[jkk]

Hey;
I have an opportunity to buy a 98 deVille that ran under something - everything up front above the bumper is smashed. (hood wrinkled, grille smashed, etc) Engine, tranny, remaining body and interior all fine. 100,000 miles. Guy just wants to get rid of it. $1000. Is it worth it? How hard is it to 'part out' a car like this? Is eBay and this forum's classified section my only means of seilling this in pieces?
Thanks.

 

[powerglide]

Well, there's always people looking for parts to these things (even here on this forums) I bet you could recoup your money eventually.
However, it kinda depends on your storage situations as it may take some time before you sell what you need (ie if you have a farm or something where you can stash it, thats good, but if you have to pay storage then I'd say forget it)

With 100k miles I am guessing no takes on that engine (unless it has been remanufactured recently)....if so then the engine by itself would be worth more than a grand.

If its all in good shape, maybe you could fix er up and sell it? (maybe its not a good investment......post pics if you have em)
Its hard to say if 1000$ is a good price or not, without seeing it.....its seems about fair and thus difficult to make a killing on the trade.
(now if you can get it for 500$ then thats another story)

I'd check on ebay (do advanced search for completed items only) and see how much people have paid in the past for doors or interior pieces or seats, stuff like that)

Good Luck!

 

[Frost]

Well Heck, jkk, as a matter of fact, I happen to have a cherry-condition front grille c/w hood emblems that I could sell you if you want tio fix 'er up - even have an extra steering wheel, same great condition!

 

[jkk]

If its all in good shape, maybe you could fix er up and sell it? (maybe its not a good investment......post pics if you have em)

OK, here are some pics, taken this morning. I can't fix this - no exp with body work. Seems a shame though, rest of car is in great shape.

 

[mccombie_5]

Unless you have storage for the parts, and disposal for the rest, leave it. Airbags have deployed, so it really isnt a fixer upper. If they have gone off its probably got frame damage too........

By all means break it if you have the storage, otherwise say no.

 

[powerglide]

well.....the bad news is its a little more fked up than I thought....Like McC5 says, the bag deployment isn't a good sign.

But on the flip side, I think there are chrome rims on that thing. If its in good shape, that alone could get you and immediate 500 on ebay.
Also the interior rear seats look to be in great condition, maybe worth another 100+ Also, depending on the model and options, people may be interested in little pieces (for instance I would but the wood trim if its a delegance or concourse, maybe even the front bumper looks good) (since its the same color as mine, I'm just looking at it like a buffet

Do you have free/cheap storage and patience? If so I bet you could turn a profit.
The question is, is it worth the time and effort? (If you have nothing else to do, then its perfect, but if you have to take time off work to pack and ship parts all over the place, then may not make economic sense...)

Let us know what you end up doing, I bet I'm not the only one eyeballin that wreck for parts!

 

[brougham]

Just because the airbags went off doesn't mean it has frame damage but it does look like it would need a lot of work to fix. And on some cars when the air bags go off they wreck the dashboard too. I wouldn't buy it just for parts unless you need them or know someone who does.

 

[jkk]

Airbags have deployed, so it really isnt a fixer upper. If they have gone off its probably got frame damage too........

That's what I thought at first, but since the front bumper wasn't even scratched, I'm thinking the frame is fine! I don't know how the frame could be damaged with no damage to the bumper. I'd like at least to lift the hood (whch may mean cutting it out) to see if anything happened to the front of the engine.

 

[Night Wolf]

yeah, the airbags went because the hit was a direct hit to the airbag sensor!

That looks to be cosmetic to me! fenders, hood, grille, lights, radiator support, radiator etc... I don't there is any major frame damage.

If it was me, and I had the space for it and the money on hand, I would buy it... but thats just me, I am very good with this stuff and IMO, that would just be so much fun to fix up

 

[ElDawgg 2G]

Hello...

:yeah:
I agree...the damage looks cosmetic only.
A few bolt-on parts and she's Good 2 Go!
However, only you can decide
if it's worth your time+money.

 

[jkk]

And on some cars when the air bags go off they wreck the dashboard too.

Well, the top of the dash has completely 'popped off' from the rest of the dash, so I'm guessing the dash needs replacing.
The Kelly Blue book value on this puppy is $7,000 here in St. Louis. So I've got to think about this a bit more. I'm also going to see if the guy will let it go for less as I can't scrape together today the $1000 he's asking for. Anybody know a good body guy in the St. Louis Area??

 

[powerglide]

Check out this before and after image of this Deville. Its not the same year (same color thought), but the damage looks so similar!

(like the fact that driver side headlight blown but passenger side is not. Bumper pretty clean etc)

Thats the dealership I goto when I HAVE to ....(its in San Diego)

hey fixed er up nicely

 

[ocjmakaveli]

I personally would not recommend a body shop if money is of concern the lowest possible cost in any body shop to repair that car would be at least $5000 with air bags.This being if you know the owner and get really good deals.

It's quite easy to see why the insurance or owner decided not to fix this car if you were to take that car into let's say collision revision a body shop that works mostly with insurance companies they would easily charge $10,000 or more the air bags alone and dash are $1000 or more Used, New they are over $2000.

You'll have to look for a smaller body shop and shop around but body shops also have a high labor rate so that alone is going to keep the price pretty high.

The best fix is patience and buying the parts at junkyards. This is no weekend job but it can be done and it would be a shame to see a nice car go to waste.

I can't stand it when i see nice cars at local junkyards but they want $2000 for them and then a week later they just have them crushed for who knows how much $ it's a shame.:helpless: :helpless: :helpless: :helpless:

 

[powerglide]

:yeah:

 

[brougham]

That looks like it's more then just bolting on a couple new parts and since you said you can't fix it yourself you could probably find a good one for the same amount of money as it would cost to get it fixed.

 

[CadillacSTS42005]

heres a major question that i havent seen answered yet does it run?

 

[Night Wolf]

Check out this before and after image of this Deville. Its not the same year (same color thought), but the damage looks so similar!

(like the fact that driver side headlight blown but passenger side is not. Bumper pretty clean etc)

Thats the dealership I goto when I HAVE to ....(its in San Diego)

hey fixed er up nicely

Its a base DeVille but they put a DTS grille in it to fix it

 

[jkk]

heres a major question that i havent seen answered yet does it run?

The battery was disconnected so I couldn't check. I've talked to the owner on the phone but not in person - I wanted to collect info (repairability, if it's feasible to part it out, etc) before I talked to him about actual purchase price.
So, when I see him on person I'll ask about connecting the battery and listening to the engine, check for codes if possible, etc. He's a friend of a service guy I know; he said it ran fine and I believe him.

 

[powerglide]

Its a base DeVille but they put a DTS grille in it to fix it

Hey! Good catch.

 

[CadillacSTS42005]

Ok just for craps and giggles what did he run under? He try to pull a 2 fast 2 furious move and go under a semi? :cookoo: :histeric: