@$%& teenager with a cell phone killed my Mustang

[Matt J]

The other night coming home from my daughter's soccer practice, I got rear-ended at a traffic light by a 19 year old messing with his cell phone. Fortunately my daughter and I weren't hurt, but my car is gone. The thing bent enough that it caused damage to the driver's door when the quarter flexed. Funny thing is that it doesn't look like much until you look closely and see all the door and fender gaps are off.

I wouldn't be surprised to see this thing gets rebuilt by someone, though I'm not sure I'd want to drive it afterward. A real shame, the thing was mechanically great, no rust at all too. Only had 99,000 miles on it. Just needed a new paint job and a re-do on the driver's seat. If you see a nice looking 84 convertible with 99,800 miles and a new paint job for sale in the Atlanta area, that's probably my old car...I'm sure it can be fixed, but I'd need to really trust the shop that did the work.

This could have been worse, WAY worse. As disappointed as I am that a nice car has been ruined by someone's carelessness, a convertible fox body isn't necessarily the car you want your kids in when it gets totalled. The car did exactly what it should have and protected us, and thankfully my 9 year old only suffered through a tough lesson about paying attention when she eventually starts driving.

Two takeaways for me here. First, put your cell phone in the glove box when driving. Sounds like a small thing, but most folks are guilty of at least peeking down at the stupid thing when it's beeping or blinking. No more for me, it goes in the glove box until the car is parked.

Second, be realistic about what your car is worth. I was never going to get what the potential value of the car is, but I was paid fairly by my insurance company (I got what it's realistically worth). I've always been careful to not put more into it than it's worth, for exactly this reason. If you've got a lot invested in your car, you need to talk to your agent to purchase a stated value policy. Your premium will be based on what the car's stated value is. Just because it's a nice car with a new paint job doesn't make it worth $15k in the market, but if that's what you agree on, then that's what it's worth if it's totalled. Protect yourself, you can't count on the other person's insurance to pay more than the market value of a car just because the accident was their fault. It doesn't work that way, trust me I've been in the insurance industry for 20 years. With stuff like this, you've gotta look out for yourself!

In any case, I'm officially fox-less now. Not sure if I'll be getting another one or not, I've been looking at getting an old pickup or something. Being new to the South, I'm loving that you can still find 50's era vehicles that aren't Flintstone cars. Nothing like that in New England! I might do another Mustang, you never know. I'll still visit the site once in a while, I think this is a great forum and has been a lot of help to me. Thanks specifically to Jeff Cook, the man who knows more about the computer and CFI controls on these cars than can possibly be healthy...

[vascj]

Glad you and your family are safe.

[webestang]

Wow....Thank God you are OK. So sorry about your Pony.
I'll be telling my co-worker about this, she has a 15 year old getting ready to hit the streets.

[Jay86GT]

Did you get pics? That's a shame... I have a feeling the same thing happened to me when a woman ran a stop sign and I was in my SVT Contour racecar. Most people see a $3-4000 CSVT but I had Hagerty Collector's insurance with an agreed value of $15,000 and it was totaled.

Hopefully you're OK. I thought I was after the accident but ended up with lingering lower back pain.

[chads84svo]

Sorry about your loss matt! That really sucks. Like you said,the both of you are ok........thank god!. That could of been a mess. Good luck to you in the future with your choice of rides.(pick a fox) lol. Takke care. Chad

[85GT-79FJ40]

Oh that sucks. At least you're OK. I don't DD mine but I did DD my old 85 GT in the summer months and always dreaded something like this. I actually have the same fears using my BMW as a DD in the summer. It's worth a heck of a lot more than I would get from an insurance check. Another reason I've been considering selling both and going to an S197 instead.

[Matt J]

Yeah, I didn'the drive it much, only put 5,000 on it in the past 3 years. My wife had the family car and my normal DD was blocked in the garage by my company car. It was a short trip, too. You just never know. For you, just check into a stated value policy, it's not that expensive. You can keep your toys!

[Gemini1999]

As someone.who works in the insurance industry, it's not a stated amount ' policy you need, it's an agreed value policy. So sad to hear about your car...that's one of my biggest fear. That said, I've only invested less than a thousand on top of the three thousand I've paid for it. I used to have dreams of driving it every day, but the vehicle's vintage and rarity tell me to do otherwise.

[Sinister]

glad you ok, everything happen for a reason, mabe you find a nicer foxbody later down the road.

[Dean_T]

I'm sorry about your car and glad you and your daughter weren't hurt. That's the good thing about the Fox chassis over the first gen Mustang. It was designed to absorb some of the impact.

[capri debris]

What happened to you is what I fear happening to my Capri.... thats why it infuriates me when I see a teenager (or anyone for that matter) texting while driving.

I have seen the scenerio play out in my head..... me jumping out and yelling at the person telling them that they just destroyed a car older than they are..... and how much of my blood sweat and tears have gone into building the car.... and how much care to park it away from other cars and all the hours polishing it to perfection..... and now its gone because of stupid text.

[Sinister]

What happened to you is what I fear happening to my Capri.... thats why it infuriates me when I see a teenager (or anyone for that matter) texting while driving.

I have seen the scenerio play out in my head..... me jumping out and yelling at the person telling them that they just destroyed a car older than they are..... and how much of my blood sweat and tears have gone into building the car.... and how much care to park it away from other cars and all the hours polishing it to perfection..... and now its gone because of stupid text.

You care about your car more then other person life ? When I was in my accident , my car was total 95 eagle talon tsi awd $9,000 into it, I was F*** the car, I went and help other girl out her car and carry her to safety. I never see a car more important then a person, even they at fault. Sure it hurt me, but car is just car, it can be replace and bought , person life can never be replace or bought. As long both party is ok and not hurt, that is what most important.

[PaceFever79]

I was reading a book about this subject. The part of the brain responsible for driving a car is the same part of our frontal lobe that our ancient ancestors used to tend to fire. It was a methodical matter of life and death. But the part of the brain stimulated by the ring or vibration of a cell phone is the same part of the brain that responds when a tiger walks up to you! In fact the alert of a cell phone "hijacks" the attention of the brain away from concentrating on tending "the fire" or driving an automobile. The way your survival instinct would. Although this may only seem to take a second or two, it can take the brain up to 10 seconds to fully refocus attention back onto driving (or tending to the fire). This diversion was caused merely by the audio or vibration alert of a cell phone or incoming text message while you are driving.

[mmb617]

I worry about that happening when I'm on the street too but I street drive my car very little, at most a couple hundred miles a year. Oddly enough I have an agreed value policy from Hagerty but I'm considering dropping it and just going with regular auto insurance. My reasoning is this. The lowest value policy I could buy was $25k, with is more than I really wanted to put on the car. I do have that much in it, but that doesn't mean squat as far as it's value goes on the open market.

I could buy regular insurance for a lot less and the car is far from a show car. It's set up for drag racing and all the big money is in the drive train. If it were totaled I could probably salvage the expensive parts and buy a roller to put them in and all I'd lose was my time, which since I'm retired isn't a big deal to me.

I come up for renewal in January and I'm thinking over what I want to do.

[grabbergreen84]

Here's to hoping that that stupidazz kid drops his precious little phone in a porta-potty!

Glad you're OK. Did you get rid of it yet? I'd be wanting to fix it, if it were mine.

[TopGear85]

You care about your car more then other person life ? When I was in my accident , my car was total 95 eagle talon tsi awd $9,000 into it, I was F*** the car, I went and help other girl out her car and carry her to safety. I never see a car more important then a person, even they at fault. Sure it hurt me, but car is just car, it can be replace and bought , person life can never be replace or bought. As long both party is ok and not hurt, that is what most important.

You must have taken Capri Debris comment differently than I did, cause I don't see him saying he cares more about his car than human life? I think if a text message is what cause this accident than the driver deserves to get yelled at...and have his/her license taken away for awhile. They are lucky nobody was hurt or killed.


Anyway, to the OP... glad to hear you and your daughter are ok. Sorry about the Fox.

[dburdyshaw]

When is enough enough?

What has to happen before we force legislation that says, "Put down the f***ing phone and drive."

[Travis T]

That sucks. I'll daily drive mine again anyway, even after being rear ended in it. On my way to work in 2004, I was hit by a 19 year old in his dad's week old Lexus. He was in a hurry to get to work and I had to do an emergency stop with no one behind me. I don't know where he came from but next thing I know I'm being shoved down the road. Trooper said that there was a 30 mph speed difference. Luckily I got out with only a bumper cover and bar and one tailpipe. His Lexus was destroyed. Oh, and as I found out later, he broke my clutch. No unibody damage, but I now have a salvage title.

[Sinister]

You must have taken Capri Debris comment differently than I did, cause I don't see him saying he cares more about his car than human life? I think if a text message is what cause this accident than the driver deserves to get yelled at...and have his/her license taken away for awhile. They are lucky nobody was hurt or killed.


Anyway, to the OP... glad to hear you and your daughter are ok. Sorry about the Fox.

yea, most important is every one ok.

[JTurbo]

Sorry to hear about your car. Hope something good comes from the accident....

[Sinister]

When is enough enough?

What has to happen before we force legislation that says, "Put down the f***ing phone and drive."

I dont know if this is true or its just me, when I was 17-19, I street race every weekend, driving like a maniac , I follow a car with only 1 inch between there bumper and my bumper, scare my gf ( wife now ) to death and she told me " Will never let my kid driving with me alone, I drive too crazy ), I got many ticket for speeding, judge made me watch wreck video, but that doesnt change me

anyway I got into my first wreck at at 20 or 21, still havent learn my lesson, then 2 week later I got into another wreck, from that time, I learn my lesson, and some how my brain make me driving more careful, leaving alot space between me and other driver ahead, follow speed limit, pay more attention to the road, but my wife still not trusting me because of all these car i am having now

an old man told me that, " you need to be in a wreck 1 or 2 to learn the lesson about car safety / road safety ". I think this man telling the true because its happen to me.

[Matt J]

Sorry to hear about your car. Hope something good comes from the accident....

Hopefully if this reaches just one person and makes them not fool with their phone while driving it's a positive. It sucks about the car but my daughter was okay and I'll take that.

[84GT350CONV]

I get a little nervous every time I get out in my car. Twice it's almost been totaled in the last six months. Once when I pickup ran a red light and another when someone turned left in front of me. Both times it was due to cell phone use. Glad I had room to maneuver out of the way. Even if the laws change, these people won't learn unless it's the hard way.

[ragtopjr]

Glad to hear that you and your child was ok. It sucks that the car is gone, but it can be replaced....

[slimj]

Matt I am glad you and your family are ok . You can always find another car or truck.