Advice: 370z after accident // keep or sell?
 

Hi all,

I have an opportunity to sell my 370z Sport and Fiat 500 Abarth for a brand new STI. The STi payment will be less than the sum total of payments I pay to both cars currently. Given the expected snow storm to affect the Northeast, I'm strongly considering this move.

On the flipside, I do like having two cars and I would have to fork over money for a downpayment. However, my Z had recently been involved in quite an accident which is said to have affected my steering rack. What do you guys think I should do???

Here's a pic of the damage. Are Zs the same after an accident:

http://s29.postimg.org/lxvu65n1z/2079522502_P_9.jpg

Unless you plan on keeping the Z for a long time, I'd have to suggest selling it. With that amount of damage, I'd be really surprised if your insurance company doesn't salvage it. Looks to be some pretty extensive front end damage, at least to the passenger side. You'll have a hard time selling it for 60% of it's value if you end up with a branded title. I would vote for starting over. Not sure how the Fiat fits into the decision actually, but as far as the Z goes, I'd vote for moving on....

I'd get a new car.

Also, if you have nav, I'd love to buy it off of you.

damage quote is 10k on the nissan...the adjuster was confident that the car was not beyond repair...and he insisted that he'll guarantee the car will drive perfectly for as long as I own it.

You are on the edge. If it will drive perfectly fix it. Best of luck.

Yep and she said "he's only a friend" :stirthepot:

adjusters always think that way... i'm an underwriter and know too well how they think... the bottom line is nothing is ever the same as the original... ever... from how the car's put together to the paint finish... i say move-on

dogdamn.... two car loans and a crash.. sorry to hear and see. :(

haha, I promise I'm not naive...

Selling would be a mistake at this point. Making decisions in the heat of the moment is wrong. I have had a similar crash (with a Scion TC I used to own) and after quality work, the car drove just as well as ever. Its the psychological issue of feeling "violated" that effects you.

I have a hunch you have already decided to go for the STI and are simply looking for support, sort of like when dumping a GF and excuses because you already have someone else in mind!

Otherwise, get it repaired, get some Blizzaks and use a cab on the few days when weather is truly awful.

thanks for the objective advice. The reality is, I'm looking for validation as to whether the car will drive the same after the tweaks. I drove / drive my cars hard and don't want to baby the car after an accident....I have the fiat for the wnter and intend on putting blizzaks on the nissan for the winter.

oh, and if anyone is wondering...this accident happened at 15 mph in first gear...to this day shocked at the extent of the damage for a low speed accident.

I'm weird about wrecked cars. I wouldn't trust it.
Definally not at high speeds.
I would sell it if it were me.

Absolutely, keep supporting the US car dealerships by purchasing the brand new STi and taking yet another "new car buyer" depreciation hit! :eek:

Sounds like this would be your third new car in less than two years, right? And you say a $3K down payment is "quite high"? Ummmm...OK...

Don't know why you like giving money to the car stealerships. :shakes head:

Definitely sell it, don't mess around with salvage cars. They are very hit and miss, I have owned a salvage 350z, evo x and cobalt ss. All gave me some sort of problem. I'm not saying they will all give you problems but clear titles just make me feel much more comfortable.

You are very close to copyright/trademark infringement.

:icon17:

onzedge™ © has written

You guys in CT were slammed last winter. And the one before that, I think. I don't blame you for thinking of going AWD. Wrecked Z or not!

yea, the car isn't totalled or salvage title...damage is front bumper, radiator clips, powersteering cooler, wheel, tire, front quarter, hood (needs to be bumped out), and everything associated with the front control arm.

And the negotiated price for the Sti is at 500 below invoice. I'm not disagreeing that I'm getting screwed, I'm having a dilemma of whether or not getting screwed is worth having the issue of driving "damaged goods"

but the other guy in your head on collision was going a least 45 right? :tiphat:

Also, you're getting severely hosed if you have to give the dealer a 2014 Z, a 2013 ABarth and $3,000.

I need to do some clarifying.

I don't own either of these cars outright...still paying off the loans. So I'd be paying off negative equity by switching them out. However, even with negative equity, the monthly payment for the subaru is less than the combined total of the Nissan and the Fiat. As well it's nearly 250 when you factor insurance. I'll pay off that downpayment in less than a year on savings alone. Just can't come to figure out if the damage will affect car enough for me to need to trade...it's not a salvage, thankfully

Just curious, aren't you putting the cart in front of the horse? Meaning don't you have to repair the car before you trade it in to the dealer?

So why not fix the Z with the insurance money. See how it drives, then make your decision whether to keep it or trade your cars at that time.

All jokes aside. I am here to help..............

https://c1.staticflickr.com/7/6169/6...4687f9d6_z.jpg

I had an accident about 3 yrs ago. The damage paid by the insurance was a total of $9K, no frame or steering damage all cosmetic. No airbag deployment either.

Fixed with OEM parts in one of the best body shops in my area. After that I have been 3 times on the dragon with no issues. So I still have the car and you would not be able to know what side of the car was hit.

However if it had any frame or front end steering problems I would have sold it.

If he owes this much on both cars, why not get the settlement for the Z and keep the Abarth and pay it off. Then wait a couple years with no car payment and buy the new Z when it comes out.

Thats what they all say. You have your heart on the STi, go for it.

As long as you didn't do any frame damage, a good shop should be able to fix that so it looks/drives like new. Finding a good shop is the difficult part.

I kissed a tree and knocked the front right wheel completely off of the car. My fave body shop fixed it so that the only way to tell was a slight air leak in the right door seal that showed up at high (100+) speeds. They replaced the whole wheel/steering assembly and did some great body work. YMMV
They told me that many modern cars are built similar to race cars and designed to break apart in a crash - the outer parts are sacrificed to protect the major components and occupants. Don't know if that's true or not, but it sounds good. :)

You loose money on all car purchases... it's a fact. Trading cars often is worse of course. I agree with Magic Bus... get the car fixed and see how you feel about it and how it drives. I wouldn't do anything until that part of the deal is done. Then decide if you'd rather have one AWD car to do everything. AWD in CT makes sense, but you will get hosed by trading in. STIs are nice but still a 4 door sedan which was not what I was after.

lolol... yessssss

Yep, it is called crumple zones.

I thought the same thing but apparently there is a difference. Crumple zones stay more-or-less intact and absorb energy over a relatively long period of time. Shedding parts removes the energy in a hurry. But I don't grok all that (it makes sense going by what I remember of my Physics classes but I can't say I fully understand it), so take it with a grain of salt. I'm assuming that the guy knew what he was talking about (he was a 2nd generation body guy) but you never know. ;)

My 2010 NISMO was involved in a front end collision last November. Didn't get my car back until end of March. Had to return in 3 times for problems. Even then the car was never the same. Sold it, bought a corvette and haven't been happier. The one thing you have to remember you will lose a good deal of money on the sale of the Z. Z's already have poor resale value, add an accident to that and it goes down more. My Z was sold with a perfect carfax and everything, but it was easy to tell there was body work to the car by the appraiser. Given your situation and where you live I'd definitely go with an STI. Or like someone else mention, sell the Z, pay of the fiat, drive that for a bit and then move on to something else later.