R.I.P. Cavalier
 

Last Thursday I was in an accident and due to the high mileage of my 2001 Cavalier they decided to give me the value of the car rather then fix it. :(

I later found out that it was a doctor who was talking on his cell phone made an illegal U turn in the middle of the road across my path. I saw him pulling across my lane but thought he was going to merge and accelerate. Despite blowing my horn he kept pulling in front of me which caused me to hit him. He admitted fault and so far his insurance company has been pleasant to deal with. I haven't heard anything from them yet regarding my personal injury.

Thankfully I am ok, mostly. I suffer from some pack and neck pain as a result of the accident. I'm scared to death this is going to show up later in my life. I guess there's not much I can do about that. My state only has a 3 year period for suing someone for damages.

The car doesn't look that bad but there was a lot of internal damage. It bled radiator fluid at the scene of the accident.

I tried so hard to keep my car up to maximize it's life and gas mileage. At 178K miles the car ran great before the accident and I was still getting about 33 MPG. I think I was more pissed off now I had to total my car then anything.

But for everything there is a reason. What little insurance money I did get and a little out of savings we are going to purchase a brand new 2008 Chevy Cobalt (replacement model for the Cavalier). It is a 5 speed manual, with ABS. It also has Chevy's XFE or eXtra Fuel Efficiency package included on it. That means they adjusted the gear ratio, increased 5th gear and use low rolling resistance tires. The EPA estimate is 36 MPG so I am hoping to get it well over 40 with hypermiling. Of course being a new car i won't be doing any mods until the warranty runs out. Hopefully we'll pick up the car on Monday.

gamer_jim-

I'm sorry to hear about your car. I get bummed out when I see cracked up cars that were cared for (had a few myself).

But, since the Cobalt is the Cavalier replacement, sounds like there may be a silver lining.

Go XFE!

CarloSW2

Dude, sorry as hell to see that. Hopefully the new car will be an opportunity to use your skills for even better results.

Glad you're okay! Sad about the car though, :(

Glad your ok. The car doesn't look too beat up. But congrats on the XFE

Thanks.

The car wasn't that bad but Blue Book was only $1300 due to the high mileage. It would have cost much more to repair it. These days a little scratch costs hundreds.

Sorry to hear about your accident. Hope those aches and pains keep their head down too. Look after yourself.

ollie

Bummer.

Another case that Eco-Drivers are safer than cell-phone drivers.

Are you going to keep the car or buy it back? You might be able to convert to a salvage title and do some experimenting. Is the rad, hood, and bumper the only damage?

RH77

The other driver told me after the accident that he was a doctor and he was on an emergency call when the accident happened. Apparently it's ok to risk someone else's life for that.

I didn't think about turning it into a project car. My mechanic said there was some internal damage to the coolant system, and a couple more things I can't remember. With my wife going back to school this fall we needed a good reliable vehicle. We couldn't justify spending the money to repair a car with 178K miles.

I think it turned out well as we got a good deal on the 2008 Cobalt. Chevy has $1500 rebates right now for the 08's. I can't wait to get it and see what kind of mileage I can get out of it.

Yeah, risking your life for it. And risking the persons life on the other end by being held up by an accident of his own making. Ehhhhh, some people.

Id keep the car as a project car. When you get some time and money, you could drop a radiator into it and whatever else is mechanically needed, and have a decent running backup car. The body parts could be gotten from a junkyard for cheap. A good point about the Cavalier is you know its history, so its not like picking up someone elses 178k car.

Good luck with the Cobalt. If the EPA mpg is 36, then you should easily be able to get more than that with no modifications. Plug in a scangauge for even better results.