What he said...

But 23k at a reputable shop is a lot, but the S isn't cheap to repair when done right. I just saw one locally with 19k in repairs and a lot of it was paint work. Panel damage, paint, top, and glass could EASILY suck up half; add wheels, etc. you're getting up there and we haven't talked about anything else that could have been damaged that needs to be replaced.

Curious though, tell about the accident.

 

back in 02 my MY00 needed $16000 in repairs after a guy nearly t-boned me. no frame damage though.

 

I think you got screwed - your car should have been written off.....even at $16k - thats 70% of the KBB value you state at $23k

You should have took the $23k and bought yourself another car - for the simple reason that the KBB value of your car having had such extensive work has just dropped through the floor - say goodbye to your resale value.

However, to answer your question - if you had wheel damage I would at the very least make sure that you et a proper alignment otherwise youll be going through tires quicker than you would believe.

 

I don't think I technically was jibbed. My insurance handled all the finances. It was up to them to give me a check or have them fix the car.

 

23k in damage and they didn't total the car?

Man, Im sorry to say this but if I were you I'd be very concerned.
Sounds like it was a major overhaul.

 

If I had 23k worth of damage I would have demanded they total the car. I purchased my '00MY S for 18,700. You could have put some cash in your pocket.

 

But staying on subject, if the work was done correctly it should be fine.

 

There's a common misconception that once a car has damages more then 70% of its value then it's totalled. This is not true. 70% is not some magical number that once you get to then the car is totated. In fact it is up to your insurance company to decide and since they are in the business of making money, it is cheaper to fix a car then to total it.

Case in point: I've just gotten my 2004 back a couple months ago after a $25k / 4 month rebuild. I fought to get it totaled. I called the bank who owns the car, 2 lawyers and was on the phone with the insurance company every day. The way they estimate it is they would keep repairing the car until it is $1000 from payout (or something reasonably close). Which makes sense from a business standpoint, since they don't really care if you get your car EXACTLY the same when you get it back. Think of it this way, if the payout is $30k and 70% of that is $21k, why would they pay an extra $9k to total it when they can try and repair it for say $25k? It saves them $5k. Multiply that by how many claims your insurance company deals with and we're talking tens of millions of dollars they save.

As for my rebuild, I got an amazing person to work with at Honda of Hollywood (Ray M.) and worked with them, not pushing to hurry up the repairs. With this car it's about attention to detail. It's been independently and professionally test driven and inspected. No one has been able to tell the difference until I point to a couple of well hidden weld spots. There are a couple of minor things with the car, so minor in fact that I've been able to forget about them a couple months after the fact. (Nothing mechanical, she runs great) Will it ever be the same? No. Is it close? I just can't tell anymore...

Once you get that behind you, then you can start enjoying your baby again

we should have a post a pic of your accident thread...