redfly17

Hey guys I've been away from the boards for a good cpl months now. But ever since my Maxima got stolen and recovered I've been on 24/7 searching for replacement parts and such... I just got word from the insurance inspector that the vehicle is a total loss being that it would cost more to fix then what the max is worth. And now I must decide to either keep the max and use the money from the insurance claim to mod it up or just let it go and start looking for a replacement car...

Here is a rough draft list of mods that I was planning on doing:

Wheels:
4 Nakayama Vader 18X7.5 5-114.3 45HB
4 Pilot Sport A/S 235/40ZR-18 91Y DIR

Handling Modification:
Willwood Big Brake Kit w/13.1” Rotors (Front)
Stillen Cross-Drilled Rotors (Rear)
Hawk Performance Brake Pads
Goodridge SS Brake Lines
Motul 600 Brake Fluid
Stillen Rear Sway Bar
Front Strut Tower Brace
Tokico High Performance Gas Shocks
Teins or Eibach Springs

Audio:
Clarion VRX935VD
Diamond Audio 6.5” HEX Component System S600a (Front)
Diamond Audio M361i (Rear)
800W 4 Channel Amp (100W RMS @ 4 ohms)
2 Rockford Fosgate RFD2210 10" subs
2 SONY XM-2165GTX (400W RMS @ 4 ohms)

Lighting:
2002 Headlight Fixture
8000k KOPS HID
7 Color Angel Eye Fog lights
LED Turn Signal Mirrors
All Hyper Xenon Bulbs

Performance:
Place Racing Cold Air Intake
Warpspeed Y-pipe
Hi-Flow Cat

Misc:
Aluminum Molded Dash Kit
Alarm (TBD)
Leather Seating

Fluids:
Redline Manual Transmission Fluid
Mobil 1 Synthetic Oil (10W-40)

The money given for insurance won't cover all these mods. So I would have to pay some $$ out of pocket to include everything.

So should I:
1. Use the money to fix up the max to its former glory and more
2. Get ready to test drive the RX8, Evo VIII, Sti, Z?

Here are some pics for reference btw:

redfly17

bsetiawan

iTrader: (43)

Are you serious ? They declare it total loss just because that much of the interior was stripped ?

asu174

iTrader: (11)

I think you should elaborate on what EXACTLY needs to be done to repair your car before anyone can offer an opinion. Is there mechanical damage?

All of that looks minor. That can't be more than $7000 in damage.

MacAlert

iTrader: (1)

Plus headlights, paint job, wheels, interior parts, plus God knows what else they did to that car.

MacAlert

iTrader: (1)

Why the hell would someone steal the window mechanism and door light?!?

Maxceler8

And the felt-covered ash-tray looking thing? Must be a demand for that stuff.....who knows?

asu174

iTrader: (11)

Well, I say keep it if it works okay- You were going to get aftermarket wheels and stereo anyhow. Call DaveB and get prices on all of your interior stuff and headlights. You will probably make out like a bandit on this.

redfly17

The engine is fine... But there is more damage than the pictures show... For instance in pic 3 there is a gash in my dashboard near the wires thats hard to see.. now i gotta replace the whole dark grey dashboard.

My insurance is also only giving me $13,000 to cover the balance on the car... Is that how it works? Shouldn't they be giving me the full book value? Also now that the car is considered salvage, the insurance wants me to pay them $3,000 to purchase the car back from them... Is that how it works?? or am i getting jipped... $10,000 isnt enough to fix all the damage and put in the aftermarket parts that I want

BLKMAX005SPD

iTrader: (1)

I dunno...10g's sounds good to me...
I am sure you can find Wreck maxima's to get that other ****...
It will take time to fix...I think it might be worth it..
Take it to a body shop and see how much it will cost to fix...
I know were i live if i give the guy cash its much much cheaper

asu174

iTrader: (11)

Why should the insurance company pay for all of your aftermarket parts?

redfly17

the insurance is giving me $$ for the damage whether or not I want to replace the parts with OEM or aftermarket

asu174

iTrader: (11)

Right, but why would you expect that amount to equal all of the stuff you want? Your brakes, suspension, etc, etc are fine as they are. You make it sound like your are surprised that $10,000 won't cover the amount of stuff you want. Of course it won't! You listed EVERY possible modification available!

lhercules

iTrader: (14)

Then I will give you the $3500 that the car cost for the insurance buy back. You sign over the title to me and you walk away with $13500 cash. I am in NY and the deal would be done as soon as you say the word. Now is that the deal that you are looking for?

redfly17

I was told OEM parts were expensive and should cover the cost of aftermarket parts and more

MAXINXS

How did the thieves break in and steal your car in the first place? Is the ignition jacked up? I thought our cars had a built in immobilizer!?

redfly17

OEM wheels for example (all 5 of them) would cost somewhere in the range of ~$2,500-$3,000... way more than my aftermarket wheels

redfly17

my dad left the vehicle to pay for gas then someone hopped in and drove away. Its more complicated than that but thats basically what happened

redfly17

and like I said there is more damage than the pictures show. The rear is all messed up he must have been in an accident before it was stripped cuz my rear bumper is crushed and needs to be replaced.. and there is alot of paint work that needs to be done. Also all four brakes are done cuz he left them on cement without tires and now they are bent... sooo... I was thinking the money claimed cover my aftermarket parts

GuZo

iTrader: (6)

I was always told insurance won't pay for the car if the keys are left in it.

redfly17

dats not good news to hear.

I'm pretty sure the claim is going through

95emeraldgxe

i say strip the car down for parts and make up all the money back

redfly17

wat parts? everything worth stripping is gone... noone's gonna want my crappy used stock anything...

MiniRX7

Dude, words of advice... $10,000 is not going to cover replacing all the damage done..

I seriously think you should reconsider... I was in the same sitaution as you after my accident... Insurance declared it as a total loss estimated at $15,000 CDN ; www.pbase.com/minirx7/2k2_accident

However the damage looked repairable to me, and i considered rebuilding the car up with the money the insurance could give me, but seriously, its not worth the effort man.

You have no idea that $10,000 may not be enough to get your car back on the road. Have you considered the labour involved?

ED

MoDiddy

iTrader: (1)

Read the plate...he lives in New York..haha...but geez that sucks man..whats even worse is that is a 6 spd and those are almost impossible to find..good luck with whatever you choose to do

boba001

Those door switches are like $150/each from Nissan if I remember. I'm not talking about the plastic button, but the electronics for it are expensive.

I think you should just take the money and get something else. A salvage title car will never be worth any money ever again. Fixing everything will take time and cost all your money unless you do all the labor yourself. Plus the car will never be the same - someone took a joy ride and then stripped it... I wouldn't want my car back if they did that.

Anuj

he left the clear corners

sorry to hear about your car man

I personally believe you should take the 13k offered to you...and try to get rid of any parts you can...maybe sell it to a junkyard?

NT2SHBBY

redfly..I notice you had Star Nissan plate borders...where did this happend?? Bayside???

redfly17

It happened at the Amoco Station on Horace Harding Blvd and Utopia...

Thnx everybody for the feedback. I'm contacting the insurance company today to figure everything out.

Has this ever happened to anybody before? I have no idea how the procedure works. Shouldn't they be paying me the market value for the vehicle which is around 15-16k? And does it sound right that I have to dish out $3,000 to buy the car back from the insurance company after declaring it a salvage?

MacAlert

iTrader: (1)

I say just take the money insurance gives you and walk. Your going to end up putting more time and money into the car then its worth. Your car has no resale value so you will be stuck with it.

NewbieMaxOwner

I am also interested in the procedure for a salvaged car. Shouldn't they pay the value of the car? Since he says his car is worth $16k, isn't that the loss that the insurance company has to replace? How come he only gets $10k?

And why does he need to buy his car back from the insurance company? If thats the case, it sounds like the insurace co is buying the wreck from you for $13K, and then you can to buy it back for $10K? This is all so strange.

Can someone help sort this out?

MacAlert

iTrader: (1)

He doesn't NEED to buy it back, he WANTS to buy it back. Thats two different things.

redfly17

Yea but what does the insurance company have to do with ownership of the vehicle. How can they sell me a car that is already half mine (given that they pay off the balance due to the bank). What if I had fully owned the car? I would have to pay $3,000 to get a car that I already own back? Doesnt make sense to me.
Well I'll get everything straightened out with insurance today.

CCx

iTrader: (2)

www.gap-insurance.com

ChrisK327

basically if the car is a total loss, the insurance company is supose to pay you the value of the car, in exchange for the car.

If its not a loss, you still have the car, they fix it.

Also, you can talk down the insurance company on the cost of the car. I would talk them down to a Grand and sell the car to the guy offering you 3500.

I think the 13K they're giving you is low, you can't replace the car for that.

Never rebuild a car, it won't be the same. And putting all that stuff in will cost a fortune. Resale will be a real problem too, I would never buy a salvaged car, no matter why someone claims it was salvaged.

maximo-SE

iTrader: (7)

you know its funny, most of my friends cars, get jacked in NYC... and their interiors and rims are stripped.... but for some reason, this time they didnt take your engine dude. Thank god.. that would have cost yah. BUt yeah, that shouldnt be that expensive to fix, and with your mod, your car will shine again..... make sure you find a way to insure all that stuf... Boston doesnt really insure aftermarket stuff though, but I hope NYC does....

Cubanato

i say take the 13,000 either put a down payment on a new car like a WRX STI or EVO or even a 350Z .....orpay the 3 g's to buy the car and sell every part u have includin the engine you will probably get3 or more g's back and help some people tat are looking for parts out


ITS up to you but the 1st on is less complicated then the second

-J

nice95GLE

Just take that money and put a nice down payment on a Z, use what's left to buy some nice rims or put it in the bank for a rainy day and chill son. This shouldn't even be an issue; it's going to cost you more money than you're getting to fix the car regardless of which route you take.
Use your money wisely!!!

Nice

240se

iTrader: (1)

Yes they should!!! They should pay you RETAIL value for your car. Don't settle for anything less.

Y2KMaxGXE-R

iTrader: (4)

my .02 no insurance company will issue a full coverage policy on a salvage car. If this car is declared a total loss, then part with it. BTW your long list of mods you were going to do is not critical, you want to make sure that you pay off that car and have as much money as possible left over for downpmt on a new car. Don't feel sorry for what happened and just move on. Find yourself a nice used 6spd and be happy.


One more advise- if the registered owner of the car also carries a homeowners policy, you can also file loss under that policy as well...Things that your regular car insurance policy won't reimburse, such as radar detector, clothes, CDs, any personal belongings. That way you can raise more cash.