fedlawman

Wife drives Volvo to gym...


Wife gets hit and totals Volvo...


Wife borrows TSX...


Wife gets hit by red light runner...


I buy wife new Volvo...


$4000 later, TSX is good as new...

tony4311

wow thats all it took to total it?!

fedlawman

Yeah, the frame was severely bent, the suspension was torqued, the dashboard was torn by the airbag, and the engine management computer (which is housed on the right side of the engine bay) was destroyed.

USAA wrote it off.

Jason

volvos total easy. i've whacked one myself.

CGTSX2004

iTrader: (1)

Umm...wow...that's what I'd call bad luck.

Kinda surprising that that little bit of damage to the Volvo and it would be declared totaled. My brother did much worse to our TL and it wasn't totaled, though it cost $13000+ to get it fixed.

tony4311

wow

fedlawman

The claims adjuster told me once he got it up on a rack, the dollar amount kept rising higher and higher as he uncovered more and more hidden damage.

Volvo's are the safest cars on the planet because they absorb damage like no other car. They crumple so we don't have to...

sstsx

methinks wife has bad luck with cars

by the way, do you and wife often drive around with helmets on? (either that or you guys have funny shaped heads)
Hmm.. judging by the crappy week you guys just had.. may not be such a bad idea.

TSX CSI

ABP-CL9-TSX

shouldn't let the wife drive around in nice rides lol.

but at least it ended in a happy ending.

DEVO

methinks that volvo's need to be the safest cars on the planet because the people behind the wheel (volvo drivers) aren't the best drivers.

bob shiftright

Is her new V70 a T5?

dabuda

wow, one hit and the volvo is totalled...how much is the auto insurance premium for your wife btw? $$$$$$$?

Dan Martin

If my wife wrecked both my cars in a week I'd better get one hell of a "happy ending"!

DEVO

damn it. you beat me to the punch. i was just thinking that.

fedlawman

I only wish!

We really didn't want to spend $40,000 on a new car, and for a family car, the base 2.4L is quick enough. In fact, the 2.4L has a surprising amount of midrange grunt, which makes it feel pretty potent.

Our base V70 with (free) premium package, climate package, 16" alloys, and 3rd row jumpseat was surprisingly affordable.

bob shiftright

I was looking at the wheels....I thought they might be the optional T5 "sports" wheels.

Even the AWD 300hp V70 "R" is now down below invoice judging by the carsdirect.com prices. T5Ms mid 30s depending on how you option them. If you belong to VCOA (the Volvo club) you can get an additional $500-$1000 discount on new Volvos.

My '98 V70 T5 is now just about "broken in" with 142,000 miles. It's now my "winter beater" but I seem to take it to work most of the time and leave the TSX at home. OK, winter-spring beater! I don't worry about door-dings with it now. I've wrecked it three times (well, none were actually my fault). The airbags never deployed, so not totaled. I like the ergonomics of the P-2 platform (your V70) better than mine, but mine is about 500 pounds lighter, with 236HP and a 5-speed manual, so it's probably a just a little more fun to drive! I'm actually considering trading my TSX for one of the new (lighter, smaller) V50T5s, once Volvo gets the hang of building 'em which usually takes at least 1-2 years for a new Volvo model.

fedlawman

Yes, I agree with all of your points. The 16" Mimas alloys are a $475 stand-alone option on the 2.4, and make a world of difference...well worth it.

I like the previous generation Volvo's too. We chose the current model because it has (much) improved ergonomics and more safety features.

Invoice price on a T5 is $33,500, plus $3,500 for Climate package, Auto trans, metallic paint, and 3rd row seat (premium package is free). That's $37,000....if you can find one without bi-xenons and touring package.

We got our identically equipped V70 for $31,000.

I agree the T5 is nice (I even like the 2.5T), we just didn't need to spend the extra money for something my wife and kids don't need.

bob shiftright

$31k is not a bad price at all!

I always liked the Volvo 850 turbos - the concept of a 222hp "safe" 155mph station wagon was a pretty insane idea that I found awfully appealing. Unfortunately, Volvo never imported the 850 turbos with manual transmissions, but when VCNA announced that they were going to import the SV70 with the stick I just couldn't resist!

I special-ordered my '98 from the Belgian factory, which took surprisingly short 7 weeks! So the car has velour seats but a leather steering wheel (!), the 5-speed manual, the factory HD suspension and I justified the T5 because I "saved" on the leather seating that I didn't want anyway and the automatic transmission that I didn't want anyway, so it came in at just about the same price as a GLT wagon with leather and AT.

(Of course I never would have bought a GLT...)

In my zip code carsdirect.com bids $37,298 for an '04 V70T5M with climate-sport-premium-xenons minus about $500 (their pound of flesh) minus $1000 (VCOA discount) or $35,798. For the V70 "R" with climate-premium, $39,841 less the $1500 or $38,341.

As I've posted, so far our Hondas have been flawless, the Volvo much less so but I still seem to be putting my miles on the Volvo.....

xizor

wow, your wife's TSX accident looks just like mine. Sounds like it cost about the same as mine to fix.

fedlawman

bob - If I could only have one car for me AND my wife and family, a manual transmission V70 T5 (or R) would be the ultimate Q ship.

Super fast, great handling/dynamics, comfortable, seating for 7, and stealthy...yeah!

xizor - $4000. The frame was untouched, but new suspension parts, body parts, and a new wheel were needed

masmole

Wow... still I have USAA and they didn't write off sh!t for me when I got into an offset head on collision with my old 99 A4. Same thing, both front suspension were wrecked, airbag tore up dash, frame bent, and even the engine mounts got hosed, except there was much more visible body damage than yours. After USAA got the damned thing fixed plus the 8 weeks of car rentals they paid for, the total bill was nearly $18K in repairs and car rental costs. The A4's blue book value at the time was $23K. Why one earth did USAA not total it is beyond me to this day.

Anyhow, glad the TSX is good as new and congrats to your wife on the new volvo. Remember, these things come in threes so unless you have another car in the family, don't let your wife anywhere near the red car anytime soon

fedlawman

Three's huh? I'd rather not have heard that!

Sorry about your Audi, I'm not sure why USAA totaled it, except for what they told me. I'm only glad they did because I didn't feel good about driving a formerly crunched car (Volvo or no).

BTW, I'm wondering if anyone has any knowledge or experience with "Diminished Value?"

When I went CPO shopping two weekends ago, I saw a couple of cars that had obvious (to me) refinishing work done. I walked right away from these cars, but it got me thinking that when it comes time to trade-in my TSX, the accident, although expertly repaired, could be a real turn-off for potential buyers.

I casually mentioned "diminished value" to the insurance company paying for the TSX repairs, and he blew me off by saying, "we don't pay that."

So, anyone know how to pursue compensation as a 3rd party claimant?

Anyone know if American Honda will zing me come lease-end?

Appreciate any feedback!