Its been a while since I last checked the message board and have some sad news.
My beloved metallic grey coupe has been smashed. I was heading through an intersection on a damp day, when the light turned orange, so I kept travelling as it was unsafe to stop. A guy in a
Ford Transit van was coming from the opposite direction and turning in front, he tought I would stop. I managed to collect the back corner of his van, while writing off the front of my coupe
:(
Both ront pannels, bonnet, stone tray and bumper are no more. My radiator has the fan inbedded in it and I have little steering. The passenger side strut tower is also moved back and out of
alignment. The fire wall has also been pushed in on the passenger side. I have no steering as the passenger wheel has no clearence at the back and is hard against the bit of chassis infront
of the door.
The police have not charged me (as they threatend to do EVEN THOUGH IT WASNT MY FAULT!) but I am asking you guys if you know what I can do. If i am not at fault, do I get paid out by the
other guy? The cops have put all reports and info into the Accident Investgation people and I wont hear anything until May! What am I supposed to do? My coupe cant steer and needs a new front
end (engine survived!) and so I have no transport!
I hope his van is shagged because I have put so much hard work and $$$ into my car, and now its a mess because of some dumb f*#k who doesnt know the road rules! Give way to oncoming traffic!
I hit him at 60kph and luckily no one was hurt, I was strapped in with my RPM Race harness, thank god! because the orginal seat belts are really dodgy.
Anyway, I am one sad, angry, pissed off bloke at the moment and the crash was on Wednesday last week!
Any help on insurance matters would be great, and the only insurance I have is third party.

Simon

Tough break Simon - it's hard to see these cars get taken out like this. Is this the same coupe you crashed into the bank? If they reckon it's your fault then your insurance company will pay
out on the other guy's vehicle. Sadly you will get nothing. If they decide it was his fault then his insurance will pay out on your vehicle. From the damage you describe the coupe will be
written off by an insurance company and you will get a payout if he was at fault. You can then use that money to buy back your coupe and fix it yourself.
No one will do the front cut you need on a car this old - no money in it. You may be able to pull the front out on a chassis machine or alternatively you can use a tractor, a chain and a
tree like my brother did once after his big-bore Austin Maxi was rear ended and written off. His repair was successful and the car remained on the road until one day he failed to negotiate a
tight left hander on a gravel road. Repairing that damage would have required access to a dozer and a 20 tonne digger - tools he was unable to locate in the middle of nowhere.
Keep us up to date with how things go.

Why anyone would want to rebuild an Austin Maxi the first time is beyond me... if you had got a digger I'd use it to dig a hole and bury the awful thing. On the subject of the crashed coupe
your admission that you were doing 60 kph could be enough for an insurance company to fail to payout even if the other driver was at fault, they wiil screw you for any admission of breaking
the rules e.g. exceeding the speed limit etc. Good luck and in the mean time start looking for a ute thats been rear ended so you can source a new front cut, as most sedans and coupes will
be stuffed by now cause of their age. A ute has got to be at least 5 years younger.

That sucks dude!! Not much fun at all is it. I was in a similar situation to u when i crashed my black 1200. Except it hit a pole sideways and no other cars involved. Even the damage
sounds the same as mine. Dont worry, you'll get thru it and im sure you'll find another 1200 somewhere. I hope u get some money of his insurer if it was his fault. That'd would suck if u
have to pay up but insurance companys are bastards and they will try anything to not pay up. Hope u get another 1200 up and running soon! cya

Scott
Davo

Cheers for your sympathy and help guys. If I do get paid out it sounds like the insurance company will write it off. So I am in the process of removing all good parts i.e. momo s/
wheel, kenwood stereo, 7x10 and 16cm speakers, racing harness etc etc, just so that the insurance company doesnt take it all.
If I do buy the car back from them, it sounds like I need a jig or chassis straightning machine, which will be expensive.
Other options are to transfer all good bits to my other shell which needs a respray and rego..lots of work. Or I can get the money from insurance (IF I GET PAID OUT) and look for some
other cheap car, because insurance companies are stingy.
What sort of pay out would I get? I know this means nothing but I have spent about $5000 on it.

Simon

the money ract would have paid me was $1000 and id have to pay a $700 exess ,on the other hand with shannons my car has been valued at $9000 with a $700 excess, even if its not much money
my advice would be to clear your name and fight for your money. other wise it will be hard to get insurance in the future. read your policy and see if you can get legal aid , these pricks
cant get away with treating us like shit because we are the youth who decide to drive the cars we drive. also bridgewater auto wreckers have some 1200s there and moonah auto salvage have
in there show room a hot 1980 ute with a14, new paint, mags,rego,big brakes etc if you are in a position to borrow. it also sounds, if you can prove it, su them for defamation but its
certailly worth getting advice. ps .all my luck and sympathy pps .to the people in other countrys leagle aid is free in aust... and someone asked how much $50 was in america..answer .$24
dollars (how sad is that???)

by the way i meant $50aus = $24us