viperdan

Well, about 1am new years morning coming home from 7-11 I hit some black ice at the same time a newer model Mini Van did on a corner and we hit head on at about 25-30mph each. Luckily, no one was hurt. I'm wondering if anyone thinks she's worth repairing.

Looks like the frame is bent in the front and kinked on the drivers side behind the front tire. I haven't had a chance to pry the hood open, but from what I can see the radiator is trashed, possible the MAF unit, probably need new waterpumnp and all the front end stuff. Wheel is probably bent.

Surprisingly, she fired right up after the collision and I was able to move it out of the road and the tow truck left me to drive it about 500 feet and it made it ok, steering and all.

It looks like no ones at fault (50/50) and I only have liabilty coverage so I'm wondering if it'll be worth it with the frame damage.

marko3xl3

Dang dude, black ice definately sucks...bad wheather is a PITA in general tho, I never like to drive in it and if I do, it's very carefully. But dang, crap happens.

Is it worth repairing? Well, considering you have some pretty good damage on there, you would need to have it done by a good body shop so I am guesstimating it'll probably cost a good chunk of money, maybe $5-$7k using aftermarket parts. Basically, not worth it. Sometimes tho, you can find a good body shop that does work after hours if it doesn't involve the insurance company, so you pay them cash under the table, it can knock $2k off the price.

JHupp

damn dude, that sucks, I had only a minor accident, http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/jhupp_...p_99/my_photos and after installing my new brush gurad, I feel like the impact on the older one had bent at least the frame mounts, the bursh guard helped a lot in my case, but what it saved in cosmetic damage, wasnt good, on my new bumper I can see a gap, and the new fender took a lot of work to get in, and look decent, got any chance to inspect the frame damage yet, body panels are sooooo hard to get back in to place and look decent.

tc

Take it to a body shop and get an estimate - then you'll have a list of what all needs to be done. Time for the 3.4 swap, fiberglass fenders and hood! LOL

viperdan

Ya, im not too worried about looks at this point. I just don't want to spend over 1500 getting it fixed, I could do most of the engine work myself, but the frame bending and parts will probably be pricey. I really need to get back on the road, this was my only daily driver, otherwise I would chop it into a offroad only rig.

I've been considering parting it out for $. The rest of it is in good condish. The tires are almost brand new, it has a shell, and was very well taken care of. Wonder what I could get for the parts.

If I can raise around 2k I'd prob buy a 90s cherokee (i know....). SAS stock, 4.0L I6 and possie and they're everywhere. My friend got his for 2k, threw 33s and a 6" lift on for another 1500 and he used to kick my but (esp with the possie). My first choices would be either a 72 ponitac formula 400 (way too pricey)or an 85 22RE yota (impossible to find here).

Any thoughts?

marko3xl3

Whatever little money you save buying a Jeep, you might throw out at fixing it as they are not very reliable (compared to Yota's at least). About the sports car, whatever floats your boat man, but you said it's too expensive, so I guess the only choice you have left is to go with the Jeep or fix your truck.

I just re-thought what it'll cost you a bit more and I think parts might come out to $1500 (after market body and some mechanical) and then $1000 for the body shop to twist the frame straight and install new body parts, then you can work on the engine yourself, but it seems like that's out of your budget as well.

What I would probably do is salvage as many good parts as you can and sell them, and then sell the rest of the truck to some junk yard for $500. That should get you enough money to either buy another good Yota or go with the Jeep method you planned out.

viperdan

Well thanks for your suggestion. If anyone has any parts they need let me know. I just bought a new NWOR idler arm brace (not installed), I've got nearly new 32.11.50R15 Siped venture m/ts also have a set of dueler a/ts (not revo) that are maby 65-70% new. The shell has paint that is peeling but would work for any xtra cab in my gen. I also have some infinite kappa 4" componants I could sell. Just let me know.

ChickenLover

Wow, that's a pretty good hit. I'm glad I stayed home new years eve. Where'd it happen? Man, after seeing your pics, I'm thinking twice about heading out into the snowy/icy/foggy mess we've got out there tonight.

One More Time

Black ice in Nevada...wow! How cold did it get there? Sorry about the accident. Glad everyone was ok.

ChickenLover

https://www.yotatech.com/forums/show...ght=snow+night

Most of Nevada is at high elevation. We get some pretty decent winter weather.

One More Time

Yikes...thanks for the link.

By his pics it looks as if they cleaned it up and it melted pretty quick.

ChickenLover

That was last year.

viperdan

Ya last year was pretty bad, this year we're getting alot of rain instead of snow (flooded yesterday). ChickenLover, It was on the skinney stretch of Plumb Lane off of McCarrin Blvd. I don't think my Knobby MT tires helped the situation. I was about a week away from buying gearing and a locker, glad I didn't....

irott

Yeah... reno gets black ice a lot.

Down here in the Carson Valley its either flooding or snowing.

JHupp

wanna buy my Ford, hahaha, j/k little humor from the Ford thread earlier today, although if you want it, its an '06 and its been back twice for warranty issues, really thinking about getting rid of it for the new Amarillo

jeremys73

that's gotta suck... maybe you can find another toyota that has a blown engine for really cheap and swap parts...

viperdan

Well just wanted to give an update to anyone interested. I got a quote today from a body shop that said they could straighten the frame (if i cleaned everything up first like removing bumper, panels, etc) for anywhere between 500-800 bucks. Looking around for parts I think i can get a radiator from pick-n-pull for around 40-60 or new for 90 on ebay. The MAF sensor seems to be ok. I need to replace the steering stabalizer, one headlight/turn signal, radiator support bar, hood (will probably take some work to get it to latch) and worse case the fan and waterpump as well as some hoses plus an alignment.

It won't be pretty but I'm thinking I can get it back (bumperless, grillless, broken in hehe). Any advice?

marko3xl3

If you are willing to put the work in it, I'd do it. I did my truck the same way, slowly slowly, until it works and then until it looks good again

viperdan

Thanks for the support! How bad was your rig?

msw0085

Give it hell, toyotas are loyal to their owners in accidents.. be loyal to them