Backed into in parking lot, fix,leave,sell? s70 T5 Topic is solved

speedyt5 · Post by **speedyt5** » 07 Jan 2017, 12:11

Many pictures attached, scroll down.

A couple weeks ago I got backed into in a parking lot. The girl didn't even look in her rearview mirror and backed right into my pristine 99 s70 t5. Absolutely ridiculous. Her insurance company is offering me 1800$, they consider the car totaled. I am keeping the car, I can't stand the dent and have a repair shop I am planning on dropping it off to on Monday. I think the total bill will be around 3,000 dollars to fix. Of course the insurance company does not see this has a rare t5 model in pristine condition, with thousands of dollars invested into it just in the past year to have it in this condition. They see an old Volvo with 289,000 miles on it. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the car, not a light on the dash, brand new tires, new transmission with a 2 year warranty on it, whole new front suspension, new dash, new seats, etc. Most of the work done by me. THE QUESTION IS: do I fix the dent and continue to drive, sell it with the dent in it to someone who may give me 1500 for it then take that money and put it towards my s60 T6 r design that I want to get, or get it fixed and sell it. I have so much time and money invested in it, I don't want to just let her go, I could only sell her to someone on here that knows what kind of a car they are truly getting. Any thoughts are appreciated. If you have Instagram check out the car... Instagram.com/swolevo

Post by **MadeInJapan** » 07 Jan 2017, 12:44

A lady did the same thing to my S70 several years ago... she insisted that her insurance fix it. I sourced a matching door (emerald green) from Erie Volvo (I believe) and they send it to me pronto...about $450 out of pocket and it was fixed! In your case, there might be a little bit of work on that back door but nothing much...or you can just leave it. With Insurance paying out as much as they do, I made out like a bandit! I'm sure you will too if you choose this route.

Post by **pkc303** » 07 Jan 2017, 13:00

You fix it and drive it. Well, that is what I would do. Also, it may help to contact a lawyer in fighting with the insurance company. You may get more money. They sometimes use cars that are not equivalent in value to produce a payout on your car.

Jaguar xjs · Post by **Jaguar xjs** » 07 Jan 2017, 13:51

If it were me, I'd fix it and drive it. I think a 3k estimate is high for that damage. Having a ton of money and time in such a pristine car would make me fix it.

I've only been around Volvo for a short time but am amazed how many people just unload these cars only to start on another one that's going to need a ton of money and time. Seems to be a vicious circle to me.

Nice photography!

Gordon

Post by **BEJinFbk** » 07 Jan 2017, 14:12

You got REALLY lucky. I don't see any damage beyond the door skins.
Totalled? What a load of BS... Unless you have door pillar damage,
that's just a couple of replacement doors from any '98-'00 S or V 70.
Takes about 5 minutes to lift a door off of one of these cars - No biggie.
Maybe a respray if you can't find some doors with matching paint.

As far as the insurance, list all of your work and produce the parts receipts.
Show up with a "work with me" attitude and the right paper trail and go for it.

Keep that beauty!

Post by **kahl** » 07 Jan 2017, 14:36

+ on the R and R the doors. Quick and easy. Could you post a picture of the door pillar? You have a nice car!

101 · Post by **101** » 07 Jan 2017, 14:53

FIX!

Beautiful car! Coming from someone with two white P80's, of course.

I've been in your shoes. Twice.

After someone pulled out in front of my 1987 BMW E30, I had to threaten the offender's insurance company with legal action. What I did was research current listings for similar cars and recent sales prices (think Craigslist, eBay, enthusiast forums) and after many calls and detail provided I was able to convince their insurance adjuster that I had a $4000 car, not a $1500 car. My son and I did all the repairs ourselves except the frame pulling and the paint work. Looks good as new.

When Elsa got hit a few years ago (VERY similar to the damage on your car, but on the left side), I sourced a replacement front door and had the the rear door skin repaired. You might even consider sourcing both doors. Swap out speakers, door panels, etc., and have the whole car detailed afterwards (assuming the door pillar is OK). There are a lot of P80's in scrap yards these days. There were two white ones in a yard near me just a few weeks ago.

Your car is definitely repairable either way. Don't let those ba$tards total your car and brand your title, if they do that kind of thing in Texas. And don't let them tow it somewhere. That's code for "We're going to send it to the damaged car auction company".

Good luck!

Post by **Clemens** » 07 Jan 2017, 15:41

No offense, but you'd be a fool not to fix that car and get anything else. Find doors and have them painted the correct color.

Post by **tryingbe** » 07 Jan 2017, 16:56

I'd refuse any offer with the total title.

Post by **cn90** » 07 Jan 2017, 17:06

If you want to reduce repair cost:
- Open the door trim panel and use a blunt object + hammer and hammer it back out.

Then any imperfections can be patched with Bondo and sand it. Then bring it to body shop for a spray, which costs about $300 or so in my area (father-and-son body shop).