wrecked gtp

i wrecked my 98' gtp the other day and messed up the front end pretty bad. i should total it but it's my baby and i don't want to get rid of it. i'm probably going to try and fix it but i was wondering if anyone has redone theirs and had any problems. or what things i should look for that could turn into a big problem. it's got a lot of damage, but i'm told it is fixable...if i'm willing to pay. i just don't want to make the decision to not total it, haul it home (i'm at school 1,000 from home), then get it to the place to fix it only to find out there's something major wrong with it. any info would be great. thanks

there's a picture of it in my gallery

by the looks of it, you would be better off totaling it. there is most likely decent frame damage, and replacing all the parts in the front end is going to cost quite a bit... and it will receive a salvage title. Get a few estimates, and see if you -really- want to fix it... I'm going to take a stab and say it will cost at least a good 6 grand.

the thing is, we'll only get $1500 more to total it than to just keep it. one guy at home said he'd fix it for 4000 w/ rebuilt parts, and another said 5 w/ new parts. the only thing is they haven't seen it in person. they've seen pictures and talked to the insurance guy, but haven't actually been able to see it. thanks for your input.

IF you do want to rebuild it...you'll need an entire new front end...probably new front wheels...2 new tires...a new engine...a new frame...it takes about a week or two to do the entire thing (i used 2 work at a car dealership...we had a few major front end collisions like yours come through)
you'll probably get what's called a front clip...that is the entire front end...that'll probably run about 1000 at least...an engine isn't cheap either...i have personally done a frame swap (most of one anyway) and they take a while...and that's just the frame! i dunno...check it out...see what u wanna do

ok scratch the wheels and tires...but from what i see it loox like u need a new winshield, too...i personally wouldn't spend probably 6-7K rebuildin a Grand Prix GTP...i'd just get a new car...

I would just get another car. I had a similar wreck, drove my '97 GTP into a ford F-350 that pulled out in front of me. I totalled my car. That same car, I slid off in a ditch before I hit the ford, and I only had small dents, but it cost $3000 to fix, because I had three broken tie rods on the right rear, had to have a new wheel and tire on the right rear, a new front bumper, fix the exhaust...trust me, get a new car. The ford I hit belonged to the local water company...their insurance gave me $7200 for my car, and I bought a '99 GTP for $8600. I'll try to get some pics of my wreck up in my gallery and then you can see what I did to mine.

i wrecked my 98' gtp the other day and messed up the front end pretty bad

I had a similar wreck, drove my '97 GTP into a ford F-350

There is a pattern here:
GTP + girl = wreck


















j/k Accidents suck.

Okay, 3 pics of my wrecked '97 are in my gallery now, along with like, 8 pics of my NOT wrecked '99.

ouch!!! yeah i see some similarities. the insurance company will only give me $5500 to total it though. sucks cause it wasn't my fault. someone pulled out in front of me. the wheels and tires appear to be fine. i added another picture...a side view of the engine. oh and by the way, nice car.

Do you owe any money on the car, or is it completely paid off? If you don't owe on it, I'd try to fix it. But, if you still owe money, get the insurance money. If the amount you owe is more than the insurance company will give you, I would total it and cut the losses, unless there is a huge difference between what you owe and the 5500 that insurance will give you.

If you decide to get it fixed, count on having it nickel and dime you after the initial hit to rebuild it. Other things besides what would be replaced could fail, you just never know. And I would replace the front wheels and tires, just to be safe.

i owe about the same amount that i'd get from the insurance company, but have already paid 4-5,000 on it.

well, if thats the case, I would just total it and pay off the loan. The way I see it is you could total it, pay off the loan, and get a decent new car for the total you would pay to have it fixed and what you already owe on it. but, thats just my opinion. Personally, I couldn't justify rebuilding a car for about what I owe on it, seeing that if you take into account what you already paid, what you would pay to have it fixed, and what you owe on it.

I see it as paying 15,000 for a 10,000 dollar car. Just my 2 cents.

Best of luck on whatever you decide to do.

well if i keep it and don't total it the insurance comp will give me about what it will take to fix it. we may even come out with a little extra. i understand what you're saying about paying 15 for a 10,000 car though. the only thing that's making me consider this is that i'll pretty much get paid to get it fixed. if i total it, i'll lose the 5,000 i've already paid on the loan, and have to take out a whole new loan and since i'm not getting much to total it....i won't have that much to get a new one with. i appreciate your input though.

ok... I was assuming that the insurance was not going to give you enough to cover most of the repair total. Since they are, I say go ahead and fix it, and then you can still justify the 5 grand you already paid for it.

The insurance company only wanted to give me $5000 for mine. Get them to show you a copy of the appraisal...I bet they're doing you like they did me...they left off sixteen cost options on my car when they did the appraisal. My GTP was fully loaded, the only cost option it didn't have was a power antenna, and they left off EVERYTHING. The adjuster emailed me a copy of the appraisal, and they had a listing of every option avaliable on a '97 GTP, and put a * beside the ones my car was appraised as having. They left off blatantly obvious things, like the sunroof and leather seats. In my case, too, someone pulled out in front of me.

Do yourself a favor...go to www.kbb.com and www.edmunds.com and get pricing reports on your car. Use them as leverage, that's what I did. We offered to settle for the difference between the two reports, which was $7100, and after I called them on the botched appraisal, I got $7200. You can probably get a little more out of them, never take the first offer.

Total it. It will never be the same.

total it... a car that has been wrecked and rebuilt is never the same to me.....

I have to agree...total it. As much as it hurts to lose your baby (believe me, I've been through it twice, and I boo hooed both times when I had to clean the cars out) it won't ever be the same. Fixing damage like that can cause problems to crop up later, damage that they might not see when they fix it. I wanted to keep my '97 GTP so bad, because I had a lot of memories in that car, but I totalled it. Now I have my '99 GTP (which is a coupe! Finally!) and can make some new memories.

glad you did not get hurt physically,just your pride,which is always the bitter pill.....good luck on your next ride!!!!

Yeah, I wasn't so lucky...I'm STILL going to the doctor for medical problems...I have to go next wednesday for an MRI on my right shoulder because the airbag dislocated it, and when I popped it back in, the doctor thinks I might have torn my rotator cuff. Yay. Be glad you weren't hurt.

First off, sorry about your luck. And second, after looking at the pix, i'd say she's totalled. It hurts, i know. But it would just take too much to fix. Plus i can just about guarantee you'll find yourself paying an arm and leg to have that frame fixed, cause i can bet money it's crumpled. Just remember, crap happens. i'd say total it, and take whatever money, if any you can get from the insurance compnay. Good luck!

I know I'm going against everything everyone has said, but I guess we're going to fix it. We're just going to lose too much money if we total it. We've fought the insurance but still won't get much. If we fix it we'll get more than enough money from them. Plus the guy that's fixing it has one just like mine there that has all the parts I'll need and has everything to fix the frame if it's messed up. Thanks for all of your input though. I really appreciate it. I'll let you know how it turns out.

yea he'll deff. hafta at LEAST fix the frame, if not replace some of it or all of it...if he does hafta replace it, it will probably be all of it...unless its just the "k" frame...the frame directly under the engine

I agree to total your car and go to www.kbb.com and get it appraised so you can negotiate more.

Ask them for the buy-back option. I've heard $500 or probably more.
If you got time, you can strip that car and sell it for parts ebay or locally ? :)

When my '94 was totalled, buy back was $900. We could have bought it back, parted it out, and made money. But you should definitely check out www.kbb.com and www.edmunds.com . Your car is probably worth more than you think.

I am selling my gtp for $7000 just total your car and buy another one. That car is really messed up! even if you fix it, it will never be the same and not worth as much either. email me @ [email protected] if interested.

You're going to run into problems down the road. It's possible your rack and pinion will be messed up, you're likely to have rattles and squeaks that you can't track down, and unless it's a body shop you know really really well, then you have no idea whether or not they're gonna take shortcuts putting your car back together. Even my '97 GTP, when I slid it off in a ditch...it wasn't totalled, it was fixable, cost $3000, but it was never the same afterward.

Trust me, if at all possible, total the car and get another. Tell the insurance company if they don't want to give you what the car is worth, they'll be talking to your lawyer. That always makes them want to cooperate.

Looking at this

http://files.automotiveforums.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=/501/177743new_wreck_005.jpg

http://files.automotiveforums.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=/501/177743wrecked_car_007.jpg

http://files.automotiveforums.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=/501/177743wrecked_car_001.jpg

Looking at this picture and based on my recent experience just replacing engine, tranny and SC. It is not worth it. Here is why:

Engine:
(Reman)Mr. Goodwrench with waranty is around $2,300.00.

Tranny:
(Reman)Mr. Goodwrench with waranty is around $1,900.00

SC:
Reman(Not Goodwrench but lifetime waranty) is around $1,500.00

I am using these as base since sometimes buying big parts like these from a Junk yard are more trouble than good. And even tought the tranny looks like did not had external damage the impact could cause internal damage that may arise soon. The engine could have the block internally cracked or little bents, the SC pulley or shaft could be bent or broken, the strut towers could be bent also.

An educated guess for the OEM hood is $900.00
The fenders could be $1,200 both.
If you have HUD then the windshield is $900.00
If you find a donor car from where to get the front chasi and strut towers(If yours are croocked), could be around $2,000.00

This is just parts without taking into consideration the radiator, the air box, the PCM, Headlights capsules, side markers, front bumper, front shock absorber and the Labor.
Definetly it would not worth it to fix it. Unless you are really certain that the insurance will pay for all the wreck. Usually from past experience the Insurance only pay the depreciated cost of the parts. They do not care if the parts are like new. For them they are not new and they would not pay for them at new part prices.

And if they do pay for it, the car will never feel the same. I have a 99 blazer(bought it on Sept 99) that was hitted on the side. The engine neither the tranny or any mechanical components were broken I was able to drive it home. The S10 accident was on Feb 2000 and the insurance paid 13,000 on new parts and labor. The truck never felt the same. I love it but the new truck feeling got lost as soon as I got it back from the shop. And I had to fix small things related to the crash that showed up later like shocks, fender covers that finally broke and similar parts. To my opinion it does not worth it to fix it.