Resolved 2gNT Car rear ended badly, worth fixing?

[Matt S]

I got into a 3 car accident (I was the last one). I only have rear damage and I have people a few mechanically inclined friends saying its fixable and a few other people saying its better of I just buy another car. I really don't want to let my car go, I am very dedicated to not trashing this car. I'm 19 and I put a crap ton of money and days of work in this car. My insurance adjuster came by today and I think he was hinting at a total loss. He said it would be 10k+ to fix it. Any tips or suggestions on what I should do? I drove the car from the accident (6 mile drive) and it drove the same from what I know.

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[Dericsh]

Looks bad. Hope you’re feeling okay. I don’t have any experience with totaling/buying your car back for parts or repair but I have a feeling that’s where I’d be leaning in this situation while shopping for another one.

 

[Spleen8urLSX]

Unfortunately for what non turbo 2g rollers are bringing this would never be worth fixing.

I can’t tell you the extent of the damage from just pictures but I can almost assure by how hard it’s hit that if we started looking closer we’d find the entire unibody is twisted. I don’t say that to be discouraging however I found over the years 2g’s are very bad to twist from much lighter hits and have owned and came across 2g’s over the past 17 years that were entirely twisted from far less damage.

One dead giveaway would be to look for spots on the roof skin that buckled, but taking out the back seat and hatch carpet would likely tell even more of that story. With that, I can tell you from the whole quarter needing replaced and the hatch being pushed that far in on top of being a 23+ year old car, the insurance company is without a doubt totaling it out no ifs ands or buts about, in their eyes it’s junk now.

Your best bet here is to buy another roller and use the wrecked one as a donor, or fight with their insurance to get the best payout that you can and buy another running and let them send that one to the junkyard as much as it sucks to lose something you put that effort into. Sure it could be fixed, but if you found a body shop that would be willing it would cost several times what a mint one is worth.

 

[chrisman287]

Sorry man, it’s definitely a total loss.

Make sure to get yourself checked out even if you feel alright.

 

[Matt S]

I appreciate you all's concern. I have been going to the chiropractor and have an attorney. I'm planning on getting another 2g eclipse depending of how much money I get is what will determine if I go N/A or boosted. How much is a fair price for a well running boosted eclipse in your own opinion?

 

[BLACK'98DSM]

The only way that car is worth fixing is if it's very dear to your heart for some specific reason, or if insurance is covering 100% of repair costs. But if it's declared a total loss they're not going to fix it for you. And keep in mind being a totaled vehicle means it will forever have a salvage rebuilt title.

If you want to keep the car, what they'll do is give you the total declared value settlement minus a deductible (if you have one) and also minus the declared salvage value of the vehicle (which I would guess is around $500 for that car, you could be lucky and it's less). The deductible is refundable but takes some time to get back. My WRX got totaled in March and I'm still waiting for my damn deductible from the responsible party's insurance... Time is a variable though. Each insurance company varies with the fine print but that is general knowledge.

If you let the car go to the insurance company they'll sell it at auction, and more than likely it will never see the road again. Whoever purchases it will likely use it for a parts car and send it for scrap once it's bare or close. Unless for some reason a die-hard DSM'er buys it to restore, which I'd say is unlikely being a N/T with such severe damage.

If I were you, and could accept letting the car be scrap, I would keep it for now. Go buy a straight body 2g, swap over all the parts that make this car "yours". Then send what's left for scrap or try posting for sale what's left. You'll likely get around the same amount either way. Parting it out would bring the best cash, but understand that will take some time and you have to store the car. If you have extra space and no time crunch to get rid of it, go for it. I might even buy a part or two

Without knowing exactly what's been done the car I can't give a strong justification for keeping it vs taking your full payout and investing that $ into another DSM. That's up to you to decide. Any rare parts, expensive parts, custom fab work etc. I can tell you I have WAY TOO MUCH into mine to let it go though. My 2GNT sustained some nasty damage (also back in March, alongside the WRX). I didn't even let insurance know. When the adjuster came to view the other car I hid it under a tarp. I knew damn well they were going to total the car, and try to take it. With the car being worth close to nothing in their eyes it wasn't worth any petty payout to me. I've been slowly fixing it since and I won't have a salvage rebuilt title.

 

[Matt S]

The car does not have much to it other than my upgraded sound system and the cheap exhaust
I'll most likely take the sound system out before they do anything to it and they can just scrap it. If I do plan on getting another eclipse if I can find one for a good price it would be dsm for sure. I appreciate the feedback yall. Sucks to see another build end.

 

[chrisman287]

How much is a fair price for a well running boosted eclipse in your own opinion?

I see decent condition fwd for anywhere between $3.5-$6K and awd north of that about $10Kish. Depends on mods and condition..

 

[BLACK'98DSM]

If you still have the stock exhaust system I would swap them out. You can re-use that exhaust on a turbo model. Or just sell it. If you don't have the stock exhaust though I wouldn't take that one off. Might affect your payout.

 

[OG_Nocturnal]

sorry for your loss bro