My wife and I were driving back home one night and had the misfortune of catching a racoon that another car kicked up with the nose of my GT350R. We were going by another car, and it just appeared from underneath that car. There was zero time to react or avoid the hit. It looked like it had to be about 15 or 20 lbs. We only felt a small shunt on impact. We barely even heard it hit. I was hoping against hope that there was no damage. When we got home, I checked it out, and this is what I saw.
Just looks like that blade needs to be replaced, right? Shouldn't be too bad or expensive, right? Well, let me break it down:
- New front splitter
- New fascia and partial belly pan (racoon didn't even go under the car)
- New stripes (oh, those 6 little pieces of stripes are ~$1500, not including labor!!!)
- New oil cooler
- Miscellaneous fasteners
All in, the repair bill was over $5500. Does that look like $5500 worth of damage on the surface? I had a feeling it would ultimately end up being over $2500, but I didn't think it would be as high as it was. Thank goodness for good insurance and a low deductible. When the appraiser saw the cost of replacement parts, he decided to amuse himself by looking up the costs of other parts. If somebody absconds with the carbon fiber wheels, that's going to be a $20K replacement bill. I forget how much he said the cost was for the rear wings, but I remember the difference being like you could buy Base and Track Pack wings in bulk compared to one R wing. The hood and fenders were high, too.
This gives me second thoughts about tracking it this summer. You guys that are de-striping your GT350s are really crazy. If you ever decide you want to put them back on, you better have a thick wallet.
For those considering buying a GT350, let this be a cautionary tale of the potential costs of ownership.
I wonder if I'm the first owner to damage his R...
Just looks like that blade needs to be replaced, right? Shouldn't be too bad or expensive, right? Well, let me break it down:
- New front splitter
- New fascia and partial belly pan (racoon didn't even go under the car)
- New stripes (oh, those 6 little pieces of stripes are ~$1500, not including labor!!!)
- New oil cooler
- Miscellaneous fasteners
All in, the repair bill was over $5500. Does that look like $5500 worth of damage on the surface? I had a feeling it would ultimately end up being over $2500, but I didn't think it would be as high as it was. Thank goodness for good insurance and a low deductible. When the appraiser saw the cost of replacement parts, he decided to amuse himself by looking up the costs of other parts. If somebody absconds with the carbon fiber wheels, that's going to be a $20K replacement bill. I forget how much he said the cost was for the rear wings, but I remember the difference being like you could buy Base and Track Pack wings in bulk compared to one R wing. The hood and fenders were high, too.
This gives me second thoughts about tracking it this summer. You guys that are de-striping your GT350s are really crazy. If you ever decide you want to put them back on, you better have a thick wallet.
For those considering buying a GT350, let this be a cautionary tale of the potential costs of ownership.
I wonder if I'm the first owner to damage his R...
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