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Can this be fixed?

3K views 47 replies 12 participants last post by  SilverStone641 
#1 ·
Well, this is less of a legitimate thread, and more of a poor me, and poor saab thread.

I hydroplaned off of the interstate, spun three times, bounced off the concrete barrier, spun the other direction, and landed parked perfectly on the shoulder. I hit the barrier doing about sixty i think. Notice theres is little to no quarter panel damage? I don't think my radiator is even busted!!! i'm pretty sure i could have driven it home, but something was binding on the right hand side causing a terrible noise.

Here's the scary part though. my airbags DID NOT deploy. Is that even possible? i mean, i can understand if i hit at the wrong angle, etc. But i hit dead center.

Anyways, i have no injuries, not even whiplash. LONG LIVE SAAB
P.S. i will be getting another SAAB. not even considering anything else!!



 
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#3 ·
lol. if i had known two days ago i probably would have! the assesor looked at it yesterday! lol.

The bummer is, the insurance guy is all ancy to get out of town for the holidays. i heard today by four. so, either he hurries up, or i go the next week or two sans vehicle.

I seriously doubt they'll issue a totalled check in any sort of speediness.

But, on the upside, i get a newer one! i'm looking at an 05-06. yay!
 
#6 ·
SilverStone641 said:
I hydroplaned off of the interstate....

Here's the scary part though. my airbags DID NOT deploy. Is that even possible? i mean, i can understand if i hit at the wrong angle, etc. But i hit dead center.
Good to hear that you are OK. Cars (as much as we love them) can be replaced.

Air bag sensors are triggered by deceleration..many factors come into play but it looks like the front bumper and other things helped 'soften' the blow (probably didn't feel like that) and slow the deceleration.

Curious as to how fast you were traveling and type and condition of your tires? Did you run through standing water or a puddle or was it just wet road? I've been in a few hydroplane "incidents"...it's very scarey and happens quickly.
 
#7 ·
oh my god, it happens so much faster then you think! i always thought, i'm a good driver, i can drift decently well, should be no problem if i ever loose control. I'll just decelerate, downshift, pull a little movie style driving, and be fine!

wow, i was so wrong. Literally, 8 seconds and it was over. scariest ride of my life. And the kicker was, i was in the middle of traffic with two eighteen wheelers behind me. Didn't hit anyone.

As far as conditions, the four firemen, two paramedics, and two cops that arrived all said that stretch of interstate was notorious for hydroplaning. The water puddles up in such a way that you can't see it until you're in it.

Concerning tires, they're nearly brand new. Less the six months old!(which i need to tell the insurance guy.)

all in all, i don't really recommend doing this, but if you must, do it in a large parking lot away from barriers, they always win!!!! :-D
 
#8 ·
d2jp said:
Good to hear that you are OK. Cars (as much as we love them) can be replaced.

Air bag sensors are triggered by deceleration..many factors come into play but it looks like the front bumper and other things helped 'soften' the blow (probably didn't feel like that) and slow the deceleration.

Curious as to how fast you were traveling and type and condition of your tires? Did you run through standing water or a puddle or was it just wet road? I've been in a few hydroplane "incidents"...it's very scary and happens quickly.
That is a very good question about the tires, and we should know.
Tires ,worn down to a legal 1/8", will hydroplane.
Driving too fast will help, if slippage occurs.

Be thankful that the air bags did NOT deploy , causing another $1,500 in damage...as they did in the wife's '97 Honda Accord, when she hit a little tree at 4 mph !!! And this information is NOT in CU...
 
#14 ·
Frank_Drebin said:
DAAAAYYYYUUUUUMMMM! Glad you're alright. I'm sure insurance will total it if it's over 5 years old.

NOW QUICK... SEND ME YOUR SMOKED SIDE MARKERS BEFORE THEY ASSESS IT.:cheesy:
I'm going tonight to pull my stuff out of the car. if i can get em off, and if you still want em, they're yours.

i'll let you know and you can tell me where to send em
 
#17 ·
The GrillE looks ok too.


That's worth some $$$.


See if you can snag the DI, BPC, and the pass side corner lens.

I can think of someone who may want the lens.

:)
 
#22 ·
SilverStone! Don't you want to wait and see if you can buy it back for a couple hundred? Then use some of the money to fix it, and have a wad of pocket change? Before you sell parts off of it? Just my .02. :)
 
#23 ·
Leon said:
SilverStone! Don't you want to wait and see if you can buy it back for a couple hundred? Then use some of the money to fix it, and have a wad of pocket change? Before you sell parts off of it? Just my .02. :)

yeah, i thought that as well, and others have suggested it. But when i asked the insurance guy about it he gave me a BS line about the car probably going for $3000. which is total crap, because the autobody guy, whose a good friend of the family(does all our automotive work) said that they auction it off and there's no telling what they're going to get for it.

but yeah, that is a good suggestion.
 
#24 ·
What? $3000! What is this auctioning off of it? When my old car was totaled because of tree branches falling on it in the past, State Farm said it was totaled, and when I asked them about buying it back, they said, "Well, the junkyard we work thorough will give us $300 for it, so it'll be $300. I said hells yea! So he mailed me the check, minus $300 for keeping it, and I was a happy camper! :D


It was about 3 years ago, it was a 1993 Mitsubishi Galant and I had only paid $900 for it off of Ebay. When totaled, I got a check for $2,225! Man, it pays to have full coverage! LOL!
 
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