It was a beautiful day here in Georgetown/Lexington KY. Sunny. Mid to upper 70s. I was heading into Lexington to pick up my daughter from school when the mailman decided to make a different kind of delivery. I was doing about 35mph. About 1 1/2 to 2 car lengths behind a black car. As I pass a side street I see out of the corner of my eye the front end of a mailman vehicle. Are those considered trucks or cars? I dont know. The start of collision is on the passenger door with black marks about 4 inches in from the back edge of the door. The back quarter panel is completely pushed in. It is amazing and is the reason I love 914s how these cars handle. When I was hit, I never crossed the center line and was able stop at the curb about 30 feet from impact. The distance is a guess but the point is even being hit these cars can handle very well. Anyways, after the car was dropped off at the house, it started right up and I was able to shift gears and back it into the garage. I am worried the car may be totaled.

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That is tough. You seem to be dealing well. I would but pissed and screaming very loud!

I am so sorry for you. Really sad to see especially at the start of the season. I lost my DD a couple of years ago. Rear ended. It was also a total. They tried to get away on the cheap with me. I did my homework and I was patient with them. They later sent a different rep. I was satisfied with my settlement. My car was really not so nice. I had a lot more rust issues than they realized. Your car looks beautiful. Best of luck to you

Nightmare! Good luck.

Paul

Thanks for the support guys. I rarely do this but I am getting hammered tonight. What a way to start the holiday weekend.

you have a couple guys with in a days drive that can fix that car easy.

check on local restoration shops too.

that car is very repairable.

and start doing the home work for the insurance process, they will try to total it right off but don't let them!!!!!

Don't let them total it! Make them pay to fix it. Years ago I got hit by a school buss that ran a stop sign. Imagine that. No kids on the bus. I was driving my 74 Challenger. I told them I wanted it fix and I was picking the shop. Had a rental car at their expense for 5 months. I actually switched out rentals twice, because I wanted to. The shop had a hell of a time finding some of the parts, but they made the car right again. My insurance didn't have anything to do with the settlement. School district just wrote the checks. Don't know if that would work with the US Mail, but might be worth a try

After a hit like that, you need to get the chassis on a Celette bench and have it pulled back to factory specs.

I see a lot of cutting and welding in your future ...

the trunk gaps and door position doesn't look bad so I think it could be just a rear fender and some inner panel repair.

but do have it checked out with some measurements. there are some here for reference http://www.914world.com/specs/bodydims.php and http://www.914world.com/specs/underdims.php

Suspension ear, trailing arm and upper body need to be addressed. Holding the car on fixtures while pulling the stress out of the chassis is the way I would go. open top cars are not the same as a coupe.

These cars as worth a lot of money now. Do your home work and get documentation for at least three cars in the same condition as yours. Check our classifieds here.

I have a lot of sympathy for you , I was hit in almost the same exact manner, except it was a runaway elderly lady who hit me. The body shop ended up cutting that side off a donor car and welding it. Actually came out pretty great so there is hope for you. I can post some pics of the transplant if you like.

from the pics it looks like the rear tire took some impact it needs to be at minimum checked on a frame machine and have some pulling done to close door gap before the 1/4 can be replaced. not a horrible job it can be repaired properly, what it will come down to is how good the insurance adjuster is at writing the estimate and the value of your car

What if they totaled it, you get the money then buy it back from salvage? Depending on your insurgence, I have had friends in similar situations with their old cars, and they got representatives that knew older cars and better represented them in getting the true value of their cars. I would definitely ask if you can work with a specialist.

This really sucks. Good luck with the repairs.

Get FS adverts for cars like yours and ones in concourse condition to show the ranges.

Document all of your expenditures including cost of the car.

Chances are that the insurance agent has never done an estimate on a 914.

That's the real issue here. Appraisers are working with software that very likely doesn't have "914's" in the data base. They will not have exploded views of the construction of that panel like the post catch support and the horizontal closing strip at the belt line on the back side of the quarter panel. There will be no consideration for all the time it takes to remove all the seam sealer and spray in rubberized before the work can start. They won't know how easy it is to tweak trailing arm mount on the right side (due to years of battery acid) and that it requires a fixture to get it reset properly. Repairs are not going to be cheap. If proper value isn't placed on your car it will total. These cars seem to be heading above 17k and it seems to be more common to see 28k cars. Don't be short sheeted be pro-active.

Then to add to the complexity the comps the appraiser uses are pulled from sources like the local news paper. That's why you need to gather your resources and present them to the appraiser. Ask him/her to please take the information and review it as you are aware how hard it is to get accurate information on classic/vintage cars.

Most appraisers are not car guys. They have a metric that requires they settle the claim on the spot. You do not have to feel pressured to do that. Take the time YOU need to be sure you are receiving fair value for the car and the repairs.

If you have a shop you trust that knows 914's you could always have them meet with the appraiser and work the claim for you. I would still always have my comps ready and always present them to the appraiser.

Rick

This is where I ended up. I played with the idea of fixing my car. The wreck damage wad doable but the rust....not so much. If the car is repaired by a licensed repair person, a salvage or rebuilt title is what you will get. This changes the insurance you will be able to get. In my case the total worked in my favor. I received a fair settlement and I kept the car with a ton of nice parts