Expert: Michael Kakuk - 5/20/2010

Question
Micheal sir, I have a 94 Celica with a lot of aesthetic work done to it (tires, rims, full body kit, spoiler etc) but I recently had to swerve off the road to avoid hitting a coyote. Doing so I lost control because of the dirt and gravel, and went off roading at 60 mph. The car is rather low to the ground, and the off-road terrain was bumpy, rocky, and sandy. I finally came to a stop on a big dirt chunk. During this process, the front bumper cracked and dinged on its lowest part, the sideskirts were scratched and dinged along with the fender and door panels because of the rocks and debree that was kicked up. The rear bumper was slightly cracked and dented, and the break lights and headlights were slightly rattled out of place (it was extremeley bumpy, my brain was rattled!)and ontop of all this, so many rocks and sticks and debree was kicked up that the whole car has little dings and scratches and cracks in the paint, even one on the roof! Im mortified because I love this car, but it has 250k miles on it. Im not sure whether to repair the damages or buy a new one... The car still runs great and the alignment and tires are fine.

Most of the damage was done to the body kit, except for the lights and dent above the right fender. The paint is scratched up everywhere. The damage isnt severe but its wide spread.

The ending to the story is that my insurance ran out a month ago D=

Im not at all sure how much these types of repairs cost... Do you think its worth repairing or should I sell it cheap and buy another one?

Sorry for the novel ;D Thanks Mike!

Josh

Answer
Would it be economical to repair all the cosmetic damages ? Sounds like you have a few thousand in repairs........no it's probably not a good idea. Run it by a body shop for an estimate and see what the body shop thinks.

On the other hand if you love the ride you will repair at any cost.

If you have the money to get the repairs done then by all means ,go ahead.