Hit a van on way to school...

GT2000 · 12-02-2005, 03:25 PM

I was literally within sight of the building, but I was late, and there was a big line at the stop sign, so I took one of the side streets to cut across. Well it was really icy/snowy out and none of the plows had done anything yet. I was doing about 5-10mph the whole time, got to the top of the sidestreet and then it just slid down the hill, it was pretty much all ice. I ended up sliding through a stop sign and t-boning a mini-van. Wasn't very fast at all though.

Anyway the cop gave me a ticket for "too fast for conditions", I think that 5-10mph was plenty slow for the conditions, it was just that there was a hill and I slid...

Oh well, all that needs to be replaced is the front bumper cover and the fender bent back a little. My question is though, should I go through the insurance and pay the 500 dollar deductible and go to the shop, or buy the fascia myself and do it all myself. Are the covers off of ebay and stuff any good?

On a lighter note, the SC/T lip made it out unharmed.

Here is the carnage.

TheNewLMHDesign · 12-02-2005, 03:29 PM

If you have the ability, do it yourself.

GT2000 · 12-02-2005, 03:29 PM

bleh, I hate all the salt, that is just from one day of driving...

TheNewLMHDesign · 12-02-2005, 03:33 PM

It's black, what did you expect?

Btw, what area of Illinois do you live in?

GT2000 · 12-02-2005, 03:36 PM

About an hour North of the city, in McHenry county.

Haha, yeah black is so nice when its clean, but so nasty when dirty. Last year it was really bad, it was extremely cold all winter, I got it washed maybe once the whole season.

But yeah, I have the ability to do it, just have to find the best/cheapest place for the parts.

rabidpanda69 · 12-02-2005, 04:04 PM

If you can do it yourself do it. Otherwise I would guess that 500 will be less than the work you need and since it was a reported accedent the insurance co. will already know. So either yourself or going through insurance will probably help.

GT2000 · 12-02-2005, 04:13 PM

Yeah, its been reported and everything, we have a $500 deductible, so if it goes through insurance and the shop, it will probably be that or more, so I'd end up paying 500 max. I think if I did it myself I could save a few bucks.

**Big Joe** · 12-02-2005, 04:13 PM

nothing a little dut tape cant fix lol.

rabidpanda69 · 12-02-2005, 04:15 PM

Yeah, that sucks bigtime. How did the van come through?

DontPassTheFence · 12-02-2005, 04:22 PM

that sucks it! poor GA

tenspeed · 12-02-2005, 04:43 PM

At seventeen, I would think that you should eat it.

If you turn it in, you won't get that much after the deductable. The insurance company will charge you more for your premums to cover the cost of the accident.

Ebay has fenders available that are already painted. You maybe able to find a bumper cover that is painted too. Both parts bolt on and shouldn't be too hard to install.

I hit a deer last year and spent half of my insurance money on a SD hood and bumper cover (SE). They were both painted in my color.

~~Brandon~~ · 12-02-2005, 04:43 PM

the bumpercover is easy... its all those stupid plastic clips. at the junk yard like 100 or so dollars for it..... the fender is well up to you on if you can get it back into shape... id call a couple junkyards, see how much they will charge (and if they will pull the part for you) and go from there, but id do it myself. *what i did my first wreck*

also make sure it comes with the plate filler too.
as far as the ticket, dunno what to tell you, i had a cop give me a ticker at 1am because of a stop sign i went thru at 1mph (i had a digital dash) but it was 110 bucks.

Bouchie11982 · 12-02-2005, 04:43 PM

easy fix

it'll cost ya though. sry to see it though

Gigante · 12-02-2005, 06:19 PM

I replaced my bumper cover a little while ago and I didnt have any kind of experience so you should be able to do it easily. If you do buy something from ebay dont buy from Pershing Auto Body. Dealing with them is the biggest pain and it tooks almost a year before I actually got my bumper. THey have the biggest morons working there. And the bumper was delivered in nothing but a little bubble rap which doesnt protect too much.

XoticGA · 12-02-2005, 06:23 PM

Awwwww Nick

**ga5speed02** · 12-02-2005, 06:25 PM

awww im sorry

JoeyK · 12-02-2005, 07:42 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by tenspeed
At seventeen, I would think that you should eat it.

If you turn it in, you won't get that much after the deductable. The insurance company will charge you more for your premums to cover the cost of the accident.

Ebay has fenders available that are already painted. You maybe able to find a bumper cover that is painted too. Both parts bolt on and shouldn't be too hard to install.

I hit a deer last year and spent half of my insurance money on a SD hood and bumper cover (SE). They were both painted in my color.

I'm with Jim on this one. There is only one (bluer) varience for GM 8555 black & it's vary rare that you run across a car that needs it. You'll most likely have a perfect color match even buying off of ebay as long as they used GM 8555 to paint them. Your ins. will most likely go way up if you go through them. May as well save some money in the long run & eat it yourself. Unless your state allows your ins. co. to periodically check your state driving record, if that's the case they're gonna catch wind of it & raise it anyways.

rabidpanda69 · 12-02-2005, 09:22 PM

^^^ Thats what I was thinking. In WI your insurance co is notified if the accident was reported.

**TA^Guy** · 12-02-2005, 09:48 PM

That sucks.

I broke our front bumper on a snowbank on winter.

We found a GT one on ebay for $300 shipped, but it was dark green. The seller worked for a GM bodyshop and said he's paint it black for $50. I took a risk at matching it to the car but what the heck. Lucky for us, it was prefect, not a flaw in the paint anywhere.

GT2000 · 12-02-2005, 10:59 PM

Ins. Co. already knows, the women I hit reported her claim and our company called us before we even had a chance to get in touch with them or anything. I have to call them tommorow and give them my version of the story, hopefully they will be understanding and I won't get hit too hard. My insurance isn't too bad, its $1500 a year for full coverage, but that was with my good student discount and the accident/ticket free discount, that second one goes bye bye now.

12-02-2005, 03:25 PM	#1
GT2000 Hammer Time! Joined: Sep 18, 2004 Member Number: 7970 Location: IL Age: 22 Vehicle Information: 1998 Chevy S10 Blazer LS Engine: 4.3L V6 1979 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am Engine: Olds 403 Odometer: 75,000 Mi	Hit a van on way to school... I was literally within sight of the building, but I was late, and there was a big line at the stop sign, so I took one of the side streets to cut across. Well it was really icy/snowy out and none of the plows had done anything yet. I was doing about 5-10mph the whole time, got to the top of the sidestreet and then it just slid down the hill, it was pretty much all ice. I ended up sliding through a stop sign and t-boning a mini-van. Wasn't very fast at all though. Anyway the cop gave me a ticket for "too fast for conditions", I think that 5-10mph was plenty slow for the conditions, it was just that there was a hill and I slid... Oh well, all that needs to be replaced is the front bumper cover and the fender bent back a little. My question is though, should I go through the insurance and pay the 500 dollar deductible and go to the shop, or buy the fascia myself and do it all myself. Are the covers off of ebay and stuff any good? On a lighter note, the SC/T lip made it out unharmed. Here is the carnage.

12-02-2005, 03:29 PM	#3
GT2000 Hammer Time! Joined: Sep 18, 2004 Member Number: 7970 Location: IL Age: 22 Vehicle Information: 1998 Chevy S10 Blazer LS Engine: 4.3L V6 1979 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am Engine: Olds 403 Odometer: 75,000 Mi	bleh, I hate all the salt, that is just from one day of driving... __________________ I no longer own the GA. Just too lazy to make a new sig.

12-02-2005, 03:36 PM	#5
GT2000 Hammer Time! Joined: Sep 18, 2004 Member Number: 7970 Location: IL Age: 22 Vehicle Information: 1998 Chevy S10 Blazer LS Engine: 4.3L V6 1979 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am Engine: Olds 403 Odometer: 75,000 Mi	About an hour North of the city, in McHenry county. Haha, yeah black is so nice when its clean, but so nasty when dirty. Last year it was really bad, it was extremely cold all winter, I got it washed maybe once the whole season. But yeah, I have the ability to do it, just have to find the best/cheapest place for the parts. __________________ I no longer own the GA. Just too lazy to make a new sig.

12-02-2005, 04:04 PM	#6
rabidpanda69 Weeeeeeeeeeeeee Joined: Aug 10, 2004 Member Number: 7473 Location: madison WI Age: 24 Vehicle Information: 1999 Pontiac Grand Am SE Engine: V6 Best ET: 15.753@88.36	If you can do it yourself do it. Otherwise I would guess that 500 will be less than the work you need and since it was a reported accedent the insurance co. will already know. So either yourself or going through insurance will probably help. __________________ Does it qualify as an addiction if you move in with your parents to fund it?

12-02-2005, 04:13 PM	#7
GT2000 Hammer Time! Joined: Sep 18, 2004 Member Number: 7970 Location: IL Age: 22 Vehicle Information: 1998 Chevy S10 Blazer LS Engine: 4.3L V6 1979 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am Engine: Olds 403 Odometer: 75,000 Mi	Yeah, its been reported and everything, we have a $500 deductible, so if it goes through insurance and the shop, it will probably be that or more, so I'd end up paying 500 max. I think if I did it myself I could save a few bucks. __________________ I no longer own the GA. Just too lazy to make a new sig.

12-02-2005, 03:29 PM	#2
TheNewLMHDesign Senior Member Joined: May 30, 2004 Member Number: 6488 Location: Fishers, IN Age: 25	If you have the ability, do it yourself.

12-02-2005, 03:33 PM	#4
TheNewLMHDesign Senior Member Joined: May 30, 2004 Member Number: 6488 Location: Fishers, IN Age: 25	It's black, what did you expect? Btw, what area of Illinois do you live in?

12-02-2005, 04:13 PM	#8
Big Joe I'm Gone Joined: Jun 11, 2003 Member Number: 2317 Location: Yonkers,NY Age: 25 Sex: M Vehicle Information: 1994 Pontiac Grand Am Engine: 3100 Odometer: 150000 Mi 1999 Pontiac Grand Am GT Engine: 3400 Odometer: 80,000 Mi	nothing a little dut tape cant fix lol. __________________ If I said it, I meant it. Bite my tongue for no one. Call me evil, or unbelievable

12-02-2005, 04:15 PM	#9
rabidpanda69 Weeeeeeeeeeeeee Joined: Aug 10, 2004 Member Number: 7473 Location: madison WI Age: 24 Vehicle Information: 1999 Pontiac Grand Am SE Engine: V6 Best ET: 15.753@88.36	Yeah, that sucks bigtime. How did the van come through? __________________ Does it qualify as an addiction if you move in with your parents to fund it?

12-02-2005, 04:22 PM	#10
DontPassTheFence Zoom - Zoom Joined: Jan 30, 2005 Member Number: 9453 Location: Tempe/Chandler/Mesa, AZ Name: Matt Age: 23 Sex: M Vehicle Information: 2004 Mazdaspeed Miata Engine: 1.8L Turbo	that sucks it! poor GA __________________ http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...e/dptf_bar.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...nce/ga_bar.jpg Grand Am of the Week (GAOTW) - October 18th, 2005

12-02-2005, 04:43 PM	#11
tenspeed Old man of the SE Joined: Oct 05, 2003 Member Number: 3507 Location: Honeoye, NY Name: Jim Sex: M Vehicle Information: 2002 Pontiac Grand Am SE Engine: 2.2L Ecotec/ 5 speed Odometer: 102000 Mi	At seventeen, I would think that you should eat it. If you turn it in, you won't get that much after the deductable. The insurance company will charge you more for your premums to cover the cost of the accident. Ebay has fenders available that are already painted. You maybe able to find a bumper cover that is painted too. Both parts bolt on and shouldn't be too hard to install. I hit a deer last year and spent half of my insurance money on a SD hood and bumper cover (SE). They were both painted in my color. __________________ ~Jim~ GA of the Week - 03/06/06 www.TeamGI.com - Western NY http://www.cardomain.com/ride/438183

12-02-2005, 04:43 PM	#12
~~Brandon~~ -Banned- Joined: Jan 23, 2005 Member Number: 9362 Age: 27	the bumpercover is easy... its all those stupid plastic clips. at the junk yard like 100 or so dollars for it..... the fender is well up to you on if you can get it back into shape... id call a couple junkyards, see how much they will charge (and if they will pull the part for you) and go from there, but id do it myself. what i did my first wreck also make sure it comes with the plate filler too. as far as the ticket, dunno what to tell you, i had a cop give me a ticker at 1am because of a stop sign i went thru at 1mph (i had a digital dash) but it was 110 bucks.

12-02-2005, 04:43 PM	#13
Bouchie11982 ......................... Joined: Jun 30, 2003 Member Number: 2527 Location: Springfield, MA Name: Katie Age: 27 Sex: F Vehicle Information: 2003 Pontiac Grand Am SC/T Engine: 3400 V6 Odometer: 66,xxx Mi Best ET: 15.645@85.85	easy fix it'll cost ya though. sry to see it though __________________ Lupus survivor '02

12-02-2005, 06:19 PM	#14
Gigante Frequent Poster Joined: Dec 27, 2003 Member Number: 4306 Location: Maryland Age: 24 Vehicle Information: 2001 Pontiac Grand Am GT Engine:	I replaced my bumper cover a little while ago and I didnt have any kind of experience so you should be able to do it easily. If you do buy something from ebay dont buy from Pershing Auto Body. Dealing with them is the biggest pain and it tooks almost a year before I actually got my bumper. THey have the biggest morons working there. And the bumper was delivered in nothing but a little bubble rap which doesnt protect too much.

12-02-2005, 06:23 PM	#15
XoticGA Professional Toe Stubber Joined: May 04, 2005 Member Number: 10589 Age: 25 Vehicle Information: 2007 Chevy Cobalt LT2 Engine: 2.2 Eco W/O Torque!	Awwwww Nick __________________

12-02-2005, 06:25 PM	#16
ga5speed02 Club ECM Joined: Feb 01, 2003 Member Number: 555 Location: Bucks County PA Name: MAD MIKE Age: 32 Sex: M Vehicle Information: 2001 Grand Am GT Engine: 3.4L SFI	awww im sorry __________________ Desperation Is A Stinky Cologne.

12-02-2005, 09:22 PM	#18
rabidpanda69 Weeeeeeeeeeeeee Joined: Aug 10, 2004 Member Number: 7473 Location: madison WI Age: 24 Vehicle Information: 1999 Pontiac Grand Am SE Engine: V6 Best ET: 15.753@88.36	^^^ Thats what I was thinking. In WI your insurance co is notified if the accident was reported. __________________ Does it qualify as an addiction if you move in with your parents to fund it?

12-02-2005, 09:48 PM	#19
TA^Guy Moderator Joined: Jan 19, 2003 Member Number: 30 Location: Scotia NY Name: John Sex: M Vehicle Information: 2002 Nissan Sentra SER SpecV Engine: QR25DE Odometer: 130k & climbing Mi 2001 Cheverolet S10 Xtreme Engine: 4.3 Vortec V6 Odometer: 98k chassis, 35k motor Mi	That sucks. I broke our front bumper on a snowbank on winter. We found a GT one on ebay for $300 shipped, but it was dark green. The seller worked for a GM bodyshop and said he's paint it black for $50. I took a risk at matching it to the car but what the heck. Lucky for us, it was prefect, not a flaw in the paint anywhere. __________________ '01 S10 Xtreme - '02 Sentra SER SpecV - '05 Yamaha R1 For Sale: Cadillac tail lights.

12-02-2005, 10:59 PM	#20
GT2000 Hammer Time! Joined: Sep 18, 2004 Member Number: 7970 Location: IL Age: 22 Vehicle Information: 1998 Chevy S10 Blazer LS Engine: 4.3L V6 1979 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am Engine: Olds 403 Odometer: 75,000 Mi	Ins. Co. already knows, the women I hit reported her claim and our company called us before we even had a chance to get in touch with them or anything. I have to call them tommorow and give them my version of the story, hopefully they will be understanding and I won't get hit too hard. My insurance isn't too bad, its $1500 a year for full coverage, but that was with my good student discount and the accident/ticket free discount, that second one goes bye bye now. __________________ I no longer own the GA. Just too lazy to make a new sig.