the bad news,

well, our trip to the Smokies in the deep snow/ice ended in tragedy for our beloved LS400 - it is pretty much totaled out - but it still drives well.

the good news,

bought the car for $4500 in 2008 - Insurance shows the 250K mile LS worth at $6800, so we will get $5500 for it - so our next venture is finding a used 04' - 06' lexus for under 20k!

no one was in the car thankfully when it started sliding backwards - we got out as soon as it stopped. and we were only 200 yards from the cabin.

 

Dude that sucks! At least no one was hurt. i hope the tree that hit you has insurance! LoL jk Well atleast you got more money than what you paid for it Out with the old LS and in with the newer LS

 

That looks scary!! That could have been a LONG way down.

 

[I]"Dude that sucks! At least no one was hurt. i hope the tree that hit you has insurance! LoL jk Well atleast you got more money than what you paid for it Out with the old LS and in with the newer LS"[/I

]"That looks scary!! That could have been a LONG way down."
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STOCK GS400. Nothing to see here.


our local Alpha office has awesome insurance agents. should get the check today.

Actually, if it was 10 feet before or after that exact spot, no trees would have caught it and it would have ended up in some bears den in the valley...very steep edges. it was surely a Blessing those 3 small trees caught it on the edge, and that we also didnt get hurt!

God is Good!

 

ouch! At least the 04-06 will be a very nice upgrade!

 

thats all thats wrong? why not get it fixed and keep the leftover cash? all i see is a couple dents. glad no one was hurt.

 

Yea it doesn't look too bad in the pic but you know there is alot more damage to that door then seen. I'm sure it yanked those hinges and everything else out. It must have been some scary ice if it slid down the hill with noone in the car, wow. Good thing that tree was there though.
I'd buy it back from the insurance company for a couple hundred and sell it as is, you can make some more off it.
Or you can always just paint the zip ties black and have a suicide door in the front.

 

the door looks lined up with the body and rear door just fine, so i doubt the hinges pulled out or anything. id replace the door, fender, mirror, and then have the dents in the rear pulled and smoothed, then get the entire thing repainted. thats assuming the drivetrain and interior are in good shape.

edit: nevermind, just looked at the pics again, didnt pay attn that the passenger side door got bent all the way back. though still, if the hinges didnt pull off the unibody it could be fixed.

 

yeah the whole door was shoved foward and the door hinges/bolts are toast!

I really wish that I could get it fixed and keep on trucking - that way I wont have to worry about another car payment. BUT - there is unforseen damage from the accident that cant be caught at first glance. it now has a new oil leak coming from somewhere, a new tick noise from the engine, and it has a wobble at certain speeds. the tow truck guy yanked it out of there pretty harshly and it was resting on some small boulders - (there was no rear fender damage until he got a hold of it) I think there may be rim/bearing or tire damage from the yanking. anways I look foward to the upgrade. the downside to my insurance is the buyback andtrying to sell off parts would be too much trouble and time to deal with - I just need to let it go.

 

Sorry to hear about the accident, but happy to hear no one was hurt, at all, besides your wallet. I'll buy it! J/K, but I do need a 1UZ/A341E for my motor swap in my 89' Pickup... It'd probably be a loud ride home with the door gap being what it is. You also mention there being a slight wheel bearing problem, that kinda puts a damper on my plan.. Yank the motor and tranny, part it out!! I just want the good stuff.

 

^^ maybe PM him as to what the buyout is... ?

 

You can get a nice 04/05 LS 430 for around $20k.

 

Wow...scary to be sliding around and falling off the side of the road. Glad everyone got out of the car before it started sliding. Good luck with your search!

 

3UZFTE - I will investigate further into it and PM you on it. My INS agent is a good guy, and may work something out. the car drives fine besides the wind noise like you said and the slight wobble. I had someone bring a carhauler and take it home for me.

 

The pics make it look like the car is pretty ok even though the insurance totaled it out. Not the first time I've seen that here and it hurts my heart to see such a nice car being totaled when it doesn't look so bad.

The good side I guess is that the LS sure does hold up well when wrecked. That it looks good even after it's damaged enough to be a write off gives me a little confidence that the car is as safe and solid as I think it is. It's another reason I don't want to give up my LS.

Looking forward to the pictures of the nice 04-05 that you replace it with.