allwheeldad Posted June 11, 2011 Share Posted June 11, 2011 After 413,000 kms, pounds of skin off my knuckles, and a whole new vocabulary I am sad to announce the ridiculous death of my 99 Legacy GT. It was parked outside my house on the street Monday night when it was attacked by some drug crazed viking warrior. I was dead asleep when I woke up to screaming and smashing. I pulled back the curtains to see the roof of my car crushed and the rear window shattered. I ran outside with a bat ready to return the favour but the ********************* was already two blocks away, still raging and screaming about something I will never understand. I turned to the car and knew instantly that it was going to be written off. He managed to climb on top of the car and jump up and down until he collapsed the roof where it meets the rear glass. This is not some "bang it out" kind of repair. It would require a new roof to be cut in and welded in order for the glass to fit without constantly leaking. Given the mileage and age of the car there is no way in hell the insurance company is going to pay for that kind of major surgery. I worked in a collision center as an estimator a few years back and can say this with certainty. I maintained that car myself from day one and it was a real pisser to see it go because some retard felt like taking out his delusional aggression on it. There wasn't a speck of rust anywhere, the suspension and brakes were all new, there was a bunch of wrx parts stuffed into it, and I didn't even get the satisfaction of drifting it into a tree myself. Now I have to argue the value of the car with the insurance adjuster and hunt for a replacement car. I doubt I will find one of equal condition for what they are going to try to pay me. Sigh. I'll update as things develope. If anybody has a line on any clean subies around Kingston, Belleville, Ottawa let me know, I'll have to find one soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted June 11, 2011 Share Posted June 11, 2011 I hate stupid people. You should have got in the car chased him down and ran him over! Honestly if the roof is all that's messed up, I'd try to fix it. Expensive sure, but You worked in a body shop you have know at least one good body person who's willing to fix it on the side for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AWDfreak Posted June 11, 2011 Share Posted June 11, 2011 Oh my... I am sincerely sorry for your loss :-\ If I was in that situation, I would have chased down the ****er, called the police, and get that **** arrested. *sigh*... Besides the roof, everything else mechanically fine??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allwheeldad Posted June 11, 2011 Author Share Posted June 11, 2011 Everything else mechanically is in great shape. The engine runs smooth and the transmission shifts like butter. My problem is that I just don't have the time to dedicate to this kind of repair. I also don't want to put a bunch of work into trying to bend the flanges back out only to have the rear window leak every time it rains. I remember cars coming in under similar circumstances and unless the mating surface is free of wrinkles or folds of any kind you are asking for trouble. I work 50+ hours a week and have two young kids, so the time to rehab my daily driver just isn't there. My wife was quick to pick up the phone and call the cops when she saw me running downstairs with a bat. The cops showed up in two minutes and flew around the neighborhood looking for a raging lunatic but this guy must be an olympic runner, four cruisers couldn't find him. I discovered another poor schmuck a couple blocks down from me covering up the rear glass on his minivan the next day on my way to the collision center. I have decided that with any money left over from my payout I am going out and buying a high powered fully automatic paintball gun. Primarily, it will be satisfying to just pepper any reject that tries this kind of crap again, but also it will make it easy for the cops to identify somebody when they are covered in paint! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dude Posted June 11, 2011 Share Posted June 11, 2011 (edited) You're obviously a way nicer person than me. Because if someone did that to my Sube and I caught him, he'd be carrying a pager everywhere and praying for notification that some organ donor had left him a replacement for his liver. Edited June 11, 2011 by The Dude Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted June 11, 2011 Share Posted June 11, 2011 it's still driveable....go drift into a tree now, it's your only chance!!! while as ridiculous and insane as that is - at least you got to witness it, it'll be worth countless stories and anecdotes into the future! i chased down a guy trying to steal a jeep in atlanta, it ended awesome but in retrospect is stupid. a cornered animal is not a good thing - if they have a weapon you better hope you're quicker and lucky. i tackled him after about half a mile and i guess someone had called the cops because they were there in like a minute after i tackled him. i also had the most fortunate circumstance of like 10 or so friends watching this unfold and two of them following behind (i'm fast) watching me knock the crack head ghetto punk to the ground. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricearu Posted June 11, 2011 Share Posted June 11, 2011 buy it back and find a clean shell and then just swap away! I wouldn't just let it go like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brumby420 Posted June 12, 2011 Share Posted June 12, 2011 Everything else mechanically is in great shape. The engine runs smooth and the transmission shifts like butter. My problem is that I just don't have the time to dedicate to this kind of repair. I also don't want to put a bunch of work into trying to bend the flanges back out only to have the rear window leak every time it rains. I remember cars coming in under similar circumstances and unless the mating surface is free of wrinkles or folds of any kind you are asking for trouble. I work 50+ hours a week and have two young kids, so the time to rehab my daily driver just isn't there. My wife was quick to pick up the phone and call the cops when she saw me running downstairs with a bat. The cops showed up in two minutes and flew around the neighborhood looking for a raging lunatic but this guy must be an olympic runner, four cruisers couldn't find him. I discovered another poor schmuck a couple blocks down from me covering up the rear glass on his minivan the next day on my way to the collision center. I have decided that with any money left over from my payout I am going out and buying a high powered fully automatic paintball gun. Primarily, it will be satisfying to just pepper any reject that tries this kind of crap again, but also it will make it easy for the cops to identify somebody when they are covered in paint! If you are able to own guns another good solution is a 12 gauge with beans or rubber balls in it. They are non lethal but believe me you would not wanna be on the wrong end of a pelting by one of those. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allwheeldad Posted June 12, 2011 Author Share Posted June 12, 2011 The gun laws in Canada are far more restrictive than they are in the states. By the time I got my gun out of the locked cabinet and loaded it the target would have walked in, made some tea, watched a little hockey, and crapped on my doorstep on the way out. I know what you're saying about a little more firepower though. Believe me, I would like nothing more than to have been able to blast him right off the roof of the car. I think I will invest in some kind of video setup instead. If I had a picture of the guy in action that resulted in some jail time I might be as satisfied. As long as he walked funny when he got out. I have already sourced out a 99 forester with 100,000 miles, recent head gasket and timing job, no rust, new tires, and roof racks for $1600.00. They are selling it for that price because it has piston slap, but it quiets down after a few minutes and it quieter than my Legacy was. The way I see it, if I can get this car and a 14 foot aluminum boat, motor, and trailer (already sourced for $800), then I will call it square and move on without arguing:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricearu Posted June 12, 2011 Share Posted June 12, 2011 all those sti goodies fit on foresters too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster2 Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 buy it back and find a clean shell and then just swap away! I wouldn't just let it go like that. Same thought I had. Get insurance company to total it out, then buy it back from the insurance company on the cheap. Then you can transfer all your wrx parts to another Subie. O yea, you said you were an insurance adjuster once upon a time, so you know all about how this is done. Sorry to hear about your loss. There are always paybacks in life. The joker who trashed your car will get his payback. Life always works that way! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
987687 Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 Damn, this really sucks I can just think how upset I'd be if it as my LGT, and I know how you feel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allwheeldad Posted June 30, 2011 Author Share Posted June 30, 2011 Finally settled with the insurance company today. Dammit I would like to get my hands on that arsehole. I managed to get $2500 for the car. Because of the mileage they started me at $1900. I told them to get fooked. I said to take a look at the photos and dared them to find any rust. I listed the new parts. I pushed them as far as I could and came out with a settlement lower than my pride wants to accept. I'm not delusional in my thinking about the retail value of the car, it is simply a matter of economics that after paying for a car, the safety inspection, emmissions testing, taxes, and registration, there is no way in hell that I am going to end up with a car of "like kind and quality" (insurance terminology). To buy it back they would knock the payout back down to $1900 and then subtract the salvage amount of $300.00 which would leave me in even worse shape to buy a daily driver worth transplanting good parts into. To top it all off it took them three weeks to determine what I told them when I filed my claim (write-off)and I now have all this paperwork (bs) to fill out while I am working on the road in areas without cell phone service and they are taking back the rental car before they even cut the check. So now I have no car to get to work (10 mile bike ride to the shop), no money to buy a car (check is literally in the mail once I send paperwork in, which they emailed today), and will have to lose an entire day of wages to do all the running around once I do finally find a car. Don't get your insurance through Primmum, they are crooks. I seriously hope that karma is real because I have a heaping handful to dish out to that knob gobbling circus freak sidehow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricearu Posted June 30, 2011 Share Posted June 30, 2011 so your car parts and all could not be sold for $900? I would heavily weigh the buyback... but that's just me.:-\ you could find a dead (headgasket or blown engine) legacy for around a $1000 or less and be $600 up for your labor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted July 1, 2011 Share Posted July 1, 2011 For my 96 L I could see $1900. I see 99 MY cars with over 200k miles going for $3500 and up ALL the time. I'd have fought tooth and nail for more than $2500. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allwheeldad Posted July 2, 2011 Author Share Posted July 2, 2011 I had to fight them hard to get the settlement that I did. In our region the salt usually destroys a car by the time it gets the age and mileage mine had. This devalues cars hugely and the insurance company goes only by what their software tells them is the fair market value. I too have seen cars listed for sale with high miles in other areas that I can see the value in terms of a rust free body and frame, but around here it is a hard sell to ask as much. One of the tricks they like to pull is to pull up ads on Autotrader.ca and and see what other people are selling their cars for. In my case there was only two other Legacy GT listings and both were less miles than mine, both selling for less than what the insurance company offered me. I was kind of over a barrel on this one. As far as transplanting all the good stuff to another shell, I have neither the time nor facilities to do the work. I used to have a garage in my old house, but now only have a driveway. I need a functional daily driver. Believe me, I hate to see it go this way, but I just don't have any other choice in the matter. I am going to close this Subie chapter and start another. I have sourced out a Forester the same year as my wife's, but with no rust and less miles. Water pump, HG's, timing belt, and tensioner just done. She is going to take the new car and I am going to start having fun with the old one. My neighbour has a full steel working shop and metal supply business and has offered me full access to it. I plan to pull the front and rear bumper covers off and fab up some tube steel push bar bumpers. I think maybe some diff covers too. I have always wanted to see what Subies will do off road and have never owned and off road vehicle before. Time to try something new! Anybody know a cheap and easy way to gain some height on a 99 forester? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WoodsWagon Posted July 3, 2011 Share Posted July 3, 2011 Measure the height of the subframe drop blocks on the forester, then make strut spacers the equal height. We know you can lift impreza's to forester height using just the struts, and that doesn't cause ball joint or axle problems. So putting strut spacers on the forester would end up with the same net effect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allwheeldad Posted July 21, 2011 Author Share Posted July 21, 2011 Finalized the deal on my new vehicle last night. I've had my eye on one of these since I was first a passenger in one on a morning of partridge hunting in northern Ontario. It's a surprise to me, but I now own a 1991 Toyota SR5 4x4 V6. It only has 100,000 miles, a new clutch and tires, and only slight rusting on the body. I grabbed it for $1500. I still have to Forester for my wife so I haven't left the subaru camp, I just came across this little gem and couldn't ignore it. I was having no luck finding a subie around here in my price range anyhow. The Forester I was planning on getting turned out to have Felpro headgaskets so I walked from that one. I've never owned a truck before and figured it would be handy as hell. I'll post pictures as soon as I get it home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
987687 Posted July 21, 2011 Share Posted July 21, 2011 Nice! Toyota trucks awe awesome. I want to build one into a wheeler some day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster2 Posted July 21, 2011 Share Posted July 21, 2011 Anybody know a cheap and easy way to gain some height on a 99 forester? Larger tires on stock rims. I gained prolly close to an inch going one size larger on my 99 OBW. Just have to make sure larger tires don't rub suspension or body work on your Forester. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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