Hello to all from me.. the volkswagnut.. .. .. yes.. the guy .. well hands in the YOU TUBE video that changes the VW generator belt in less than 5 seconds.. Im sure some of you mechanical or car people have viewed it..
(please dont copy my video, simply link it, it is copyrighted)

Why Im here you ask.. well.. I bleed GM.. been a GM dealer tech for over 25 years now..
Hahhaa..
Kidding aside.. the vw's are my hobby away from the dealer.. .. first car love kinda thing.. . the Bug bit me..

Jump to today.. back in 2012 I found our (wife and I) son a nice 2006 Cobalt SS on used auction through the dealer.. .. 82k, pretty good condition, . Arrival Blue, with the Blue/Black two tone interior.. saaaaweeeet..
It had.. been ...(sigh) a great car that my son drove like an old lady.. Literally.. he routinely would accumulate 33-35 MPG..,.. when I could only get around 25 for some reason.. Hahhaa..

Cars to me are like my kids.. each time I get one.. it gets it all..to put it on my OCD preventive maintenance schedule.. I am a firm believer.... take care of a car.. and it will last your lifetime..
So .. nothing skimped..

Notice up there ^ ... the words... "had been"...

Last Sunday.. an elderly lady blew through a stop light.. and whaaaamoooo.. took it out on the left side..
Our son seems fine.. just a little rattled from a head hit to the the door glass through the curtain bag..

Now.... Insurance is involved..and they have accepted full liability.
Im here gaining information towards its demise.. Yes.. its totaled.. I was told.. the repair is at 196% of its value.. and I know the total bill from my local goto body shop is over 10k so far.. so .. stick a fork in it.. it's done...

The first offers seem to have some light there.... just will not replace our car.. so .. kinda makes me mad..


I have already decided to buy it back.. and at minimum part it out.. unless.. I find a donor coupe.. or replacement SS that can benefit the good used parts.

That's the gist of it .. so help and any guidance as for what to do...

If I need to start a separate topic.. please point me to it.. so I can start to gather the information for ammunition...

Hello to all.

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Welcome! Sorry to hear about the wreck. I'm glad your Son is OK! Thank God for the side curtain air bag! It might have been much worse! Do you have any pics of your car before the wreck?
I'm a Craigslist ***** quite honestly, and I'm ALWAYS checking for SS cars and even parts for mine as it could use some TLC. Anyhow, keep checking around for a donor. I know they say it's "totaled" but with donor parts, how easy would it be to bring back to life?
Funny you mentioned you bleed GM . I USED to bleed Ford, but after buying my Cobalt, and seeing the new Silverados and Canyons and frankly the new GM lineup, well, it is possible to "come to the dark side"

 

Hahaha.. I grew up in a Ford family... had fords myself.. then.. turned the black sheep..

In all fairness.. I had lots of friends with GM cars when young.. I was the one that ended up wrenching on them.. soo.. fate have it.. became Mr. Goodwrench..

Our 06 was hit in a bad spot.. Lower A pillar took a shot. and the door now pivots down almost to the ground.. .. I got a cash repair for body and paint alone (my body shop guru friend) 4000 .. then Id handle the SRS and mechanical.. I did the math.. and frankly.. it would put it way over smart money.. In the then end Id have a car with little value and a salvage branding..
It just didnt make good sense..

We actually picked up an 07 Canadian transplant last night.. in Laser Blue.. .. still .. not the Arrival (sigh freakin' purple people eater.. hahahaha). Nice flip flop paint though.
The biggest issue that I don't like already.. no curtain bags (Canadian thing) .. .. other that that it has low miles (92k) interior very clean (Ebony/Blue w Heated seats)) overall no issues with rust or corrosion that I was worried about, seems to be well maintained. KM speedo.. and KPA boost gauge.. So now want to at least find a cluster or do the mods to make the 06 work.. (transplant the DIC switches and circuits) cause as I was driving it home the 100 miles.. trying to line up the MPH.. is a like trying to line up a gun sight at 100 yards.. I do like the KPA gauge though. (may consider trades for all)
Granted.. its not the same car.. and we had to settle on a the Laser Blue.. just due to the rarity of Arrival ..

I will eventually be parting out the 06.. It looks great from 3 sides.. F/Rt/Rr.. and in all honesty didn't look hit too bad.. I had literally.. just put the LAST brand new GM from (Eb/BL) seat back cover in the world on the LF seat.. I actually put a RF seat cover (with the pocket) on the LF seat. So the whole interior is nice..
Lots off good stuff. that is typical of a SS/SC.

After we got into it.. it was simply a bad spot to be hit.. It broke/cracked the LF knuckle as well.

Sad.. it was a great car.. but simply had to make a call.

Will need LF fender, Left door, Rocker and inner Rocker (HSS). SRS curtain, SDM, Belt retractor/ pretensioner, knuckle, strut, maybe a wheel, maybe a steering gear, air box, $$+$$=$$. My cost on the SRS stuff alone was about 1k.
The pillar issues was the nail in the coffin decision.

You can see where the Honda stopped.. and she hit it/him about 35 mph and knocked it pretty good..



The bright side



The dark side



The dark side

 

That sucks!!! On the bright side, parting it out should get you some decent return (I can already see parts I might be interested in) I have to ask about the wheels, were they repainted? I like the tone of them.

 

hello... volkswagnut.... good.... to... hear... from... you...

 

When I got the 2006 from auction.. the wheels were typical.. flaking (GM crap paint).
I simply scuffed primed and painted graphite. They have curb rash and are by no means perfect, but are straight and true. (Pending off vehicle inspection of the LF) The LF only sustained a scratch and seems to be fine other wise.
They were all painted with Duplicolor wheel paint (Graphite) and have actually held up surprisingly quite well for 5 years. They were satin finish never cleared..
I painted the calipers red and they popped nice through the wheels.


The 07 we purchased .. the wheels will have to got the same route.. (stupid GM wheel paint) .. but may go yellow calipers this round..

Seems the design in wheels changed from 06-07??.. the 06 has a more flat face while the 07 wheels seem to have some center dishing???

The 07. .. followed me on the trailer to work today.. as.. the fuel pump module sprung a leak on the way home.. .. (GM special policy ) but I pressed on


Here is the Canadian 07, Laser Blue Ebony/Blue interior.
Dont know why.. but in pictures.. it looks more blue than purple.



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Welcome

Maybe I missed something... My 06 is a Canadian car and has the curtain airbags...

Glad you like the kpa boost gauge, I grew up on the metric system and I hate that thing! I have a new Autometer psi boost gauge to go in it!

 

No idea.. maybe Im wrong about the curtain Canadian thing, .. but the 07 I bought does not have RPO ASF "Restraint – Roof Side, LH and RH, Inflatable"
. ??? And no curtains..

Maybe it was just an option check box?/



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Last Friday.. got the 06 delivered to work (GM dealer) ..
Sad day..

Pictures dont represent the color difference..







Yesterday.. Checked the LF wheel.. good despite it took a hit and actually cracked the knuckle in half between the strut bolts.. (odd break)
I swapped wheels/tires and painted the 07 calipers yellow.. resurfaced the rotors.. added sway bar plastic sleeves to stop the bar knocking..

Today.. plan to flush the brake fluid and swap rear brake pads.. maybe clean up the alignment a little to bring front camber up where I prefer..


Labor of love..


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Welcome

Also, you have a strange obsession with double periods? Must be a VW thing..