I was driving back to Toronto from Montreal last week. I was in the left lane, and ahead of me were two trucks (the 18-wheeler type, not the pickup type), one in the left lane overtaking one in the right lane . As I approached the truck in the right lane, a chunk of ice maybe two feet by 8 inches flew off the top, headed for my face. I swerved hard to avoid it, and the back spun around, and I went through the guard rail on the right side of the road backwards (but somehow ended up facing forwards). Spinning out at around 100km/h on the 401 heading backwards for a guardrail was definitely one of those "I could be about to die" moments. But I walked away from the accident without a scratch, probably because I went through the guardrail backwards, and the seat cushioned me from the impact (as opposed to being thrown into the seat belt or air bag).
Insurance is still debating whether it will be an "at fault" accident or "not at fault". Since the driver of the truck didn't stop, it's classified as a one-car accident, and they want "proof" I swerved to avoid ice flying towards my windshield. So they're waiting for the police report (although he didn't see anything because he arrived about 15 minutes after the crash) and testimony from a witness that had stopped. My photos of the ice fragments weren't enough. (I was lucky I even had my camera on me.)
Unfortunately, the SVT was a write-off. It's in Cornwall now at a collision centre. If anyone is interested in an SVT motor (it was a '99 with 132K) that's in great condition. The tranny was starting to grind going into 3rd, so that's probably not worth much. The exhaust might be okay, minus the tips. The car was also equipped with KVR rotors and pads, which have not yet been resurfaced.
Here are some pics:
What was left of the ice by the time I took a shot of it:
It's hard to see in the photo, but up close it looked like it was about 3/4" thick.
Anyways, now I need some advice. Since I'm not in a position to buy either of the cars I planned to buy one day when I had money (Mazda 6 or Legacy GT) the only car I like in the price range is another SVT. I'm looking at one now but it has a few problems, and I need some advice on how much it might cost to fix them.
-The car is a 98.5 with 192K kilometers and the original clutch. That in itself doesn't bother me, but I test drove it and the friction point for the clutch is right above the floor. Besides making it difficult to make quick shifts, what else could this mean? Could the solution be to just bleed the clutch? How much is it for a clutch job on an SVT?
-The secondaries are stuck either open or closed. When I drove it there wasn't much zip (nothing like my SVT), and no change in acceleration at ~3750 RPM where the secondaries should be opening. It apparently hasn't been driven much for the past 4 months or so. The most likely scenario is that it's just seized up, but worst-case scenario if the servo motor that opens and closes the secondaries is shot, how much would it cost to replace that assembly? And is that even the worst-case scenario? Could there be a bigger problem?
-Some missing paint/rust on the trunk lid, hood, and rear wheel wells. It appears to be surface rust, but the paint is completely missing in spots..could be from stone chips? A friend is telling me that even if I get this patched up, I'll probably have to spend like $300-$500 to refinish it every year it because it's like a cancer and will come back every year. Is that true?
-Leak(s) in trunk. Both the left and right of the trunk (on either side of the spare tire well) were wet. This probably means there's a leak on both the left and right side. I've done a search and it looks like I might have to remove the tail lights and reseal the grommets. I guess not a really big concern, but still, a problem. I noticed a significant amount of rust in the spare wheel well too.
Other than that stuff, the car seems to be in good shape. The transmission feels tight, didn't notice any other odd noises. Any advice would be appreciated.
