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Date:         Sat, 5 Jan 2008 21:33:24 -0600
Reply-To:     Max Wellhouse <maxjoyce@IPA.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Max Wellhouse <maxjoyce@IPA.NET>
Subject:      Re: What to do with a crash survivor
Comments: To: Neale Pickett <neale@WOOZLE.ORG>
In-Reply-To:  <w53bq7zg2tz.fsf@fozzie.woozle.org>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii; format=flowed;
              x-avg-checked=avg-ok-48527669

I see two courses of action here.

Show the insurance company all the receipts for the engine and accessories and see if that will wake them up and if not, you should be able to buy the van back for $500-$1000 and I would say that was a great investment at this point. There's probably a reason VW didn't put airbags in the front of the Vanagon and maybe you and your family know why now. I'm just glad you guys survived.

good luck in your insurance company pursuits.

DM&FS

At 07:28 PM 1/5/2008, Neale Pickett wrote:

>It's funny, I was working on a message to this list asking for opinions >about whether I was cut out for owning this vehicle. Last night as my >wife and I were discussing that very subject, someone failed to yield >pulling out onto the freeway and we T-boned them at 55MPH. My wife, >daughter, and I are all bruised but not broken, amazingly. The >windshield landed 15 feet ahead of the bus. > >I was mostly focused on the people but here's what I took away about the >1989 7-passenger Vanagon: > > * It went from 55 to 0 awfully quickly > * The cooling system now has a very fast leak :) > * The windshield is gone > * The front end is pretty banged up > * My feet are fine > >We decided this was our cosmic invitation to acknowledge we're not >Vanagon people. > >I'm guessing from having read this list that the insurance company is >going to want to total it. There's a good chance the frame is bent, and >in their book the vehicle's probably not worth that much. I happen to >know that the parts on this thing are worth quite a bit. We have: > > * A 2.3L GoWesty engine, still under warranty (about 7,000 miles on it) > * New Nokian snow tires with reinforced sidewalls, about 100 miles on them > * A Gary Lee rack > * A Gary Lee rear bumper with trailer hitch > * An unused Bus Depot awning > * Two new GoWesty rear seat belts (weren't in use during the crash) > * A whole van full of parts in good shape > >The question is, how much of a pain is it going to be for me to recover >some of the money we put into the bus? The engine alone was around 5 >grand. But I don't have the equipment to tear the thing down and sell >the parts out. > >Any suggestions as to what to do? > >Neale >who has a sore chest and a newfound love for Ralph Nader


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