How little damage it takes to "total" a 1998 Camry

[bepperb]

New hood, bumper, quarter panel and headlights? To do that right would be well over 4 grand.

Now if you can buy it back from the insurance maybe you can DIY it. Painted hood, quarter and bumper for my Highlander with no labor besides paint was around 1 grand. Pair of headlights and miscellaneous stuff another 500 and you could have it close to how it was.

 

[MarkM66]

It's not a quarter panel, that's in the rear. It's called a fender.

 

[hattaresguy]

If you can do it yourself you can half [censored] the repair for probably a grand. If you have to pay a body shop forget about it.

This is why it doesn't make a lot of sense to put a ton of money into an older car, one small hit and your done. The insurance company doesn't care if you just spent $2,500 on a new transmission or $1k on suspension work. The junk yard guys will love you though!

 

[Vikas]

if the airbag did not go off, then in theory, it does NOT HAVE to be totaled.

 

[dishdude]

The salvage value on that is going to be high, it's probably going to cost you a bit to keep it.

 

[zzyzzx]

That looks easily fixable. As in if you can do an oil change, you can probably just grab parts from a U-pull-it JY and fix it yourself (or buy parts online, use OEM or CAPA certified).

 

[supton]

Originally Posted By: Vikas
if the airbag did not go off, then in theory, it does NOT HAVE to be totaled.


Do you have to junk if an airbag goes off? I suspect that varies, state to state.

 

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted By: supton
Originally Posted By: Vikas
if the airbag did not go off, then in theory, it does NOT HAVE to be totaled.


Do you have to junk if an airbag goes off? I suspect that varies, state to state.


I dont get why that would be the case. If it were, manufacturers wouldnt sell airbags and dash pads (Id think).

 

[supton]

Well, in some states you can't pass vehicle inspection if the TPMS light is on, so, it stands to reason that for some states an airbag light would also cause a fail.

Crud, reading comprehension fail--I was thinking you couldn't pass inspection with the light on, not about totaling it out. Sorry about that.

Rule of thumb used to be, if the hit was bad enough to set off the airbags, it'd be totaled. I think that trend reversed for a while, then they added more airbags. Now if you set off a few, odds are it's totaled. Hard to say, it's just a rule of thumb. But I'd think it'd be a decent thumb on something this old: a hit hard enough to set off a bag is going to be costly enough to total, at least in the eyes of the insurance company.

 

[JHZR2]

Well at what, $1000/airbag retail (my impression, have never shopped them to know the actual pricing), a few turns into a lot of cash, especially if both sides and/or front and back...

Plus body work.

Kind of incredible. One fairly minor hit and most people need to be shopping for a replacement vehicle.

 

[supton]

Well, that's why I long ago realized that the rule of thumb to not do a repair that exceeded the cost of a vehicle was kind of stupid. No, you wouldn't get the money back if you sold in short order: but odds are, it wouldn't take long to have made it worthwhile. Spending $2k to eek out just one more year isn't that bad, if the alternative is new or nearly new.

 

[cptbarkey]

uh, that would cost a total of $150-200 to repair at most at the local u-pull-it down here. color wont match but who cares at that point.

 

[diver1972]

Originally Posted By: The Critic
The damage may appear minor because the vehicle has not been disassembled. Underneath the bumper cover, there is likely additional damage.

If the ins company had proceeded with the repair, once the shop starts, they could be stuck with paying for repairs that exceeded the value of the vehicle.
Right. I've recently come to understand that's why they generally deem it a total loss at 70-75% of pre-claim value so as to allow for a 25% buffer in the initial (i.e. pre-teardown) estimate.

Originally Posted By: Barkleymut
Just curious, can you keep the car once the insurance company has labeled it as totaled?
Yes. I'd seriously considered this for about a week.

Originally Posted By: eljefino
How is the hood underneath?
I'm far from knowledgeable about body work, but it appeared completely fine to my critical eye.

Originally Posted By: BISCUT
I can only speak of my geographical area....

There are plenty of body shop guys who would do that kinda fix on the cheap. Sub par parts and quickie paint job you'd be around 1k. Not that i've seen all the damage but guesstimate....
This is almost exactly what I'd originally envisioned having done, but later decided against it simply because of the current unknowns (i.e. what other damage might be discovered during teardown).

Originally Posted By: motor_oil_madman
The car isn't worth much, plus it needs a new hood, new quarter panel, new headlights, bumper. etc.
My original thought was that they wouldn't attempt to replace the hood, but rather adjust/bend it. My rationale is that it isn't creased nor really even chipped anywhere. Neither front fender sustained any damage despite the somewhat misleading picture of the front driver side corner where the parking light housing is dislocated from the fender.

Originally Posted By: IndyIan
...Looks like you rearended some one or got backed into in a parking lot?
My wife rear-ended a 2002 Altima while sliding on black ice at night.

Originally Posted By: bigt61
Fix it with junkyard parts - looks like you can get away with a bumper, grill, and LF headlight assembly. Hood looks fine to me. 182K miles is worth fixing IMO - looks like a nice car.
That was precisely my original assumption.

Originally Posted By: supton
I wonder what it would cost to buy back...
I'm not certain, but I'm suspecting a relatively high salvage value. In fact, I'm convinced that, because a vehicle's salvage value is part of the total loss determination, that a relatively high salvage value is really what drove it over the edge into total loss determination. More on this below...

Originally Posted By: css9450
Is there more damage along the side? I see a mirror that looks like its hanging.
Right you are! A keen eye you have! Yeah, about 2 months earlier, my wife thought it'd be cool to whack it off while backing it out of the garage. Duck tape had been holding it on right up until the wreck. In fact, a mere 3 days before the wreck, we bought a roll of white duck tape with the intention of replacing the silver stuff that was both unsightly and losing its sticky from the wet winter weather. Procrastination paid off this time!

Originally Posted By: Doog
That car is trashed...looks like one of my daughters did it..

They have a special knack for doing $5000 worth of damage at 10mph. I think it is a gender trait inherited from their Mother.

I nearly spit out my drink when I read this!

Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Who is totaling it? Your insurance or another party's? If your insurance totals it and cuts you a check, will they raise your rates going forward to recoup what they paid out?...
My insurer (Progressive). Surprisingly, it was deemed as a "no-fault" despite my wife hitting the back of the other car with the front of our car. While our policy "forgives" one small accident and one large accident, we've been advised that this claim counts against neither, much to my surprise and joy.

Originally Posted By: Trav
That kind of a hit will total many an 05 or 06 for insurance purposes.

Incredible.

Originally Posted By: krismoriah72
What is your deductible IF they did fix it? If $500 then i would say do the work yourself or get someone locally (moonlighting body man)..to fix it for cheap
Yes, $500. I'd originally seriously considered it, but later "chickened out".

Originally Posted By: hattaresguy
This is why it doesn't make a lot of sense to put a ton of money into an older car, one small hit and your done. The insurance company doesn't care if you just spent $2,500 on a new transmission or $1k on suspension work. The junk yard guys will love you though!

Yeah, they'll love the front and top engine work I just did (i.e. belts and seals). By the end of next month, I bet it'll be on a cargo ship bound for an overseas country with some super cheap body work labor and aftermarket parts and its subsequent "retirement career" in said country.

Originally Posted By: dishdude
The salvage value on that is going to be high, it's probably going to cost you a bit to keep it.
Agreed. While I don't yet know what the insurer's buyer is paying for it, I estimate they're paying about $1500 for it, particularly if it's going overseas to be repaired with cheap labor.

 

[diver1972]

Originally Posted By: bepperb
New hood, bumper, quarter panel and headlights? To do that right would be well over 4 grand...
As I see it as a non-pro, this job would definitely not require a new quarter panel/fender and only one headlight assembly. The bumper, grill, and left headlight are no-brainers. The hood is the wild card.

Originally Posted By: zzyzzx
That looks easily fixable. As in if you can do an oil change, you can probably just grab parts from a U-pull-it JY and fix it yourself (or buy parts online, use OEM or CAPA certified).
I'm fairly handy, but I wouldn't characterize this work along the same lines as an OC.

Originally Posted By: cptbarkey
uh, that would cost a total of $150-200 to repair at most at the local u-pull-it down here. color wont match but who cares at that point.
Seriously?!

 

[zzyzzx]

I have repaired worse damage than that:

http://www.feoa.net/threads/wrecked-my-1995lx-today-updated-with-pics.41207/

Yes, that was in 2007 and I am still driving the car today.

 

[yesthatsteve]

Originally Posted By: diver1972

Yeah, they'll love the front and top engine work I just did (i.e. belts and seals). By the end of next month, I bet it'll be on a cargo ship bound for an overseas country with some super cheap body work labor and aftermarket parts and its subsequent "retirement career" in said country.


Don't forget the odometer rollback!

"1998 US-spec Camry with only 50,000 miles!!!!"

 

[D189379]

It looks like almost $3000 in parts alone. + paint + labour

 

[Cubey]

Collect the insurance money, less the few hundred they keep for you keeping the car, do minor fixes yourself and keep driving it. You don't HAVE to get rid of it in a totalled case.

I did that on a 91 Corolla and a 93 Escort I had. Then trade or junk it when it goes bad or you wanna buy something else.

 

[andyd]

A car over 10yrs old can be totaled in MA, bought back from the insurance co, repaired sorta, and put into service without involving the RMV. My BIL bought a 300$ Aspire. It was totalled twice, each time, he fixed it with used parts and soldiered on. Dubbed Cario,by my niece, was eventually sold for 500$. The no frills 4 banger coupled to a 3 spd auto transaxle was bullet proof.

 

[diver1972]

Here's some information that I got from my insurer:

Quote:
We may also declare your vehicle a total loss when the repair cost, plus the salvage value (money we would recoup when selling your vehicle through a licensed salvage vendor) exceeds the vehicle's actual cash value, or if state regulations warrant it.
Here are the actual numbers of this claim. Their offer was $3500. With my $500 deductible, this means the above equation works out to $4000+ for the insurer. Now, that could be an actual $1500 salvage value and an estimated $2500+ repair costs, or an actual $100 salvage value and an estimated $3900+ repair costs, or perhaps somewhere in between.

The point is that a vehicle's salvage value can really influence this determination. In the salvage marketplace, just like other markets, a host of variables influence that valuation. For example, some countries have steep import duties/taxes on vehicles with larger engines (IIRC, Singapore and Malaysia are some examples) that increase local market demand for smaller engine sizes. Likewise, higher local fuel prices increase demand for smaller engine sizes. Also, some countries like Venezuela have vehicle demand exceeding supply of new cars that influences salvage prices upward. And then there's currency valuation pressures where the weaker US dollar increases demand by other countries.

Originally Posted By: zzyzzx
I have repaired worse damage than that...Yes, that was in 2007 and I am still driving the car today.

Originally Posted By: D189379
It looks like almost $3000 in parts alone.

Originally Posted By: Cubey
Collect the insurance money, less the few hundred they keep for you keeping the car, do minor fixes yourself and keep driving it. You don't HAVE to get rid of it in a totalled case...
I assumed, perhaps incorrectly, a higher salvage value than a few hundred. Additionally, it'd be almost cost-prohibitive for me to insure it against future damage, which I'd prefer to do.