St Louis Coparts refugee (My amazing deal: 2016 Sonic written off by "fire damage")

Last Aug, i bought a former insurance write-off salvage yellow 2016 Sonic 5DR LT with 185miles.(vin1G1JC6SH5G4130871 with a d.o.m. of Nov 17, 2015). The Sonic originally came from St Louis Coparts( bid lot # 18148686) as a salvage vehicle with 8 miles as a result of a Jan 3, 2017 fire at Marshal Chevrolet, Winchester, Il. The Sonic, now named "LUCKY" was on the showroom floor when the fire broke out. An alert employe drove it to safety from total destruction. Some frontal plastic trim was heat warped and roofing tar covered the hood. The interior was not damaged, but still has a campfire smell. All cosmetic damage was fixed by the flipper (original bidder). I picked LUCKY(with 185 miles) up in Chicago after anserwering a Chicago Craigs List ad. LUCKY is the only automatic vehicle we own. Our trusty and loved GREYMAN, a 2011 Aveo sedan LT/LT1 5spd sits next to it in the garage.The MSRP of LUCKY was $20,185. I paid $8,250 and drove home to Kansas City with no problems.With a good Missouri "rebuilt" title, it now has 2,200 miles and has yet to be driven in the winter. We consider it an honor to join the Sonic forum and hope that it brings good luck and long life to LUCKY.... which has ZERO GM warranty!
Robert & Shye Reynolds, Grandview, MO. https://www.copart.com/lot/18148686/ Changed d.o.m. to nov 17, 2015, not 2016!!!

welcome to the forum. We need more sonic guys to keep it going!

Thnx! Any forum is a good forum, but when you own a Sonic, with no warranty, this is a GREAT forum!

Quite the story!!

Any photos?

MetroMPG, here's the link.

https://www.copart.com/lot/18148686/ These are Copart photos taken while my "Lucky"-to be was sitting in their lot from mid Jan until June 14, 2017.

To see any Copart or Sonic, enter the bid (lot) # after the url. Be prepared for some gruesome photos of the cars we esteem.

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Originally Posted by MetroMPG

Quite the story!!

Any photos?

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here is the photo in my driveway:

Attachment 11323

Fantastic story. I love scratch 'n' dent specials, but yours looks as good as new.

No "before" photos though, correct? I'm just curious how melted that fascia was. :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by MetroMPG

Fantastic story. I love scratch 'n' dent specials, but yours looks as good as new.

No "before" photos though, correct? I'm just curious how melted that fascia was. :)

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go to https://www.copart.com/1814868/ to view "before" pics. Also if you google Marshal Chevrolet fire, Winchester, IL you will see media photos of the total devastation of the dealership w/ burned cars in front n also what is left of the showroom the day after. The fascia was, according to the sales manger, "blistered n warped" n the interior smelled like smoke.. I think "LUCKY" was partially reparied BEFORE going to Coparts x the insurance co so that it would bring higher recovery $. I will email sales manger n ask if he has any "right after" the Jan 3rd fire.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by MetroMPG

Fantastic story. I love scratch 'n' dent specials, but yours looks as good as new.

No "before" photos though, correct? I'm just curious how melted that fascia was. :)

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When I rubbed out the hood n front, i found remnants of stickers on the fascia, r & l side. I believe they were sku #s either from a dealer inventory or a salvage yard donor car.I saw no blistering on the front gravel pan. Remember, Sonics were not selling well at that time. Dealer inventories were backing up with unsold Sonics. I think Marshal Chev saw a chance to get a higher $ insurance settlement for a unit that would need to be deeply discounted because of the smelly interior and get it off the lot. It was time for the yellow 5DR to go, one way or another! This was a 2016 on the showroom floor in 2017. Later in the 2017, production of Sonics per day at Lake Orion was slowed and employees furloughed until dealers sold down what they had. Pic is one of many of the showroom the morning after! Of note, in Winchester, IL, Marshal Chevrolet was/is owned by the fire marshal n his brother.

Attachment 11324