600 mile trip: bad body damage + 24mpg + pics

lochenjons · #1 (**permalink**) 10-28-07, 10:11 PM

okay so me and some buddies from the chevy militia (local 4x4 club) decided to go down to pismo beach for the weekend. since everyone left on friday and i had to work i drove myself down there. and since my truck is in a state of repair, i decided to take my '85 fleetwood. the drive down the coast was great i got between 24 - 25 mpg all the way. everything was going great until i got down to pismo and some guy t boned me in a jeep. his fender and grill are totally gone, but the real damage to my car was done with his frame that was sticking out. i'm going to get new doors obviously and just keep my interior door panels (theyre fine). the only real damage im concerned about is the part in front of the rear wheel and the pillar in between the doors. i think the pillar might of been bent a little bit and there is slight damage to the rear quarterpanel (see pics). and the passenger door wont open. any ideas how to get it open? i havnt tried with the back door yet. i know a junkyard that has a white caddy like mine. im going to pick the doors up there and see if they match. what do you guys think the odds of that are that they match perfectly? i know the sun and all that plays a big role in the way paint ages. and how easy is it to take the door panels off?

anyways... here's the damage. needless to say i was (and still am) VERY angry

here it is before the trip:

here she is now:

Whoosierdaddy007 · #2 (**permalink**) 10-28-07, 10:22 PM

hurts to look at...

My_favorite_Brougham · #3 (**permalink**) 10-28-07, 10:26 PM

Oh smack

I feel your pain. Did the guy have insurance? You had better be getting a check, not just for the physical damage, but for the emotional damage too. As for the doors, the panels are real easy to take off by prying, and white paint usually does pretty good in the sun w/ little oxidization.

I am really really sorry for your loss.

Greg

93DevilleUSMC · #4 (**permalink**) 10-28-07, 10:26 PM

Hey, just be thankful you were in a big Cadillac. Considering the fact that you were t-boned, you were lucky that the damage wasn't much worse than what you sustained. Were you injured?

lochenjons · #5 (**permalink**) 10-28-07, 10:34 PM

thanks for the consolation guys.

yeah i was really distraught considering this car has been in the family since it was brand new.

im pretty sure i can get my hands on a couple of white doors for a low price (gotta love the u pull it!). my main concerns are the pillar between the doors and the rear panel by the tire. and no one was injured in the crash thankfully. ill let you guys know on the updates and repair costs *ugh*

**I~LUV~Caddys8792** · #6 (**permalink**) 10-28-07, 10:34 PM

Wow, god, that hurts to look at. His insurance paying?

lochenjons · #7 (**permalink**) 10-28-07, 10:51 PM

im gonna contact him soon and talk to him about it. im sure we will work a deal out. time for new doors! anyone parting out a white brougham???

93DevilleUSMC · #8 (**permalink**) 10-28-07, 11:21 PM

Good luck in getting your repairs paid for, sir. Godspeed

lochenjons · #9 (**permalink**) 10-28-07, 11:34 PM

thanks. any idea about how much its gonna cost? and im definately NOT junking the ol girl. shes one caddy that will never be taken off the road

Cadillac Giovanni · #10 (**permalink**) 10-29-07, 01:02 AM

Well, his insurance should definitely pay. My Brougham got rear ended, and somehow, the money for the repairs came out of my pocket. I wasn't a happy camper, the insurance and legal system have screwed me over so many damn times, the next time I'm in an accident, I'm killing the other guy, burying him in the woods, and selling his car to pay for the repairs to mine. It'd be less risky than trying to do it the "legal" way.

I'm not sure what they'll actually charge for doors. It depends on the place. A friend of mine got doors for his old crown vic. at 80 bucks each, and they seemed to be in good shape. He may have gotten a "special" deal, if you know what I mean.

The interior panels aren't too hard to take off, just a little annoying. You may want to go to your local auto parts store and see if they have an upholstery stud remover, just to keep from damaging them too much. I have an old post on this board where I detail the process quite fully...

"First there are a pair of screws hidden under the door handle, the one that you pull on to close the door, one on each side. Then there are a pair in the opening lever as well. The light cover can be popped out with a flathead screwdriver. Now if you look up under the armrest where the light assembly and door lever used to be, there are two screws securing the control panel. Take those out, and pop the control panel out by pulling it towards you. There are two clips holding it to the door panel in the back. They're metal, so they shouldn't break. Now there should be two more screws in the door that were hidden by the control panel, take those out as well. The last thing you need to do is pop out all the studs around the edges of the door panel, and that should be it. To lift the door panel off, you need to give it a good firm whack inward at the center of the top. There's a built in clip mechanism that keeps it in there. Gently lift the door panel, and make sure you have something to rest it on so you don't put any strain on the wires connected to the control panel."

There's that for you. It was written for the front door, but I can't imagine the back door being too different.

lochenjons · #11 (**permalink**) 10-29-07, 02:39 AM

wow giovanni youre the man!!!!! ill try that on a few parts broughams at the junkyard first so i dont screw mine up too bad. thanks a ton!

lochenjons · #12 (**permalink**) 10-29-07, 02:40 AM

hopefully within the week ill have the ol girl back on the road in her full glory

Cadillacboy · #13 (**permalink**) 10-29-07, 11:47 AM

That sucks , hope you never get any nasty thing

lochenjons · #14 (**permalink**) 10-29-07, 11:42 PM

good news! i got some estimates and she is easily repairable. im going to hunt for new doors tomorrow or thursday. i went to a couple shops and they quoted me from $600 - $1200 bucks to straighten the pillar and remove the dent and paint the quarterpanel. pretty good! now to go to the next town over and see what they offer. ill post back updates later

My_favorite_Brougham · #15 (**permalink**) 10-30-07, 12:03 PM

Now are you gonna pay to have the work done, and then give the receipts to the insurance company? Because they'll probably come back and say, "oh I don't see any damage," or "you didn't let us look at it." Make sure an insurance adjuster comes out to look at it before you touch her AT ALL. He'll probably give you a quote. If it's higher, take it and run; if it's lower, then show him your quotes. You should either pay the repairmen with insurance money or have a guarantee that the insurance co. will reimburse your receipt amounts. I'm just saying make sure you have your ducks in a row with the insurance co. before you spend any of your own money. Don't do the work and hope they'll pay when it's all said and done.

Good luck! And do post progress pics; we want to see her rise to her feet!

Greg