Got rear ended in my C6 yesterday...which sucks.

[jski67]

As you can see, I got crunched pretty good on my way to work yesterday...

A women in a Durango (of course it had to be an SUV) hit me, which shoved me under the car in front of me...we were stopped in the road as the front car was turning left across traffic. Thankfully no one was injured. I'm sore and have a decent headache from hitting the headrest when I got thrown forward, but believe me, I'm very happy that it wasn't worse.

I'm 99% sure my car is structurally fine...the engine stayed running and it seemed to drive ok when I pulled it off the road. Of course, I'll know more once someone digs into it.

Obviously it needs new panels in the front and back. I'm surprised the rear doesn't look worse, but I guess it's flexible. I noticed paint chips on the hatchback where it impacted the roof/halo...I'm not sure if that was from the energy of the impact alone or if the rear panel has been shoved forward. The doors seemed to open and shut fine. No damage to the interior and no airbag deployment.

Anyway, any advice on what I should be paying close attention to during repairs? Any vette specific areas to be concerned about?

Two thoughts crossed my mind immediately after the accident...thank god it wasn't the camaro (which I just got on the road)...and no more camaro test drives until my brand new-but still sitting in the closet-3 point seat belts are installed!

Jason

[XcYZ]

Man, that sucks! Sorry to hear that, but glad you're ok.

I wonder what it takes to bend/tweak the aluminum frame on a C6?

[jski67]

Not sure, but I'll be checking closely.

I've posted this on the corvette forum too, so hopefully some of the folks over there can offer some advice.

I get to start dealing with the insurance company tomorrow...oh yippy, I'm sure that will be fun.

[XcYZ]

Dealing with the insurance company is always a treat. lol I hope it goes smoothly.

It looks like mostly cosmetic, but you never know, it sounds like you took a pretty good hit.

[elitecustombody]

Doesn't look too bad, but I'd look closer at all inner structure when rear quarters and bumper come off,I'm sure there has to be some damage to radiator/A/C condenser and intake,make sure to check the bracketry that holds cooling . There has to be a decent shop in Tally .

[130fe]

Jason, sorry to hear about the vette. At least you weren't hurt seriously. Hope you fare well with the insurance company.

[tones2SS]

That sucks. Sorry to hear about the accident. Glad you were not hurt.
Good luck with everything.

[NOPANTS68]

Man that sucks. Glad you are OK though.

My shops in CA do a ton of late model vette repairs as GM is one of my contracted vendors. The cars are amazingly stout in the rear area and have a huge,dense impact absorber just behind the cover. I'm sure it's wasted, but that's its job. The C6 frame section is all steel with alloy cradles- only the Z06 has the full aluminum sub-structure from what I remember. I'd be shocked if the frame has been compromised anywhere, but any shop with brains will throw a laser on it and confirm that. Looks to me that it'll be a full paint as you have to paint the whole front group, quarters, luggage lid, and blending the doors at a minimum. Be picky and take your time when picking it up. Look at gaps, quality of the finish on the edge areas, and color density- especially with that color. C6s are really well built which means they go back together pretty easily unlike some previous Corvette models.

I would suggest you call a local Chev dealer and ask who they use for their internal damage and why. There are also some recent ICAR Corvette based classes I had to send my guys to so they could get C6, C6ZO6, and ZR1 training. Make sure the shop is up on it. That should be a pretty easy repair, but take the time to feel out the shop. Ask questions about their processes and tour the facility. Let me know if I can help you in any way. Good luck, Dave

[CamaroAJ]

since its not a Z06 it doesn't have the aluminum frame, its steel.

you should have a body shop put it on the frame rack and check everything over and then get an alignment. the way it was hit it looks like you might need a rear tub if it went in far enough. looks like it missed the exhaust so more than likely also missed the frame rails.

in the front you might need an impact bar and then the obvious things. hopefully you get away without having to put any of the fiberglass parts in it, like inner fenders.

all in all it wasn't that hard of hit (from the car side of things damage wise) they just feel harder on soft tissue.

P.S. send be both headlamps, i could used those HID's for my camaro lol.

[jski67]

Thanks for all the info everyone, I appreciate it.

It looks as though I can make an additional claim for diminished value, which is one of my major concerns...I don't care if it's perfectly repaired, to me, the resale value has dropped significantly.