R.I.P BRZ

[Chikna]

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[Adam_L]

Originally Posted by gravitylover

If 4 doors isn't an absolute requirement look for a Volvo C30, if it is look for a V50, with the T5 motor and if you're lucky an R Design so you get the better suspension these cars are a hoot to drive and are super safe.

C30 is FWD , and most are automatics ( manual is tough to find, if memory serves). Volvo parts aren't cheap... they're in BMW stratosphere!

++on the dash-cam!! Glad you had one mounted and rolling! I've got a Transcend wide-angle glass lens (older version, but can be had on Ebay) that seems rock solid

[gravitylover]

Originally Posted by Adam_L

C30 is FWD , and most are automatics ( manual is tough to find, if memory serves). Volvo parts aren't cheap... they're in BMW stratosphere!

There are more V50 AWD around here than fwd and the parts cost isn't as bad as you think. They made a ton of V50's and S40's and made them for a bunch of years so parts are more readily available than for a lot of other Euro cars and those were the "economy" models and share the platform with the Focus and Mazda 3 so there are quite a few shared parts. I can also say, from experience, that these cars are exceptionally safe for small cars. I took a 25mph broadside hit on the drivers door in my C30 and other than having to crawl out the passenger side was totally fine and with the laminated side glass the window didn't even pop so there was no loose glass either. It's the ONLY fwd car I'd buy, I really really don't like fwd but there is so little understeer in these they almost don't feel like one and they're soooo comfy you'd think you're in a much bigger, longer wheelbase car.

[reeves]

Well turns out the other guy didn't even have insurance at the time of the accident. His insurance says his policy expired a week before the accident. Funny thing, he never called to notify his insurance of the accident (or at least that's what I was told when I called them). Instead, he tried to file a claim with my insurance to get them to fix his car.. I guess he thought all he needed was the police report and his 'witness' to get things rolling.

This may actually be a good thing for me, now I don't have to deal with his insurance. I'm filing an uninsured motorist claim under my own insurance, so I only have to deal with my insurance which should expedite things. I'll get paid for my car upfront, then my insurance will try to recoup the money from the other driver, whatever process that entails I'm not sure.

They haven't gotten back to me about the value of my car yet. Any advice from those who've been through a total loss before? Can I get them to cover my aftermarket stuff? I had 2 new wheels + summer tires put on earlier this year. Plus my headers, over/front pipe, intake, weathertech mats, and oil pressure gauge. I know it's not that much compared to the car's value, but every bit helps.

It's not even the money really... it's all the TIME and EFFORT I put into my car! Makes me feel depressed just thinking about it. Almost makes me not want to do any of that again if I buy a BRZ in the future. Researching products, installing them, tuning, tuning again.. in the end it made my BRZ a better car for me and I was happier for it, but it's all just wasted effort now.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by reeves

They haven't gotten back to me about the value of my car yet. Any advice from those who've been through a total loss before? Can I get them to cover my aftermarket stuff? I had 2 new wheels + summer tires put on earlier this year. Plus my headers, over/front pipe, intake, weathertech mats, and oil pressure gauge. I know it's not that much compared to the car's value, but every bit helps.

It's not even the money really... it's all the TIME and EFFORT I put into my car! Makes me feel depressed just thinking about it. Almost makes me not want to do any of that again if I buy a BRZ in the future. Researching products, installing them, tuning, tuning again.. in the end it made my BRZ a better car for me and I was happier for it, but it's all just wasted effort now.

Did you report all the aftermarket stuff to the insurance company as you installed it? If not the premiums you paid were for book value of the base car and they will not pay you one cent for the stuff you added. In other words the mods were not insured. Your policy may have covered contents so things like the floor mats would be covered if they were destroyed.
There have even bee rare reports where companies would not pay out any lose since the car had been modified and not reported but that usually involved much greater changes than you had.
Some companies will let you go and strip the modded parts off the wreck but you have to replace anything you remove with the stock parts. Once they agree to total the car then it no longer belongs to you and they want to get as much for the remains as possible so how lenient they are depends on your company.


The only constant in life is change. It wasn't a waste of time anymore than anything else you do that changes in your life.

[Dadhawk]

Originally Posted by reeves

…...Any advice from those who've been through a total loss before? Can I get them to cover my aftermarket stuff? I had 2 new wheels + summer tires put on earlier this year. Plus my headers, over/front pipe, intake, weathertech mats, and oil pressure gauge. I know it's not that much compared to the car's value, but every bit helps....

I see you are in Georgia, and some of what is paid out is based on your location since insurance requirements vary from state to state.

I dealt with this last summer when my Son's car was totaled (not his fault, but both driver's had the same insurance company) in Georgia.

If you have made recent "repairs or improvements" to the car you may be able to get some reimbursement for it. For example, we had recently purchased new tires, had some mechanical work done to repair the engine, and had had the trunk lid repainted. The insurance company added the new tires and the repaint to the value of the car, and gave us a percentage of the repairs done in the last 12 months. Overall, it added about $700 to the payout of what started as a $3,500 total (it was a '95 Volvo C70). In one of those rare cases involving low price cars purchased at a good price, we managed to get back more than we originally paid for the car.

Wouldn't hurt to submit it to the insurance company or see if they cover recent repairs.

[RN Derpy]

the coverage of aftermarket parts depend on your insurance company. like what the person above said, if you didn't mention that the aftermarket were installed and your premium didn't go up because of increase risk then it's at their discretion. they may just write off most of the part's as wear/ tear/ replacement items. i had a i/e/h/ coils/mm/clutch full aspec rsx stolen / total lost and they only gave me 80% h/e value and thats after getting the invoice for everything.

[reeves]

Thanks for the input guys. I just spoke with the adjuster and mentioned my recently bought wheels/tires, he said that'll be covered and put into the valuation of the car, but the recent clutch change I did is considered "maintenance" and won't be covered. I didn't bring up any of the other mods I did because I never reported it to the insurance so I don't want to get into a grey area of coverage that might not benefit me.

Originally Posted by Summerwolf

There are many cases where insurance companies have found incriminating evidence off of forum postings. Social media is more famous for it, but it still happens. The first time I got a lawyer involved in anything he said to never say anything about it until it was completely settled. The reasoning is sound, and it makes perfect sense to me.

Appreciate the advice about not incriminating myself Summerwolf. I proabably shouldn't have posted until the case was done, but at this point I doubt the other driver will even lawyer up. There were no injuries and he had no insurance.

I even called around to some lawyers myself just to see what they had to say about my case. All of them didn't want to give any time to me. Two of them were nice enough to tell me it's gonna be hard for me to find any lawyer to take up my case OR the other guy's case because we're just dealing with car damage, which basically boils down to a negotiation between me and the insurance company. If the case doesn't involve injuries, it's not worth their time to even meet up for a free consultation.

[reeves]

Originally Posted by qqzj

Which year and mileage of your brz? You should get way more than 10k if mileage is not crazy

I have 81K miles on my 2013 BRZ. I thought $11-12K was good, but some are saying it's worth more? What's a good value to target?

I drove it hard everyday, but never had a mechanical problem. And it was still in pretty nice condition, paint-wise. Mostly because I had it professionally washed, polished and coated with that hard body sealant when I first bought it. Not that you can tell now since it's been sitting in the rain in the tow yard for 2 weeks now.

Originally Posted by strat61caster

The Mazda 3 with a 2.0L was not very impressive imo, better off with an older upmarket car. I found a way to have fun with it but it took more effort than I'd like.

How does it compare with the 2.0L in the 86? I'm debating between the 2.0 or 2.5L for the Mazda3. I don't need alot of HP or torque, just an engine that's willing to rev everyday to redline.

Originally Posted by gravitylover

If 4 doors isn't an absolute requirement look for a Volvo C30, if it is look for a V50, with the T5 motor and if you're lucky an R Design so you get the better suspension these cars are a hoot to drive and are super safe.

I actually drove an old Volvo sedan for a year back in the '90s. They were decently reliable, but they much more expensive to fix compared to a Honda, Toyota, or Dodge that we had at the time. I had to pay $60 for a new gas cap to pass emissions once. I don't know how much that is today, but that was ridiculously expensive in 1994. I'll pass on buying a Volvo today just for that lol

[Adam_L]

So did you have full coverage on your BRZ ? If so, your insurance will take care of you.

If you just had liability (and uninsured motorist) coverage, then most insurance companies have a clause built in that they will only pay out usually $3-4k on any used car that gets totaled.

[reeves]

Originally Posted by Adam_L

So did you have full coverage on your BRZ ? If so, your insurance will take care of you.

If you just had liability (and uninsured motorist) coverage, then most insurance companies have a clause built in that they will only pay out usually $3-4k on any used car that gets totaled.

Yea I'm not worried I have full coverage. Just wanted to ask around about a fair value for it, in case the insurance lowballs me on the payout.

[alphasaur]

Originally Posted by reeves

I have 81K miles on my 2013 BRZ. I thought $11-12K was good, but some are saying it's worth more? What's a good value to target?

I drove it hard everyday, but never had a mechanical problem. And it was still in pretty nice condition, paint-wise. Mostly because I had it professionally washed, polished and coated with that hard body sealant when I first bought it. Not that you can tell now since it's been sitting in the rain in the tow yard for 2 weeks now.


How does it compare with the 2.0L in the 86? I'm debating between the 2.0 or 2.5L for the Mazda3. I don't need alot of HP or torque, just an engine that's willing to rev everyday to redline.


I actually drove an old Volvo sedan for a year back in the '90s. They were decently reliable, but they much more expensive to fix compared to a Honda, Toyota, or Dodge that we had at the time. I had to pay $60 for a new gas cap to pass emissions once. I don't know how much that is today, but that was ridiculously expensive in 1994. I'll pass on buying a Volvo today just for that lol

the 2.0 skyactiv with a stick is fine and IMO has a smoother powerband than the twin. 2.5 skyactive is awesome with a manual though, spring for it if you can find it.

[Adam_L]

Originally Posted by reeves

It's not even the money really... it's all the TIME and EFFORT I put into my car! Makes me feel depressed just thinking about it. Almost makes me not want to do any of that again if I buy a BRZ in the future. Researching products, installing them, tuning, tuning again.. in the end it made my BRZ a better car for me and I was happier for it, but it's all just wasted effort now.

Not a waist. To some degree sure it was probably some waist of dollars spent (an OE car still gets you down the road), but it sounds like you had fun with it. You got to experience it, at just about its full potential NA is what it sounds like. If you still need a car after this, then most people take the perspective of getting into something different, …. for you guessed it, a new experience.

[reeves]

Originally Posted by alphasaur

the 2.0 skyactiv with a stick is fine and IMO has a smoother powerband than the twin. 2.5 skyactive is awesome with a manual though, spring for it if you can find it.

The 2.0 is nearly 200 lbs lighter too. But I just love the center tach guage layout in the 2.5, that alone might make me choose it over the 2.0. I don't care for the heavy 18" OEM rims though, but I guess I can always sell them and get some 17'' ones.

Originally Posted by Adam_L

Not a waist. To some degree sure it was probably some waist of dollars spent (an OE car still gets you down the road), but it sounds like you had fun with it. You got to experience it, at just about its full potential NA is what it sounds like. If you still need a car after this, then most people take the perspective of getting into something different, …. for you guessed it, a new experience.

It's a positive thing to know that if I ever got another 86 again I'd know exactly what mods I want to do. I just hope the next car doesn't leave me longing too much for another 86.