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Worth repairing with this type of damage

Started by Matt CLC#18621, September 29, 2020, 11:37:48 AM

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Matt CLC#18621

Trust the respective owners all had "Agreed Value Coverage!"

Are these Cadillacs and other classic cars worth repairing or take the money and run?

Regards,
matt 18621
i am 2nd

TJ Hopland

Hard to tell without more photos but......

Eldo hard tops I would say no.   Those don't seem that hard to find and can still be found in good shape for reasonable prices.  Could be value in parting out the crashed one too.     Eldo convert,  hard to tell what is wrong with that one but its a 75 or 76 those are not hard to find either so again maybe replace and part out.

GTO and FIrebird can go for crazy money and I would guess both cars can just about be built from the ground up from repro parts so if those owners don't rebuild I'm sure someone else will.
StPaul/Mpls, MN USA

73 Eldo convert w/FiTech EFI
80 Eldo Diesel
90 CDV
And other assorted stuff I keep buying for some reason

The Tassie Devil(le)

In most of these pictures, the answer is no.

Especially one that has been burnt, and the last one that has already been stripped.

But, the rest would be good parts cars, with lots of valuable pieces to sell off, or keep for future projects.

I purchased this car in NY, (1971) and the damage didn't appear to be that bad.   Just a Fender, Bumper and Hood, but as I was buying it for parts for my '72 (it was cheap) when I started stripping it, it should have never been put back on the road in the first place, as it had been rebuilt, and was full of rust, and many inches thick of Bog.

Bruce. >:D
'72 Eldorado Convertible (LHD)
'70 Ranchero Squire (RHD)
'74 Chris Craft Gull Wing (SH)
'02 VX Series II Holden Commodore SS Sedan
(Past President Modified Chapter)

Past Cars of significance - to me
1935 Ford 3 Window Coupe
1936 Ford 5 Window Coupe
1937 Chevrolet Sports Coupe
1955 Chevrolet Convertible
1959 Ford Fairlane Ranch Wagon
1960 Cadillac CDV
1972 Cadillac Eldorado Coupe

cadillacmike68

Regards,
"Cadillac" Mike

Big Fins

Current:
1976 Eldorado Convertible in Crystal Blue FireMist with white interior and top. (Misty Blue)
1969 Fleetwood Brougham in Chalice Gold FireMist with matching interior and top. (The Old Man) SOLD!

Past and much missed:
1977 Brougham de Elegance
1976 Eldorado Convertible
1972 Fleetwood Brougham
1971 Sedan de Ville
1970 de Ville Convertible
1969 Sedan de Ville
1959 Sedan deVille

chrisntam

I had to delete a pic of the batmobile even though I thought it was on a Cadillac chassis.

1970 Deville Convertible 
Dallas, Texas

Mike Josephic CLC #3877

Unfortunately, the insurance company would
very likely total a vehicle like this.  They love
to do that.  I had a primo 1995 Seville that
I put $6k into to keep it a very nice driver and
after a minor accident, State Farm was nice
enough to give me $3k on a total.  This was
over 10 years ago and it was too new to be
an "antique".

Unless you have a personal attachment to the
car I would suggest that in this situation take the
insurance settlement and buy another one. 
As previously stated, Cadillac Eldorado coupes
of this era are not rare and nice ones can be
had for far less than the costs to repair.

Mike
1955 Cadillac Eldorado
1973 Cadillac Eldorado
1995 Cadillac Seville
2004 Escalade
1997 GMC Suburban 4X4, 454 engine, 3/4 ton
custom built by Santa Fe in Evansville, IN
2011 Buick Lucerne CX
-------------------------------------
CLCMRC Museum Benefactor #38
Past: VP International Affiliates, Museum Board Director, President / Director Pittsburgh Region

cadillac ken

As a rule... most damage is worse than it looks and to repairs usually cost more than you think.

Little items get overlooked that can add up. Some parts will not be available.  And if the car is considered "totaled or salvage" it will have a "branded" title the will certainly not help in the future value if and when you or your estate sells the car.

I've been in this situation.  It's tough to let go sometimes but the I'd say take the payout and move on.

79 Eldorado

It would be difficult to say without more photos but that brown hard top, rear-ended by the Mercedes, looks like it was in very nice shape. It now needs, at minimum, a left rear quarter though which will be difficult to find in nice shape and a lot of work to replace. If that's a low mile perfectly preserved car it would be a shame to part it because someone could fix it but after fixing the car likely wouldn't be worth the cost of the repair. Really terrible to see. I suspect the Mercedes driver was distracted and no big deal to replace the Mercedes SUV. The Mercedes driver can even feel as if they upgraded by getting something new. The classic car driver, who had a well preserved car, isn't so fortunate. Terrible.

If that reply seemed personal I was rear-ended by a driver of an SUV who was checking his cell phone and looking up just to be certain the car ahead of him (me) was still ahead of him. That was a great plan until the car ahead of him moved completely into the left hand turn lane and he followed despite the fact he had the intention of driving 30 more miles down the road without turning. In my case I finally had the car fixed 11 years later. It was nearly impossible to find replacement parts but I really liked the car.

Scott

cadillacmike68

Time to call the lawyers. Sue the rear end offender.
Regards,
"Cadillac" Mike

Jeff Rosansky CLC #28373

Jeff Rosansky
CLC #28373
1970 Coupe DeVille (Big Red)
1955 Series 62 (Baby Blue)
Dad's new 1979 Coupe DeVille

cadillacmike68

Hey - we're trying to keeps clean here.   :P
Regards,
"Cadillac" Mike