Okay....brace yourselves- here are the pics of my car.

Question-

Should I find a donor car for REPLACEMENT PARTS and fix my car (swapping the parts from the donor car to mine)?

I got a quote for $2K for a body shop to do it (minus $ for paint).

...if not a good idea, I gotta sell it.

NO frame damage on the car and the engine is fine.

What do you think? (I am going crazy without my car)

Thanks in advance!

Scott

ewww that looks familiar, bout what mine looked like the day I got it.
Did the insurance total it/give it a salvage title? The fact that it's been wrecked will of course hurt the value some, more so if it now has a salvage title. But if you're not concerned about resale value much, then it doesn't matter.
I can't believe from looking at those pics that the rails won't need a little tweaking and I'm assuming the radiator core support will need to be replaced. I say if you like the car and want to hang on to it and resale value isn't a huge concern to you, then go ahead and start looking for a donor car and get your baby fixed up.

I have to post a disclaimer first here...

I am not trying to argue the point here, but to the best I am informed and trained I have to tell you something about your car Bandito. Please understand I just want to inform, not make any decision for you. Now that we are on the same page...

I'll start with a question - Who has told you that the car has no "frame" damage? I must be clear here, there is no frame under your Firebird, or for that matter, most any other car on the road today. Modern vehicles are constructed using a bunch of stamped steel welded together to form a "unitized structure" or more commonly known as unibody. This structure has components including floorpans, pillars, rockers, aprons, core support, rear body panel, and rails among others. The unibody is the supporting stucture that the body panels and drivetrain bolt onto. On a car that has a "frame" you have a load bearing stucture that the drivetrain bolts onto, then a body placed on top.

Since your is a unibody, there is no "frame" to damage, only a "structure" as defined by manufactures and the NHTSA. There is a national set of standards set forth by the American Association of Auto Auctions that dictates which parts of a frame or unibody vehicle must be damaged in such a manner that threatens the integrity of either the platform or it's performance in future collisions. These conditions must be announced at wholesale auctions and greatly influences a car's worth, not to mention it's crash worthiness.

Judging by your pictures(and keep in mind I do this for a living) the car has unibody damage. The left apron in the 4th pic is shown to be crunched severly. Fourth-gen fbodies have front rails that have crumple zones(manufactured weak points in the structure designed to absorb impact and save lives - good for you, bad for car) that extend in front of the core support, and I feel sure at seeing the extent of the total front damage that those rails have done their job and sustained damage. By AAA standards, frame or unibody structual damage applies to current or repaired, since the OEM crumple zones cannot be reproduced. That means even if you do repair the car, it will always carry this label and the scars to prove it.

What about the frame machine that I mentioned in the other post, you done that or heard if it will be done? Manufactures have tolerances to how the structure should be shaped to maintain crash- and roadworthiness. The car is loaded onto the machine and attached to a measuring device at predetermined points. I feel convident in saying that your car has received sufficent distortion or the front end to throw many of the measurements out of tolerance.

As for your question, I stick by my original response - wash your hands of it and buy a newer, better 'bird.

I know this may not be what you want to hear, and I hope I haven't offended you. I just try to call it like I see it.

Either way - Good Luck!!!

Ouch! You work at a dealership... just get the silver one...



Pics look worse than what I thought. Best of luck on it.

Damn! That hurts just to look at!
I'll say this, I feel even safer in my car after seeing these pics. The "crumple zone" did it's job.From the pics it looks like the doors even still open.

So sad but I think I'd find another

the odds are in favor of things causing a rash of problems down the road - that hard an impact jarred everything - who knows - it would be a big gamble

I kind of like the Silver one too!
Got lots of Tatooes dude!

Ouch.
The thing about firebirds is they always look really bad when they have front end damage. My poor blue car I thought was DOA when I hit a deer with it. It was fixable.
Thankfully you weren't hurt. I suppose it would depend on how much the car means to you and if you were planning on keeping it forever, if it were worth fixing. I would definitely get a few estimates and get an awesome body shop to do the work. It would definitely be worth it.

Major Ouch!! I'm glad that your g/f wasn't hurt.

I hate to say this cause I never like to see another one of our cars gone forever, but if I were you I wouldn't bother trying to fix it. With that much damage to it I'd be afraid of hidden/unseen damage and I'd be worried even if it was fixed of it ever handling or driving correctly again.

Myself what I'd do is buy it back from the insurance company if it's totalled, then I'd part it out selling everything that I could get off the car that isn't damaged since lots of people are always looking for good used parts for our cars then I'd sell (or give away) what's left to a salvage yard. Then I'd take the money I'd made and use that toward another car.

Oh man that is so painful to look at...i hate seeing even a fender-bender on a bird. I am really glad that your girlfriend wasn't hurt, the car did its job protecting her! As to rebuilding the car, i would have to agree with Sue. There is a risk that the car may never ride the same again. And also, every time the car gets into an accident it makes it weaker...basically what i am saying is that the next accident might be much more unpleasant and especially more dangerous for the people inside the car.

Ditto to the above posts. Get another one!

You can make it faster, stronger, and waaaaaaaay more fun to drive!!

Matt

I had a lady pull out in front of me did some front damage i did fix it back up.


Here's a pic of the damage

Here's a pic now

BE GONE SPAMMER!

Spam Post Deleted.

back from the depths

Dude that sucks and I know exactly how you feel. It's like somebody pulled out your wings. Maybe mine is worse check out it out in "Modifications Forum" entitled "Trans Am Resurrection". I was going down a swirving road and wrapped myself around a light pole literally. Everything went by so damn quick. What part of the U.S. do you live? If you are near or can make it to the border (El Paso/Juarez) by towing your car you can breath life into your bird again. I can hook you up because that is exactly what I am doing to mine. Before it could even move I had to fix my rear end. Bought 2 new discs, caliper, differential posi unit, axle shaft. Still looking to get a torque arm and panhard rod. My bird is in a shop right now and the mechanic is fixing the steering and suspension. After that I will be looking around the junkyard to buy off a rocker panel and quarter panel mold. From what I read 93-02 will fit. I will also add that even though it won't be up to the factory state you can nonetheless be behind the wheel again. The pieces of the sheet metal are cut off and new ones are welded in place. I've seen whole trucks and front ends of cars welded with back ends from other cars and work just fine. But if you are looking to further mod your car then I would really go with finding another one. As in my case, it might be hard for you just to let go of the car and part it out especially if it was your first car. The crumple zones are true and if one is involved in another accident with the same bird then the risks are higher. But to tell you the truth I don't intend to lose control of my car again instead I will be looking out for people not to crash me, then again no one can predict the future. How fast were you going when it happened? What did you smash into? Let us know what you decide especially if you are parting out stuff cause I can use some. one more thing you are looking at about half the price over in mexico than what they would charge you in America. The market out there is lucrative and everything is negotiable with them shop owners. Peace and good luck

Bandito, aka Scott, actually ended up getting rid of the car and is looking to get another one when the right one comes along. As for where he lives, he lives in Las Vegas, NV and now works at a high end car dealership. BTW, that pic in the post by scrmnws6 is a pic of Scott and one of his customers. Scott is on the right.

Scott's customer is Criss Angel?

He should have no problem locating a sweet ride.

looks like he is tommy lee

It's been a while since I've been on Scotts' MySpace page but if I remember right that is Tommy Lee standing next to time. Lucky stiff gets to meet all sorts of celebrities.

Oh you're right. First glance he looked like Criss Angel.
Havin fun at the Nats. Wish you were here.....