Pretty sure I totaled my fiancee's 05 Vibe.

[Turin39789]

So, Saturday I fell asleep on the highway driving my fiancee's 05 Pontiac Vibe. She was sleeping in the passengers seat, and we both woke up riding the gravel on the side of the highway. Thankfully it was 5 am, so the highway was empty. We hit a guardrail on the passengers side which threw us back onto the road as I woke up and I couldn't recover control. We went into the median where there was a wire guard, which slowed us down and got us back onto the highway. We drove the two miles to a safe place off the highway, and as we were calming down a police officer happened to drive by. He stopped took the police report, I had AAA come for the car and my parents come to pick us up. All in all it was a very scary experience. I felt like I was fine to get us home, we were about 4 miles from our exit and I wake up in a bumper car. It seemed very dark out and it took me a moment to get oriented and at that point everything I knew about recovering in a slide was out the window. All I had to offer were expletives as I hit the brake, turned the wheel and stared directly at the barriers we were about to run into. Thankfully no injuries to either of us. Airbags did not deploy but we both had our seatbelts on. Our necks were a little sore that night but it's two days later and we both feel fine with no real pain, so we haven't gone to get anything checked out. Not sure how the insurance is going to come out, the wire guard pretty much peeled the drivers side front quarter panel like a can. The hood is somewhat buckled and the front bumber is scratched/cracked. The passengers side took a hit from the hard guardrail, but not as bad. Pretty much all of the body needs replacing/work front of the doors, and the rear passengers side took a hit too. The car was still driving and only has 36k on it, so I'm not sure how the insurance is going to shake out. After we got off the highway some plastic on the passenger wheel well started to rub the tire, but otherwise it would be driveable-ish. We grabbed a rental car(no rental coverage) and insurance is supposed to stop and look at it today in front of my parents house before it gets towed to a shop for an estimate. The shop just called and estimated the damages at $11k. I'm going to work on getting some pictures of the vibe up , but I'm wondering if I should try to buy the car back(36k miles w/body damage) to try to fix myself or part out and if there is any interest here for parts.

[ajflan]

Thats too bad. Glad everyone's ok though. Thats just shows how dangerous it can be to drive when you're real tired.

[Turin39789]

Yea I usually pull off if I feel that tired, I really didn't think I was that bad. I was fine one minute and in gravel the next minuteThe passengers rear quarter looks similar to the passengers front quarter, they both hit the hard normal guardrail, where the drivers side hit a wire barrier. My father tied a plastic bag on as a flag because the drivers side was hanging out into the street, but then I just tied it close to the car.

[GrayFox]

ouch man... glad you guys are ok Get some rest next time, ok?There's always an intrest for parts around here

[Turin39789]

Well, as much as I like to think that I would come out ahead if I buy it back from the insurance company and resell it or part it, its going to be an uphill battle with the fiancee. I had an old Volvo that died last year(timing belt went and took the engine with it) that I was going to sell whole or part out instead of sending it to the junkyard for $50 bucks. I eventually got about $500 out of it but it sat in front of the house for 9 months and she got tired of that quick.So the chances that she will let me put it in the driveway and pull everything out are slim. It just irks me to think that I can probably get it back cheap and it has a 36k mile drivetrain that is still working fine.

[coldmm803]

that sucks, good luck with everything

[ZubenElGenubi]

I'd have another estimate done. That doesn't look like $11,000 worth of damage, especially if the frame is intact. I would have guessed $5000 tops.Glad that you and the future-missus are okay. You're still engaged, right?

[Shadow-Vibe]

Yeah I feel for you man. I fell asleep behind the wheel of my 97 Camaro and did 10,000 worth of damage,and totalled 3 cars that were parked along the road. The insurance covered all of the charges and I had to cover my deductable. Hope everything turns out ok for you and stay safe from now on.

[joatmon]

That is really scary, to wake up like that. I had a couple of close calls , nothing that bad. I bet you were awake for while afterwards though.We say it here a lot, and it really is true, cars can be fixed or replaced, but what really matters, the only thing that really matters, is that you two are ok. It does look like the damage should not cost $11K to repair. Maybe the pictures don't show the extent of the damage. I think if I was faced with an $11K repair bill for mine, I'd look for a different used one to just replace it.

[djb383]

Vibes don't have a frame but if the uni-body is twisted, that can get very expensive to straighten.

[Sublimewind]

Yeah, i'm glad you all are ok, my girlfriends boss;s son ROLLED thier vibe 4 times and walked away without a scratch.... It seems that these lil'Vibes are close to being safe as my Subaru... Get another estimate.. find out about the uni-body like djb383 said...

[slvrvibes]

Glad you and your fiancé are ok. I've had a couple of occasions a few years back when I've almost fallen asleep behind the wheel. It was kind of scary so I can only imagine how scary it is to actually wake up like that. I'd get another estimate just to have a comparison.

[northvibe]

so glad you and your finance are okay! I too have had some close calls but, now I just buy a energy drink for road trips just in case, 2 dollars or my life? i say 2 bucks and staying up late at a house is a little easier. Dang its wicked how fast car damage adds up. Like sublimewind said, im glad to have a vibe as they are super safe Id also say get another estimate... did you have full coverage? I guess I am wondering if you could just take the money the cars worth from the insurance and get a new car?

[Turin39789]

Yup, it's totalled. We had full coverage, just have to come up with the $1000 deductible. We're supposed to meet with him tomorrow morning to do lots of paperwork. Any idea what I can expect going into the meeting? What can I expect to be getting, it was the base model, but had multi-cd, power lock/window, sun/moonroof, cruise, a few other options. I'm going to dig up the dealer paperwork to figure out everything that should go into it. We're going to be shopping for another car with the money we git(still owed $8k on the loan) so I want to make sure I get as much as I can.If I get a chance to buyback, would any gearhead on here be interested in buying the entire car? I'm also going to have a carpet I cut for the rear and the folding rear comparment luggage thingy for sale.

[CountryVibe]

sorry to hear about the accident. Glad everyone is okI think they will have to contact your loan conpany either before or during the meeting becuase they technically own the car and they would have to be paid first.