gijoe985 Posted November 22, 2011 Share Posted November 22, 2011 Hey everyone, So I hit an elk last week, basically destroyed the front section of roof along with the driver fender, side mirror, windshield, and rear passenger door glass and right rear back glass. Should I try to fix it? I am getting $7200 from the insurance and it would cost me $1300 to keep the car. It runs and drives great still. The only major repair is the roof. I teach auto shop and am slightly tempted to try to just knock it back out as good as possible and then replace all the glass. I'll attach a couple pictures if possible. I was mainly thinking about keeping the car as a backup AWD vehicle. We weren't really driving the car much as is anyway... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnceggleston Posted November 22, 2011 Share Posted November 22, 2011 either parts, or a convertible. does it rain much where you are? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bheinen74 Posted November 22, 2011 Share Posted November 22, 2011 not worth buying it back for that price. take the money from insurance and say goodbye to it. It is replaceable. Glad you got away unhurt or hope that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted November 22, 2011 Share Posted November 22, 2011 (edited) that's a tough repair, it's possible though. a friend of mine repairs stuff like that though - he did a truck and i was amazed, cut, welded in an entire top after a tree fell on it. amazing, but he's a machinist for NIH and worked at a body shop for years. i wouldn't go through all that - i'd only repair if i could pull it out similarly to what you're saying and the windshield would install well. maybe a windshield shop/autobody place could give you some recommendations on the windshield? i know my friend i just mentioned would help me out with something like that. he's giving me an EJ25 actually next time i'm over there. the buy back price is kind of high for that kind of damage but isn't terrible for parts. if the rest in in decent shape and low mileage and depending on your area and yourself of course! if i were to buy it back it would be to use the engine or trans to repair another OBW with a toasted engine/trans (not hard to terribly hard to find), then sell the rest for close to what you already paid for it. might still consider the repair, but that would be the fall back. we just sold a 2003 Legacy wagon in terrible condition with a non running motor, wrecked/repaired, no transmission, smashed unusable hood, worthless tires, 300,000 miles with spewing oil headgaskets for $650. it was worthless to me, i couldn't believe someone paid $650 for it, not even sure what they were doing with it not having a trans or running motor. Edited November 22, 2011 by grossgary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShawnW Posted November 22, 2011 Share Posted November 22, 2011 A $1300 parts car with service history is a good deal to me. If you have room to keep it I would. Lots of those with rod knocks and such that you could take your engine out and install to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lostinthe202 Posted November 22, 2011 Share Posted November 22, 2011 If you'd be purchasing another backup vehicle to replace the outback, I say fix it. The pillars don't look like they were damaged and, as long as aesthetics aren't an issue, the rest can be persuaded to cooperate. If you'd be keeping it just for the sake of not letting an otherwise good car go to waste, then it becomes a matter of how much time you're willing to put into it. As others have mentioned. there are several options if you keep the car and they all involve time on your end and only you know how much your time costs to you. So it might be worth it to take the insurance payout (assuming you're OK with the rise in your premium.) On the other hand, you're an autoshop teacher, so this sounds like a great project for the kids. Free labor to do whatever you want basically right? Good luck! Will- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jarl Posted November 22, 2011 Share Posted November 22, 2011 If you were not using the car that much before, take the money and say thanks to the elk. Or buy it back and part it out, although to get all your money back you'll need some patience. Now... tell us how that furry souvenir got to the top of the windshield Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gijoe985 Posted November 22, 2011 Author Share Posted November 22, 2011 That's from the elk... 7x7, 1200lbs... The union gospel mission got the meat and my school is getting the antlers... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john in KY Posted November 22, 2011 Share Posted November 22, 2011 If you are any good with a welder, just cut the top off and replace it with another good one. Saw and helped to do this many years ago when a local kid rolled his 57 Chevy. My cousin removed the crushed top with just a hacksaw. Replacement top was set in place and after some welding and grinding, the car looked factory again. Just have to measure carefully before cutting. Easy to remove metal but a bear to add metal. I don't believe you could ever message the damaged roof well enough to get a windshield to fit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted November 22, 2011 Share Posted November 22, 2011 That's from the elk... 7x7, 1200lbs... The union gospel mission got the meat and my school is getting the antlers...wow, nice one! you had that OBW all sighted in for elk season, good job! i got a freezer full of elk meat, you didn't keep any? was that scary when it hit? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gijoe985 Posted November 22, 2011 Author Share Posted November 22, 2011 It actually happened so fast that it wasn't that scary. And since it was SO big it just went over our roof, so the impact was minimal. My 8 year old daughter asked if we hit a rock... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jarl Posted November 22, 2011 Share Posted November 22, 2011 Glad to hear everyone is Ok. Save the elk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heartless Posted November 22, 2011 Share Posted November 22, 2011 If you are any good with a welder, just cut the top off and replace it with another good one. Saw and helped to do this many years ago when a local kid rolled his 57 Chevy. My cousin removed the crushed top with just a hacksaw. Replacement top was set in place and after some welding and grinding, the car looked factory again. Just have to measure carefully before cutting. Easy to remove metal but a bear to add metal. I don't believe you could ever message the damaged roof well enough to get a windshield to fit. agree 100% - you might get it pretty close, but where a windshield is concerned - pretty close isnt close enough. it would be extremely difficult to get it straight enough that the glass wont leak, or worse, crack because it isnt supported quite right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster2 Posted November 22, 2011 Share Posted November 22, 2011 Glad you and your family are okay. My 2 cents worth.........I am thinking the $7K+ as pay off from your insurance company is a fair figure. To me the $1,300 for buy back seems high. If the car were to go to auction to dealers and wrecking yard buyers, it seems unlikely to fetch that high a figure. I am thinking at auction, it would bring maybe $600-$800. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rverdoold Posted November 22, 2011 Share Posted November 22, 2011 Just curious if you can ever get the roof strength back by repairing it. (just in case you or someone else becomes unlucky with the car again) Actually always quite scared of animals. A truck once in front of me hit a roo (deer). And wild pigs are frequent as well. Good luck with the decision. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bheinen74 Posted November 22, 2011 Share Posted November 22, 2011 The only way it makes sense to buy it back is if you have alot (and i mane alot) of recent stuff done, like headgaskets recent, new tires, new brakes, new battery, that you know what you have..... But i would not attempt to fix it, you would be better off using the parts on something else, or selling the parts to someone in need. Not likely you can fix the roof up to mount a windshield properly. If you did fix the roof, it would cost over 2g just to get it halfway right, and it may never be right 100%. That is some serious structure damage, and they are giving you what I feel is fair price for the car. The buy back is unreasonably priced. At auction, the car will sell for the buyback though, but again you would most likely be better off taking the insurance money, saving half, and spending the other half for a good one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gijoe985 Posted November 23, 2011 Author Share Posted November 23, 2011 Well, last summer a timing belt went and we were stuck 500 miles from home, so the dealer did 16 valves and gaskets. I replaced the front half shaft and brakes about 100 miles before the accident... Tranny was replaced 4 years ago. How much do you guys think I could part it for? Remember, labor is free for me In fact, I would get paid for my time :o (shop teacher) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted November 23, 2011 Share Posted November 23, 2011 if your time is free that helps. there's a lot of work in parting a car, pictures, emails, questions, phone calls, mileage, condition, shipping quotes...then you spend a bunch of time on something that someone doesn't follow through on. 5 people ask questions, pictures, then never buy. nothing other than the engine has demand & value. engine is worth $500-$1,000, everything else will be much less, $50 here and there stuff, maybe a little more for a few items. i'll buy your brake pads, both of my OBW's need front brakes and i only have one set. lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster2 Posted November 23, 2011 Share Posted November 23, 2011 if your time is free that helps. there's a lot of work in parting a car, pictures, emails, questions, phone calls, mileage, condition, shipping quotes...then you spend a bunch of time on something that someone doesn't follow through on. 5 people ask questions, pictures, then never buy. nothing other than the engine has demand & value. engine is worth $500-$1,000, everything else will be much less, $50 here and there stuff, maybe a little more for a few items. i'll buy your brake pads, both of my OBW's need front brakes and i only have one set. lol Parting out a car is just so time consuming as described above. I am thinking that is why wrecking yards were invented. They are so organized to do just that..."part out a car," then have the means to crush the rest, and have what's left hauled away as scrap metal for recycling. Just my 2 cents worth of thought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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