ANTI-success: project wrecked!
 

I hadn't added this car to my garage yet because the odo wasn't working. I have a tiny gear, fresh from iPdUSA.com, that fixes the typical odometer failure in these old Volvos, and was going to install it this weekend.

1990 Volvo 240 DL, excellent body condition, engine running well. CEL was on, possibly due to MAF contamination.

Son#1 off to Nashville to visit friends during spring break, on his way back home - nearly home! Only 15 miles to go! - rear-ended in Oak Ridge TN. No one hurt, and when I saw it the car was a little mashed up: needs two new fenders, rear panel, trunk lid.

First comment: "Are you okay? Good."
Second comment: "I just bought these damn taillights!"

We haven't gotten word back from the other party's insurance yet, but when we do I figure it's about 95% they're going to say the car is totaled and not worth the cost of repairing.

1) I think that isn't a fair valuation: what about the cost of hassle of trying to find a new car for the piddlin' little value they're going to assign to the car? Yeah, it's 23 years old, but it still works well. It has huge aftermarket support unlike a lot of other 23 y-o cars, doesn't that count for something? You won't find any aftermarket support for a 1990 Hyundai Excel, I bet.

2) Now that I had the new odo gear in hand to get that thing back in order, I was going to:

- Add full-wheel smoothie discs.
- Skirt the rear wheels.
- Bellypan the entire car, starting at the back. The underside of the 240 looks like the Grand Canyon, I could easily see a lot of room for improvement down there.
- Add a deeper airdam
- Convert to electric fan
- Considering WAI. Not sure if the old FI system would make much of such a change but it was on my list of things to try.
- Consider a modest lip spoiler on the trunk lid.

It being old and barely digital, there's not a lot of capacity for instrumentation but there's a handy blank panel just begging for a vacuum gauge installation.

I like the 240. Its drawn-by-a-kindergartner shape, stone-ax-reliable engine and rugged reputation attract me. The mediocre fuel economy, I thought, was a tremendous springboard for huge improvements, and Son#2 was completely onboard with the project. He had been practicing modest hypermiling and could consistently deliver about 25 mpg (estimated, no odo) in a car rated for 22.

Meet Son #1 at the accident site and we go for a coffee to decompress. Get back to the car and give him mine to drive so I can take the 240.

Engine sounds okay.
Won't shift into Reverse. Turns out Reverse is where Park should be, Drive is in Neutral. All the shift positions are skewed. A linkage has been knocked out of alignment somewhere.

Idle has gone way high, about 1500rpm.

In Drive, there's an ugly metal-on-metal sound from the rear end, a high-pitched scraping. Also a sort of thrum like sheet metal rubbing a tire, but I checked and found nothing like that last.

Had it towed home. Thank God for AAA.

I'm certain the other guy's insurance (it being so old I had no collision on it, but in this case that shouldn't be an issue since the other guy hit Son #1 as he was stopping for a traffic light, just...wham!) is going to total out the car. I'm so frustrated, I really enjoyed this car and was seriously looking forward to finishing all the little niggling repairs it needed and then upgrading it for better economy.

Dang it!

Sorry for the rant, guys. I reckon some of you know how I'm feeling.

I understand... more than you know.

The majority of Americans call a vehicle of transportation a "car" whether it be an SUV, car, truck, minivan, etc. A large number of Americans still have no idea how their vehicle works. It's a magic box on wheels that gets them from home to where ever they want. Many do not take the time to familiarize themselves with basic maintenance or enjoy driving. If those people get into an accident it is no big deal. They go out and buy another "magic box on wheels"...

Then you have us... We know how our vehicles work, take car of them, mod them to make it ours. We solve issues the vehicles has instead of b****ing about it or paying a dealer hundreds to fix. When our vehicle is in an accident it isn't as easy... the at fault, their insurance and most times even family do not understand the vehicle is no longer made of metal but blood and sweat of it's owner. You can't put a price on that.

Most people put gasoline in their car. We put in loads of time, polish, smiles and love.



Don't take the insurance company's s***.

Here is an article with good advice.
Tips for Filing a Claim After a Serious Car Accident - Edmunds.com

Unless there is extensive damage such as frame or unrepairable unit body damage I would fight with them to pay the damages.

Go after the driver for the damage he caused. Let him worry about what his insurance will or won't pay for.

A very big bummer.

If they do write it off, maybe the silver lining in this mess lies with Son#2. If he's interested in the art of ecodriving, what about involving him in researching the Volvo's ultimate replacement ... something that has good (better?) efficiency potential.

Best of luck!

I've bred an enthusiast
 

Son #1 isn't mechanically inclined; he knows what the pedals and levers do and he understands traffic laws. His main interests are biology and his girlfriend; the car doesn't intersect that Venn diagram so it remains in the ethereal plane of I Don't Know and I Don't Care.

Son #2, however, is indeed a techy, mechanically inclined sort. He's building, for the heck of it, a crossbow using a truck leaf spring for the bow. Strictly speaking, this device might be better described as a ballista; when it's finished he'll have to mount it on a trailer to move it around. The guy at the junkyard gave him the spring for free so long as #2 promised to bring the finished product around so he, the junkyard owner, could "shoot it through some car doors."

And #2 is perfectly happy to tinker with the cars. I bought a new starter for the truck, he installed it. I didn't ask him to, he just did it. He hates how expensive gas is, so wringing every inch from every drop is pretty big with him. He was the prime motivating force behind shifting my ecomodding efforts from the truck to the Volvo.

Getting on the horn with the insurance today. We'll see what shakes out.

Hi elhigh,
I had a similar situation. My 1990 Volvo wagon was sandwiched at a red light. The insurance company of the responsible car wanted to total the car and offered something like $800. On Craig's list here (Los Angeles) running 1990 Volvos are between $2500 and $5000 so there's no possible replacement. I went ahead and repaired my Volvo, the gear shift was off and idle was high like yours - the engine had broken off of the motor mounts, that was an easy fix. Some body repairs and other mechanicals - about $1500 and it was fine again.

I had some other issues with the insurance company, but ultimately they paid for my repairs. You might be able to get them to pay you the amount they offer for totalling your car as repair costs and not require you to have the car salvaged.
Also, I have a good friend who is a lawyer and that made all the difference.

Good luck.
-mort

Find the blue book on your car before the accident, even if they don't total it that would be the maximum they would give you. If they do total it you should be able to buy it back from the salvage yard, but keep in mind they can't do anything with your property (ie the car) unless you say they can. Let your insurance know what is going on, exspecially if you have uninsured motorist coverage because if the other company refuses to deal with you you can file with your insurance.