Sad News
 

My SVX was totaled on April 8. Had just installed a perfect set of gold WRX STi wheels and new Avis H4Ss. Spent $7200 in the last 35,000 mi bringing the car up to snuff only to have it destroyed by a 17 yr old nitwit driving 50 in a 25 zone in daddy's Yukon. It was a completely avoidable accident, the dumb kid freaked and steered into me. I turned left in front of him. He turned 90 degrees to his right to hit me over my right rear axle hard enough to spin me around 170 degrees!
Then to add insult to injury some silly ***** came out of the crowd and told the cops it was my fault!
The kid hit me with the left front corner of the Yukon a full 25 ft from the center of the road, speeding on a blind curve. The cops told me they thought it wasn't my fault. The kid's been avoiding making a statement to my insurance adjuster, still hasn't talked to her...
Avoiding my adjuster, I don't think that's a good sign. I think he's going to lie.
The kid jumped out of the Yukon and immediately apologized to me but there's no telling what he'll say after he's talked to dad.

I was so pissed at the stupidity of the driver of the Yukon that I had decided to punch his ass out before I even got out of the car! I jumped out of the car ready to pound somebody! I stand 6'1" and weight 265 lbs and I've competed in Judo, Karate, wrestling and boxing. I am a professional strength coach and I work with MMA fighters. This guy was going down! I have an excellent attorney and plenty of bail money...and this 5'6" 140 lb kid runs up to me and says "I'm sorry". What could I do? I couldn't hit anybody so stupid and small...
at least I didn't end up in jail for punching somebody out.
Obviously I'm fine, partly the benefit of being in shape but largely due to driving the Safety Vehicle Experimental. The SVX didn't even look that damaged but it's history. Pretty impressive structural integrity. Took a shot from a 5000 lb truck going probably 35 or 40 mph, hard enough to spin the car 170 degrees on new 225 tires and the SVX hardly looked damaged. The quarter panel right over the right rear wheel had about a three foot vertical crease in it and the wheel was missing a chunk at the edge of the rim. The bad sign was the serious negative camber the right rear suspension had suddenly developed. So I'm waiting to see how it all turns out. SVX's are somewhat undervalued, so I'm prepared to get hosed. I went upside down in the car when I spent $3200 to have the tranny rebuilt 35,000 mi ago.
Everyone keeps reminding me that I didn't get hurt, so I was lucky...but I'm still bummed about my car, it was running sooo good.
Ubercoach

So sad to hear this, hope you are ok at least!

People are A-holes sometimes, ask me about it..

Try to post some pics, maybe the good folks of this forum can help in any way... if possible :o

Drag about the car... I've put a decent chunk of change in improvements to my SVX since I bought it, as well, and I wonder how much of a loss I'd suffer if the car got hit. :(

I lost a co-worker to a teenager in an SUV. The kid was trying to avoid a possum (just grease it, idiot!) and wound up losing control in trying to get things back in order, killing Gary in the process.

Parents, don't let your kids drive SUVs. There are people who want to live a while yet out there!

That sucks, sorry to hear it. I know what you mean about the "but you didn't get hurt" bit, when some girl pulled out directly in front of me in my altima and I hit her doing ~50mph, people told me the same thing. The only thought going through my head was "I'll heal... my car won't."

Best of luck with the adjuster. It's been my experience that even if the kid lies through his teeth, the cops can generally tell what happened, as can the insurance companies, apparently they have some experience in this stuff. Even if he lies through his teeth he's still likely to be found 100% liable. The only problem is getting the $$ back that you put in. I've heard at times though that if you show recent receipts that are valued at more than standard upkeep, you can get more than they would have originally given you.

You should have told em Hey a-hole, Don't say sorry to me, say it to the car. Wow that sucks. And another thing, I hate stuck up kids that drive expensive cars. Let them work a little and learn the value of a buck. :mad: Besta luck.

Sorry!! I'm on the wrong side of the country to fix it!! Tell the adjuster that you WANT it FIXED, and will see him in court if he tries to dodge this bullit! ALL rear suspension stuff on an SVX BOLTS ON, so It can be fixed!!

I have all parts to fix the suspension sitting on the garage floor!
The sheet metal is cosmetic.
We have to get these cars pushed into the 'Classic' catigory so the horror stories QUIT!!

Classic! Yeah That's The Ticket...
 

that's absolutely right. But the damned cars are too young. But I completely agree, they should be classics. They have the pedigree and it would allow us to recover some if not all our investment! They have gap insurance for when your new car gets stolen or wrecked and you owe more than book value. There's got to be insurance for my our situation, where you have more invested than book value. Actually I thought USAA did that. We'll see.

I really appreciate the response from the forum members. Condolences are amuch appreciated, but the practical advice, especially subi-crosser's, is really helpful, and has me considering a different strategey for dealing with USAA. They are a great company and have always treated me right, but I'll wait until I see what they offer. My attorney tells me I have additional recourse to recover some of the money I've spent on the car. So I am sending the kid's dad a letter showing the evidence of the accident and a copy of my recent bills and asking for him to "man up" and compensate me. As of tomorrow I am walking. Turned in the rental tonight.
Funny thing about USAA though, the "Total loss" adjuster told me not to bother sending her any repair bills for less than $1500! So I'm supposed to eat the $1200 I spent the week before on the accident for the new "used" WRX STi wheels and new Avid H4S's? Sorry but I spent 6 mos finding those cherry "used" wheels (gold, no chips, no rash, looked like new) and $1200 is still a good chunk of money to me.
I'll post more as it happens if anyone is interested. This may help other forum members in the same situation. I know some of you guys have spent alot of money and your own time and labor tricking out your cars. Somebody shouldn't be able to take that from you because they are stupid.
Thanks,
UBERCOACH

Oh man! I'm so sorry to hear, but I really really really hope they don't toal it and I would love to see it get fixed for you. A;lsp even if the kid does try to lie the cops are already on your side and I'm sure the insurance company is too since he is trying to avoid them (thats usually a tell tale sign) And I'm sorry , but I have to know where you live that charges 3200 for a tranny rebuild? I had mine done for 1700 when I lived in SoCal
BTW can you post any pics of the car?

Transmission Work
 

was done by So Cal Transmissions in San Diego, supposedly to Force Ten (or whoever it is that's supposed to build trick high performance autos for SVX's). level of performance. The shop manager swore the trans would outlast the car. In any case the adjuster called today to tell em what they'll give me for the car but I missed the call and got a voice mail, she didn't call back so I'll find out this morning. Wish me luck, I may be riding a bicycle next week.
Ubercoach

Sorry to hear about the accident. I wish Yukons and other large SUV's were off the roads. I see them all the time in my neighborhood -- usually with one person inside talking on a cellphone. I don't know how they can afford the gas. I'm glad you didn't hit the kid -- that would have been crazy. Good luck with getting your car fixed. Another member on this forum had his car totaled and was able to get a great insurance settlement -- it took a fair amount of work, but he did it.

The good thing is, If you can get good money out of your insurance company, there are always some sweet deals on this forum to replace your SVX with another. Good luck.