'95 GM Totalled!

[Joe Walsh]

Marianne & I bought my mother's mint '95 GM LS about a year ago, when she bought a new Lincoln MKS.
The dealer wouldn't give my mother 'diddly' for a trade in...even though the Grand Marquis was in nearly perfect condition.
It was for our son Jonathan's use while attending college.
Late Monday night, he nodded off while driving back to school and rear ended a parked car.
Good news is:
Thankfully he is fine, NO injuries except for a bruised/sc***** chin!
No one else was involved in the collision either.
'0' blood alcohol according to the LEO on the scene.

I must say, that big Panther protected him well...both 14+ year old airbags deployed and saved him from worse injury.
Bad news is:
The insurance company is totalling the GM and I most likely will 'buy it back' if the salvage offer is a reasonable amount.
I will part out the car because it has the nice 'sport suspension' options, including the sweet rims.
It has the dove grey leather interior also.
I just put new tires and a complete set of new rotors and pads on it.
(less than 2,000 miles ago...:()
I hate to see such a great car get scrapped, but the front end is heavily damaged.

Anyone interested in some Grand Marquis parts if I buy the 'salvage'?

[O's Fan Rich]

Dang!
Glad he's good......
Oh, I had those rims on my 99 Vic... HATED cleaning them!

[Bluerauder]

Late Monday night, he nodded off while driving back to school and rear ended a parked car.
Good news is:
Thankfully he is fine, NO injuries except for a bruised/sc***** chin!
No one else was involved in the collision either.
Dayum Joe ... that looks like a pretty serious hit on the front end. Half that GM's hood is gone. Glad to hear that Jonathan is OK. Bet he will be stiff for a while after that scare.

This exact thing happens quite frequently on I-81 with much worse endings for college students. Lots of schools here in Virginia along I-81 from James Madison (JMU), Mary Baldwin, Virginia Military Institute (VMI), VA Tech, and Radford among others.

You and Marianne can certainly take credit for picking up your Mom's GM -- that decision probably saved Jonathan. Ya done good Joe. :up:

[DTRMiguel]

Glad he is ok. Sorry about the car looks in prestine shape :up:

[Eric91Z]

You know, although the front end is toast and the airbags have deployed, that car looks really good. Looks like it did just as designed and took care of your son. I am glad he is OK.

[Pops]

Looks like some pretty serious frame damage to me.

[Joe Walsh]

You know, although the front end is toast and the airbags have deployed, that car looks really good. Looks like it did just as designed and took care of your son. I am glad he is OK.

Yep!
We are SO glad that he was not driving some other type of car.
Panthers are tough cars!
When all the 'paperwork' is done, I will post photos of what happened to the unfortunate parked car...:(
Problem now is: I will NEVER find such a nice, well maintained Panther for what I paid for this one.
Jon is most likely on his own ($$) in acquiring a replacement vehicle...A tough lesson to learn in life.

[High-C]

Joe... If you buy it, we need to talk about the Front and Rear seats...

[Joe Walsh]

Joe... If you buy it, we need to talk about the Front and Rear seats...


They're yours if I do the salvage buy.
Do you want the door panels and rear package shelf too?

[Breadfan]

Joe I'm glad to here everyone is OK!!!!

[Black_Noise]

nothing a new pine tree air freshener cant fix

[ctrlraven]

Glad to hear Jonathan is ok, sucks about the car.

[ckadiddle]

Glad to he's OK. I'm hoping he will learn from the experience.

[Joe Walsh]

Panthers ROCK!!!

I just bought the '95 Grand Marquis back from salvage and had it flatbedded to my house.
The towtruck driver backed up the truck up to my garage door and as he started to roll the GM back off the tilted truck bed, he said:

"You know the battery is still good...I ran down the electric windows to turn the steering wheel when I was loading her up!"
"Do you want to try to start her?"

I said..."Ahhhh, well the entire front end is jammed up against the accessory drive and serpentine belt."
"But...What the heck!"

So; I jump in, move the deployed airbag out of my way and crank her over.
She would turn over, but not fire up.

The towtruck driver said: "Oh well...too bad."

Then I remembered the fuel pump inertia switch in the trunk!
Pop the trunk...reset the switch...jump back in....VROOOM!!!
She strarted up like nothing was wrong, except for a whine from the pulleys rubbing out in front.
I backed her off the tow truck and right into my garage.
The only problem I had was a puddle of tranny fluid because the trans cooler was destroyed in the accident.

Chris (High-C)...You still interested in a very good condition dove grey leather interior?
The rear seats are mint, the front seats are very good with the drivers seat showing some signs of wear...but still in really good condition.

BTW: The tow truck driver was a really cool guy.
He was going nuts over the Marauder and now he wants to buy one.
I gave him a MM.Net card and told him that members sell their Marauders with some regularity on the site and to keep an eye open for some good deals.

[ImpalaSlayer]

Panthers ROCK!!!

I just bought the '95 Grand Marquis back from salvage and had it flatbedded to my house.
The towtruck driver backed up the truck up to my garage door and as he started to roll the GM back off the tilted truck bed, he said:

"You know the battery is still good...I ran down the electric windows to turn the steering wheel when I was loading her up!"
"Do you want to try to start her?"

I said..."Ahhhh, well the entire front end is jammed up against the accessory drive and serpentine belt."
"But...What the heck!"

So; I jump in, move the deployed airbag out of my way and crank her over.
She would turn over, but not fire up.

The towtruck driver said: "Oh well...too bad."

Then I remembered the fuel pump inertia switch in the trunk!
Pop the trunk...reset the switch...jump back in....VROOOM!!!
She strarted up like nothing was wrong, except for a whine from the pulleys rubbing out in front.
I backed her off the tow truck and right into my garage.
The only problem I had was a puddle of tranny fluid because the trans cooler was destroyed in the accident.

Mike (High-C)...You still interested in a very good condition dove grey leather interior?
The rear seats are mint, the front seats are very good with the drivers seat showing some signs of wear...but still in really good condition.

BTW: The tow truck driver was a really cool guy.
He was going nuts over the Marauder and now he wants to buy one.
I gave him a MM.Net card and told him that members sell their Marauders with some regularity on the site and to keep an eye open for some good deals.

maybe a new project car for Joe :dunno: :D

[Joe Walsh]

maybe a new project car for Joe :dunno: :D

Nope...As clean as that GM was, and as much as I liked it, it is a goner.
The entire front end would need to be rebuilt, plus the dash & steering wheel are toast from the airbags deploying.
I am going to pull the engine/trans, rims/tires, rear axle, driveshaft, interior, rear trunklid, and just about anything else I can and then junk the carcass...:(

[ImpalaSlayer]

how much was the buy back if you dont mind me asking?

[n00bkiller944]

^^^I would love to know as well. I have always wondered how much these companies ask for your cars after you wreck them.

[Bluerauder]

[B]BTW: The tow truck driver was a really cool guy.
He was going nuts over the Marauder and now he wants to buy one.
I gave him a MM.Net card and told him that members sell their Marauders with some regularity on the site and to keep an eye open for some good deals.
I wonder if this was my nephew. :dunno: He owns three nice International "rollbacks" and his family owns a salvage yard. He does alot of contract work for the State of Maryland and the State Police.

[2,4shofast]

Glad to hear your son was ok, the old air bags are pretty harsh from my experience... glad to hear they protected him well.

[ChiTownMaraud3r]

Such a nice car.. :cry:

[rayjay]

Just saw this, glad to hear your son is ok. Was the car on your insurance?

[carfixer]

Too bad you're so far away, those wheels would look great on my 96.

[Ms. Denmark]

Just saw this Joe. So sorry to hear this. Glad your son wasn't hurt (physically). Probably shaken up some. It's a learning experience for sure. Thank goodness you had him in the right vehicle!

[High-C]

(High-C)...You still interested in a very good condition dove grey leather interior?
The rear seats are mint, the front seats are very good with the drivers seat showing some signs of wear...but still in really good condition.

Joe, I'm gonna shoot you a PM so you can give me a call... I'm glad to hear that things turned out better than expected, all things considered. ;)

Thanks in advance! - Chris