C5 Rear-Ended!!! :-(

Well, it finally has happened. After owning my Corvettes ('80, '98, and '01) since '92, I finally have been involved in a wreck... I was sitting stopped at a light in the '01, when a 16 year old rear ended me on a rain-slick road.The impact was straight and centered on the rear-end.

At first glance, you can see no damage. However, the dealer said the energy absorbing foam behind the bumper was split in two, and the "impact bar" was bent, and estimated $1,165.00 to repair it and repaint the rear fascia. Looking at the car, you can see a tiny amount of crinkle in the paint right below the tag mount.

My question is: should I bother with this or not? I intend to repaint the car Torch Red (it's Quicksilver now) when the paint gets a little more wear on it, so I'm leaning toward just saving the repair money, and having this damage repaired when I have it painted.

Ideas???

TIA Pappy

Reply to
Pappy
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I would repair it. What if you get rear ended again but much worst? You need the foam and the impact bar. It may save your life.

Reply to
benf802961

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Ow! Sorry to hear this.

Suggest strongly you make the repair. If as described by the dealer, the ability of the structure under the fascia to absorb energy is greatly reduced and a second strike in the same area would do a disproportionate amount of damage. Besides, one hopes the kid (or his parents or insurance company) will pay for it anyhow.

Reply to
Vandervecken

I AGREE !!!!

If you are a California owner the law states that if he rear ends you, (that too at a stop light) then the damage is 110% his and his (or his parents) insurance company is liable. I assume you got your police report and all dealer paperwork done and your insurance has been informed.

youre all set to go.. save your money for some acessories bud. and a very Merry christmas to you.

Reply to
E_Tar

I think you missed the point... Pappy wants to take the insurance money, but not do the repairs right now, but rather save the money for a repaint in the future.

I'd suggest it would be smart to replace the energy-absorbing material now, as suggested by ben and V, or do that plus the repaint now.

Reply to
WayneC

I'm definitely going to make the repairs, and the kids Dad wrote me a check for the damages plus the cost of a rental car for 4 days. I'm just wondering if I could somewhat safely risk postponing the repairs for a year or two, to avoid painting the rear fascia now, only to repaint the whole car then. I would have the impact damage repaired at the same time the new paint job is done...

Pappy

Reply to
Pappy

Re.

Well, here's what you could do... Park the vette in your garage, and do not use it to commute. use it only for a weekend drive... wait for a year and save up for the paint job. How much would the paint job cost (assuming you have to sand or replace your rear end facia) ? But don't you think it is a shame to have such a lovely car as a C5 and waste it away without showing it the road as much as possible ? If I had the extra money, I would just have all the work done right now. Better to drive your car in its heyday than wait and drive it crippled and that too rarely for fear of more damage.

But that's just one guys opinion. :-) I'm working on restoring an 80's C3 right now, a real beaut, I will post pics when it is done.

Everybody have a great holiday season.

Reply to
E_Tar

As an owner of a 01 Quicksilver vert, I would have it fixed and not repainted. Sell it and get the Torch red car you want. A repaint is never as durable as the factory paint. I also have a 93 Ruby coupe that was repainted and it chips so easily now. Just my .02 worth.

Reply to
Jim & Pat

If I wanted to change the color of my car, I'd probably look for stock panels in the color I want rather than a repaint. The only nice paint job that would have satisfied me (and I'm really not that picky) was $10,000 (on a '78 vette). Any other car that I have ever seen repainted had bubbles, or fisheyes, overspray, sliced weatherstrips, windows don't go up all the way, door jambs not cleared.. should I go on?? Replacement pannels could probably be had for $3000-4000 used.

-Stan

Reply to
sbright

Boy, I've had such negative feedback about the repaint idea that I'm now having second thoughts about doing that... Thanks for the feedback guys. Pappy

Reply to
Pappy

The cost of the repair is today's cost. It may cost more to repair tomorrow. Repair today.

Reply to
Mack

I honestly do NOT see any issues other then COST if you want to repaint a Corvette... Heck 4 of my 5 have been repainted ( all were done to show quality..and none was very cheap)

My 5th Corvette is my 95 which is Black on Black... which I absolutely hate (color wise) BUT there is NO Way I would drop $6,000 or more to have it repainted a differemnt color... the car is simply not worth that much... much cheaper to just buy another car in a color I like...

I'd fix the car now in any case....

Bob G.

Reply to
Bob G.

Everyone jumped on me about advice because mine seems to revolve too much around value.

But value plays a big part of all of this, unlike 25 and 30 years ago.

If you have no plans on selling, paint it whatever you want.

If you plan to sell relatively soon, new paint will help but with three caveats:

  1. New paint shines so it attracts people.
  2. A different (i.e., "wrong" for that car) color will limit those who are interested in buying (reduce your customer base).
  3. A "wrong" color (one people don't like) will reduce your customer base while a "right" color will increase the number interested in buying.

Good luck on what you decide, but anyway you go, fix the car now.

Reply to
Tom in Missouri

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