WrenchMonkey

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I was THIS close to owning this 05 LL GT:




Premium leather and 1000w Shaker, 20" staggereds, 49k miles, clean carfax, below bluebook at $13k.

Had the financing lined up, insurance arranged, rental reserved to go get it, day off work, new tags and tires picked out, I was READY.

Til this morning:






Got creamed in the dealer's lot. They just want to send it to auction, but I told them I'd still want it if the price was right. They said they'd talk to the insurance guys and let me know.

But now I wonder, what is the right price? Anybody want to hazard a guess what it's worth like that?

And more importantly, anyone wanna guess what it would cost to fix? I can turn a pretty mean wrench, but I don't really do bodywork...

Advice?

Thanks!

Oh, and I'm Robert by the way, been lurking a while, and I REALLY wanted this car!

houtex

Short version: Walk away.

Long version: Do you *really* want to deal with that, or just buy a car? It's your choice, but me? I'm more about "Not really interested in repairing/restoring cars anymore, so no thanks." modes these days.

I know it's an LL, but even still. Oh, and that paint will *never* match again. It's really difficult without a total repaint, and I guarantee they're not gonna do that.

Just walk away. You'll be ok with it in the long run.

/sucks, indeed. dang shame that.
//But welcome to the forum anyway! Hopefully, you'll find another.

WrenchMonkey

Yeah, that's what everybody's telling me.

I guess I was hoping other Stangers might let their hearts overrule their brains, too!

I suppose I'll keep looking, but the next closest one is 6hrs away, $2000 more, with 15k more miles, and stock wheels.

I just won't bother buying one like that.

But thanks for the honesty!

Robert

OAC_Sparky

Unfortunately, rear quarter damages are the worst. There will be no way to decently fix that without cutting the panel out and replacing it, and replacing the door. You'll be breaking the original ECoat, that part of the car will never be right. On top of that it would be a $6000 fix (easy) to be done even close to right.

Let it be someone elses problem.

WrenchMonkey

Wow...

See, that's what I expected, cut the skin off, and replace it and the door.

Didn't really think six large.

I guess I was hoping to get it for eight, fix it for four, and get an almost-as-good car for 12 instead of 13.

But I was just guessing in the dark.

Thanks for shedding a little light!

(I'm not worried about perfect fit or finish, I just planned to drive it, but I don't want to end up with more money in a rebuilt car!)

Robert

WrenchMonkey

(Hell, KBB is calling it $19,5 retail! I could do a lot of body work for that!)

(And no, I'm not ignoring all the good advice I've gotten! Just thinkin! )

OAC_Sparky

It depends on how good of a job you want done. The driver's side alone would run you about $600 because it can be knocked out, but the passenger side is bad news.

When my wife spun out my 99 SHO she clipped a school bus and caused amost the exact same damage as that passenger side, the estimate was for $3200 using a door from a wreckers and a panel stripped out of a donor car; not new parts.
A new OEM outer skin retails just under $600, if there is any irrepairable damage to the door post you're looking at the inner assembly at up to $1100. And then you're going to end up painting half the car to get the sides and hood and doors to blend that Legend Lime well.

Of course you can do it cheaper, but the cheaper the faster it'll rot out, the more rattles and wind noise you'll have to put up with. I'm a little pickier; I don't like my cars having taxicab paint jobs.

WrenchMonkey

Yeah, I wondered about that post. That's what's going to make it really hard/impossible to quote from those pics.

I don't really want to cobble it together, but it's a six year old mustang. It's not a collector or a show car, and I wasn't planning to treat it like one.

My drivers now are a rusty 2000 Powerstroke, and a hopped up 89 Jeep without a straight panel on it.

Just saying my standards are probably lower than yours, and a coupla squeaks might be okay with me.

But it is nice having someone with those high standards, that can lend an expert eye, so thanks again!

Robert

Keystone

If the dealer is willing to price it right, I say buy it. They should let you take it to a body shop you trust to get a firm quote. Then if out the out the door price after the repair work is good (I’d say at least a thousand to two below the book price, to reflect the fact that it had body work done) it should be a no-brainer.

My car is a daily driver too and it’s got its share of battle scars. Had the pass. door keyed (entire side was repainted for that), hit a deer at high speed (ins. company almost totaled it), rear bumper cover had to be repainted when someone hit it in the parking lot, hail damage (still has a few dents from that), etc. My point is, chit happens. Unless you’re looking for a garage queen/show car it’s not a big deal. These are great cars. Fun to drive, super reliable, and even reasonable on gas. You won’t be disappointed with it, even if it’s had some body work done. But again, make sure you get a firm price from a shop so you know what it's going to cost.

825LTRGT

IMHO, the problem with that kind of damage is that the rear 1/4 panels are wacked.

To do it right, you should cut and weld a new panel in. And that requires skill. Skill is not cheap!!

A dent puller, and 4 gal of bondo is NOT the preferred method.

WrenchMonkey

Yeah, I wouldn't want to do THAT cheap a job!

But I can hang a junkyard door myself if it'll save me a coupla bucks.

The dealer is ballparking the car at eight, they'll get me a solid number next week.

That puts it at the high end, if it takes six to make it right, I'll have more in it than I planned before it was wrecked. But still less than I can get another one for..

If I can get it "good enough" for four, it would be fine.

Thanks guys!

Robert

825LTRGT

Did the dealership say how it happened?

Did some DB take it out for a ride and play pinball in a forest?

Antigini-GT/CS

Wow, it WAS a nice car. Walk away from that, find something else. If wheels are one of the only reasons you're wanting that car, don't let your heart override your brain!

WrenchMonkey

No, not just the wheels.

But an 05 GT premium with 49k books for 19-5.

Others with 75-90k are going for 15-16.

$2k in wheels would put them at 17-18.

I can't justify spending that much on a toy.

Eight, even if it took four in repairs, I could justify.

Robert

jlc41

Robert, I have to agree with Matt. I think you are seeing this through your first impression which is clouding your jugement. Walk away.

2007CalSpec

I agree with everyone. Just walk away...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ttKJwvFIgw

06 Screamer

I agree with the majority , just walk away. I dont think that the post and door jamb will never be right. All it takes is one run on the highway, after the repair, and hear that wind draft from the window to tell you it's still not perfect.

Rather B.Blown

socalwrench

You know... if it weren't the quarter panel that was hit- them I'd say go for it. BUT, with that damaged and possibly leading into door jamb area- it's really tough to get that area right again. Probably $5000 worth of repair- no including a total paint job to get everything matched. The car won't auction for it's KBB value. If the car still runs and moves under it's own power than it should maintain 50% of it's 'clean' value.

If the damage happened at the dealer lot, I would make some sort of a sweet deal on a new one; IE little cash out of your pocket. I know there are plenty of S197 gen 1 cars still for sale, or grab onto a S197 gen 2 5.0L Mustang. LL is cool, but power is even cooler.

Imatk

**** so sad!

Yeah I don't think I'd fool with that... looks like it got rocked REALLY good.

I wonder if it was a customer that hit it?