To Keep or Not to Keep

Hi guys! I have a serious question. Some of your remember how I told
you how wonderful, and pristine, and reliable, trustworthy, brave, and
kind my 1991 Civic DX HB was. Right? Well, sadly, someone rear-ended
me today and the estimate came out at $4,022. As wonderful as my car
is, it's still a 14 year old car. It's totalled.

The guy said it's not worth fixing at half that. It's perfectly safe
if I want to drive it as is, but my crumple zone is compromised, and
doesn't think I should open the hatch.

Here's the question: I can let the perp's insurance total it, give me a
couple thousand, if that, and take her away, or have them total it and
buy back the salvage title and try to sell it. Is the latter a wise
thing to do? How much would someone pay for that popular car knowing
as a fixer-upper it needs a bit of work?

I have to say I'm heartbroken. I really am. I love that car. I don't
know what to do.

 

Sorry to hear about your car. Hope you didn't get hurt -- make sure you get
yourself checked out before you settle anything with their insurance. Rear
ending can cause some issues with your neck and spine you won't feel until
much later.

I can't imagine anyone paying very much for a car that needs quite a bit of
work: If someone is willing to do that kind of work on a car, he's also
looking for a deal on the car. Getting a car "legal" from a salvage title is
not impossible, but he does have to jump through some hoops to make that
happen. Anyone willing to put up with that kind of hassle is not going to
want to pay a lot.
One might want to do serious surgery on a car if it were truly a classic, a
one of a kind. I don't mean to sound insensitive, but the Classic Honda
market is pretty small, if existant at all. You'll have a hard time finding
a person like that.

You could part it our yourself. The individual parts would go for quite a
bit more than the total car, but you'd have to make sure you find someone
that actually is looking for those parts. You also have to be technically
capable to disassemble the car and know what all the parts are.
Also - if you really love the car - parting the car out is a hard thing to
do.

If it were my car, I'd take the money and get another car. Eventually you'll
find another one you love just as much.

Remco

 

unless you have your car insured fully comp, the other driver's insurer
*cannot* get your car written off for you. that means you can get a
cash settlement, regardless of whether you choose to repair. then, take
the car to a few independent repair shops and get *non-insurance* repair
quotes. looking poor helps. you'll be surprised how much cheaper they
are. you may also be able to get a "frame only" straightening quote if
you try hard enough. there will be no cosmetics with that, but at least
it'll be straight again. [they just put it on a big rack, chain the
frame to the rack and start pulling 'till it's right.]

so, depending on how you want the car to look, how much rust you have in
the frame and how much appetite you have for the surgery required, the
vehicle is probably repairable. that leaves you with the pleasant task
of negotiating with insurers. again, it depends n whether you have the
car insured fully comp because insurers have a nice cozy little
agreement among themselves to cover their own insured in the event of a
write-off. [saves on payouts don't-cha know!!!] so again, the other
party can't get your car written off if your own company doesn't cover
you for that. that leaves you with the repair/blue book value option,
and that's where your negotiation skills come in. civics have shot up
in value locally because of high gas prices, i.e. values up from $1k up
to as much as nearly $2k, or even $4.5k for really nice ones. so don't
take no historic values!!! get a bunch of prices off craigslist if
there is one in your area. don't know which state you're in, but here
in california, small claims court limit is $5k, so if you're not getting
satisfaction from the insurer, file in small claims. you'll get your
settlement check so fast, your head will spin!!!

 

The MPG is something to keep in mind. I drove about 1500 miles not
long ago on 40 gallons of gas. My car has no rust, glossy paint, no
frame issues that they've mentioned. It's just a matter of the cost
of the parts and the labor to put them in. The hatch, bumper, right
and center lights, that piece between the bumper and... whatever
it's called, straighten out the rear panel (barely buckled). Of
course, they don't know what's going on under neath or inside. He
didn't want to pop the hatch in case it won't close again. To
glance at it, it's nothing. The more you look, the more apparent
damage is. It's not like it's TOTALLED--it's barely smacked. Just
expensively smacked. Someone willing to buy parts as opposed to
parting her out ::gasp:: could probably make her quite nice in
no time. But you need some skill.

DEBLOND de third is d-dead. (That was her California plate, one
that was on two other Hondas.)

 

look for a nice 91 Si!

 

The problem with used cars is that you don't know that someone cared
for them the way you cared for yours. Whoever gets this car, even as a
salvage title, is getting one helluva deal. If I had the resources,
I'd put it back together myself, even if it turned out rainbow colored
from salvaged parts.

My bosses said they'd advance my commission so I can get a car. I have
over $10k pending, so I'd probably take $5k for a down. BUT, I saw
conversation about the '06 Civic, and doing a search among dealers
within a 100 mile radius, there is not a coupe to be found. Why is
that? Where can I get an LX in Taffeta?

 

oh, youd know. the fanatical would save everything, including the window
sticker, all receipts for work done, owners manual, the helm manual, etc...

im not quite THAT fanatical, but if i ever sell my 98 civic hatch (in
the long beach area!) id include all that stuff and also point out the
OEM ciggie lighter/ashtray and center armrest that werent even available
on the CX. went online and ordered em.