hello all - my wife hit black ice on her way to work a few weeks ago (actually three weeks ago, it has taken this long for the insurance co. to get it's act together). it is a '98 4runner sr5, damage is on the driver's side front. the car is not driveable, as the wheel is torqued back at an oblique angle and stuck behind the fender. the frame is bent accordion style behind where the suspension attaches to the frame, the front bumper bent, and a few body and driveline mounts were broken as well. the insurance company is offering us $13,000 for it, and we can buy it back from them for $2837 (plus the "storage" fees for it being at the body shop for 3+ weeks @ $20 a day). i just put new revos on it 2k miles ago, and everything about it is in immaculate shape. i am wondering if we should buy it back and part it out, or just forget it and let a junkyard end up with my revos and the rest of the things in good shape on the car. i appreciate everyone's help and input... thanks,

wally

 

take 13k and run. buy another one. i bought my 96 limited for 5500 and it is almost immac, had 133k.

 

Unless you have enough mods on there to get the $3k back, then just take the money.

 

That sucks about the tires.. i wonder if you could buy them back for a few hundred for your new ride..?

 

or trade them with crappy ones if you can. sometimes the ins. companies are cool. when my miata was totalled, the other guys ins. company was really good about letting me keep all of the stuff i put on it. it worked out good. but i think they were trying to avoid a lawsuit also.

 

Just a couple days ago, I was kinda in the same predicament.
I bought mine back because of the newish BFG tires and many parts that are still worth selling/keeping.
My advice is this: First, If your a smart eBay buyer/seller and have a decent amount of good feedback then thats a HUGE plus but its not exactly necessary. Second, you can make a fortune on many of the interior and exterior parts via eBay and YT. Third, if you have the space and patience to pull off parts, package, and ship...then by all means buy it back! Once its stripped down like Taiwania style, then just call a junk yard to come haul away the remains.
If you get nitty gritty, i think you could easily make more than 3 grand by parting it out.

 

thanks for the help... i figured that between my 2 jobs and school, i probably wouldn't have time to disassemble anything, so took the money and ran. i appreciate all of the input...

wally