New member, new vibe 2009 2.4, new crash

[Jum]

Hello fellow vibers,

I thought of a happier introduction of myself and my car but here it is:

I just purchased a 2009 vibe, the 2.4 version non-gt. Really clean, black, under 90k miles, I bought it Saturday and registered it Monday, ready today for my first drive to work with it.

Until I crashed it on a pile up on the highway. There are few cars piled up ahead, fortunately nobody got hurt.

So, I literally owned my car for 2 miles.

So the question: anybody ever worked on a front end collision? Is it something that can be done by myself, or only by a shop? The damage doesn't seems too bad. The radiator did not leak! Parts broken are bumper (plastic and the polystyrene shock absorber), left fender (right is fine), headlight, radiator frame, hood. The car runs and there is no leak. The metal bumper seems OK. it still drives fine and straight... The aerodynamics probably took a hit though^^ I found I could get all those parts for around 1200$, so I'm wondering If with standard tools and a little time I could do something, or if this kind of work is hopeless.

I'm pretty freaked out now, how it is possible to have such bad luck, and I really hope something can be done to this poor car...

Thanks for your advices!

[Jum]

Here is the picture, It did not go with the precedent mail.

[trb]

Oh no!!! I hate to see that , especially after you JUST bought it. Was it insured? If not, that could certainly be repaired by you, but I would probably want a body shop at least check it on their frame machine and weld in a new radiator core support if needed so the body panels and hood fit right. Hopefully the side panels are good and not tweaked. Take some pics of the radiator area and the core support so we can see that.

Did you look on http://www.car-part.com for the parts? You might get lucky and find parts the same color and that would save on painting costs.

Reminds me of my poor 10 GT, but it got hit from behind and crunched in the front too.




Here is a pic of the core support on mine. I think this much damage can be pulled out good enough to mount everything and look reasonably ok.

[vibenvy]

Welcome to GenVibe! Well, that certainly sucks about your "new" Vibe being injured, but the most important thing is no one was hurt and the Vibe isn't too bad. It's certainly a very nice looking Vibe despite the smashed up front end. Best of luck on getting it all fixed up in a timely manner and be sure to keep us posted on the process .

[BenWA]

This is why I never move a car an inch after I pay for it until i have insurance. Be it over the phone or online with my smart phone. Not only the risk that *I* might cause a wreck, but that someone else might hit ME. That's also why I carry uninsured/underinsured on anything I drive/ride... so many drive around without insurance.

[tpollauf]

Welcome to GenVibe! Well where do I begin ...... First off we'll "assume" that you do have insurance. After all I believe it is mandatory pretty much all over the USA. With that said, this is definitely a repairable Vibe. Seeing that it mostly will be cosmetic repairs (air bags did NOT deploy, hopefully) I would get yourself a GT front bumper instead of what you currently have. Let us know what you end up doing and provide us updated photos of the progress and the final result. Good luck!

[Jum]

Thanks all for your messages, it's great to have support in these situations. I've been away for holidays and am back to try to repair the car.

First of all yes I do carry insurance, but it doesn't cover collision. As I am new in the country, even If I have a perfect insurance record abroad, my rate are insanely high, which explain why I did not choose the collision option, but I will probably rethink that. With these rates, I would have paid the price of the car in less than two years. Of course in this scenario I did not assume I would crash it on the first day...

As for the vibe, I first brought it to a big collision shop that didn't care much and gave me a 7000 + estimate. I then brought it to a smaller body shop that seems OK to work with used part that I can bring him. I am waiting for the estimate. If the total is too high I plan on asking him for the core support work only as it is welded, and see by myself for the rate.

He helped me straighten the car so it can be driven on the road by day:

vibe 3.jpg (101.34 KiB) Viewed 3103 times

Unfortunately after staying still outside for 2 weeks, the car is now showing codes: p0138, p0607, p2195. They were not here after the crash so I'm pretty sure they are due to the corrosion on the battery, with the hood half open, do any of you have had these codes? There's also the VSC off flashing.

I'll keep you updated on how the repair goes

[vibrologist]

Welcome to GenVibe.

Wow, what a smack in the face! It looks very much repairable, though. I think you should shop around for insurance periodically. I am a member of a Credit Union and this CU offered group rates on insurance underwritten by Liberty Mutual. I thought I had good rates before but now they are impressively low. I don't blame you at all for not taking collision insurance at these rates. It's just too bad the risk materialized for you.

Work with this shop on the repairs. Use the Car-Part website to find the bits you need. Until you find a hood you could put a piece of plastic over the battery to deflect any spray water.

A quick look with Google would indicate that you are on the right track with the digital trouble codes. Clean that battery and charge it while off the car. Being disconnected will erase the codes. If they come back you will need to do some more sleuthing.

Keep us posted on the progress. About a year ago a fellow Viber had a worse case and got it fixed quite nicely. Here: viewtopic.php?f=11&t=44098

[Jum]

Well, here's the epilogue of the story

I couldn't find any collision shop that could change the core support for under 3000$, which would leave all the rest to be repaired by myself. I finally found someone that would pay a couple thousands dollars for the car in that state, so I let it go.

Fortunately I ended up replacing it with a 2004 GT with 80000 miles. I must say this is way more fun to drive, and the interior seems to have higher quality.

Needless to say, this new vibe is under full coverage

[vibrologist]

Good for you!
Now you need to start a thread in the Vibe Garage with pictures of a wrinkle free GT!

[dmottv]

I had a similar thing happen to my '05 AWD. A deer ran out into the front drivers side and hood two weeks after I bought it. Luckily, I had put on a $500 deductible collision insurance policy and they provided a rental car. It was repaired at their recommended facility, with a lifetime warranty. The insurance company suggested I sit down when they called with the repair estimate: $4600! They did a great job with the repairs, matching the Moonstone Gray Metallic paint, and it was a turnkey experience. Congrats on your new GT!