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'Tis a sad day

Gorgon

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Jul 15, 2002
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Location
Philadelphia, PA
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Earlier this week the C5 was rear ended. Still waiting to see how bad the damage is as the adjuster from the other insurance company has still not stopped by to inspect the car. Most of the damage appears to be to the rear bumper cover and the exhaust. While the trunk was hard to open initially after the accident there seems to be no problem now.

We have the car at a reputable shop now, but my main worry is the ability to match the Pewter metallic paint on the car. I did a search on the forum already and found a few matches. I sent Vettegirl a PM to see how it went with her car earlier this year as she has the same year and color.

If anyone has any advice it would be appreciated.
 
Leon,
I just went thru this on my '04......once they have the rear fascia off I suppose they will find the impact foam and rear impact beam damaged. My wife was barely hit and the beams were both toast. You will also want to make sure they did not damage the fibreglass tub. Depending on the angle and speed, sometimes the impact beam pushes up into the tub, cracking it. It is a simple fix, they just fibreglass it up.
Paint was not an issue for me since the car was only 3.5 months old, hopefully yours will go smooth. Take a look for a thread entitled C5 Damage...not for the weak at heart and you can see my saga.
Also, make sure the car is put on a frame machine afterwards to ensure that all measurement points are still in place. I doubt they will be but if the impact beam is damaged and replaced, they need to check.
And last but not least, document and photograph everything you can. After that, get a diminished value report and go back after the insurance company for the loss in value of your car. You are entitled to it and they will not tell you about it.

Good luck,

Cee
 
My 98 Pewter got run into 3 times while I had it.

Behind the rear bumper is a styrofoam padding to help absorb impact.

The local Chevy bodyshop did an excellent job color-blending the paint.
 
Well, slow starting on the repairs and the estimates. The initial estimate was without taking the bumper cover off and was in the line of $2100 for the new bumper cover, new B&B Tri Flo exhaust and license plate frame assembly. They took the cover off today and found damage to the rear impact beam as 68Roadster had mentioned as well as the foam shock absorber. Looks like the impact beam will need to be cut off and a new one welded on. There also appears to be a small crack in the fiberglass tub.

The body shop seemed to think that the whole tub would need to be replaced, or some serious disassembly of the car to move the tub out of the way so the new bumper could be welded on. Can anyone tell me if this is the case? I will be going by the shop tomorrow with my digital to get some pictures as well as an updated estimate of the damage. I have yet to research the diminished value report.
 
Gorgon,
They should be able to fix the tub. It goes from the back of the car to just behind the seats.
The body guy here just did a plastic repair, I think it is outlined in the Shop Manual. He coated it on the inside and outside, just to make sure water could not get in.
They shouldn't have to remove the tub to weld the new impact beam, at least on mine they didn't. Just have them paint the beam before they weld it that way no spray is getting all over the rear. They can touch it up after welding.
If your shop needs to talk to someone, have them call Frank at James Wood Chevrolet in Denton, Texas......he knows what he is doing.
Good luck, keep us advised on the progress. My repairs ran 3900. but I had the front smashed too.
My diminshed value report is due back tomorrow, I'll let ya know how that turned out also.
Get pictures of everything, get a detailed list of parts replaced, and after the beam is welded on make sure they check the frame alignment.
For diminished value, you may want to talk to Richard H. @ www.collisionclaims.com

Later.....
 
Leon,

Sorry to hear about your car. Hopefully everything will work out in the end adn
 
Sorry to hear about the 99, Leon. I hope it all goes well.

:w
Guy
 
I know how you feel...my baby was rear-ended also. Close to 3g's worth of damage. I hope you all are not injured. So sorry to hear about this happening to a fellow vetter. Hang in there!
 
Leon & Penny,

Sorry to hear that your cars were hit. But I'm sure they'll fix it well and you won't even notice anything. I'm sure they can match the colors quite well, not like it's a discontinued color or anything like that.

I like the idea of the performance exhaust! :D
 
Gorgon,

Got my diminished value report today. Final numbers are:

3900.00 in repairs equals 3100.00 in diminished value........we'll see what their insurance company has to say....

Hows the repair going??

Wanna know what a C5 bumper looks like on your garage wall??
 
They said they were starting repairs yesterday. I'm about ready to drive by and check out the progress and drop off the new tires. We were getting ready to have new tires mounted (been sitting in the garage) and since the car will need an alignment and balance anyway, we just have to pay for mounting. A couple positives in all this.

I have some pictures that I will post a little later.
 
68Roadster : You should get some brake light lenses, and then wire lights behind them so that they light up!! PM me or email or something if you need some ideas on powering/wiring lights in there!
 
I went by Friday and they hadn't even started on the car. Should be starting today and I will be going down this afternoon to check on their progress. I have attached a couple photos of the car when it was damaged and what it looked like on Friday.

I took the last pic (the one from the side in the shop) as I thought the C5 looked really good with the bumper cover cut short. They basically drilled a hole and cut the old bumper off. If they could keep it that short in the back it would look fantastic. Hoping for this effect with the C6. :)

Leon
 
Leon, It does not look that bad. Hopefully you wont lose much on the value. And I agree, it does look better with the short bumper.
 
Bryan, it isn't real bad, it's just taking forever to get the car complete. It sure would be nice to get the Vette back in the garage and the Taurus back to the rental car company.
 
Man this scares me. Dam people like to tag your a** and want to race all the f***** time.

I hope it works out for you. She is a beauty.
 
corvettecrazy said:
68Roadster : You should get some brake light lenses, and then wire lights behind them so that they light up!! PM me or email or something if you need some ideas on powering/wiring lights in there!

CC,
Thanks for the offer......I'll keep that in mind, it was my original intention but I don't think I'm gonna find 4 decents tail lights that someone wants to get rid of cheap.........I think I could buy some for 15.00 ea. but I could use that somewhere else, like my old '68......
I'll e-mail ya if I come across a different setup, I would prefer to have it in my game room in lieu of the garage but you know how wives can be.......

Gorgon,
Hang in there dude.......it'll all be over with soon........your tub looks OK, just the impact beam, foam and rear cover.......I love the color.......
Thanks for the pics.......
 
Stopped by the shop this afternoon and it looks like things are underway. They got the old bumper off and the new one painted and ready to put on. It seems that GM recommends that they cut the corners in the fiberglass tub out to weld the new bumper on. This scares be a bit if the fiberglass work isn't done right as fiberglass absorbs water really easily. I need to make sure the fiberglass repair is done properly. The paint is being prepared and I should have it back later this week. Won't be soon enough...
 

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