So. I was planning to sell my LS by the end of this month. It was a 2001 LS V8 with about 110,000 miles loaded with custom exhaust, intake, all that fun stuff. I was hoping to get close to $9500 for it.
Unfortunately, I wasn't able to sell it in time. Two weeks ago I woke up one morning only to find that my LS was stolen from the front of my house!
A couple hours after I reported it stolen it was involved in a 30 min high speed chase. According to the report the guy who stole it wound up trying to take a 90 deg turn at 100mph+, clipped another vehicle in the intersection and careened off over the curb, thru a chain link fence and wound up in someones front yard with the front end in the dirt and the rear end 3 feet off the ground. Crazy as it sounds, this is true story, the aftermath wound up on the Fox news that night (+1 for the LS) - it looked like someone crash landed my car into the yard like a UFO. The thief fled the scene, only to be caught the next day, charges still pending being their were no actual eye witnesses that can positively ID him - bunch of BS if u ask me.
Anyways I suppose it sounds like a nightmare but fortunately nothing in the vehicle was touched and I did have full coverage.
The damage at first didn't seem to be that bad, part of the hood and the drivers side quarter panel were peeled back like someone took a can opener to 'em, the headlights were busted, and the gril, front bumper and radiator were all smashed/dented in.
Although it sounds bad, it didnt look that bad, 85% of the vehicle was unscathed. My insurance claim adjustor believed it was repairable, and insisted I get it repaired a.s.a.p.. I knew that with the right estimate I could have it totaled out, so I brought it to a BMW dealership that had a body shop.
My insurance company valued the vehicle at $10,300, which made the point of total loss 70% - or $7,210 in damages.
After a day or two in the shop the est. damages were at $7500. My insurance company insisted I still get the vehicle repaired. I, of course, wanted the car totaled in order to get a check for $10,000 (more than I was going to sell it for anyways). My insurance company tells me that with tax and other fees the actual point of no return is around $8100, so they still felt the vehicle should be repaired.
After a day or two of quarreling with the insurance company I wound up getting my way. The final payout after a $500 deductible was just above $11,000!
So. Needless to say, I had a great run with the LS, it was fun and I'll always miss it but now, its time for a new ride. I'm thinking about an 04 G35 coupe with 17,xxx miles for around 24k.
What do u guys think?
p.s. Apparently, during the pursuit the cops lost my car for almost all of the final 15 minutes of the chase, thus explaining why the thief was able to flee the scene and get away. Keep in mind, this was at 3:00 in the afternoon in the middle of St. Paul, MN. According to the tow truck driver that recovered my vehicle from the scene one of the police officers told him, "...thats the quickest Lincoln I've ever seen..."
+1 more for the LS.
