ocnblu

pupil

to our resident correspondent from hondaland, have a great one, sir!

blow

Another Cavalier should serve quietly and economically for quite a long while, uncle dave. I'd choose one with the Ecotec. For inexpensive transportation, the oft-bullied Cavalier cannot be beat.

fatten

OK, best of luck to you with your truck, and I hope you feel better soon.

chasm

I'm obsessed with this song since hearing it the other day on the radio for the first time in... many seasons...

canoe

Hmmm.. haven't seen Satty for a few days. Has he been on?

pee

Really, because I sense a strong brew of sarcasm in "Paul's" comment.

get off my

That is amusing as heck.

Cool man.

SAABs are hard to find used parts for, and they don't have very good resale value. Your car looks like a total loss to me, CSpec, I'm sorry to say. With the rear quarters pushed that far ahead, I'm sure the trunk floor and frame rails are in bad shape. Your car is a unibody. It probably needs rails and maybe a floor in the back. And the front bumper is plastic, it can bounce back into shape and hide a lot of structural damage. With the headlight broken and the grille pushed in I wouldn't be surprised to see a bit of structural damage at the front, as well, at the rails and radiator support frame. It certainly is not safely drivable. Let them put you in a rental car so they can tear yours down to get a good look at the damage. I would be preparing for a total loss, though, if I were you.

Well, if you let the Chevy dealer's bodyshop fix it, then trade it to them on a new truck, it will be difficult for them to tell you it was not repaired correctly and restored to factory condition. Carfax is not an exact science, either. They are only as good as the data they receive from various sources. My '07 Sierra was in 2 accidents, November, 2007 and again in May, 2008. After I traded it on my Cobalt on September 27th, 2008, the dealership kept my truck and put it on their used car line to sell. I checked their online ad to see what they were asking for it, pricewise. I noticed they had a link to Carfax for all the vehicles in the ad, including my old truck, so I clicked it. It linked directly to Carfax.com... and my VIN came up clean... 10 months after the first accident. Don't trust Carfax when looking for a used vehicle if you have a concern. Getting lawyers involved, in my opinion in your case, will only incur extra expense and not improve the situation. To get this chapter behind you, I would just get it repaired and trade it in if you're still concerned after getting it back.

Those GMT800 and older frames pull and straighten relatively easy compared to newer ones. GM has a repair procedure for those frames. The newest frame machines with laser targets can do a great job helping the technician get the frame back to factory specs. If the frame cannot be returned to factory dimensions, the shop could still replace the frame and the truck will not be totalled. $7800 worth of damage is not enough to make it a total loss. It's all about dollars and cents. They go on a percentage, damage v. "actual cash value". My advice would be, if you trust the local Chevy dealer bodyshop that gave you the estimate, let them fix it, then trade it in if you are squeamish about driving it. An accident like this is a traumatic event, and your ownership experience post repair will never be the same, I'm sure, but usually it is just emotions and a heightened sense of paranoia about your vehicle that ruins things. Nothing against you, it is a normal reaction, as far as I'm concerned. I felt the same with my own '07 Sierra, and I work in the bodyshop that repaired it! The current owner of my Sierra has no knowledge it was in two accidents, and he and the truck are fine. The next owner of your truck will get into it with a clear head and drive it many years. Let the Chevy dealer bodyshop fix it, then trade it in to them on another truck.

The picture is taken from too far away to tell the extent of the damage. All the swirl removers in the world won't put paint back on a urethane bumper if it's gone.

onion

whittle

She sounds like a sweetheart, Paulie.

From this angle, it appears the bed stayed up against the cab instead of bouncing back and reopening the normal gap, a bad sign for the bed assembly and frame. I'll bet the bed floor is messed up. It appears the cab corner on this side was pushed forward, which is why the door won't close right. A frame, cab corner panel and bed replacement won't necessarily make it a total loss, however. I'll be interested in hearing what the responsible driver's insurance company does. Could you let us know?

Nice photos, Ted. Yes, that black '69 Camaro is bitchin'. And I Spy a second-gen Corvair convertible in white with black top.

commonwealth