sidekickin

No they sure didn't. Since I only had straight liability on the car, they didn't want to do anything to help.

Yeah, I already got paid for it and it was a crappy offer. I got sick of fighting with them, which was probably their goal. :-(

OK, I've decided that I'll try to part the car out. We'll see how it goes. The car is currently complete and runs great, but as you can see from the photo on page 1, it was rear ended. Rear glass is shattered, along with passenger side rear glass. Mechanically, the car is in great shape. No aftermarket mods. Have a set of 14" aluminum Peugeots also. Let me know if you want anything and I can give you a price and shipping costs. I've posted this in the USMB Classifieds also.

I'm guessing the car is going to the crusher then. :-(

It isn't a dual-range trans. It is a single-range 4 spd manual transmission, just to let you know. Still not sure what I should do with the car yet as far as scrapping vs parting out. I will at least cut the catalytic converter off and get money for that. And possibly remove the radiator and battery and scrap those separately. I also have a set of Peugeot 14" aluminum wheels I could scrap separately. The car also has factory Subaru 13" aluminum wheels which could be scrapped (only 5000 miles on the tires). Engine and trans are in great shape with fluids all changed regularly...180,000 miles on both...never needed any work done to either. I still start it up every couple of weeks and drive it around the property to keep it up and running. I would really like to part it out just because these parts are becoming more and more rare, and I know people could use the parts, BUT there are none of these vehicles left here in the rust belt. So to part it out, I would be doing it online and shipping would be cost a fortune for wheels, trans, engine, etc. There is absolutely ZERO demand for these parts here locally. And if I do part it out, most of the local scrap yards will only pay the $275 per ton if the car is "complete." I don't want to be left with a shell that I can't get rid of. Just some thoughts going through my head. Any thoughts or suggestions are welcome. Thanks!

Ok, it's been a few months since I posted any updates about my rear-end accident. Allstate is a pain in the butt to deal with. They absolutely would not negotiate with me. They gave me an offer and said to take it or go to court. After 6 months of bickering with them, I decided to just take their crappy offer to be done with the whole thing. So now the question is what I should do with the wrecked car. I have spent 6 months looking for a replacement. Everything I can find is either in awful shape or is WAY overpriced. I love these older Subarus but I am not going to pay 2 grand or more for a decent one. So my wrecked Subaru is either going to get parted out (if it makes financial sense) or it is going to the scrap yard for $225. For me to part it out, it would have to yield at least a few hundred dollars to make it worth it. What do you guys think about this? Thanks for your help.

Thanks everyone. The insurance company I am dealing with is Allstate. I told the adjuster that I am in no hurry to settle this because I have other cars to drive. I could tell he didn't like me saying that. So right now the car is sitting here on my property with a tarp over it. They won't be pressuring me into a lawball settlement. I told the adjuster that I am not being unreasonable...that I just want to be made whole on this deal. Then he said it is unreasonable to ask for more than they are offering for "a rusty old car." That pissed me off big time. That's when I said the car can sit for 2 years if need be.

Still fighting with the insurance company on the value of the car. I provided receipts to show it was well maintained. After getting the receipts, they raised the offer a whopping $100! At that point I told them that the car can sit for 2 years...that I am not signing anything until I am satisfied. So we will see what happens now.

PM sent...

The hatchbrat idea sounds pretty cool. But even if I did that, there is some serious unibody damage to the car. The rear wheel on the passenger side is cocked in and the unibody is diamonded. Really sucks, but my only options are to find a donor body or take it to the crusher. And in this area of the country a donor body is probably not going to show up. Around here all these cars rusted away years ago. I called several junk yards and they all pretty much laughed at me. One place said I would be lucky to find a mid 90s Outback, much less an 80s hatchback.

Thanks everyone for your help. I plan on standing firm on this so I don't get screwed on this deal. I was guessing the car weighed a little over 2000 lbs. I think I may buy it back from the insurance company and keep it for a while to see if I can come across another hatch. Maybe I'll get lucky.

Thanks edrach. I printed off that first post to give to the insurance company (Allstate).

I have been looking around for other similar cars for sale and it has been very difficult to find any.

I made that point to them. I said the car has been well maintained and I have receipts to prove it. And I said there is no way I can replace the car for $800. The guy then got an attitude with me and said they will not go any higher than $800 unless it goes to arbitration and the actual cash value is shown to be more than $800. He said, "$800 is more than fair for a 25-year old rusty car."

Well, it looks like my hatch may be going to the scrap yard to be crushed after my accident. Not surprisingly, the car was deemed to be a total loss. The insurance company offered me $800 for the car, but if I want to keep the car they would give me $700. I am trying to find the curb weight of the car to see how much I can get for it at the scrap yard, but it isn't listed in the owner's manual and it isn't listed on the metal plate in the door jamb. Does anyone know what the curb weight is for this car or where I can find this info? The scrap yard is currently paying $275/ton for a complete car with title. I hate to see the car go like this, but the car is not fixable and I am not able to find another hatchback body in good shape within a reasonable driving distance to swap the parts into.

I have the EA81 engine...not sure if the EA82s have a vapor separator.

If you can't get the plate off, you can remove the fuel filter with it in place. It's not convenient, but it can be done. That's how I had to do it since all the mounting hardware for that plate was rusted in place. After replacing that filter and the vapor separator, I haven't had the problem ever come back...and it has been almost 8 years now. Unfortunately, someone just rear-ended the car a few weeks ago and it looks like it will be totaled. Just waiting on the insurance adjuster to make it final. Hopefully I can find another one somewhere. It was the best car I ever owned. Let me know how everything goes...

On my car (87 hatchback), the fuel filter is under the car on the passenger side in front of the gas tank. It is mounted on top of a metal plate. It's kinda hard to see unless you are looking closely for it. As far as the vapor separator goes, it is mounted in the engine compartment on the driver's side, right above the brake booster. Not sure which GL model you have, but the GL hatchbacks of that year are mechanically different from the GL sedans and wagons. What I described is for the GL hatchback...the fuel filter locations may or may not be the same for the GL wagon/sedan. I've never owned a wagon or sedan of that year, so I don't really know. I hope this helps.

My problem ended up being a clogged fuel filter. I replaced both the fuel filter that is under the car and the vapor separator "filter" that's under the hood. After doing that I haven't had any problems since. Your problem sounds exactly like mine. It was worse when going up steep hills when cold and when it had less than a half tank of gas. The filters aren't expensive either. Hopefully that will solve your problem.

Yes, I have receipts. The whole situation just sucks. I'm going to get a few hundred bucks for a car that has absolutely nothing wrong with it other than some body rust. It has to be one of the last EA81s in the rust belt.

Well, that is a bad picture of the tires. The tires only have 6000 miles on them and are like new. There is body rot, but that is the ONLY thing wrong with that car. EVERYTHING works, including the A/C. It has a new exhaust on it....and not some rigged up deal either. It is the correct exhaust for that car. Catalytic converter is only 2 years old. New CV axles and wheel bearings. New battery. Windshield is not cracked either. New front ball joints and rear shocks too. Interior is spotless. There is only wear on the front driver seat where the vinyl is cracked, but I have seat covers to cover that up. Car runs like it is brand new with no ticks or noises from the engine. Oil religiously changed every 3000 miles. Get the point?

methusalah, That would be awesome if you could list your car! I would really appreciate that. I need all the help I can get so I can get a fair price from the insurance company. Let me know when/if you can do it. Thanks!

Thanks kayoteq for trying to get the info. And thanks to everyone else for your help and suggestions. I gotta call the insurance adjuster tomorrow and set up a time for them to come out to inspect the car and insult me with their offer. I'll keep you guys posted on what happens.

Hey guys, thanks for the info. I printed off that ebay ad for the Brat. I have that and the printout of the NADA value so far to present to the insurance company. Anything else would be great if you come across something. Thanks. I also need gas money to possibly drive hundreds of miles away to get my replacement hatch/EA81...

kayoteq, I would really appreciate you doing that for me. I am in southern ohio...Cincinnati area. Any info you could find out would be great. Thank you so much!