A couple weeks ago I was at a friends house and parked my car in a long shared driveway/parking lot. Later that night, heard a high rev then a loud crashing noise, and found out much to my dismay that someone decided to take a shortcut through the front corner of my car and run afterward. Police wouldn't make a report since it was off the street and private property, suspect vehicle was likely one of the neighbors full-size Chevy truck lowered on airbags that's been missing since.
Front bumper cover dented, large dent on front of fender, core support and headlight bucket bent only on one side and a baseball size dent in the hood ledge behind the headlight bucket. The whole car was moved over at least a foot and the tire went flat,yet somehow the hood wasn't scratched or dented, just a little off where it meets the cowl. No leaks that I know of though, and car still starts and runs well. It drives up and down a flatbed tow pretty well too!
Body shop estimate had insurance total it before they could even do a thorough tear down, seeing as KBB for a 1990 300zx in between fair and good condition isn't even $4k. Insurance let me keep the car and settled at a fair price that was considerably more than KBB (one good thing about paying collision on a 21 year old car). I have a couple grand I keep my the "emergency" fund which combined with the settlement is just about equal to the estimate. The rebuilt salvage title issue isn't that much of an issue to me yet.
Engine is original with only 112k and has had new head gaskets, valve job, valve stem seals, radiator, alternator, battery, timing belt, water pump, cam seals all in the last 5k miles. Interior of car is excellent, especially considering age. I know this particular cars history, what's fixed and what needs to be fixed very well.
However I have doubts about getting it fixed since the body shop did a really weak tear down even though they charged extra, and they only gave me a verbal estimate instead of an itemized list. I can see the actual costs going way up. The engine will likely have to be pulled to cut out and weld in a new piece behind the headlight, and I can see them forgetting something and then telling me it's not their problem.
Finding a replacement is going to be really, really tough, as any will almost always have higher mileage and questionable mechanical integrity, let alone most have been cosmetically modded in and out and raced/riced/abused. I also am having trouble finding candidates with an auto trans which is a must since my left knee doesn't work so well after an ACL replacement. So, I'm in a real bind about what to do. At the least I have a nearly complete parts car.
Fix it, or time to move on? Swap engine and trans into another?
Front bumper cover dented, large dent on front of fender, core support and headlight bucket bent only on one side and a baseball size dent in the hood ledge behind the headlight bucket. The whole car was moved over at least a foot and the tire went flat,yet somehow the hood wasn't scratched or dented, just a little off where it meets the cowl. No leaks that I know of though, and car still starts and runs well. It drives up and down a flatbed tow pretty well too!
Body shop estimate had insurance total it before they could even do a thorough tear down, seeing as KBB for a 1990 300zx in between fair and good condition isn't even $4k. Insurance let me keep the car and settled at a fair price that was considerably more than KBB (one good thing about paying collision on a 21 year old car). I have a couple grand I keep my the "emergency" fund which combined with the settlement is just about equal to the estimate. The rebuilt salvage title issue isn't that much of an issue to me yet.
Engine is original with only 112k and has had new head gaskets, valve job, valve stem seals, radiator, alternator, battery, timing belt, water pump, cam seals all in the last 5k miles. Interior of car is excellent, especially considering age. I know this particular cars history, what's fixed and what needs to be fixed very well.
However I have doubts about getting it fixed since the body shop did a really weak tear down even though they charged extra, and they only gave me a verbal estimate instead of an itemized list. I can see the actual costs going way up. The engine will likely have to be pulled to cut out and weld in a new piece behind the headlight, and I can see them forgetting something and then telling me it's not their problem.
Finding a replacement is going to be really, really tough, as any will almost always have higher mileage and questionable mechanical integrity, let alone most have been cosmetically modded in and out and raced/riced/abused. I also am having trouble finding candidates with an auto trans which is a must since my left knee doesn't work so well after an ACL replacement. So, I'm in a real bind about what to do. At the least I have a nearly complete parts car.
Fix it, or time to move on? Swap engine and trans into another?
