know it's just a car but I feel like i'm saying goodbye to an old friend. I'll miss my Celica a lot, that's for sure.

As for 6GC, well thanks for all the advice and the laughs over the last couple of years but as I'm not having much luck finding another Celica, I'll probably end up with something else (the insurance didn't give me much money for it), so I guess I'll not be able to post here in future?

So all that's left to say is best of luck with all those Celica's out there, I hope everyone enjoys every mile in theirs as I have in mine.

[NGHTKD]

pain in the fukn arse. im really sorry to here, coz i know what id be like if it was my car. wish you all the luck in the future champ!!!

cal.

This post has been edited by NGHTKD: Feb 8, 2009 - 4:33 AM

[njccmd2002]

insurance is only good for new cars. for cars like this, you go underground...

[richee3]

Man, you've had some rotten luck with your car lately. First, the rims, now this. I'm sorry to hear about all of that. But I guess all I can say is, best of luck with everything! I hope you get a car that's just as much fun to drive.

[Racer_J]

OK guys, I finally got myself sorted with a new ride, and guess what?....


It ain't a Celica.








Now don't get me wrong, I loved my Celica, I just couldn't find one like it, so I bought this!!

I'm gonna keep my eyes open in the future for a good 6th gen but for now, this will do just fine!



This post has been edited by Racer_J: Mar 1, 2009 - 5:04 PM

[Fastbird]

OK guys, here's the pics:-

WOW. Those look almost EXACTLY like my pics. That should have been rebuildable though, we got mine torn down and the upper fender apron was fine on mine save for the front corner which was easily fixable.

Here's what mine looked like:





I'm just amazed at the similarity of the accident/damage.