Recently got rear ended and been having some troubles with insurance. I was just wondering how much my car may be worth as is currently. I know it's hard to give a price without pictures and I'll try getting some asap. Car is hit in the back but has not been totaled. Body shop says about 3.5-4k in damages without labor. Car is a 00' nfr with 130k on the clock. Interior is good, rest of car is decent with some wear. Top needs replacing.

What needs replaced:
Trunk, rear bumper, both tail lights, axles, left side/right side control arms (I forgot exact pieces)

If I try to cut my losses and try to sell the car as is, how much would it possibly go for?

 

 

It doesn't look like either rear quarter panels were touched based on what I can see, so thats a big plus. It means in theory you could mount up a rear bumper cover and replace the trunk, and from a cosmetic aspect have it look fine, tail light crack aside. These parts could be found used and in your color eventually. Even if they aren't perfect, it gets you where you want to be for a couple hundred bucks. The rear drivetrain damage can also be done on the cheap with used parts, certainly if you know how to turn your own wrench. With scouring the classifieds and not in a huge rush, I could see getting your car back on the road for $1000 better case scenario, possibly even less if your savvy and have a little luck with whats available on the used market.

Id take your itemized parts list the shop put together for you, and start shopping and see whats available and for how much. Estimates from shops are free. Use the resource to your benefit. Also keep in mind most shops deal a lot with insurance claims, and make easy money that way, so they are not afraid to include a part that may have only shown signs of some cosmetic damage, but otherwise still sound to use. So take a good look at the list they create and determine whats really needed in your case to get you back on the road safely. A dent in one of your Exhaust tips as one example would be such a case, but the shop will charge the insurance company full retail oem price plus their installation cost. You could live with it for now. You could also live with a bent brake shield, scratches (not real alignment damage) on the sub frame from impact etc.

If I were in the business of buying/selling cars and had a shop. Id easily offer you the $3500 in parts cost the shop wants to charge you, to buy your car. Id spend a grand in used parts and a weekend or two of time and sell it for 9-11k. Are you sure you want to "cut your losses".

 

parts def going to be $1-1.5k, paint would probably be another 500-600. Take that into consideration and look up the local market prices and go from there.

 

It appears to me the right quarter panel does have a significant bend outward just aft of the rear right wheel.

 

I'm sure you can still get a pretty penny on the car, if you do decide to restore it and of course with all matching colors. I have an idea of how insurance works since the last time my EM1 was rear ended, so if you do buy the car back and fix it yourself, the car will still hold a clean title, I believe. The damages will just be on record. There seems to be no damage or major damages on the panels at all and it seems that the only parts need replacing is what you've stated. Consult with an attorney, to see if you can get more money off the other party's insurance as well.

If all that parts you stated are replaced, I'm sure you can still be able to get at least 10k or just a little more than that on the car. Just because I have seen salvage title S2000's still going for at least 8-9k, and around the same mileage like yours.

This is my opinion and not facts. Good luck!