Totaled wreck.. What do I have to do? T.T

[[archie]]

IMO there are 2 things you can do:

1. sell the damaged parts to the junk yard, take off the good parts and sell them to cut losses. im sure there would be someone who would like your firewall since it has the chassis number.

2. buy a cheap secondhand elite that has damaged engine and/or tranny and get the parts from there. this is of course, if the car has sentimental value. 200k estimate is too much. 270k could get you a cefiro VIP.

[conzky]

I have(or had) a nissan cefiro elite (year 2000) and had a major accident 2 days ago.

Radiator, right fender, hood, wind shield, airbag(driver side), front bumper, and many parts of the the right passenger side in front are damaged severely. (most of all parts on the front right side is squeezed..)

A repair shop which I used to deal with and is honest gave me a quick estimate - more than 200k...

They say it's not worth to repair it.

But the engine, automatic transmission, many electrical parts(ecu, tpc, etc) should be fine, and except for the front area, rest of the car is okay.

Can anyone make an advice on this?

Will I be able to sell this car as is? (for parts or something..)

Please help me on this.. T.T

(Friends, please use English only since I dont know how to speak tagalog.. Thanks in advance)

I had the same kind of accident with my '98 crv last year. The right front portion of the car was totally damaged - headlights, air cleaner assembly (crushed), grill, bumper, radiator, condenser and right fender. Fortunately, the chassis/frame alignment was spared, and only engine part damaged was the distributor cap. What i did was buy surplus "nose cut" and other parts to be replaced. All are readily available in any surplus shops, then hired a body builder(Latero) to repair the crumpled areas. The repairs were done at my house.It took a little over a month to complete the repairs including repainting, and I spent total of 70K.

I guess you can do the same. however, i doubt about the availability of surplus items of the parts to be replaced.

BTW, a nose cut include frontal frame, bumper, grill, headlights, radiator and A/C condenser

[OTEP]

Buy a flood damaged unit. If you can still find one. Or part out your present unit and sell it on local sites like Tsikot or Sulit.com. =)

[1997]

mas maganda if you sell the car as parts na lang... since rear naman yan so more or less 100k din kung pa conti conti... kasi yung sentra ng friend ko 70t pa eh...

[voltscastillo]

i agree on buying a front cut, with engine and everything else except the windshield. this will be cheaper.

i also agree on buying another cefiro, older model, and transfer everything you need. these cars go as low as 150K now, for the 97 models. maybe spend another 20K on parts switching labor and another 20K for repaint. 200K in all estimate, and you won't be having to deal with some idiot beating out new panels and bodywork.

[renzo_d10]

Getting a front cut for the cefiro would be harder than looking for a front cut of a let's say, corolla. But im not saying that you could not see one, there is.

My advice would be sell the metal parts to the junk shop and the rims and seats, steering wheel etc ... sell them separately as surplus parts.

Spending 200k on a wrecked car is too much. Hassle.

[niky]

im sure there would be someone who would like your firewall since it has the chassis number.

Aside from the obvious moral implications of selling a chassis number to someone who would probably only want it to defraud other people (by using it on a carnapped or smuggled vehicle... you have to wonder... would you actually like to have the police knocking on your door because your name came up in a carjacking case? Because there's no record of you having sold your car and here its VIN number has come up on a carjacked car?

[conzky]

i agree on buying a front cut, with engine and everything else except the windshield. this will be cheaper.

i also agree on buying another cefiro, older model, and transfer everything you need. these cars go as low as 150K now, for the 97 models. maybe spend another 20K on parts switching labor and another 20K for repaint. 200K in all estimate, and you won't be having to deal with some idiot beating out new panels and bodywork.

* pins2u: I know you're trying save money for repairs as much as you can, but, of course not all parts can be replaced. if you opt to have your car repaired, you have to deal with SOME IDIOT METAL BEATING MORONS, whether you like it or not. Even Casas employ these IDIOT METAL BEATING MORONS.

[non-vtec]

Sorry to hear that bro. IMO, as long as the suspension/chassis isn't affected by the collision, it might still be restored. You can use a combination of JDM surplus for the hood, windshield, fender, radiator, airbag, condenser and other suspension parts, etc and Brand new OEM/Replacement for the head lights, fog lights, etc. Try to get a 2nd opinion from other body/paint shops.

BTW, I purchased a nose cut of a cefiro before and I got it for just 10k. It includes the headlight, condenser, washer, bumper, fog lights. The problem is that its for the "classic" cefiro. The 00 elite wasn't released in Japan so no surplus parts for some cosmetic parts. However you can source out parts from Thailand then have it shipped here. Specifically the headlights/fog lights, grille. I tell you its much cheaper there.

My guesstimate is no more than 100k your cefi will be up and running again.

[[archie]]

Aside from the obvious moral implications of selling a chassis number to someone who would probably only want it to defraud other people (by using it on a carnapped or smuggled vehicle... you have to wonder... would you actually like to have the police knocking on your door because your name came up in a carjacking case? Because there's no record of you having sold your car and here its VIN number has come up on a carjacked car?

well your right... just had the idea to gain as much as you can from a totaled car.

scratch that idea.