omrskr

So my Sunday didnt go so well, my scion was involved in a fire accident and its ugly, I'm going through the insurance process at the moment but I still havent decided yet on what to do.

Damaged parts:

- Melted front bumper
- Burnt front right fender
- Melted front fender well
- Melted right skirts
- Cracked Windhshield
- Toasted back window on the right
- Right door completely damaged
- Stereo flooded
- Interior (roof completely burnt)
- Burnt passenger seat
- Melted headlight
-Melted tail light
- Cracked sunroof

Its mostly cosmetic damage to the body and interior, it would need massive amount of work but I looked up the parts and they're not that expensive, here comes my question;

Should I get what they offer if i decide to keep it and fix it? is it beyond repair?

Or should I just get the totaled value for it and get me another car?

I had so much work done on this car, even though the right side of the body is heavily damaged but I feel that this baby can recover.

I thought id share this and see what you guys think :/

criminaltc

Buddy, that car is more than gone. Let it go. Take the $4,000 check and run. There is nothing salvageable about that car.

omrskr

What makes you say 4K? btw the left side,hood,engine bay,cargo remained untouched, just most of the right side of the body and the interior.

criminaltc

Well by the color it looks like an 05-06, and I'm sure it has a few miles on it. The insurance company (after they deem it totaled) will give you a check for it's current value. $4K might be a little low, but the check might be a from $5.5K-$6K or so. And yeah, it's going to cost much more than that to fix, which is why they'll deem it totaled. Then, you'll have a salvaged titled car that you can't even insure, nor sell when the time comes even after you "fix" it. Just doesn't seem like a good idea.

omrskr

The parts I have installed alone are close to 3k including header, exhaust, air intake, etc.

It has 103,000 miles on it and never had mechanical issues, every part I installed on it is not even 6 months old, I sure hope I get more than 6k for it.

criminaltc

Guy, those items decrease the value, please do not think they increase the value. Second, none of that matters. The insurance company punches in your car's info into a little calculator and spits out a check. I wouldn't plan on more than $6K. This is not a valuable car. While surprisingly these cars hold their value quite well and I personally think $6K is a lot, you'll be lucky with that.

criminaltc

And when are we going to get to spot in the thread where you tell us what happened?

omrskr

would they decrease the value even if i had the stock parts? it might not be a valuable car but i invested in it and kept it in mint condition.

The kbb value came back with 7k and on top of that there are the parts installed, from what ive been told they hand out the kbb value or the car or they point you out to "similar car matches" that I can pursue with the check.

6k to me is just low ballin and wont get me anywhere, a 05 civic maybe but thats it.

omrskr

what happened is i was home watching the sunday game, police knocks on my door telling me my car was involved in a fire accident, the officer reported that my neighbor left a lit cigarette in her car. her car is toast and unfortunately it got my right side and interior.

I'd really hate to let this car go but im bound to whatever the settlement will be, I would consider paying out of pocket on top of what they give me to get it fixed, I hope this doesnt affect the title in any way.

If its gonna cost me a fortune I might just find another, but with 6k in total there is no way i'd be able to find a scion close to my cars previous condition.

criminaltc

Right, none of your parts matter. All that matters and all they want is for it to have the ability to roll onto a flat bed tow truck, that's it. So if you wanted your aftermarket parts back, you are free to do that. The value isn't effected by anything you've done to it. If you did a 2jz motor swap in it and it was a 1000hp monster, they'd give you the value of a stock Scion. Now, if you insured your motor swap, then that's a different story, but most people don't do that. Why are you so concerned about buying a car worth exactly the amount of the check they give you? Have you no credit for a car loan? Sounds like I'd throw down $2K on a car, and have 72 months of payments of whatever payments you can afford, then pocket the other $4K-$5K. A $14K loan at like 7% is only a $250 payment per month. But yeah, if you have to come up with a car a pay cash for it, then that sucks. You gotta let this car go man. This thing is a pile. You want nothing to do with it. Not to mention, it's going to smell like smoke for the next 50 years. Trust me. That alone is a reason to part ways.

omrskr

I'm not ready to finance a car for a zillion years thats why I bought the scion in the first place and i bought it for dirt cheap.

roughly, how much do you think it'll cost to replace the damaged parts only? my biggest concern is the electrical wiring and the roof + interior.

omrskr

so you guys really think its done for huh! its not exactly easy for me to swap the parts, that means i'll have to get to the mechanic, im not even sure if it turns on with all the water inside the cabin.. im not sure how to proceed with this.. fml :/

mischman

That car is 100000% legally totaled. If it mechanically is fine you might be able to find a cheap TC with no engine or that is mechanically broken and swap your engine to it.

Finding all the parts or even a whole shell and fixing your car is out of the question.

criminaltc

Well insurance will pay for this mischman, he doesn't have to worry about selling it. Don't worry about your aftermarket parts dude. Let 'em go. Like I said, you'll know your situation a little better once your adjuster comes and checks it out. He'll come up with the value for you and tell you what they can pay you. Like I said, there is no fixing it. He'll hand you a check, and then a flat bed will come haul it away. It just has to roll. If you take some of your parts with you, they'll never know. It doesn't have to run, it doesn't have to do jack sh.t, so if you can get your parts off, then do it. If not, just part ways with them and sell your stock parts on Craigslist. Get that adjuster out there and get you your money so you can get a new car.

omrskr

cant believe how ironic this whole thing is, last week I was on these forums asking all sorts of questions on exhaust pipes and now it comes down to this

it saddens me to let this car go, I will wait for the adjuster and see what they offer, for now the investigation report is not final im not sure why :/

tccountsofMURDER

Okay, i understand how you can become attached to your car...My opinion is that this car is totaled. Criminaltc is right, this thing will smell like burnt plastic forever as well. Yes, replacement parts can be found cheap, but Scions are very fickle, and prefer only oem replacement parts...The LAST thing you wanna do is attempt to rebuild her with ebay crap, or junkyard parts...not to mention when you get a salvage title, you cant insure it, and its not worth crap.
Im guessing that the ins will pay out a bit more than if it was your fault, due to it being the neighbors ins who is paying out, not yours.
Take the check, and run. Pull all of your parts, anything you can pull off, do it, and try to sell on either ebay or craigslist, or here if you have that privilege.
Be sure to take a few mins to say goodbye, a moment of silence if you will.
Good luck.


MURDER

criminaltc

Because it's being reviewed as arson. That will lengthen things.

Tak16

In addition to the fire damage there is also water damage. They will definitely total it. It's really not worth the effort or the headache of a salvage title. Just take the money.

projekkt

I had an 07 with 80k miles. Trade in value was 5.5k. You'll probably just get a 4k check.

mischman

Trade in value has ZERO effect on a totaled car value or selling it. Trade in value still has to leave the stealership a lot of room to resell it and make money. And even at that, 5.5K for an 07 with 80k miles on it sounds a tad low for trade in value but isnt shocking.