Legacys and trees dont make good friends

[CarpenterAWD]

So I hit a tree with the passenger side of my legacy gt and it broke the windsheild, bent the a-pillar, and ruined the passenger door. I have already replaced the door but i cannot get a windshield until the a-pillar is completely fixed(says the glass company). I think the body work might be pretty expensive. Does anyone have any suggestions about what to do with my car? I was thinking of putting my engine into an impreza L or brighton. Any suggestions would be appriceated. Thanks
Cary

[Huffer]

Bent A pillar's mean the frame is twisted - so it'll have to be straightened - not an easy job.

Insurance company should just write off the car!

[EXP1787]

Huffer, from the sound of this person's intro post, they may have hit the tree whilst off-roading, in which case I would hope that they didn't turn it in to the insurance company... But I will agree that unless you have a friend in the auto-body business, I wouldn't even want to think about the cost of having the frame straightened, nor would I want to consider the cost of a roof chop.

[CarpenterAWD]

well i only had liability for insurance so they wont cover it. i did not hit it while offroading my driveway is on a dirt road and loose gravel equals sliding so i slide into the tree. so any other solutions.

[badbasser98]

i did not hit it while offroading my driveway is on a dirt road and loose gravel equals sliding so i slide into the tree

Sounds like offroading to me :wink:

Sounds like a very expensive fix, good luck with whatever you do with it.

[belladonna]

:? sorry we're not more helpful on this...

[Huffer]

Here's what I think, given that I'm the victim of a BOTCHED roof job (purchased car and didn't know it/wasn't told) - part the car out for whatever is good, and sell the frame for scrap.

Buy new car.

Basically, the frame is compromised. Any strength it had is gone because of the reformation of the metals' molecules - they've shifted from their original mold.

[Legacy4Life]

Fixing cars that have been in serious accidents (meaning any accident serious enough to compromise structural integrity) can be done, but only by someone who has a lot of expertise in it and who is trying to rebuild it to original safety standards. This is rarely cheap. Remember, this is a vehicle that you want to save your life and your passengers if you're even in another accident with it. It was designed to meet very strict safety standards the first time.

Most cars today are designed to be a single crash-protection unit. All individual components are aligned to work together to one end: Dissipate the fantastic crash energy created so that the people inside can come away with as minimal injuries as possible. Some materials are the right rigidity, others the right flexibility. Repairing them by bending, heating, prying, cutting, etc... changes those properties. When cars are repaired from structural problems they are hard to get the same.

Even the roof is an important part of safety in a roll over. And on Subaru's, most of them don't have door frames, which means to bend the A-Pillar that's some serious damage and has most definitely weakened the cages protection.

Keep in mind too that if you have the car repaired and someone else buys the car, then their lives could be "in your hands" too.

My opinion, probably not worth it.

[CarpenterAWD]

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This is what my lovely tree friend did to my poor car. So give me some more advice please. Right about now I'm thinking of taking its engine and putting it in an impreza brighton.

[Huffer]

That's messed up.

The only way to fix that, is to cut the pillar out and have a replacement welded in and reinforced.

Expect to pay decent money ($400+) for a reputable shop to do this work, maybe more depending on finishing costs.

Any less than that - and you'll probably have to deal with rust. I know a little about that... :evil:

[Wiscon_Mark]

do it, put it in the impreza...you'll enjoy the extra power, economy :)

sorry about the wreckage :(