Did I total my RX8?
 

Hey guys I hit a truck going less than 10miles an hour. Had a big towing hitch.
Air Bags did not deploy but I busted one of the small radiators.
Can anyone tell me the best way to proceed? How much to fix? Zero engine damage I turned car off as soon as it occurred and watched the temperature close.


https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx8...66e9cd5aab.jpg


https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx8...3b80d86551.jpg


https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx8...cf37574822.jpg

Sorry. Forgot to say. 2009 grand touring

Depends how you intend to proceed with regard to an insurance claim. First of all, the front radiator you busted is an oil cooler and will definitely need to be replaced before you even think of starting the car again.

I'd say the real question is how much can/ do you want to do you do yourself? If you tow it to a shop, you're looking at a new oil cooler, front bumper, driver side fender, driver side headlight, driver side turn signal, and a new hood (too start...). Provided there isn't any structural damage to the frame or any damage to the wheel/ suspension components, you're easily looking at a few thousand dollars worth of parts and labor. I'm no insurance adjuster so you'd have to get a quote from a reputable shop and see what your agent says, this is also largely dependent on your policy.

However, if you're handy with a wrench and feeling adventurous, you could probably do it much cheaper yourself so it's really up to your situation. Do you have another car to drive while you wrench on this one? Do you have the service manual for your car? Do you have about $2500 to do the job correctly? Do you have the time/patience to source the parts you need on the cheap?

To answer your original question, no, it's not totaled. At least that's how I'd view it if it were my car. That said, you've got some decisions ahead of you before you can decide if the time and effort is worth keeping this great car. Let us know what you decide.

edit: p.s. The silver lining here is that your air bags did not deploy, my guess is that your insurance would not total the car.

I would bet at body shop rates you are upwards of $6000. Hood, fender, oil coolers, brackets, headlight, front bumper cover, bumper supports..possibly radiator?

You likely will want to make an insurance claim. I doubt that your insurance increase will be even close to the damage

The agent just called. Said they look to total it cause it had a salvaged title to get in with. Back door was crushed but repaired correctly.
He gave me a value of $6600 which is crap.
I'm in a loaner car at the moment and could buy a scooter till it was fixed. Hard decision to let her slip through my fingers.
I'm not that handy but I have a few people that are.

Your input is very appreciated by the way.
What if I buy a body kit. They seem cheaper than OEM.

that sux man (stop texting and driving) lol jk. did you know it was a salvage title when you bought it? i got almost 9k for my 04 when a deer totaled it in november and mine had 88k on the clock

body kits fit like shit

I really wasn't texting. Someone stopped on a green light. I did take eyes off road to look at sweet set of rims.

Just a thing I guess. How much do oil coolers go for. I'm searching salvage yards now

i hope you wernt txting. i hate people that do that but i did say jk. im not sure if s1 and s2 coolers are the same. if so i may have one for sale

oil coolers run about 100 bucks at a salvage yard i think. I've got one laying around somewhere if you can't find one. Although I have no clue how much shipping from Texas, usa would be.

edit sorry mine is a s1 cooler also.

$100 bucks isn't that bad. I think the car is worth saving but it's about the labor. I'm in fort smith Arkansas

Find out how much the insurance company would charge to buy the car back, if you can take the 6k payout and but the car back at salvage cost for under 2k, you should* be able to get back on the road for that and have money for your scooter in the meantime.

So I found a parts rx8 for $1400.
It's a 2004 automatic.
I have a 2009 manual.

Anyone know if the fender and front grill will match up. And the Oil cooler and headlight.

I know I have series 2 and its series 1.

Please help me out. How much is interchangeable?

9k should know about the bumper. iirc one of the sarx guys put a s2 bumper on an s1

04-05 autos only have one oil cooler

Not much I'm afraid 😕

The buy back in the car is $2000.
Any thoughts.

You could make more in a partout.....but it is a huge hastle..and you need to have a place to store the car while you strip it...and a way to get the parts shipped....

And deal with the butt heads who want the parts for free ;)

Did you have anything done to the car that you can prove to the insurance company? Tires, brakes, anything mechanical that is required for the operation of the vehicle can affect your payout if you haven't accepted yet (receipts are very useful here). I went back and forth for almost three months with my insurance agent (who was a pain...) to get as much as I could for my truck when it was stolen. They ended up doing three different evaluations until they came up with a number I was happy with.

That said, I don't know if it would have an effect on the buyout cost for the car.

For what it's worth, I bought my S1 with a busted bumper, busted fender, and busted oil cooler. There was more damage, but you don't have suspension damage, a busted door, and what not, so we won't worry about that. Bear in mind that S1 parts are cheaper so your part costs may vary greatly too. I got all three parts(oil cooler,fender, bumper) for around $500 and did all the work myself. It's a relatively easy fix.

Looking at your oil cooler though, it looks like it's twisted. On the S1, the oil cooler mounts onto two studs attached to a piece of metal that's welded onto the car frame. If it's the same on the S2, the oil cooler either snapped off the studs, the metal itself is twisted, or a combination of the two. That's the only PITA I can see. Other than that, everything is easy as long as you have the time. If you can get a camera behind the bumper, right where the majority of the impact happened, that would be helpful.

The number they are coming back with is $8500. I'm mad now so I'm inclined to say F it and get it fixed. That metal is bent in badly. The car Lot caused more damage and I'm upset about that too. Here is a picture of that metal piece. It's screwed.


https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx8...7b8c85559d.jpg




https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx8...e08994f045.jpg


https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx8...ffdb0604e9.jpg

Can someone be able to repair this for less than $6500

Did the police make a report? Also, do you have pictures of the truck? In many places having ANYTHING sticking past the bumper of a vehicle, besides a license plate is considered illegal, which is one of the reasons why trailer hitches/attachments are designed to come off easily. If you aren't towing something, you are suppose to remove them. Might be able to put some blame on the other vehicle, although you won't make friends doing that.

His hitch.
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx8...1b2cc251bb.jpg


Thoughts.

I would go to your local police station and see what they say, if you haven't contacted them already. Not sure of the laws where you are (Arkansas from the truck plate?), but it may go in your favor because that is definitely beyond the bumper.

I think your only real problem is that metal piece the oil cooler brackets screw onto. If you can get that bent back into shape, the rest should be pretty straight forward, assuming the piece isn't damaged beyond usabiltywhere the oil cooler needs to mount on it. I bent mine back into shape leveraging a large pipe against the tire. It's not perfect but the oil cooler is secure and is located where it's supposed to be. My studs weren't damaged either, luckily. You may want to go the professional route and get it done right though :-).

I guess all of this is advice but that's the only part I'd pay someone else to do. Removing the fender, bumper, and hood is not complicated. It's a bit of a PITA the first time since you don't know where all the nuts/bolts are, but it's very doable as long as you're patient and don't get frustrated. The only reason I mention this is because if you take you car to a shop to do all this, I would guess those slime balls are going to price gouge you big time for a relatively easy job.

Good luck.