Cascade Crew

83Z28BlackBetty

Well the turbo was a victim of a hit and run on Sunday. The wife and I were out for a pleasure cruise along the beach and were stopped waiting for break in traffic to make a left turn when the jerk in his ford explorer who was not paying attention came barrelling down behind us. I heard him lock up his brakes for a split second. When i looked into the rear view and saw him fast approching I goosed the throttle and dumped the clutch to try get out of the way, but it was way too late. I pulled off to the side of the road assuming he would follow but he made a quick U turn and took off. Thankfully the wife and I both walked away with no major injuries except some minor neck and back pain.

The best part, if there is a best part to these sort of things, when he was attempting to make his speedy get away, his license plate actually flew off the front of his truck! So one of the witnesses who saw it grabbed it and gave the cops a description of the driver. I dont think he will get away for long, i mean its a freaking island. The police told me based on the plate/registration there is an insurance policy on the truck so i can file it under his insurance once the police report comes out.

What are your guy's thoughts, does it look totalled? I know it will need new bumber, trunk, right tail light, right quarter, and some work to the inside of the trunk. I've crawled under and do not see any bent or stressed frame or suspension damage. All the damage is purely cosmetic.

~JAKE

Xophertony · Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2014 8:21 am Post subject:

Jake,
This is a bummer. i can't speak to if it's totalled or not. What I can say is f**k that asshole. Sad

Dewey316 · Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2014 8:29 am Post subject:

Total bummer....i dunno, value on that car should still be decent, so maybe not totaled if there is zero frame damage....I'm not body man though, so who knows.

You know the crewbie moto! Bigger, Faster, Stronger!

fiveoformula · Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2014 8:39 am Post subject:

Dude.. Sorry to hear about this. Cant believe the guy thought he'd get away with that. hopefully it can all be straightened out for you.

iansane · Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2014 7:59 pm Post subject:

Dude. That sucks. Sad

Alphius · Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2014 8:17 pm Post subject:

Mazda Curse strikes again!

Dude, I hope they catch the guy and throw the book at him. Hit and run is not OK.

Twilightoptics · Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2014 8:19 pm Post subject:

Alphius · Posted: Fri Jun 06, 2014 6:55 am Post subject:

85 T/A WS6 · Posted: Sun Jun 08, 2014 2:00 pm Post subject:

If you had your foot on the brake instead of dumping the clutch out of the hole, it would have been worse for sure. Cat like maneuver bro, glad you are here to tell about it.

91RSVert · Posted: Wed Jun 11, 2014 6:29 pm Post subject:

Main thing is that everyone is unhurt.

IMO, its borderline on total. That right rear fender is twisted in many ways, and it surely got that back body panel. That trunk will never close right again.

83Z28BlackBetty · Posted: Fri Jun 13, 2014 6:51 pm Post subject:

So word has come down from the body shop and insurance. They have decided to total the car like we all feared. Now comes the decision.
Option 1: They will pay off my loan ($6500), and put 5 grand in my pocket. Not too bad considering I bought this thing last month with $2500 down payment. I can chalk it up as a fun month and I just made $2500 on my awesome negotiating skills.
Option 2: They buy back is only $2600. They will pay off my loan, give me the car, and pay me $2800 in cash. This essentially refunds my original down payment and gives me the car in its current state for free.

I know it will need a bumper cover, deck lid, tail light, rear quarter panel, and some work to the underlying sheet metal. Also, since no frame damage has been done my insurance guy says he won’t designate a salvage title if I buy it back. I’m wanting to buy back and fix it myself, Im no stranger to body work. My first car project was a 1968 triumph GT6 with so much rust and rot it had a tree growing where the floor board was supposed to be! Do you guys think this is something worth buying back and fixing? The wife HATES the idea of another long term project and doesn’t want me to sink more money into parts and paint than it will be worth now that its been in a collision.

I know some people have talked about doing a MSM swap into a donor NA or other NB Miata but I feel like that is even more work than this would be. Thoughts? Ammunition to help me with the debate with the one with pretty toe nails?

~JAKE

aaron_sK · Posted: Fri Jun 13, 2014 7:17 pm Post subject:

If you're okay with a project I would swap the engine into a new chassis before I spent any time trying to straighten that mess out.

Even without the stamped title you will still lose the value as it will be an obvious rebuild.

If you don't want a project (and I can understand your wife's reluctance) you need to shop the used market. Depending on what parts go for and how much shipping from the island will hurt you, you may be able to make more than your 2600 buyback.

If you can make money parting it out and then scrapping the shell you can turn around into something else equally fun and drivable.

Quasi-Traction · Posted: Sat Jun 14, 2014 7:16 pm Post subject:

First off. that SUCKS dude. I'm truely sorry, man. I'm glad you and your wife got out of it okay and more or less unharmed.

My inclination is towards the first option you presented. I don't know what the taxes or whatever would be, but maybe use the 5K from the ins total and ship betty over?

Just my humble $.02

Xophertony · Posted: Sun Jun 15, 2014 9:25 am Post subject:

I'm with Chris, ship over the Camaro.
2nd option, drivetrain swap.

RSFreak · Posted: Thu Jun 19, 2014 7:49 pm Post subject:

I think the Camaro Gods are trying to tell you something... Wink

QwkTrip · Posted: Thu Jun 19, 2014 9:54 pm Post subject:

This is a no-brainer, man. Take the $5K for quick profit. Put the extra $2.5K into savings and build your wealth. Then start over from the beginning like nothing ever happened. Yup yup

Problem is insurance gave you a choice. You would have been happy joy-joy skipping around like a little girl to learn you made $2.5K. Instead, you have stupid thoughts that you're going to do something awesome with a busted up Miata and end up with less money than you have now. Smack!

83Z28BlackBetty · Posted: Fri Jun 20, 2014 7:25 pm Post subject:

Well the car is offically gone.

Its been a good experience over all. A lesson to not get too attached to material possesions and cars especially since they can be gone in an instant through no fault of your own. We are both healthy and that is the most important thing. So give your special someone an extra kiss good night because you never know what tomorrow brings.

I'm pocketing the cash and not looking back. I just think of it as someone paid me $3000 to drive around a fun car for a month. I bought it for $9,000 and sold it to insurance for $12,000 a month later. Not a bad deal.

The search for the next fun island car has now begun. The good news is the wife still wants a convertible. So i can still have something fun to drive Smile

She has her heart set on a Z4 now, any bimmer folks have opinions? I was leaning towards a topless wrangler but who knows...

~JAKE

aaron_sK · Posted: Fri Jun 20, 2014 8:16 pm Post subject:

New Z4 or old one? Because the new one is objectively terrible.

The Heep is subjectively terrible, Razz

but it could be fun if you were going to get into a bit of wheeling.

BluFbdy · Posted: Mon Jun 23, 2014 9:01 pm Post subject:

Given the driving habits of islanders I would suggest a tank lol glad you made some $$ off of it and you guys are ok