totalled 90Q

[Tessie McMillan]

YIKES!!!! I'm so sorry to hear of the collision, Radek. I don't know which 
chaps my hide more: people who are in such a rush to beat two seconds 
off their commute time, or the insurance gangsters. 

I can think of several steps that folks I've known have taken to get their 
cars either evaluated properly or reimbursed properly for repairs. (I also 
have an Alfa in the garage &:-)). The thing with Alfas is that insurance 
companies don't know anything about them; the marque is no longer 
imported to the US, yada yada. First thing that happens after the smallest 
accident is that the insurance company wants to total the car for a 
pittance. If you go to the dealer and get them to make an estimate of the 
car's worth, then peruse all the paper and internet classifieds for 
similar cars and note the going prices (even better if you can call and 
find out the actual sales price), document all this to make your case with 
the adjustor. I would also check out with a reputable bodyshop what it 
would take to repair the car. And add in all your receipts for aftermarket 
springs, wheels, anti-sway bars, Hellas, etc.

My '88 80Q suffered an accident at Pacific Raceways a couple of years ago. 
Granted it was no rear-end collision with another car. But the car was 
travelling at a high rate of speed when I dropped a wheel into a rocky 
ditch where the track had been doing construction. I broke first the right 
front wheel and bumper assembly & wheel assembly, lower suspension, spun, 
crossed the track and slammed rear-first into a hill on the other side. I 
ended up moving the subframe, scouring the underbody, breaking all the 
wheel bearings, and bending a second wheel. I can't remember what else I 
broke, but my goal was to continue to drive the car and I still do. The 
right side of the car still has a gash that I didn't repair, as I left it 
as a reminder of what can happen. The repairs probably cost more than any 
insurance company would quote... But the reason I'm sharing this story is 
that IF I had been in an accident with another person, I still would not 
have hesitated to do what it takes to (a) keep the car, and (b) get 
repairs done. Even if it meant buying back a title-less car. In my 
situation, I just paid out-of-pocket.

So I'm encouraging you to keep the car. As to parts, the parts are 
_valuable_! The light switch that lives on the steering column, for 
example, retailed for $450 aftermarket when I went looking for one. I 
ended up being able to fit one in that came from a broken 4000. I could 
not find the right part in the local junkyards or from Force5. (Anyone want 
the switch assy supposedly from an '88 80Q but which doesn't fit my car?) 
Also, when my heater switch went bad, I discovered that the heater switch 
assy and the knobs have been superceded as well. The problem is that knobs 
are no longer available. So we honed/jerry rigged my knobs to fit the 
newer swtich. It's kind of an annoying fix; the knobs don't sit in the 
"off" position any more.

If you do make that awful decision to part out the car, please let me know 
if you have any interior trim pieces that are not spoken for! &:-) Both my 
rear in-console ashtray and the eBrake cover piece are broken, and my Diff 
lock switch has been trashed. A friend of mine (non-Q person) thought he 
was doing me a favor by gluing a piece of metal over it so my dogs would 
not step on it and activate it. I was finally able to get the glue and 
metal piece off, but the switch is no longer pristine.

Sorry for the long post, everyone. I just hate to see these cars go to 
junkyards.

Tess
in Bellevue, WA USA

-- 
Det beror inte på vem du är; det beror bara på vad du gör.