Insurance has declared a buyback value of $1600. My initial search says a new taillight assembly is about $90. I'm no body man, but I've straightened out a radiator core and done a little automotive spray can painting of a couple front fenders. It doesn't look too smooshed and the hatch still lines up, opens and closes, and appears water tight.
This is/was my older brother's SUV that he bought used 4 or 5 years ago with 150,000. It now has 197,000 miles and it's pretty much up to date on maintenance with newish Michelin Crossclimate 2s w/ 7/32 tread. The body is straight and there's no rust except on the hatch. Interior is in good shape and the battery pack is still healthy. He gets 26-27 mpg in nice weather and around 24 in winter.
Pics incoming.
My gut here is to stitch the rear bumper back together with Zip ties, bang the back corner out best you can and toss a new tailight in it.
Then spend some time looking for a new hatch on car-part
did a quick check of car-part and looks like there's a yard in Woodstock that has a hatch roughly the same gold color for $150.
In reply to spacecadet (Forum Supporter) :
Oh dang!! Thanks Pete! I appreciate the enabling. That plan of action is what I had in my head. That looks perfect!
Another vote for car-part a matching bumper and hatch plus a taillight. I'd buy and fix it
do you need a project? would be a great throw away wheeler however IL is super flat so not sure if you got an off-road park nearby but for that price it would be fun
In reply to clutchsmoke :
Step #1, and this is important... This car will likely come back to you with a Salvage title. In most states this means the car can not be registered for driving on the road until...something. Usually inspection/certification process to get the title converted to Rebuilt Salvage. Do you understand what your state requires to bring the car back to "road-worthy" in the eyes of the state?
Your profile says Illinois. I am in Ohio and the Ohio system is easy. I think I have heard that Illinois is difficult. Like, I think I have heard in Illinois this can only be done by a licensed "rebuilder/body shop". Check into all that!
No idea about IL, but in CA I did a buyback on a Tercel with extensive hail damage. Easiest thing I ever did. They subtracted $500 from my check (the buyback price), I pocketed $3500, and the only other thing I had to do was call my agent and consent to drop the comp/collision. Never stopped driving it. One side window was broken which I eventually replaced with a $20 junkyard glass. A new branded title arrived in the mail 3 weeks later. A few years later my wife totaled it again by t-boning a concrete wall (she was fine) and I showed up before the police even got there, signed the title, and handed it to the tow truck driver. It was like I sold it for a fair market value and got to keep driving a car that was no longer a liability. Stolen? Enjoy it. Tree falls on it? Yay...scrap value is up. Engine explodes? LS swap and see you at the challenge.
TX was a similar process, but it required a regular safety inspection. PA requires an "enhanced" inspection, but from what my nephew says, it's like a normal yearly inspection with 4.2% more scrutiny.
ddavidv
UltimaDork
11/9/22 10:40 p.m.
You do need to know what is involved in getting the thing road legal with the state. That can be an expensive quagmire. In PA it will cost you several hundred dollars just to get the reconstructed title.
Meanwhile, replace the hatch, tail light and bumper with used and spray some paint on the raw metal of the quarter panel and call it good. That mangled quarter is what totaled it. Not worth fixing that panel; just live with it.
The insurance company totaled it because it was over $2500 to repair it back to before accident condition. But here is a plus for repairing it
"The Toyota Highlander Hybrid should last at least 200,000 miles and can even last over 300,000 miles with routine maintenance and conservative driving habits. If you drive 15,000 miles per year, you can expect 20 years of reliable service from your Highlander before repair costs become too expensive."
And a gas price of $1900 a year at 15000 miles per year.
John Welsh said:
In reply to clutchsmoke :
Step #1, and this is important... This car will likely come back to you with a Salvage title. In most states this means the car can not be registered for driving on the road until...something. Usually inspection/certification process to get the title converted to Rebuilt Salvage. Do you understand what your state requires to bring the car back to "road-worthy" in the eyes of the state?
Your profile says Illinois. I am in Ohio and the Ohio system is easy. I think I have heard that Illinois is difficult. Like, I think I have heard in Illinois this can only be done by a licensed "rebuilder/body shop". Check into all that!
You bring up a very good point. I've never gone through the process for salvage/rebuilt title. Hmmm.
calteg
SuperDork
11/10/22 10:31 a.m.
If the goal is to drive it into the ground, I think this is the rare case where buying it back make sense.
The two issues you'll run into are:
1) The salvage inspection process for your particular state
2) How do you get rid of it when it's finally used up? The market for salvage cars is tiny. The market for salvage cars with 250k miles is miniscule.
That being said, you can probably get this back on the road inexpensively. Be wary of any electronics that are behind the rear bumper cover. I did this same thing with a similar vintage CX-7 and there was an airbag sensor that got damaged that ended up costing a pretty penny.
Where in IL are you, I'm sure a GRMer would buy it for that money if you don't
In KY, the process is simple. You have to document where parts came from for the repair w invoices/vin numbers and send it off.
