Kia Spectra, Pontiac G5 and an accident!

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So my mom is coming home from staying over at my sisters yesterday (live a bit far from us), and she is hit from behind by a lady that "didn't see her" stopped at the lights. (broad daylight)

Anyways... My moms Spectra is badly damaged on the back end and the rear passenger side wheel is totaled along with the wheel hub/brakes as they were almost under the car. The bumper was hanging on the road and the back tail light was smashed. Windows in the rear also smashed from the impact and the 2/6 air bags deployed. Was a nasty scene.

At least she got his on the side that was previously scuffed by an inexperienced driver in a parking lot. So this will now get fixed along with the rest of the re-painting! (Plus!)

So she has it towed to a Body-Shop and calls the insurance for her rental car.

She gets picked up by the rental car agency and gets a Pontiac G5 as a rental car.

So when she gets home I have no choice but to look under the hood, drive it around the deserted back country roads to check it out.

I must say the car is very very nice inside for a car of this class. It's comfortable and for the most part I can actually fit in the darn thing pretty comfortable. (which is usually a challenge with most cars). A huge step up from the Cavalier [censored] in the past!

The fit/finish on the dash/gauges is very nice.

It's a bit of a pain to service it looks like from under the hood, but most cars are these days...
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Anyways... I wanted to post that this is the first GM I actually sat in that I was impressed by the quality.

So now I can add 1 GM to my list that I haven't seen the check engine light on! It has over 22K KM on it (13.7K Miles)

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I knew they were making changes as I drove in a newer style Impala and it was a lot nicer than the Plastic mobiles GM was producing a few years back...

I thought I would post this for all the GM guys that think I'm against them because of inferior quality... I just wanted to show that I'm open minded.

If they hadn't been bailed out I would consider purchasing a GM in future, but after this fiasco I just can't consider them anymore or else in my mind they would have gotten away with the [censored] they caused.
 
Don't have a wife and never will!
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I won't consider a GM product after the fiasco that just happened, but I would consider a FORD seeing as their quality has gotten a lot better and always has been better than GM IMO!
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Wow!
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I assume your mom is ok. Thank goodness.

If the car is that bad, do you really think they will fix it or just total it? How old is it and how many miles?
Don't take this the wrong way but a Spectra might not be worth that much to an insurance company.
 
I was thinking the same thing... I would estimate an easy $5K in damages. (Wouldn't take it the wrong way, I know Kia's don't hold their value...)

They are going to let us know tomorrow. My mom paid $20K for it 4 years ago and it has 83K KM (52K Miles) on it.

My mom is ok, banged up pretty bad, bumps and bruises and arm was cut from flying debris inside the car but otherwise unharmed.

The car really took the damage well. The Rav-4 that his my mom was definitely total and going to be a write-off. It was leaking coolant and transmission fluid and the engine had fallen on the ground from the looks of it. She probably has over 16K in damage!
 
If the RAV was totalled the kia will be totalled. Glad all are ok.

Wonder if the RAV had breakaway engine mounts for safety. Have noticed deliberate weak spots in my dogbone mounts presumably to help "give".
 
No because she hit my mom, took out the street light and ended up in the ditch. She did just enough damage to my moms car to make it not drivable and set off the airbags. She did more damage to her car herself then hitting my moms car.
 
I would sue for emotional and physical damage. But nice to know the Kia kept your mom safe... air bags even deployed.
 
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Yeah only the driver/passenger ones deployed, not the side curtain ones, which was nice because with all of those deploying that alone I think would put the repairs past $5K!

Originally Posted By: sunfire
I would sue for emotional and physical damage. But nice to know the Kia kept your mom safe... air bags even deployed.


I told my mom to claim for Whiplash to get free Registered Massages for life!
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Glad your mom is OK. It's great that cars in general have gotten pretty safe recently.

I think I feel the same way about GM at this point that you do. If they'd had the Cobalt/G5 XFE when I was shopping I definitely would've considered it. As it is if I had to get another car I'd have to strongly consider a Ford if I went domestic.
 
I saw a G5 at the international auto show here earlier this year and both my girlfriend and I were pleasantly surprised at the quality/looks of the G5. We liked it more than the Cobalt, and we both expected a lot less than what we saw. I'd actually consider one, but I feel there are better used cars out there for the money. BTW, glad your mom's okay!
 
Newer GM cars actually aren't that bad, but it's the people riding inside of any car that matters more.

Your mom's OK, and that's good news. :)
 
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Glad to hear your mom is okay!

My friend's 06 Cobalt base was a pretty nice little econobox. Still a plastic farm inside, but much better fit/finish than other GM cars in the past. No rattles in that thing, even a year later.

Hyundais seem to do very poorly in official crash tests but everyone (and I do mean everyone) that has been in a crash/accident in a Hyundai product has had very minor injuries from the crash. Craziness.
 
Glad to hear you're mom's okay. That's what counts!

For an accident as stupid as that (probably on a cell phone, or just being a dunce), I'd sue just to put the person through [censored]. Are they being charged with a crimminal infraction?

Anyway, re the G5, I don't know where you get some of your idea's, Stevie. G5 is a nice car, and a heck of a step above it, but the Cavalier before it wasn't total garbage. I drive one everyday, and its a pretty decent car - good size, drives well, just not a sports car.

And your comment about being 'difficult to service'? What? They are one of the easiest cars to service - cartridge filter right on top for the oil, spark plugs right in the center of the head, decent amount of room in the engine bay...what are ya talkin' about, Stevie?
 
I have had a Cobalt since December, which is basically the same thing as a G5, and I have been completely satisfied with all aspects of this car.
 
Originally Posted By: sciphi

Hyundais seem to do very poorly in official crash tests but everyone (and I do mean everyone) that has been in a crash/accident in a Hyundai product has had very minor injuries from the crash. Craziness.

I think this is because the crash tests represent a pretty bad hit. 80mph closing speed offset head on, is not the average accident in real life thankfully...
My sister got in an accident years ago with a rusty 85 corolla. Crumpled the front end terribly but even with no air bags all she had was some slight bruising and slightly sore neck. If it had been anything worse then it was she could've had her feet injured or the steering wheel jambed back...
So for light/medium hits having a weaker car is probably better, for the big ones, not so much.
 
Originally Posted By: addyguy
Glad to hear you're mom's okay. That's what counts!

For an accident as stupid as that (probably on a cell phone, or just being a dunce), I'd sue just to put the person through [censored]. Are they being charged with a crimminal infraction?

Anyway, re the G5, I don't know where you get some of your idea's, Stevie. G5 is a nice car, and a heck of a step above it, but the Cavalier before it wasn't total garbage. I drive one everyday, and its a pretty decent car - good size, drives well, just not a sports car.

And your comment about being 'difficult to service'? What? They are one of the easiest cars to service - cartridge filter right on top for the oil, spark plugs right in the center of the head, decent amount of room in the engine bay...what are ya talkin' about, Stevie?


The lady was charged with Dangerous Driving... There goes her insurance.
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I never said the Cavalier was total garbage, just that the G5 was much better and not full of [censored] plastics all over. My aunt had a Cavalier and aside from all the little things that stopped working and the A/C the transmission/engine were driven into the ground and it lasted 300K KM before the head-gasket went. She drove the absolute snot out of it and didn't maintain it very well and it drove great.

As for the engine... It's not easy I will snap some pics if I can and put them up. The Oil filter yes, and the plugs maybe, but you will see what I mean.
 
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