totaled BRZ - what to do
 

Over thanksgiving break I was stuck in a long drive through the rain, and ended up hydroplaning on the highway. The side of the car hit the divider, bending both wheels on the right side, and damaging the body. The car drove (barely) and I was able to get it off the highway. Insurance is calling it a total loss, with $19k of damage, calling the car value $22k. Is this a realistic estimate and should I simply walk away, or is it worth looking at paying for and rebuilding the car? The biggest line item is the rear differential, which they say they want to replace ($5k parts alone). Is it actually likely that it was damaged, or is this the insurance appraiser trying to be conservative, and it's likely fine?

images:

http://imgur.com/AjpGKw8
http://imgur.com/wb8UyKo

Go fwd?

Does not really look that bad.

An option: Take the money from the insurance company. Then they can get a salvage value for the car, and you buy it back from them for the salvage value, then find a shop to repair car cheaper than original estimate. You may end up with a salvage title, yet a cheap car to drive. Often a win win situation IF you plan to keep the car forever, until it's worn out...or high mileage.

Should have gotten rid of those prius tires.

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Why? Aquaplaning in FWD just as bad maybe worse as both driven and steering losing traction at the same time..

All tyres can aquaplane as it depends upon speed, volume of water and contact patch.

I would rather total it, cus u never know what problem u got later on.
You can get a used low mile 2013-2015 clean frs/brz for that money you got.

Only reliable option is to hire own mechanic guy, possibly from subaru/toyota to have a look at it independently from the insurance company.

Side airbag deployed. Expensive there as well. $22K is a good pay off for a 14. Buy a new one.

Wow, that damage is nothing. I was expecting a ball of tinfoil.

With the cost of airbags and body work these days it doesn't seem to take much to total a car. Some people take advantage of that and go the salvage route. It can turn out well but it depends on your tolerance for the hassle involved and aversion to hidden problems that may bite you later. Personally, I'm not brave enough.

Sorry for your loss :/


Can I have your seats?!

And tread depth/patttern. You know.. the tires ability to remove the water.

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Take the payout, seems really fair and buy a clean one for 17-18k or step away from the twins entirely.

That sucks, but glad no one else got hit.
If it was me I would haggle a bit more for the cars value. Oddly insurance companies go for the lowest payout. Simply disagreeing the first offer will get you a bit more in the right ballpark price wise.

As far as what to do afterwards, it's up to you. Yes it can be fixed. But you'll always know it was wrecked. That would eventuality hurt resale. the other options is to go car shopping again. Maybe it's time for a change or to hunt down another 86.

Damn dude, I had a similar accident the Friday night after Thanksgiving too, but mine wasn't quite as bad. Total cost of repairs is around $9k.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1y8T...ew?usp=sharinghttps://drive.google.com/file/d/1y8TbDwDrhsZxfkA95frhWWHC2TTqTq_onA/view?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1BWO...ew?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1KHj...ew?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1BWO...ew?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1KHj...ew?usp=sharing

Yup, I agree with that!:thumbsup:

totaled BRZ - what to do
 

Its just a stupid airbag and body work you have to replace 🙄🙄🙄🙄its not like the engine is gonna blow up

If you got the body shop connections and resources buy that baby back. Screw resale value its not like our cars are Tacoma, 4Runner resale values for goodness sakes.


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As others have said, take the 22k. You can buy a really nice, clean used FRS/BRZ for around 19k and put down 3k for a super cheap monthly payment, or just pocket the difference, or spend the difference personalizing your new car to match you.


Repairing cars with this much damage can sometimes give them strange quirks that will be there forever... Not worth the risk IMO

Too bad.

I suggest you let it go.

Get another car.

humfrz

Let insurance total it and move on.

I too was surprised but saw that the side curtain had deployed. Hesitated answering yesterday because of my relative lack of experience with these things.

I guess what they say about airbags is really true. Once one blows, the car is a goner. Dunno why, though. :iono:

Really glad you're ok, OP. Lessons learned.

Two reasons cars are usually done when airbags deploy.

1) The airbag and complete sensor array/control module for the whole car has to be replaced. It isn't a matter of hooking up a new airbag and good to go. That is an expensive operation when done through a garage or shop.

2) If hit hard enough to deploy airbags (they don't go off with a love tap) then there is usually enough other damage to push the car over the repair vs value limit.

Now, of course neither of these are big factors when buying a salvage car and doing it yourself but of course insurance companies are not doing it themselves so it just makes economic sense.

Agree that travelling too fast for the conditions can be an issue however poor road upkeep leading to piss poor water shedding can be contributing factors too..

I think you're getting a very good value for the totaled car. Unfortunately with hits like these you never know what's been bent and tweaked, and when cars get bent they're never the same no matter how well you straighten them out. It sucks, but unless you're very emotionally attached, best to let it go and try to get into another one lightly used or something else entirely. They made these cars about as light as they could, and in doing so made something that doesn't recover well from impacts.

Thanks for the replies everyone! Anyone have an opinion on the rear differential and whether or not it's actually damaged? I may get it checked out by a shop. It seems like the overwhelming opinion is to not look back and get a new car though, so I'm looking at that path. I want push-button start and prefer black or grey, so my options near me are a 2016 Premium 8k miles for $24k or a 2013 Limited 40k miles for $19k-- weighing the tradeoffs now.

Also, I stopped by the dealer listing the 2016 for $24.9k and tried using KBB to negotiate down to $22.6k, he showed me his screen and said "if I sell to you for $23.9k and enter "g" in this field I'll be only earning $50 profit" and he showed me the results. Anyone seen that trick before? He seemed too ready to show me his system and too ready to sell a $24k car at only $50 profit.

Whoa, crazy you had almost the exact same accident in the same car at the same time! The damage looks the same but your repair estimate is so much lower. Any idea why my car was quoted as needing a new differential while yours wasn't? Did your mechanic find anything? Similar damage to the rear wheel on both yours and mine.

Just a second let me take a look at your diff. HMMMMM ya it looks pretty bad.

How are we supposed to judge how badly your differential is damaged?
Not even sure why you are worried about it if the car is totaled. Are you actually considering just keeping and fixing it? You know the insurance company won't just give you money to fix it if written off right? The accident is now in their records so they will probably not even insure it again anyway.

What Reamer's situation is has zero relevance on yours no matter how similar the crash was or the damage looks.

No idea why yours needs a new diff, but there's no guarantee that mine doesn't. $9k is just the estimate so far but when they get everything repaired that they know about and when I get to drive it again we may find out that it needs a new diff. What a shame an excuse to get a 4.77 FD would be (it is an AT). Your car has some additional body work (possible indicator of more deeper issues) than mine as well. My right rear quarter panel is the only part that needs repaired, whereas your door, fender, and front bumper also need to be repaired/replaced.

@Tcoat 's statement about damage being different than appearance is accurate.

How much do you still owe on the car? Or was it paid off? We're assuming you have $22k to play with, but the bank will get paid first.

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Yeah, maybe I sound stupid. But here's why I'm asking:

- I'm assuming appraiser dude is biased. If he writes off every last thing that *could* be damaged, no one second-guesses him. But if he says the insurance company should repair the car, then they end up paying more to fix it than the car is worth, he looks bad to his boss. So if there's a 10% chance the diff is damaged, he'll still write it off.

- I'm assuming some people on this forum know the car design pretty well, and can say something either like "the diff is pretty robust and isolated from the wheel, so looking at that pic I'm sure it's fine" or conversely "that shock that bent the wheel likely trashed the diff also. Walk away from the car. Reamer, you should make sure your insurance didn't miss that too, you don't want to get screwed if it gives you trouble 3k miles from now".

I've gotten some good feedback that's useful on the frame and airbags, but the diff makes a ~$8k delta in the quote, so it's on my mind.


Insurance will pay out the full value of the car, and I can buy it back from them and fix it if I want. If they've been very conservative in estimating the damage, that may be worth it. Good point on insuring it after though.

Thanks Reamer, definitely similar impacts, different situations, but I'm interested to see how both play out-- good luck, let us know what comes up!

I paid for my car up front. I fortunately don't really have a budget I need to keep within for a new car, it's more a matter of if it's worth the money.

If the insurance wants to total it, total it, pay the small difference and walk away. You't don't want a car with some bent axels and krap

Take the check.

If you are not keeping the car forever then take the money.

LOL I was gonna do that and figured not enough would understand the humour.

I went and saw the car, talked to the mechanic (wouldn't tell me a thing on the phone). He said the differential is scraped on the bottom but likely works fine, insurance is just overly cautious. He estimated $6k to get the car back on the road minimum.

Talking to insurance, they'll sell me the car for $3k. I'll probably walk away, but it almost seems too good to pass up if someone wants to turn it into a track car.

Wow 3K, shoot someone should jump on it as long as you have the resources and connections 3.5 to 4K all in to restore an BRZ is a steal.


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For $3K I would buy it back it just for parts. Insurance has to be cautious since they could lose their shirt by making the wrong call.


That would be his price not the general public. They will auction it off. Could go for that or much more (or less I guess since it is an auction). Oh, and who knows how much the repair would cost in the end. Could be $10K for all we know.

totaled BRZ - what to do
 

Insurance will likely get 4 to 5K given the demand for it. Your right 10K grand total sounds about right. The side airbags, seat belts, drivers airbag are the big $$$$ repair killers.


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