accident :-(

[MrFrost]

Brother I feel for you! Sorry for the wreck. Mine is still in the shop now for repairs from hitting three deer. $7400.00 ( and maybe more if they find anything wrong with suspension) Very anxious about what the results will be after the repairs. They tell me I wont even know it happened, but everybody I talk to around town that's ever been in a wreck tell me, "my car was never the same", or "it just didn't drive right or look right". Which really scares the Sh*t out of me. I only had my car for 5 weeks before the wreck but I love it and cant wait to drive it again but man I pray every day that I really wont be able to tell it was wrecked. And that she will be as beautiful as she was the day I got her! I know its just a car and yes we are all lucky when we can walk away from these wrecks, I agree. But like most everyone here on C5, we bought these cars because we know what a great car it is, and because we are real car people. I mean that permagrin had to come from somewhere right!!!
Hope you get yours back quickly friend! The wait is hell.

[patternpilot]

OP. I guess you learned that just because the speed limit say's that you can go that fast, sometimes you shouldn't due to the conditions. It is not against the law to be cautious. Glad you were not hurt and did not hurt anyone else. I worry about folks like you on the road.

[Denis]

Originally Posted by mhoskins76

OP...sorry to hear about the accident but I am glad to hear that nobody was seriously hurt. It could have been a lot worse.

For those that think it does not matter what kind of tires you have on your car that if you are driving in winter conditions (snow/ice) that you will spin, you can not be farther from the truth.

Living in the deep north of Canada, winter is here for 6 months of the year. Summer tires are useless in the cold. So called "All Season" tires do not work very well below 0C (32F). I can not count the number of vehicles (cars, trucks, etc..) that end up in the ditch thinking that all-seasons are good in the winter. The best and safest option is winter tires. They do stop quicker on ice and give you grip in bad road conditions.

Now I understand if you live in the southern USA that winter tires are not really viable because there is usually no snow or ice on the roads so it does not make sense financially to buy winter tires, hence why the recent issues I saw in Atlanta make sense. But a good set of all-weather tires (they are new out this year) that are getting good reviews by friends of mine. Just some suggestions and I sure hope this helps!

Tire companies must love you. Did they sell you tires with great Ice traction? Because aside from tires with metal studs in them...no tire is gonna help you on ice. But you can go ahead and keep believing that if you want to.
Snow and cold conditions are another story...but that's not what happened here.

[Angrybird 12]

Originally Posted by Denis

Tire companies must love you. Did they sell you tires with great Ice traction? Because aside from tires with metal studs in them...no tire is gonna help you on ice. But you can go ahead and keep believing that if you want to.
Snow and cold conditions are another story...but that's not what happened here.

Actually some of the new Winter only tires companies are making now use a rubber compound that gives very good traction on ice.
http://www.consumersearch.com/snow-tires

[nine4m6]

OP. Hate to hear about your accident. Glad you are alright.

To answer your question: If your body shop does a good job your car will be the same as before. Camaros (like most vehicles today) are unibody meaning that they don't have a frame. The frame rails are welded into the lower floor as opposed to the body sitting on a ladder style frame like on a pickup truck or some suvs. As long as the body shop has the inner structure where it belongs before the new outer sheet metal is replaced the body will be fine. As fare as that wheel goes. It's a matter of replacing what ever suspension components are bent (again after making sure that the inner structure that they bolt to is straight). Good shops have body and frame measuring systems which give them original measurement spec and where damaged measuring points are. These systems will guide a good body tech in where a damaged unibody needs to be pulled to factory specs. The rest is replacing the airbags and damaged interior and doing a 4 wheel alignment. A good shop will get this right.

I hope this puts your mind somewhat at ease about your car if it is repaired.

Which brings me to the subject of total loss if it goes that way: In most cases damages have to be somewhere near 75% of a car's actual cash value to reach total loss. This varies by state and insurance company.

If the car is a total loss the insurance company will have to come to a fair market value. If your car totals be sure to ask for the evaluation of it's value. It will depend on your insurance company and what system they use as to what type of report you will get. Quite possibly this evaluation with have all the details about your car. The basics will be the vin, mileage, options, etc. It could also have a list of comparable vehicles that have sold in your area listed. There could also be a section where they graded your car. If you can get this report go over it well and make sure it represents your car as it was before this accident. Check all your options as the insurance company has them listed on the report. Make sure they were fair in grading your car's condition.

I hope all this helps. Good luck with getting this all resolved.

[mhoskins76]

Originally Posted by Denis

Tire companies must love you. Did they sell you tires with great Ice traction? Because aside from tires with metal studs in them...no tire is gonna help you on ice. But you can go ahead and keep believing that if you want to.
Snow and cold conditions are another story...but that's not what happened here.

So my 20+ years of driving in every winter condition imaginable with every road condition imaginable mean nothing I guess? Thanks for the words of wisdom though!

Originally Posted by Angrybird 12

Actually some of the new Winter only tires companies are making now use a rubber compound that gives very good traction on ice.
http://www.consumersearch.com/snow-tires

Winter tires keep getting better and better every year. They make a huge difference.

[yellowrs]

Looks to me that you were speeding and not obeying the law,imho

[KJS]

Originally Posted by Denis

Tire companies must love you. Did they sell you tires with great Ice traction? Because aside from tires with metal studs in them...no tire is gonna help you on ice. But you can go ahead and keep believing that if you want to.
Snow and cold conditions are another story...but that's not what happened here.

There's a subject matter expert in every forum...here's one^ ^ ^ NOT...

[htoniv]

Originally Posted by skipinminn

WHY mine Sits in the garage when the weathers Not my friend

I only wish, Unfortunately some of us are not fortunate for the garage or another car lol.

[MrFrost]

Don't know why people are down on OP. Any kind of tire could have slipped and skidded on black ice.
Op said he was doing the speed limit.
When I was in the Army, at the time stationed in Virginia, a few of us(5) were on a travel trip from one base to the next. We were in a military vehicle( a car, k car I think) and it was heavy with big good tires. We were stopped at a light. When the guy driving took off as soon as we were turning, still in the intersection, we hit a patch of black ice. Probably going about 12-13 mph, if that. It spun the car around about 4-5 times because it threw us into more ice on the road. By the time we came to a stop, a few seconds later(seemed like 10 minutes) we were pushed up against high curb edge, that if we had of went over , was a deep, steep embankment that went down about40 yards into trees, so steep, it probably would of killed us. We hit the curbed edge so hard it took one of the wheels right off the car. But we were not speeding at all. It doesn't take much when you hit that kind of ice, it just projects you and all you can really do is hold on. And our driver was experienced in cold icy weather, he was from that area. Were we breaking the law? No. You cant blame op for weather hazards. Nobody , no matter how much experience you have can really say what might happen when you do hit ice, sometimes it just the law of physics, the car is going to do what it wants most of the time and you cant control it, just hang on and do the best you can.
Glad you made it out ok OP. Hate that your ride is messed up. I just don't understand why people on here think your at fault. Good luck with repairs!

[Eddiefuzz]

Originally Posted by Baba

Did you report this to your insurance company? Directly related to that is to not admit on any public forum that you were traveling above the speed limit, in particular if road conditions might be hazardous and the tires on your car aren't in the least suited for such conditions.

I'd be "editing" my post ASAP to eliminate the mention of "above the speed limit" and "summer tires, if I were in a situation similar to yours. ESPECIALLY if you're reporting this to your insurance co.

Good luck with getting your Camaro repaired.

DO YOU THINK HIS REAL NAME IS BATMARO??? Mr. Batmaro we noticed your CAMARO5 posts and you had summer tires and drove above 40 mph.

[DieselAries1]

I like everyone else am glad your alright. Nothing hurts worse than hurting your pride and joy. I thought the same thing about my motorcycle after I totaled it and decided to rebuild it. Love that bike still. My insurance is one of the ones that lets you get a year newer. Maybe you will get lucky!

[Bat Maro]

thanks everyone who provided kind words or words of advice. im still extremely upset, everytime i walk outside my apartment and i dont see the car its a constant reminder of what happened and makes me sad. ive had the car (brand new) since late June and ive only put 3,885 miles on her. i only drive it maybe once a week and some weeks not at all. it just saddens me that the ONE day i decide to drive my pride and joy to the gym (a 2 mile drive, 4 miles round trip) this happens. it was a clear cold night, not a cloud in the sky just very cold. i hope all works out and at this point im not sure if i want it fixed or totaled so i can start with a fresh car, my feelings are very mixed right now but im also still quite upset. a brand new 2014 1LE doesnt sound like a bad idea but i love my 2013 2SS and im not the biggest fan of the new 2014 design.. and i would hate to see her go so soon. im 50/50 right now on how i feel about losing the car or keeping it. maybe in a few weeks ill feel better/different. i am good driver, i drive for a living. i have my NYS class B CDL license and im experienced in driving all types of vehicles, so was it drivers error that caused this? partially absolutely. was it also a freak accident that ANY OF YOU could have avoided/done better in? probably not. my driving experience has taught me that even if you are the safest driver and have the right equipment on your vehicle, if something is going to go wrong IT WILL go wrong. i could sit here and replay the events over and over again and debate with fellow members of what i should have/could have/would have done differently but in all honesty NONE of that matters at this point. whats done is done and i have to face the consequences either way.

[Frank in MD]

Sorry to hear that. That looks really bad, and I would be surprised if that isn't a total loss. You're looking at rear suspension work, possibly the driveline, new airbags, headliner, ECM.... The worst part is the Camaro is unibody, the whole back 2/3 of the car is one peice and must be replaced, plus a new door to boot. Good to hear you were not injured, the car can be replaced.

I think that car is a goner, sorry man.