[Marcad80]

My wife got into what I would consider a minor accident. Rear ended a truck with a trailer hitch. No airbag deployment, injuries, or anything serious. Did some damage to the car. I figured around $3k in damage. The GM dealer came back today and said there was at least $11k in damage!!! You have got to be kidding me. I have no collision insurance on the car so it's basically a throw away now. I'm shocked the car is a 2013 fully loaded ($45k new), in excellent shape with only 48k miles. And now I have to junk yard it....... I drove the car home from the accident! Granted gas running, no EV, start and stop,.but drove about 4 miles to house.

If anyone can give me some advise as to what to do please do....

Crushing this car seems like an incredibly stupid idea.

 

[dannycamps]

The litmus test is always to see if the frame is bent. Even if there is what appears to be minor damage, if the frame is bent, the car will never ride right again and is almost always a loss.

That being said, cars nowadays are designed to protect the passengers inside - not to survive the impact. With the added electronics and complexities of the Volt, I could see that jacking up the repair estimate.

I think you should find out exactly what the $11k includes. Do they need to change the coolant radiator, battery, HV wiring, etc...?

 

[freshcut]

Definitely looks a lot more than $3K to me and would suggest the dealer is likely closer in estimate. At the very least it looks like a hood, front bumper cover, headlight, etc just on the cosmetic side. Then you have an ECU behind the bumper which might be ok since it was driven. Next I would be cautious of the radiator stack. It's likely one or more are bent or damaged which aren't cheap and any structural damage that may be present. Just the cosmetic stuff I would say is in the 3-4K range, going up from there for other damage.

I would also look at other body shops to get their input on repairs. The body repairs can be done by any shop though extra caution needs to be exercised when baking any paint, and anything that is a voltec related repair should be done independently of the body work and by a Volt tech.

I agree it makes little to no sense to crush the vehicle but if repairs aren't feasible I'm sure you can find someone who wouldn't mind it as a project repair or even parting it out can bring in a fair bit since the traction battery alone can easily fetch $1-2K not to mention a complete engine/traction assembly is worth a good bit as well.

 

[sduck]

I wouldn't worry about it, take the check and walk away from it. Even if you could afford to repair it, it's resale value after doing so will be next to nothing. For what your insurance will give you you could probably afford another gen 1, or pretty close to it.

 

[freshcut]

I'd second that comment sduck, but since the OP indicated he doesn't have collision coverage, I'm assuming that the car only had liability which means no payout.

 

[Marcad80]

I had no collision insurance on it.

As far as the frame, no damage structurally to the car at all. The hitch even went over the front bumper and it's mechanically intact. The fenders are untouched as well, not even a dent. Doors all open and close as smooth as ever. It was about a 10mph hit.

 

[Steverino]

A relative's Honda Fit got rear-ended with some damage to the rear bumper and a dent in the rear hatch. That was $4000 to repair. Your front is way more messed up than the Fit. Just the engine coolant radiator is $1200-ish, and there are several stacked radiators behind it which may also be damaged. Plus you have hood and fender damage, headlights and bumper. And whatever is under the hood. So yes, it's way more than $3000.

 

[jman44]

I had a side impact on my car, no frame damage. It cost the at fault party's insurance around $10K. Two new doors, mirror and paint job.

 

[timoshev]

Do get some additional estimates.

 

[Bill Step]

My wife got into what I would consider a minor accident. Rear ended a truck with a trailer hitch. No airbag deployment, injuries, or anything serious. Did some damage to the car. I figured around $3k in damage. The GM dealer came back today and said there was at least $11k in damage!!! You have got to be kidding me. I have no collision insurance on the car so it's basically a throw away now. I'm shocked the car is a 2013 fully loaded ($45k new), in excellent shape with only 48k miles. And now I have to junk yard it....... I drove the car home from the accident! Granted gas running, no EV, start and stop,.but drove about 4 miles to house.

If anyone can give me some advise as to what to do please do.... View attachment 135297 Crushing this car seems like an incredibly stupid idea.

since I've seen the cost to replace most of the parts in that type of damage,which was about 7k.and maybe a trip to the dealer for any fault codes the autobody shop induces.gonna be hard pressed to ever get your money back.
can you fix it your self or maybe a family member?
situation totally stinks.

 

[Henry_FL]

You decided to not have insurance, all education comes at a cost, yours unfortunately is the value of the car.

I don't think there is a car made today that can handle a front end crash and not have 5 figure repair costs, the car is designed to be throw a way to protect the occupant.

Looks like your other car is a Tesla so you still have transportation to get around.

 

[Sean-a-Tron]

I'd definitely get multiple opinions. First, make sure to see what sort of mechanical work the first dealer you saw wants to do. If another Voltec certified mechanic says most of it is unnecessary, then see which body shop and mechanic are the most affordable.

 

[maczr1]

Option a ,Buy a replacement 2013 volt with about 50,000 miles and part out your old one
B. Check codes and get estimated cost just to fix electrical & mechanics not cosmetics.
You drove it home was the any MIL or leaks?

 

[Mister Dave]

I have no collision insurance on the car so it's basically a throw away now.

Ummm.... well you don't have to turn it in I guess.

You're looking at a hood, headlight and front fascia at the very least. If you can find them already painted you're ahead. Underneath there's probably more but if the radiator is intact that's a big plus.

It's driveable, and that says a lot. If you can charge it and drive on battery even better. If it won't take a charge.... well....

 

[Billtphotoman]

I am sorry about the accident but I am glad your wife is OK. You mentioned the truck had a trailer hitch so perhaps the hitch did some expensive damage to vital organs? As Mister Dave mentioned if the car is driveable on battery and can charge that would be a very good sign.

 

[BAZINGA]

Since your on your own regarding the repairs, I'd try and break them into two categories:

1. Body/Paint etc
2. Mechanical/Electrical

That might be instructive as to how badly injured the car is. I have to believe any GM dealer is going to be overly cautious/protective of the "Voltec" powertrain. So I'm betting the lions share of that estimate is for that. And to be honest unless your willing to tackle that and live with the consequences I'd say your stuck with that. That's not a DIY (backyard mechanic) job.

Sorry for your loss, but glad no one was hurt. But "self-insuring" comes with a cost.

 

[DMC5180]

My wife got into what I would consider a minor accident. Rear ended a truck with a trailer hitch. No airbag deployment, injuries, or anything serious. Did some damage to the car. I figured around $3k in damage. The GM dealer came back today and said there was at least $11k in damage!!! You have got to be kidding me. I have no collision insurance on the car so it's basically a throw away now. I'm shocked the car is a 2013 fully loaded ($45k new), in excellent shape with only 48k miles. And now I have to junk yard it....... I drove the car home from the accident! Granted gas running, no EV, start and stop,.but drove about 4 miles to house.

If anyone can give me some advise as to what to do please do.... View attachment 135297 Crushing this car seems like an incredibly stupid idea.

Sad to see what seems like minor damage externally, have such a high repair cost. But they pack a lot of stuff behind the bumper covers these days.

You say it was loaded, but I don't see collision avoidance sensors in the front bumper, not that you should rely on them. It might, however, have helped in this situation. I'm waiting for the insurance companies to push the DOT to mandate all vehicles come with CA technology of some level. The DOT has already mandated all vehicles have backup cameras by 2022, I would guess most will have it by 2020.

I have the near identical twin to yours but with CA. It has made a difference a couple of times already.

I'm curious, I see a Model S in the driveway with your Volt. Is that yours?
Do you carry Full coverage on that?


This Deer hit was $3,400 to fix. Twice what figured it would be. Covered under Comp. The shop did a phenomenal job, when all was said and done.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[alfon]

There may be a case to part out the Volt, as it may be worth more in that respect. Or maybe use it for trade toward a 2016 or 17 Volt. Some dealers can have it repaired for a lot less than most collision repair shops, and could sell it for a pretty nice profit. After having a Volt 1 you will appreciate the additional range and mpg's on the gas motor with the new Volt 2 (2016-17).

 

[Fourdoor]

We are in the early days of EV and EREV ownership. If that was an ICE vehicle and you are handy with tools you could find everything to fix it at a "pick a part" salvage yard and have it fixed up ready for paint for $500 in parts (used radiator, used front bumper cover, and used hood) add another grand to have a local body shop paint the replacement parts to match the rest of the car and it would be good to go.

If the car runs and drives in all modes and if you are able to do repair work yourself I would say you can do this with the volt as well... but you have not told us if that is the case. Does the dash light up like a pinball machine with fault codes? Does the car charge?

If there is no frame damage, get a full breakdown from the dealership of what needs to be replaced, and see if you can find those parts on line. If nothing else, you can find a 1G volt that has been rear ended and offer to purchase the wreck for $2000 and you will have all the parts needed to repair your volt, and enough salvage parts from the rear ended car to pay for purchasing the rear ended car.

The nice thing about not having collision insurance is that if you do repair the car on your own dime it will not have a salvage title like it would if you purchased the car back from the insurance company after a payout.

Keith

 

[Shivetya]

I remember a deer strike on our Miata and it was nearly 5k with 1k just from one head light assembly.