As fletch and V. say.........check the frame, and go from there... I say it's OK, and worth saving....cut the bent stuff off and see......
Best advice so far. Also a wake call for everyone to consider "agreed value" insurance policies. Sorry to hear of this, and very glad you are okay.
well, now it's monday and no other aches and pains but my hand. Not broken but obviously sprained. Spoke with the adjuster today and we'll see when the accident report comes back and they look at the car. Excellent advice on the letters of value Tommy. I will go ahead and get those and be ready. I would love to fix it and hope that my emotional attachment doesn't cloud a sound financial decision. We'll see. Don't think that any advice is a waste for me. Please post all your opinions, for I think they help. I will post all updates. thanks again Matt
Sorry to hear about your accident. I am glad you are OK and I know that you will be piloting a Ferrari again.
Well my .02 is the car is totalled even if the frame is perfect. All front panels gone, and at a minimum have to expect a fair amount of finer infrastructure damage (headlight assemblies, radiator, hoses, heat fans, brake lines, steering rack,subframe assemblies, possible suspension, battery tray, etc., etc. it all adds up). Plus, I can't imagine not doing a total repaint. Even a skilled do it yourselfer (or pro with a lot of spare time) would have a challenge breaking even. If you love the car and want to invest your time and money and don't care about the true dollar issues, go for it and have fun. Otherwise, be glad you're healthy, its just a car, salvage it, and get another one. Or....seek a 3 cent opinion.
Right...as soon as my carrier hears "vintage Ferrari" they'll throw in the towel! Still as others have done....authorizration to repair with used parts and other type of concessions could keep it on the road...as noted the fires are all in the rear, and this damage is all in the front.. Where's that Lenox Hackmaster Guy???????
Matthew, Sorry to see your (or any) 308 get hurt that badly. Glad you survived with only a sore hand. If this happend to me and my car, I would probably want to keep/fix it (once I was released from police custody for "justifiable homecide" by a jury of my peers). Since the car is going to be de-valued now no matter what, maybe there are other options to look at. There are sources for fiberglass replacement and rebody kits (288 GTO),high efficiency aluminum radiators and cooling fans, aftermarket euro style lightweight bumpers etc. If this were my car I would first look to restore it as a complete factory car of course, but if the cost to do so was out of sight, I would: 1) negotiate the best deal I could muster to maximize a $$$ settlement and buy back from insurance. 2) confirm or correct the frame. 3) take stock of salvagable parts (ie: heater, A/C, tire well, headlight mechanisms etc.) 4) Start my new and exciting project car ! If you are not the "build a Track Car" kind of guy, perhaps you could make out OK selling the car to someone who is. I myself would not want to see another 308 go to the T Rutlands part-out boneyard (even though Ted is a good guy, and a source for all of us). I say do your best to keep it on the road one way or another. Call me sentimental. my .02 (....or is this the .03 mentioned earlier) -Luigi
I'm really sorry to see that this happened and your baby is all banged up. I can see the arguments on both sides of the fix it/part it debate. On the one hand, the car even if repaired perfectly has a diminished value, especially if it ends up with a salvage title. On the other hand, it's a shame to see it get parted out if the thing is fixable. Another fchatter had an issue not unlike this a year or two ago. He was local to me so I actually saw the car. His engine caught fire while on a routine drive with his son. He and his son got out OK, but by the time the fire was out, it was pretty tough to call whether it should be fixed or parted. The fire didn't destroy the car, but melted a lot of engine stuff and did a number on the paint. He ended up getting a settlement from insurance, bought it back, sold it to Rutlands, and made about $2K on the buy it back sell it to Rutlands thing. He ended up doing pretty well and took the money to go out and buy a four seater for his growing family. (He since moved because he is in the military and I haven't heard from him....hey Gary you out there?) But last I heard he was looking at a 400i. Anyway, this might be an opportunity to get a 328 or 348 if you wanted something newer, or if you are like me and really love 308s you could find another one and start over. I guess if I were you I would start by negotiating with the insurance co. for how much they are going to give you and what you can buy it back for. See if anyone here wants a project car to turn into a 288 clone or a track car. Then get a quote from Rutlands and a quote to have it fixed, and take it from there!! I guess if it were me I would go with whatever makes the most sense financially unless there was some sort of emotional attachment to that particular car (like if you had it since new, or it was a family heirloom). Keep your spirit up, I know I would be totally depressed if this happened to me, so try not to get down in the dumps...this is just the beginning of a new adventure. Birdman
thanks Birdman. I bought a fuse panel from you when I just got the car. I spoke with the adjuster for my claim today. We'll see if there version of my value is the same as mine. She asked me 3 times what kind of car it was, I imagine with a deep swallow from the other end of the phone. This guy obviously bought the truck as a "straw borrower" for those who know what that is. He was also employed locally by a large construction company. A lot of people could get in trouble with all this mess. Saga to continue. If you guys see any 308's floating around out there with low miles, let me know. I imagine that I will be in the market soon.
Sorry to hear, and all that. I hate to see cars like this looking like that. Very sad. One suggestion -- if you do decide to fix it, make sure you take it to a garage that has a laser chassis machine. With a hit like that, you can be sure you bent the frame rails. You want to be sure that the frame is straightened properly. The best if to find a place with 308 jigs. Short of that, a good laser frame rack, loaded with the factory specs, should be able to straighten it like new. Then the rest is just body work, and if you can find a front clip from a burned out car, you'll do okay. Best of luck and let us know what you end up doing.
Look, the same thing happened to me, but with much less frontal damage than you have (mine was a cherry 78 308 GTS) and it was totalled immediately. The parts are astronomical for these cars, and my underwriter (Chubb) would use nothing but new, oem parts in making their calculation. He also said they would only fix it the "right way" which would be to use only oem, parts. As such, there is no way to ecomonically fix the car. DO NOT GET EMOTIONAL OVER THE CAR. Get an attorney if you must, get the best settlement you can, and move on...look at this as an opportunity for an "upgrade", whether that is finding an even better condition 308 like you had, or perhaps finding a 328 or 348. I decided on finding a nice 87 328 GTS...never looked back.
While I understand the cut and run approach many are offering, you may want to consider the past, as well as the future. How many old Ferrari's were wrecked or damaged significantly? Probably most all of them. Probably the majority by todays standards would have been totalled. But fortunatly for all concerned, the world of yesterday didnt work like todays. Cars could be virtually 100 writeoffs and still be resurected. If we continue exposing these cars to the world, they will continue to be damaged. If we keep writing them off, they will all slowly begin to dissapear. I would fight this as far as possible, even if you no longer have an interest in keeping the car. And if you approach it from a standpoint of settling with the insurance company to keep the car, while keeping the title clean, you will still have a car you could sell off for a higher price to a rebuilder. That car isnt hurt that bad. If it were a race car the front would be beat back out, any major leaks dealt with, and it would drive. Cavallino currently lists the price of high end early steel 308's at $35K. 70% is south of $25K, and I cant see that damage costing more than $10-15K to fix correctly and keep the title clean. Even if you no longer want the car, at least try to make sure it can make someone else happy someday.
I am glad your OK, I am sorry for your loss, and I hope it wont be too much to get her on the road again, It will be a real shame to have to put her down. But if too costly, the famous e-bay might have a replacement althoe not the exact car you had.. for example.. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1977-Ferrari-308-GTB-black-and-tan_W0QQitemZ250059001126QQihZ015QQcategoryZ6212QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem or http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1985-308-Ferrari-Qualtrovalvole_W0QQitemZ180060589874QQihZ008QQcategoryZ6212QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem they are still out there, but this site is just one example. best of luck on your new adventure. Mark
That will help you a lot. The bigger deal you make of all this the more they will want it to go away. Thank god too. You are now about to deal with ins. companies and I can tell you from absolute-DAILY-first-hand-experience that All ins companies will lie to you. Expect it. It happens to me 8 hours a day 5 days a week.
The Alabama Highway Patrol is trained and under orders to arrest all illegal aliens involved in accidents, if that is what happened. Likewise, the law says that *you* have to report to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that you know that an illegal alien is working for a local employer (again, if that is what is happening). Whether we agree with them or not, this country does have laws that are supposed to be enforced.
This is absolutely true!! I've had quite a few car insurance companies over the years and the only one that I would give top marks to was Hagerty as far as setteling claims. Ken
We have illegals in this country? They have cars and trucks but no insurance? Sheeeeeeeit, someone call the law! We can't afford for all 12 million of them to smack a Ferrari...we'll all be wiped out! None left!
Matthew, Fix it, QV's are getting harder and harder to come by hell all Ferraris for that matter. When my Daytona was wrecked I didnt take the insurance money and get another one we fixed it. Now the car is better than it was. My advice is to keep it and fix it, here is my restoration shop that did the Daytona, the car is ready for Cavallino and should take platinum. We are very reasonably priced and our work speaks for itself work. www.sportclassiccomp.com Wade
