The adjuster just came and he thinks it's most likely a total.
He pointed out damage to the fender, bumper, apron, and rad support. I'm supposed to get a call back in the next day or two to let me know if it's a total or not and what the next steps are. He said USAA values them by researching local listings and not from NADA or other places. There is a listing for a 1985 300TD a couple of hours from here that could throw the value lower I'm afraid. It is sold now, but was listed for $2875 on craigslist. I guess I'll see how it goes.

Do your own research on these comps so that you will know which ones are ratty, and if any are truly comparable in condition etc. Call the sellers, ask the questions that you know to ask, you might even find a nice replacement this way.

Just remember, the other person's insurance company has to make you WHOLE again. That doesn't mean getting you any old 300TD. It has to be of the same or better condition than yours. Search nationwide if you need to.

Tell them this is what you want to replace it with.:D

http://wichita.craigslist.org/ctd/2016767900.html

$5000 to a forum member

Also:

Tell him you'll be reasonable and accept low retail for the car, even though its average. :D

http://www.nadaguides.com/default.aspx?LI=1-22-1-5013-0-0-0&l=1&w=22&p=1&f=5014&y=1984&m=1115&d=4220&vi=76739&z=67206&da=1

I would be happy to get the NADA low retail and I would seriously consider taking TylerH860 up on his offer. Bullet is a real beauty and I wouldn't have to fool with repairing Gerwalt.

$5100 + tax is exactly what I got for mine from State Farce.

Turned around and got an '85 (with more miles) for $4500.

Don't assume this repair will be hard. If just the visible stuff is all thats destroyed, you could have all those parts replaced in less than two hours in your driveway DIY. It would be a waste of Gerwalt not to try and fix it. Literally, a fender could come off and on in 15 minutes, its not a hard part to install. The rest of the stuff is even easier.
As said above, the worry will be the inner damage. If I were you, Id pull the broken stuff off yourself and take a look for further damage. If not, you are home free.

Personally, id fight for the largest settlement I could get, then go buy 200 dollars in yard parts, test fit a fender and the other parts, take it to be matched painted inside and out as a part, not on the car, cheaper that way, reinstall everything, then pocket the rest of the cash.

The hard part will be finding something without rust in a yard. For this reason, I had another member ship me a pair of CA yard fenders from the west coast. He did it greyhound, was pretty reasonable. Imagine that box, both fenders were inside. :D

Yeah, if you're willing to pay freight, I've got the passenger fender pull of of Betty.

Also, I can cut any section from the engine bay on that side if you really need it... Have a perfect front bumper too with a brand new license plate holder...

Headlight? Yep, got that too. I'll have to check which turn signal I am not using right now...

bus and train oversize box shipping services are the way to go for something like a fender. You need to pack the bejessus out of whatever is shipped, cause they could give a **** about the box, but its DIRT cheap, even for outrageous large boxes. I can't remember, but I think one box with two 123 fenders shipped clear across the entire country wasunder 100 bucks, like 70 or something. The sender has to take the cargo down to a bus depot and they throw it under a bus.

You end up getting a call from the local bus depot when its there, there is no tracking, its just "on a bus somewhere" if you call.

I think I will probably fix it instead of getting another. Is there any big negative to driving around without a fender on? If I do the work myself I should take it off and get a peek at the damage behind it.

just let me know if you need that fender (already same color!) and other parts. and help from me of course. local member with stuff is handy!

I got a ticket once for driving around without a hood. I seem to remember that there might be some perceived safety violation of some sort for fenders missing too. The cop and i had quite an interesting conversation on just what could be missing from your car panel wise and it still be road legal. I remember trying to make some asinine argument for not having a hood, which did not impress the cop at the time, but fortunately, he saw that I was just an idiot kid then, and took pity with his fine writing hand.

Probably depends on the state, but he fact that you can reinstall all the lighting without the outer fender and that the tire is still 50% covered by the inner fender means I bet you can get away with it, but it certainly would invite attention from inquisitive police I imagine.

Wow, vstech is in your backyard with all the parts you need. You might end up thanking this idiot driver that cut you off. You will make a couple grand, do some minor work, and the only lasting evidence will be a salvage title.

Yes, vstech, I will most certainly be talking with you soon regarding parts. Do you have a bumper that will fit? I haven't emailed that guy in Newberry yet with several parts cars.