Toyota Camry 2005 LE Automatic. 4D SED. 4-2.4L. 178,513 miles.
I'm a young adult, and need advice on what's the most economical way to move forward.
I recently got into an accident where I spun-out on ice and went off-road, downhill, on a highway road verge.
It wasn't my residential area, so I drove it (about 65 miles) back to my residential area, where I could take it to a local body shop.
On my drive back, whenever I would go above 65mi/hr , the body would get increasing vibrations (bumpier). This happened - but would emphasized when I would go up and down hills (which makes since, since I slid ~200 ft. downhill).
The body shop evaluated the damages at $4300.00, and the insurance wants total it @ $5920.00. My question is: should I go with option 1 or 2 (keeping in mind that only the body's been evaluated, and not the frame)
Option 1: Buying it back, and having it fixed up while I save up some more money
Insurance: $5920.00
Buying it back: (1674.59)
Auto Body Repairs (4268.74)
State Highway Refurbishment Title (50.00)
or
Option 2: Cash out, and add to what I've saved up to get a newer car (I'd only like to spend $12K-$15K on a newer car)
Insurance: $5920.00
Personal Savings for Saving up for a new car: $1700.00
*Taking out a loan to cover the rest
Please let me know if any other information is needed to assist.
Thanks for your time and input!
If some insurance company is willing to give you nearly $6000 for a 20-year-old Camry with nearly 180,000 miles on it I'd take the money and run.
Not only is it not worth putting almost $6000 into that thing for buyback and repairs, the actual cost is likely to exceed that estimate as other damage is discovered. That happened to a friend of mine with a Subaru Outback not long ago that got hit by a large overhead tree branch that fell onto the hood and across the front fenders. Initial estimate was in the area of $4000 to $5000. It turned into over $8000 by the time all the damage was found and repaired.
That's a lot of miles, and it's 20 years old . I would take the money.
But do your own research to determine the market value of your car. Insurance companies have financial incentive to do everything they can to make your car seem worth less that it actually is, and they WILL scam you.
My question is: should I go with option 1 or 2 (keeping in mind that only the body's been evaluated, and not the frame)
There is no separate frame in a modern car. The body itself is the frame. It's called unibody construction, and practically every car has them nowadays (old SUVs and traditional pickups like the original Ford Explorers, all Ford Rangers, S-10s, etc. are built on top of a separate frame, where their rigidity is beneficial).
The lack of a separate frame significantly lightens the car, which translates to better gas mileage. The biggest con is that once you've significantly wrecked the car, pulling it back out stiffens the steel. You may have heard the term "crumple zones" before. Those are regions of the car that are basically designed to sacrifice themselves in order to prolong the duration of the collision, transferring the most momentum possible out of the car, instead of transferring it to you. When you pull out a crumple zone, the alloy stiffens, which is the exact opposite of what you want it to do. You can't truly "fix" it without annealing it.
Modern cars are basically designed to sacrifice themselves, so you can walk away.
Do your research, but I'd take the insurance money.
Take the money and run....
