espressomac

My work collegue walked into my office and said to me, "You're about to have a bad day." Well, that's never good, I thought. "A FedEx truck just nailed your car," he added solemnly, knowing full well what my 1997 Cabriolet means to me. He had just witnessed a FedEx truck back out way too fast, and with no screeching of brakes, just rammed its rear bumper into the front right corner of my Cab.



I guess I should have felt good that luckily no one got hurt, but I still couldn't help but feel awful. It was a sinking feeling that had a certain sense of finality to it. The minute I saw my car, I said to myself and anyone who could hear, "This is going to end badly."

And so it seems. FedEx's insurance asked me to get a quote to get it repaired. I went to get a quote from a shop that does a lot of work for Audi in Miami. The minute the guy saw my car he groaned. Never a good sign. He took lots of notes, all the time while shaking his head. Back at his computer he calmly said, "They're going to declare this a total loss." I actually didn't understand how bad that news was until he explained. Since the preliminary estimate is $4,800, he explained the insurance company is going to declare the car a total loss and will want to write me a check for its Blue Book value, about $3,200, and then TAKE AWAY my car! With a "total loss" they basically buy my car at book value and then they get to sell it for parts, because it's theirs. In other words, if the cost to repair is over 80% of the car's value, it's declared a total loss.

The recourse in the state of Florida is somewhat limited. But as I explore my options I'm increasingly resigned to what is probably inevitable. I could, if I wanted to, withdraw my claim and then I get to keep my crushed car. Not a great option since it is already recorded as having been in a crash by the police here.

If anyone has been in a similar situation and has words of wisdom to share, I'm all ears.

I guess my only consolation is that the Cab lived a full life, including making an appearance in some pretty cool photo shoots. Folks, take good photos of your Audi's. You will be really happy you did at some point in the future.

My Cab in happier times:



















Sorry for the large number of photos. Was just very proud of that car...

For anyone interested, more photos from that shoot that I'm so glad took place.

immortal-car

CRAZY_RUSSIAN

ow my.... i am truly sorry for your loss! and i am surprised that FedEx driver survived...
i dont have much experience with insurance claims, but first of all, is the frame straight? do you know if you can purchase the car back from the insurance company? if so, you might be able to purchase the required parts used which will save you a good chunk of money, get them painted and install them yourself. that's my 2 cents. keep us posted on the outcome

espressomac

Quick Russian -- Thanks for the sentiment. The frame seems to be fine. It certainly is drivable and I've been driving it. What has been indicated to me is the following.
- Only licensed car parts dealers are allowed to buy at "total loss" auctions. I have not confirmed that. Anyone?
- Even if I could somehow buy the car and fix it, its history will show that it was once a total loss and most insurance companies won't insure it.

Enjoy your 90CS Quattro. (Take nice pictures of it.)

egp320i

Nipped on the corner, certainly need to get some parts from the yard but it's certainly fixable.
When you said crushed I was thinking a pure head on with the engine pushed into the drivers seat.

People buy salvage title cars, fix them and drive them thus they get insurance.
Maybe some states are different but I can't see insurance being any different.

"When a vehicle has been in an accident and the total damage exceeds a certain percentage of the value of the car (ranging from 75-90 percent), the insurance company will decide that it is not economically feasible to repair it and declares it a "total loss." What happens next varies by state, but in general, the motor vehicle agency will then issue a "salvage certificate" to the car. This means that the car cannot be driven, sold or registered in its current condition.

Usually, the insurance company sells the car to either a repair facility or parts dismantler. If the car is repaired, most states require that it pass a basic safety inspection before the motor vehicle agency will issue a new title. When the state does issue the title, it's "branded," and notes that the car has been salvaged or rebuilt so future owners are aware of its past."

gag4o

Oh..my....god. You must do everything to safe the car. THis is easy repairable.
First of all people like us, with those cars are very rare kind. One day you will be sorry to realise how nice it would be if you kept it..regardless of the price.
Those parts can be found in state of Florida comaparably easy. A car with color like yours will jump out soon I am sure and you can buy the broken parts - hood, fender , bumper and headlight for not more than $200-250...

PS those pictures are afully nice ...specially the first one
keep us updated but try keep the car

gag4o

I forgot to say to encourage you:
My Cabriolet was stolen last May!!! I was just so done....my world was over... One month after that the police found her with stolen wheels, laying on its belly. No body damages and crushed center console... I repaired everything and I was so happy. But the scene of the car, laying in the mud - awful

espressomac

eg0320i & gag4o:

Trust me, I continue to wrestle with this. The shop really did try to source used parts, but they could only find a hood. And they told me that it wasn't "insurance grade" or something like that. In other words, the insurance companies would not pay for it because it does not meet insurance standards.

I will look into being able to buy my own car back and getting insurance, but in terms of parts I think I'm looking at buying another Cabriolet in even worse shape than mine and extracting the fender, bumper and hood. And my Cab's top doesn't open fully anymore. Gets stuck halfway. So there's that too. So buying my car back plus another Cab plus labor to fix it all is going to cost a bit more than I can justify. I can probably just buy another 1997 Cab for less money.

This is difficult. I know some (if not most) of you can identify with how personal this can feel. I can't imagine the feeling of anguish in the case of a stolen Cabriolet!

I'll be talking to their insurance company again this week. At least I have one thing in my favor: the claim does not get closed until the claimant (that would be me) accepts the offer. Not that they're going to give me the offer I want, but still, it means that time is sort of on my side.

egp320i

You can go on car-parts and search the entire USA for a perfect example. Most likely you will find them out west, rust free and they will ship them.
I had to replace my fromt subframe that rusted a fist size hole in it.
I found a rust free in AZ, had it shipped to the shop doing the job and all is good now.

If you can find somewhat local to you a cab you can pirate the parts that would be reasonable and you would also have spares of everything you want.

gag4o

I see...
normally the top leaks and with the time it starts open the half way - in that case it works but needs fluid and maybe some line somewhere, but its godd that it works.
You can buy 98 cabriolet.... its the same car. 96 or some of them are same too, excluding the steering wheel .. actually all the cabriolets were produced till 98 (even 99-2000 in Europe ) has stamps on all parts "produced in 97 or 98"

Now if FLorida craigslist there are a few good cabs recently and they are more to come I believe.. Florida is a cabrio state and people are getting rid of their cabs ...

When they stole mine I did not have full coverage - lucky me otherwise I would end up with no car. So the insurance didnt pay and I was able to take my carback for $130 total for 2 weeks in the tow company.,..

Hybrid_Hatch

Sucks to hear, sorry to see a loved family member go like this. You should be able to buy it back from insurance without any discussion. It should be a straight forward process.