Well this pretty much sucks...

[FrankJohnson69]

patrickt Check with Black Jack. He's got some quality glass folks down here. I'm sure he'll be able to help you out. If Bob can get you the panels and lids you may be good to go.

Frank

[CHANMADD]

That really sucks. Sorry to see that. I crashed 12 years ago and unfortunatly some stress cracks have manifested themselves,but they add character ...I suppose. Good luck John.

[RICK LAKE]

mrmustang I am gald to hear YOUR standards of body work and painting are better in PA. Some of the work I have seen in NJ, SUCKED. My Jeep was done in 81, paint lasted 4 year and came off in sheets. I was told it was the acid rain not the paint that didn't bond to the primer. I could have spray bombed it myself and save $120.00. I think there was water also in the air system than cause the problem. Bill I have a 95 Riv that the clear is gone on the roof, trunk lid, hood, It is down to the base coat, needs to be stripped on all top surfaces. Ball park price, There is some body work on the drivers door. It has a 14" crease down the little. A smooth coat of bondo would repair it. Rick L

[trularin]

Dang that really hurts.

I might have missed it, but what did the person that hit you say???

I have had people coming to a red light I was stopped at almost run the light looking at the car. Scares me they will hit me when they get hit.

[Jerry Clayton]

what did the person say??

No English , No license

sucks

[COBRA427]

patrickt:

That really sucks, btw, which language did this bad driver speak? Was he a tourist or a resident illegal alien?

Also, I know most of the Cobra guys insist on keeping the looks of their cars as original as possible, but when it comes to safety, that's where I draw the line. I've NEVER liked the standard Cobra seats because they offer minimal lateral support, and ZERO head support. If this guy was going a little bit faster and hit more of the rear of your car, you'd be in the hospital now for sure. I'm using high back racing seats in mine.

[patrickt]

The three men in the van were all hispanic construction workers of some sort. They were either unable, or unwilling, to respond to my simple question "Which one of you was driving?" Fortunately, the police officer was bilingual and was able to get to the bottom of who was driving, that he had no license to drive, and that fortunately the owner of the van, for whom the three men presumably worked, does indeed have valid insurance. As soon as I touch base with my carrier I'll have someone from ERA come down and take her back up for a full inspection and then from there over to Connecticut Custom and have it put back in exactly the same shape it was prior to this unfortunate incident. Frankly, I just don't think we have anyone around here that can do the job that ERA and CCC can do. I plan to have Bob P. kind of oversee it all, if he would be so kind to do so.

[mrmustang]

Originally Posted by RICK LAKE

Bill I have a 95 Riv that the clear is gone on the roof, trunk lid, hood, It is down to the base coat, needs to be stripped on all top surfaces. Ball park price, There is some body work on the drivers door. It has a 14" crease down the little. A smooth coat of bondo would repair it. Rick L

Rick,

You do have to strip the top surfaces down to the bare metal as that is the only way to fix paint delamination issues....I just had a Riviera in not that long ago (light blue metallic in color) that we stripped the top surfaces, if I remember correctly it was 2 hours for the hood, 2 hours for the roof, and 1.7 hours for the decklid. Old school thinking would have it just filled in, however, modern day thinking is that the crease needs to be pulled out (welding studs and a slide hammer first) before any skim coats (bondo is not the material I would use, metal glaze would be) would be used...If you want it shot in a single stage enamel, figure $750-$850, if you wanted another base coat clear coat it would be $1,600-$1,700...


Bill S.

[Rick Parker]

I hope you don't find all three back in Mexico by Monday, maybe working illegally. Van owner may find no coverage with unlicensed driver???? He should have their license on file if he (the business owner) is responsible.
I have seen people without drivers license able to obtain personal lines auto insurance. I'm not quite sure how that is possible (?) Maybe the insurance broker looks the "Other " way (???) and plays the odds.

Good Luck

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by Rick Parker

All three will be back in Mexico by Monday, working illegally. Van owner may find no coverage with unlicensed driver????
I have seen people without drivers license able to obtain insurance. I'm not quite sure how that is possible (?) Maybe the insurance broker looks the "Other " way???

Each state is different. But as a "general rule" if the driver has permission, or reasonably believes he has permission, then he is covered by the owner's liability provisions. I'll keep everyone posted on the progress... doing so seems to be having a therapeutic effect on me.

[Excaliber]

Owner could state, (probably to late now), 'unauthorized use of a motor vehicle', if so, his insurance would kick in and the illegal driver would be in deep stuff. In Hawaii it is the OWNER of the vehicle that bears responsibilty FIRST, driver second. I would think the Insurance would and could go after the owner to recover their expenses, insurance or not, they could still get a judgement against him in court. If it was authorized use of a vehicle, the OWNER is still liable, insurance or not.

Hopefully, you won't have to worry about who's paying for what, let your insurance work it out.

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by Excaliber

Hopefully, you won't have to worry about who's paying for what, let your insurance work it out.

I'm past thinking about who pays for the damage and am already thinking about getting the car up to Bob so he can start going over it. Liability here is clear-cut (one of the occupants actually called the owner from the scene using a cell phone) and it was reasonably clear that they worked for the owner (vicarious liability). Here in Northern Virginia we literally litigate just for the sport of it, but I don't see it coming to that. The owner's insurance carrier acknowledged this morning that the other driver was clearly at fault and, as soon as they confirm that coverage applies to that driver, then that just leaves damages. I told them that I was going to have the same people that built the car, and the same people that did the body and paint work, do the repair work and that meant having it trucked up to CT. They said "OK." In the long run, it will be cheaper for them to have ERA and CCC do the work because it will be done right the first time.

[RICK LAKE]

PaterickT Make sure you have a copy of the accident. Also push that the policeman issues a ticket for this. You may need this down the road. You also have about 50 pictures to show the car was in perfect condition. You only may have 30 days for this ticket to be issued. As said before the guys may be back in Mexico by now. I know Jersey is different from VA. We sue everybody here. I think we have more lawyers on the TV than anywhere else. Rick L. Ps you are doing the right thing with sending the car back to ERA and Tony. I think there is more damage than you are seeing. Better to have the PROs fix it.

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by RICK LAKE

PaterickT Make sure you have a copy of the accident. Also push that the policeman issues a ticket for this. You may need this down the road. You also have about 50 pictures to show the car was in perfect condition. You only may have 30 days for this ticket to be issued. As said before the guys may be back in Mexico by now. I know Jersey is different from VA. We sue everybody here. I think we have more lawyers on the TV than anywhere else. Rick L. Ps you are doing the right thing with sending the car back to ERA and Tony. I think there is more damage than you are seeing. Better to have the PROs fix it.

The cop was very professional and issued the driver two citations. I'll feel better when I get the car on the truck headed North. Between Bob, Doug, and Walt I'm sure it will come back just fine. Now whether or not I get it back by the end of the year is up for grabs....

[madmaxx]

If the driver did not have a license he should have been arrested and detained, did they just let him go? If that is the case why do any of us have a license. I know in Texas, no license trip to jail. I see it everyday, we are a little closer to the border.

I saw a bdr with some damage a little worse than yours a while back, I beleive the repair bill was $20K plus. I was shocked the owner did not just order another turnkey minus, they ended up repainting the entire car.

My guess on repair is $9450.00

[RAO-3]

Sorry about the accident. At least the repair will be done right and you are okay.

I hope that you are able to work out everything with your/their insurance company with regard to it being sent back to ERA.

Ray

[carmine]

Sorry also for your accident Patrickt. I for the longest time have been driving my cobra always looking in my rear view mirror when comming to a stop because people would always say they could not see my brake lights and because i had a lot of close calls of people almost rear ending me. One day while watching shelbys pacston cobra that sold for $5 million on Barrett Jackson being driven off the stage i couldnt help noticing that the brake light came on in the top section of the rectangular tail light. My brake lights were set up to come on the botton section. So off i went into the garage to reverse the the bulbs around. WOW what a differance in brightness. From that day on everone says they have no problems seeing when my brack lights come on. Not trying to imply in any way that this was the cause of your unfortunate accident, but am curious to know if your brake lights were set up to the top section or bottom section reflector.

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by carmine

Sorry also for your accident Patrickt. I for the longest time have been driving my cobra always looking in my rear view mirror when comming to a stop because people would always say they could not see my brake lights and because i had a lot of close calls of people almost rear ending me. One day while watching shelbys pacston cobra that sold for $5 million on Barrett Jackson being driven off the stage i couldnt help noticing that the brake light came on in the top section of the rectangular tail light. My brake lights were set up to come on the botton section. So off i went into the garage to reverse the the bulbs around. WOW what a differance in brightness. From that day on everone says they have no problems seeing when my brack lights come on. Not trying to imply in any way that this was the cause of your unfortunate accident, but am curious to know if your brake lights were set up to the top section or bottom section reflector.

Pretty sure the come on the top, and I have the enhanced reflector behind it as well. Mostly, these guys just were not paying attention.

[Excaliber]

No doubt they were just not paying attention!

It's a good point though, I think I'll check my brake lights out to see if there working all right.

[carmine]

When i say the top section im refering to the bigger of the two rectangles, the side with the circular reflective patern. There is just such a huge difference in brightness day time and night when this section is utilized for brake light. The lower section being used for turn signal.
When at the london cobra show this year one cobra almost rear ended another when exiting an off ramp and the guy in back was saying that he couldnt see the other guys brake lights. Having been close by the two of them and knowing what i new about my findings on my brake lights i asked to inspect his and low and behold his were reversed as well.
Again sorry for your misfortune.