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kshots · 07-04-2007, 10:29 AM

Unfortunately, as of last night, my car was wrecked. I'm not sure yet whether it's worth salvaging, but I'm not too hopeful on it.

Living in Florida, one thing we need to be careful of is heavy downpours. Going through a sudden wall of water at 65 MPH, I didn't have much time to slow down before I hit a large puddle and hydroplaned into the guard rail in the fast lane. Luckily, nobody else hit me after this... but the front of the car is crumpled in, one headlight is completely gone, the radiator is totalled (thus far cheap), and the car would not even try to start as I frantically tried to get it out of traffic immediately before some guy who couldn't see through the rain plowed into me. Luckily, a semi had stopped behind me and blocked traffic while we moved the wreck off the road.

I am unhurt (and I can still say that after a day of rest, so I guess that means it's really true). The airbags failed to deploy, which is the one and only reason I'm not immediately declaring the car a total loss. I did end up sitting in the car for an hour and a half waiting for the FHP to arrive (apparently they were quite busy with other wrecks). An ambulance arrived within 5 minutes, however, so at least the really important part of emergency services worked. They probably arrived, saw nobody was hurt, and moved me to the bottom of the queue as they handled new accidents as they occurred.

As far as body-work goes, there's at least 4 large chunks of metal that need to be replaced (bumper, hood, and a couple of chunks comprising the front sides of the car). The engine visually appeared fine (the air intake was smashed by the battery, which was knocked out of place by the frame, but that's dirt cheap to fix).

I suspect the reason the car wouldn't immediately attempt to start was that the fuse box was hit, and at least half of the fuses were missing. The radiator would likely be around $150 at the most to replace... but the body work is likely to be the issue that makes or breaks this.

On the other hand, I could use my insurance to purchase another vehicle.

Luckily, I had not ordered parts yet to actually complete the integration of my car PC into this car (no dash replacement or similar) as I was still in the code-writing stage. I think my next car (if I pursue that route) will have a double-DIN (Hey, I may as well take that opportunity).

EDIT: As of yesterday, I am the proud owner of a 2004 mustang (40th anniversary). Not only is it an all-around better ride, but it also has the double-DIN slot I've been hoping to find for quite a while

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Best of all, the price on the thing was... unreasonably good. I picked it up for $7990, then added a 3 year / 36000 mile warranty. Timed the loan so that it would be fully paid for when the warranty expires, which opens the door for other options (perhaps a turbo / super charger?). Well, at any rate, it's my first sports car, and I intend to enjoy it

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07-04-2007, 10:29 AM	#12
kshots Newbie Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: florida Posts: 35	Unfortunately, as of last night, my car was wrecked. I'm not sure yet whether it's worth salvaging, but I'm not too hopeful on it. Living in Florida, one thing we need to be careful of is heavy downpours. Going through a sudden wall of water at 65 MPH, I didn't have much time to slow down before I hit a large puddle and hydroplaned into the guard rail in the fast lane. Luckily, nobody else hit me after this... but the front of the car is crumpled in, one headlight is completely gone, the radiator is totalled (thus far cheap), and the car would not even try to start as I frantically tried to get it out of traffic immediately before some guy who couldn't see through the rain plowed into me. Luckily, a semi had stopped behind me and blocked traffic while we moved the wreck off the road. I am unhurt (and I can still say that after a day of rest, so I guess that means it's really true). The airbags failed to deploy, which is the one and only reason I'm not immediately declaring the car a total loss. I did end up sitting in the car for an hour and a half waiting for the FHP to arrive (apparently they were quite busy with other wrecks). An ambulance arrived within 5 minutes, however, so at least the really important part of emergency services worked. They probably arrived, saw nobody was hurt, and moved me to the bottom of the queue as they handled new accidents as they occurred. As far as body-work goes, there's at least 4 large chunks of metal that need to be replaced (bumper, hood, and a couple of chunks comprising the front sides of the car). The engine visually appeared fine (the air intake was smashed by the battery, which was knocked out of place by the frame, but that's dirt cheap to fix). I suspect the reason the car wouldn't immediately attempt to start was that the fuse box was hit, and at least half of the fuses were missing. The radiator would likely be around $150 at the most to replace... but the body work is likely to be the issue that makes or breaks this. On the other hand, I could use my insurance to purchase another vehicle. Luckily, I had not ordered parts yet to actually complete the integration of my car PC into this car (no dash replacement or similar) as I was still in the code-writing stage. I think my next car (if I pursue that route) will have a double-DIN (Hey, I may as well take that opportunity). EDIT: As of yesterday, I am the proud owner of a 2004 mustang (40th anniversary). Not only is it an all-around better ride, but it also has the double-DIN slot I've been hoping to find for quite a while . Best of all, the price on the thing was... unreasonably good. I picked it up for $7990, then added a 3 year / 36000 mile warranty. Timed the loan so that it would be fully paid for when the warranty expires, which opens the door for other options (perhaps a turbo / super charger?). Well, at any rate, it's my first sports car, and I intend to enjoy it . Last edited by kshots; 07-21-2007 at 05:22 PM.