'00 R #165 (VIN 1FAFP47H4YF223312) pronounced D.O.A.

[PumpkinMaster]

All,
We just lost R #165 (the one that had 4 off-road driving lights up front) due to the shipper (West Coast Pilots) driving it and losing control at near 100 mph speed in an industrial park. Drive spun out, took out a stop sign, jumped two 6-8" curbs, ultimately slamming broadside into a fire hydrant which ended his escapade. He then put the car back on the transport, fled the scene, and delivered it to us (in pieces).

This post is to advise the "R" community that the car with only ~4K mi on the odo was deemed a "structural" total loss, and in the great state of CA that means the car can NEVER again be registered for road use. I have heard of some salvagers that take cars out of state, or even out of the country temporarily, to "launder" the title and resell it after repair. I'm not saying they intended to do this, but seems at least worth a mention for potential buyers to be wary.

Really too bad, we were looking forward to driving her as she was track prepped nicely...

Here are a few pics of what we were delivered:

--------------------
Added Jan. 5, 2014:
I spotted R #165 at a local carshow. Somehow it is back on the road WITH CA title and registration!! I have no idea how they pulled that off since I was told the title would be destroyed one it was handed over!!!

 

[CrimsonStang]

A shipper took it for a joyride? What the eff. That's a sad loss

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[flattrack53]

Wow. I am sorry for your loss. Do you have pictures?

 

[GaryGrimm]

Thats terrible! Which insurance company pays for this (hopefully not yours). I heard of a Ford GT wrecked by a service tech while on a "test drive", and sadly the owner was on the hook for the total!

 

[01greycobra]

Wow. My anger for what this guy did is crazy and it's not even my car. You better sue the crap out of them or something. Sorry to hear!

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[flattrack53]

Thats terrible! Which insurance company pays for this (hopefully not yours). I heard of a Ford GT wrecked by a service tech while on a "test drive", and sadly the owner was on the hook for the total!

That might of been of my dads buddy Bill. He hired a person to pick up a Ford GT from florida and they totaled it on the way back. He wasn't an insured business and the car was not covered. I know from buying a car at a Auction, I had Reliable transport my car home. If anything happened to it, they were insured for a million or something high like that.

 

[SVT F15O]

Any chance you could buy it back from the insurance company>?!?!? I'd be interested in purchasing it from you and doing a transplant.
I'd probably be in jail right now if I were in your shoes.

 

[tomshep]

Pumpkin,

Pics to see the damage. I am sure you have them so post a few.

Tom

 

[JohnW#88]

All,
We just lost R #165... and delivered it to us (in pieces).

Awful.

Sorry to hear about your loss.

I can't begin to express the anger I feel for your situation.

Couple of things come to mind.

I certainly can see this happening given an unskilled moron getting behind the wheel. IMO, the 00R is very deceptive in terms of performance. It's certainly quick and confidence inspiring but, leaves a lot to be desired in OEM form. The horrible under-steer coupled with the cars inability to throttle steer (well) can get a jackass-joyrider in a world of hurt quickly.

On to the more important issue... getting a settlement.

 

[May93]

Shippers hire low lifes who work for cash only and then they wonder why they have problems. Pay decent wages and hire good staff. Sorry to hear about your car.

 

[JohnW#88]

I'm not an insurance expert but, here's a few nuggets for ya. Take them for what they're worth.

Be strategic and unemotional heading in to the next phase. It's going to be hard and I'd still be pissed- but stay cool and professional. This is about dollars and cents from this point on.

First.

Search the net for all recent 00R FS comps. You need to compile 5 or 6 cars that have recently been For Sale as REPLACEMENT cars. You'll need to quickly get the insurance folks to dismiss their price guides as their settlement numbers for 13 year old Mustang will certainly be insulting and won't come close to replacing the car. Print all the FS ads for the $50K plus 00Rs off the internet and demand enough funds to purchase one of these cars.

Hold firm and reject their first offer.

NEVER take their first offer.

They know they're in a bad spot given the circumstances and they will want this to go away. Don't make it easy on them till you get enough money to get another 00R.

Last, be careful with a legal threat. Many insurance reps will "shut down" once legal action is threatened. If you threaten legal action be prepared to go the whole mile and they'll certainly have deeper pockets. Be careful here.

(Had a car stolen once and learned a lot about the insurance process.)

Hope these tips help as they were handed down to me and I recouped thousands more than I would have.

Good luck.

 

[Real2000CobraR]

That's a sad story. All because someone had to mess around.

 

[PumpkinMaster]

Hi all, thanks for comments/advice/etc. JohnW#883 was spot-on about how to approach this. We took a dollars & cents approach (as unemotional as possible) and learned a few things along the way about what insurance companies must do, versus will do, and what roll Department of Insurance really plays in all this.

In addition to what JohnW#883 said above, my added suggestion would be to document EVERYTHING along the way. I manage a Tech Support staff for a global software company, so know a few things about tracking activity with people. We had pics of the car loaded on the transport, odometer reading at the time it was loaded and delivered, driver insurance information confirmed before we let him leave with the car, and more. I logged every email and phone conversation, with dates and times for each. When it came time to play "He said, she said..." I can tell you we had the upper hand for sure.

In short, in the end we came out okay. We learned a few things along the way, and dispelled several myths. It took 90 days to resolve, so patience was definitely in order...

Regarding the "legal" threat, again JohnW#88 is exactly right. We mentioned several times that were weren't afraid of landing in court, but we insisted on trying every available means of resolution before that happened. I conducted my own investigation of the scene and knew more than they did about what had happened. Talked to business owners in the area, had witnesses, photographs - the whole nine yards. We had these guys dead to rights. Funny thing was, all that turned out pretty useless. When presented to a lawyer or two, the disappointing consensus was no one wanted the job really. Their stance was, "You are coming out okay with the settlement on the table, so take the money and run. If you go legal, you could very likely end up with a win, but ending up with less money." -- So much for battling over moral principles...

For those of you that asked for pictures, I'm not sure what the point of posting them would be? If the car shows up on the market, it won't look like it did when the salvagers took it away.

 

[JohnW#88]

Job very well done.

You took the matter to an entirely new level. WOW!

I agree with not posting photos. There's nothing to be gained and the VIN/ build # has now been tagged to warn future owners. Done.

I hope you locate another one real soon.

:beer:

 

[tomshep]

Job very well done.

You took the matter to an entirely new level. WOW!

I agree with not posting photos. There's nothing to be gained and the VIN/ build # has now been tagged to warn future owners. Done.

I hope you locate another one real soon.

:beer:

I disagree on the photos. There are many on this forum that are keeping track of these cars. This forum also serves as a sort of depository of information on these cars.

Someone turns up years from now with this VIN and claims the car is recently restored.:bash:

Photos would go a long way in proving the previous condition of the car. I see no reason to not post photos since it sounds like this has been resolved to the owners satisfaction. The only reason for not posting the photos is if it was not allowed in the settlement.

Tom

 

[JohnW#88]

I disagree on the photos. There are many on this forum that are keeping track of these cars. This forum also serves as a sort of depository of information on these cars.

Someone turns up years from now with this VIN and claims the car is recently restored.:bash:

Photos would go a long way in proving the previous condition of the car. I see no reason to not post photos since it sounds like this has been resolved to the owners satisfaction. The only reason for not posting the photos is if it was not allowed in the settlement.

Tom

Perhaps, Tom.

Perhaps this forum is unique and mature enough to use those type of photos for "good". All to often on the net, crash and carnage threads boil down to folks enjoying someone else's painful situation. I'm not saying any of the regulars here would do that, I know we wouldn't... just saying it happens.

Another note of caution, once posted, those pics will be there ALWAYS. Net photos are forever.

Maybe those keeping "official records" could have private photos e-mailed.

BTW, Who's keeping track? Is there a Honcho who's got an updated R registry? I've got pics of the #82 I passed on...

 

[brianz426]

I disagree on the photos. There are many on this forum that are keeping track of these cars. This forum also serves as a sort of depository of information on these cars.

Someone turns up years from now with this VIN and claims the car is recently restored.:bash:

Photos would go a long way in proving the previous condition of the car. I see no reason to not post photos since it sounds like this has been resolved to the owners satisfaction. The only reason for not posting the photos is if it was not allowed in the settlement.

Tom

I agree with Tom.:beer:
No harm in posting photos at this point. They are now part of the cars history. It's complete accurate documented history that adds value to a marque or model. Would Shelbys have the value they have today without the Shelby Registries? Look at the amount of info and pictures on wrecked Ford GT's. These sources and types of information not only protect and increase the value of good cars, but it instills confidence in and protects future buyers. What's important is that the information is true and accurate, how other people interpret it and what they do with it is up to them.

 

[VRYALT3R3D]

Was this the '00R on ebay recently?

 

[PumpkinMaster]

For inquiring minds that want to know... here's how the car was delivered:

The odo had 5+ additional miles on it from when it was loaded.
Amazing what can happen in 5 mi...

 

[flattrack53]

Honestly, the car doesn't look as bad as I thought it was going to be.