Totaled my 2001 Qx4, Insurance Buyback $2k...Worth it??

[netwreck94]

Hey guys,

Just purchased my 01 qx4 in December of 2010, 3 months later a driver I'm following during a winter storm goes right off the road around an 80 degree turn leaving me to use his left rear bumper as a buzzsaw. My insurance co (nationwide) totaled it. The damage is all cosmetic minus a bent RF strut, and I was hoping to buy it back to pocket a few thousand. To my surprise, they want $2,000 to buy it back. Went and had an estimate done, and even if I sourced black doors myself (and didn't paint them) I'm looking at about $2,500 to fix it. So call it $5,000 total for an 01 with 160k with a salvage title...doesn't seem worth it to me. Especially considering I got a smoking deal and only paid $4,800.

If I didn't fix it, could I purchase it for the 2,000 then turn around and sell it myself on ebay/internet for 3k to make a little profit to put into my next purchase? Or should I just take the settlement check and be on my way hassle free. Also, if anyone can refer me to a 01-03 qx4 within 5 hours of SWNY (14712) it'd be appreciated.

Pics can be seen here http://s409.photobucket.com/albums/pp17 ... ?start=all

Thanks

Evan

[miamiheat3332]

i say buy it back, since it was already salvage and you got it so cheap, our path/qx4s are really reliable anyways, get it back, fix the strut and stuff so the mechanical stuff is safe, and drive around like a road warrior with the smashed up doors. You can get 200k easy out of it if you do the normal maintenance and fluid changes. Also while your usin it like this, save up money, then you have a beater car ( id never use a path/qx4 as a beater car but if its messed up might as well )

[yeldogt]

Do yourself a favor -- and walk away.

Even your own best guess makes no economic sense -- and the doors are not painted. You can't make any money on this - if it had 50k on it and you kept it personally it might be a good deal == One minor problem that you miss we put you way under water.

It has way too many miles on it.

[netwreck94]

i say buy it back, since it was already salvage and you got it so cheap, our path/qx4s are really reliable anyways, get it back, fix the strut and stuff so the mechanical stuff is safe, and drive around like a road warrior with the smashed up doors. You can get 200k easy out of it if you do the normal maintenance and fluid changes. Also while your usin it like this, save up money, then you have a beater car ( id never use a path/qx4 as a beater car but if its messed up might as well )

When I bought it, it had a clean title. 2 owners, mint condition, full maintenance records. All options minus nav. A shockingly good bargain to say the least. I had thought about just keeping it and driving it as is, but in NYS I'd have to take it to get it re-titled to "rebuilt" from the salvage that it will now be branded by the insurance co. As the poster below said, I just don't see a winning situation out of this. If I buy it back for the 2,000 they want I can't fix it myself since its just not worth it, and finding a buyer to pay $2,500-3,000 may take weeks/months/not ever in its current condition.

They gave me $9100 minus the $1,000 deductible that I'm hoping to get back from the other drivers insurance co (good luck, right). While on paper I'm making out like a bandit since I pretty much doubled my money, but finding another one of these in the color scheme I want (Black or Burgandy and maybe White) near me and for the right price seems like a really tall task, especially being pinched for time. Might have to just throw some money away on a beater for now until I can find another one for the right price....but I can pretty much rest assured that I won't come across another one for the ridiculous money I paid for this one, especially only 10 minutes away from me.

Thanks for the advice though

Evan

[Densetsu]

I'd walk away. Repairs often don't look good, and aren't 100% reliable - there's always that chance that something will be missed or screwed up and then you'll be paying even more down the road. The only case I'd buy a totalled SUV is if you'd use it for off-roading -- and if you're actually looking for a beater SUV to take off-roading, the QX4 isn't a good choice.

If you really want another R50, spend your money on a legit used one. Not sure about NY but around here you can easily get an '04 Pathy with less than 100k for under $10,000.

[netwreck94]

Thanks again for the advice. Decided to certainly not attempt to fix this, but I do have one other question. Would it be worth it to buy this back to part it out myself (what I can easily get to) then sell the rest to a junk yard? Ebay shows the HID lights alone going for $300 each, so thats $600 out of the $2,000 right there. Add in things like the radio, climate controls, steering wheel, rear lights/front fogs, alternator and other easily pullable engine componets, Rear spoiler, leather seats?, rims/tires, winter/summer mats, interior trim pieces, window motors/regulators, left side doors/fenders, hood, etc etc. Time really isn't an issue and anything I pull I can do myself. I'm very fluent on Ebay and sell very frequently so that's not an issue either. Starting to really think it's worth it, but some advice on both sides would be much appreciated.

Thanks

[nellywilliams]

If you are well acquainted with EBay as you said and can afford to wait for a bit till you recover all your money spent on this, buying it back from car insurance is a great idea indeed!