# how bad is the damage here.... total loss? or can i recover?



## par0thead151 (Sep 17, 2010)

well, it was icy as hell in wisconsin on monday night when i was driving home from 2nd shift, and when i turned from the left lane of the freeway into the middle lane to proceed to exit the freeway, my 2005 2.5 jetta spun out and smacked the concrete barrier fairly hard. aprox speed was 45-50 mph. the airbags did not deploy, so interior damage was averted. thankfully i was not hurt at all either.

the bumper is mangled, the radiator did not leak at all, which is shocking. no other fluids leaking from what i can see. the engine starts but i do not keep it running as the cooling fans on the radiator are mashed a bit. the cosmetic plastic is for the most part all cracked up. i removed everything that was damaged other than the fenders and the radiator and AC condenser which will both need replacing.(and obviously the damage/misalignment to the frame that holds the bumper. The shift linkage must also have gotten damaged as i can shift it into neutral, but i can not move into anything but 5th gear. and even then it is not easy to move. i will be digging deeper into that this weekend to see what all is going on there. 

what i'm wondering is, can the frame portion that holds the bumper be re bent to true again, or is this too much damage?


the first impact came on the driver side front bumper, almost a head on but it was ever so slightly favoring the driver side, then ir proceeded to spin and squish the passenger side, and then the ass of the car spun out and ever so slightly clipped the concrete as well, till i lost enough speed to regain control of the vehicle and pull over to the side of the road.

the car was towed obviously. the wheels have free range of motion, they do not appear damaged, although im sure an alignment is in order if the frame is not damaged to the point of a total loss. 

i got this car for 1000$ as its engine was seized up, so i replaced the engine, and put in a new clutch while i had it apart. that was 3.5 years ago. so my overall cost into this vehicle is somewhere around $2600. if the frame is repairable, i was planning on going parts hunting in the junk yard to save on cost, as i dont really care what it looks like, so long as it runs reliably. 

disclaimer: i know very little about frame damage and what can and cant be repaired.
am i SOL here or can this be repaired?

thanks

edited to add: the car is jacked up on the drivers side so i could inspect underneath. so that makes it look all sorts of funky.
























drivers side front wheel well


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## Excoastie (Jan 20, 2014)

I'm thinking that the insurance company will total it out. That being said, pretty much everything is repairable, if you spend enough money doing it.

It wouldn't hurt to have a body shop check it out, they actually know what they're looking at/ for. They can even give you an estimate on repair costs, but be sure to tell 'em that it's an out of pocket repair, and not an insurance repair (I've found that some body shops have a different labor rate for insurance work).

Good luck and be sure to let us know how you make out

Exco


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## njheavyweight (Apr 14, 2011)

*Toast*

they will measure the frame from the center beam out to the rockers, its going to be shorter on one side in the front, Then you know its done. That is pretty much how you figure out if its a lost cause or not, the frame stretch is not worth the car value to repair. trust me..


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## par0thead151 (Sep 17, 2010)

so from the photos it looks like it is way stretched and probably will not be able to be repaired without blowing up the cost of repair?


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## Eric D (Feb 16, 1999)

Put a fork it in, its done.
The frame rails are bent with the driver side being higher than the passenger side.
Even if it were fixed, it wouldn't drive very well and I know you'll be eating tires.

Let them total it out and move on to a new vehicle.


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## par0thead151 (Sep 17, 2010)

Eric D said:


> Put a fork it in, its done.
> The frame rails are bent with the driver side being higher than the passenger side.
> Even if it were fixed, it wouldn't drive very well and I know you'll be eating tires.
> 
> Let them total it out and move on to a new vehicle.




the car is lifted up with a jack on the drivers side so i could look underneath. i should retake the photos when the vehicle is level. i will do that in the AM when there is sunlight


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## par0thead151 (Sep 17, 2010)

par0thead151 said:


> the car is lifted up with a jack on the drivers side so i could look underneath. i should retake the photos when the vehicle is level. i will do that in the AM when there is sunlight




what do you guys think the value of this as a salvage would be?
IE selling it for spare parts or to someone who has the skill/tools/time to repair it?
do these things ever sell?
http://www.ebay.com/sch/sis.html?_kw=VOLKSWAGEN+JETTA+00+PARTS+CAR+WRECKED+SALVAGE%2CTDI++VW


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## Rockerchick (May 10, 2005)

Its hard to sell an entire car for parts. You can probably make more money by actually parting it yourself.


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## par0thead151 (Sep 17, 2010)

Rockerchick said:


> Its hard to sell an entire car for parts. You can probably make more money by actually parting it yourself.



im getting a feeling that is what im going to end up doing. seeing some of those photos where a jetta was totaled and the minor looking damage to it compared to what my vehicle has... reality is setting in.
DAMN

this thing was supposed to last me 4-5 more years.


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## GTINC (Jan 28, 2005)

par0thead151 said:


> im getting a feeling that is what im going to end up doing. seeing some of those photos where a jetta was totaled and the minor looking damage to it compared to what my vehicle has... reality is setting in. DAMN this thing was supposed to last me 4-5 more years.


"....my 2005 2.5 jetta spun out and smacked the concrete barrier fairly hard....."

You make it sound like it was the car's fault. :screwy:


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## daleballance (Apr 2, 2014)

well that looks like a bad day !! if you do the work your self and fined second hand parts i can fix it but i would strip down the front and have a look for bends in the body. if its all strait then go for it but it will be a big job and if it was up to me i would find a second car and make the best out of the two.


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## par0thead151 (Sep 17, 2010)

daleballance said:


> well that looks like a bad day !! if you do the work your self and fined second hand parts i can fix it but i would strip down the front and have a look for bends in the body. if its all strait then go for it but it will be a big job and if it was up to me i would find a second car and make the best out of the two.




i stripped all the damaged stuff off, all i need is a replacement water pump(what i assume is the water pump as it resides right behind the radiator and has impellers in it and a small hose coming from the radiator goes to it. I will consult the bentley book tomorrow. I am more optimistic today as i was able to bend the frame back a bit so i can make sure the shifting works(which it does now) before the frame was butting against the shifter so it would only go from 5th to neutral. now i have access to all gears.

the impact was a rolling motion, not a direct head on, so i think that fact may make the frame not twisted or contorted in more than a rightward bent direction. the rear of the vehicle can be repaired with a new bumper and rear fender.

this will be a project requiring used parts to get running. 
i will get it running again, well limping, so i can drive it to the auto shop(only 4 miles away by back roads), so they can look at the frame first hand and see if they can fix it.
i figure a couple hundred for frame work. a grand or so for parts if i can get good deals on them at a junk yard or salvage lot. and i should be back in business.

where does one look for salvage parts? i have found the online sites to be no use at all, or they want top dollar for the parts...
im thinking of calling around the local places to see if they have a 06 2.5 jetta on hand and i can scavenge that.


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## par0thead151 (Sep 17, 2010)

huzza huzza....
close enough to drive down and get it myself.
http://www.salvageautosauction.com/vehicle_detail/Salvage-2006-Volkswagen-JETTA+2.5-for-Sale/lot-15349594/Elgin-Illinois/id/5/pg/2

ok, time to find a used smog blower locally and get this sucker running. get the frame evaluated by a expert and then bid on the salvage cars without rear end damage.

how hard is it to remove a fender and replace with a new one? I assume some parts are welded on, some are bolted?

I tore the radiator off, and shockingly it did not have any leaks other than the small hose return line to the reservoir, which snapped off. needing a replaced fitting there.
the AC system still had a charge, and the only part broken was the smog blower thing for the exhaust. other than almost every plastic piece in the grill that holds stuff. and the fans for the radiator.

if i can score a wrecked jetta of the same year, that was T boned or something, i should be able to get this baby up and running again for 1500-2000


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## FordTrax (Jan 3, 2014)

*Sorry ti see that*

I had a friend with a car with similar damage - they totaled his.


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## par0thead151 (Sep 17, 2010)

FordTrax said:


> I had a friend with a car with similar damage - they totaled his.



the rational side of me is saying i should pat it out, and cut my losses. hidden damage will probably come back to haunt me if i try to repair it.


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## FordTrax (Jan 3, 2014)

*Agree*

with that thought



par0thead151 said:


> the rational side of me is saying i should pat it out, and cut my losses. hidden damage will probably come back to haunt me if i try to repair it.


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## par0thead151 (Sep 17, 2010)

i ended up selling it for 1500 to a guy who is going to school as a body shop worker
i figure thats a dair price as the vehicle, other than the recent crash, is in magnificent shape


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