Hi all, I wanted to share a little history on our car and let you all know the current state of it. In 2014, we moved from Tampa to Anchorage with the military. My was was driving her '04 GTO, but we didn't want to put it through Alaska weather, so we left it with her parents while we were stationed there. We bought her a truck to handle the winters and made the 9-day drive there. Less than 9 months later, she was missing her GTO, so she started looking for a car specifically with a manual transmission and some power. We happened to find our Saab at a Volvo dealership- 2006 Aero, 6-speed convertible and it was practically mint minus the front lip. She fell in love with it on the test drive (even with the shift knob popping off into her hand), and it was in our driveway the next day. That car has been her baby for the past 4 years. It was a summer only car in Alaska and we had it shipped back to Florida last year when we moved back.
As it sat last month, it was immaculate with 109k miles. Paint is almost flawless minus a few door dings and the interior is clean. We had replaced the fuel sending unit and the evap valve, and she was running great. It currently has a BSR intake, a cat-back exhaust and a few other small upgrades. I was planning on doing the Brembo upgrade along with a stage 0 tune for my wife's birthday later this year.
So about 3 weeks ago, I ended up working late but had a couple hours for dinner. I called my wife to pick me up so we could have dinner together. She arrives, I start driving and head towards the back gate to leave base. The base police had shut the outbound lanes down, and traffic was backed up at least a quarter mile. We stopped and had been waiting at least a minute or 2 when somebody not paying attention hit us from the rear going 25-30. There were no skid marks, or sound of him attempting to brake or avoid the accident and his front plate bracket impacted almost dead center on our bumper. Here are some pics of the cars. We were hit hard enough that the passenger rear quarter panel started to buckle. The impact beam was deformed in three places as well as being compressed.
https://imgur.com/a/0irQzVX
It took a few weeks, but I was finally able to get their insurance to accept responsibility and we took it to a collision center. Repair quote came back at $3500, and we were told that it's going to be a total loss. My wife started is really broken up about it as she's loved this car more than any other we've owned. I've been feeling sick to me stomach seeing it sit in our driveway, with minimal visible damage and still fully drivable, but knowing it's going to a salvage auction soon.
I guess the real reason for this post is for advice. Do I try and fight the loss and get it fixed? Do we take the money and start looking for another one? I've found one on ebay in PA that she's willing to make an offer on. Or do we buy it back and get it repaired? I feel like the car is in too good of condition to let it go, but then we'd have a rebuilt title. What are you all's thoughts, we could use some advice from others that have gone through this before. I've never had a car totaled out before and I think I'm being a little too emotional, but it's been an absolutely fantastic car to us.
I'll let you all know what the final outcome is when it's all done, but I wanted to make sure if it is totaled, you guys have the vin incase it pops back up with a clean title. If repaired I have complete faith in the car, but I'd want the future owner to know the history.
VIN: YS3FH76U666103962
As it sat last month, it was immaculate with 109k miles. Paint is almost flawless minus a few door dings and the interior is clean. We had replaced the fuel sending unit and the evap valve, and she was running great. It currently has a BSR intake, a cat-back exhaust and a few other small upgrades. I was planning on doing the Brembo upgrade along with a stage 0 tune for my wife's birthday later this year.
So about 3 weeks ago, I ended up working late but had a couple hours for dinner. I called my wife to pick me up so we could have dinner together. She arrives, I start driving and head towards the back gate to leave base. The base police had shut the outbound lanes down, and traffic was backed up at least a quarter mile. We stopped and had been waiting at least a minute or 2 when somebody not paying attention hit us from the rear going 25-30. There were no skid marks, or sound of him attempting to brake or avoid the accident and his front plate bracket impacted almost dead center on our bumper. Here are some pics of the cars. We were hit hard enough that the passenger rear quarter panel started to buckle. The impact beam was deformed in three places as well as being compressed.
https://imgur.com/a/0irQzVX
It took a few weeks, but I was finally able to get their insurance to accept responsibility and we took it to a collision center. Repair quote came back at $3500, and we were told that it's going to be a total loss. My wife started is really broken up about it as she's loved this car more than any other we've owned. I've been feeling sick to me stomach seeing it sit in our driveway, with minimal visible damage and still fully drivable, but knowing it's going to a salvage auction soon.
I guess the real reason for this post is for advice. Do I try and fight the loss and get it fixed? Do we take the money and start looking for another one? I've found one on ebay in PA that she's willing to make an offer on. Or do we buy it back and get it repaired? I feel like the car is in too good of condition to let it go, but then we'd have a rebuilt title. What are you all's thoughts, we could use some advice from others that have gone through this before. I've never had a car totaled out before and I think I'm being a little too emotional, but it's been an absolutely fantastic car to us.
I'll let you all know what the final outcome is when it's all done, but I wanted to make sure if it is totaled, you guys have the vin incase it pops back up with a clean title. If repaired I have complete faith in the car, but I'd want the future owner to know the history.
VIN: YS3FH76U666103962
