diomedes

So I'm taking to insurance, some careless fool just drove into my car, admitted his fault 100%, we're basically talking about the value of the costs.

They say the value of my car is $11,300 CAN including taxes. It's basically at 195k, r3 2009. It's generally not in great condition but I still love it. I can abandon the car and take that amount.

Alternatively, I can bank their offer of $8, 700 and pay for the costs myself.

If I found someone who'd do the cost low and fair and somehow found the parts at a inexpensive cost (unlikely I know) what could that look like. Or am I trippin and just take their money and save up for a 370z.

spectre6000

I don't know if it's any different in Canada, but I've had a few special interest cars totaled over the years. Ask to see their comps, and you'll likely find that they're old, missing, not very comparable, etc. Take issue, and you can provide your own comps ( @speed7 might be able to help you with this, as he tends to track the R3 market pretty closely). Typically, they'll want to see listings within the last X years, within Y years of production, etc. Ask for their requirements so they don't throw out what you've produced. They have various actuarial adjustments that they'll make (mileage, condition, trim, spec, equipment), but I've never failed to get at least a few hundred more dollars, and I think my best was ~20%. Also, if you have any aftermarket parts, round up receipts if you haven't already, as they tend to be good for at least a few bucks.

Personally, there has never been a car with a V6 that's been able to get me excited. It's an engine built for compromise, and not even a good one (packaging). If that's the option, then you are absolutely "trippin". About the only car I'd consider as a step up/sideways starts is a Porsche. 911 if you need the practicality, Cayman if you don't.

speed7

The unknown part is how much damage was done to the suspension. Looking at that front fender.. I assume the wheel area took a hit too. IF and I mean IF we ignore that part of it.. new doors would be an easy purchase. Sparkling Black Mica was a popular color for the rx8. On eBay right now I'm looking at a drivers side front and rear doors.. both from the same car.. which is a 2009 with red leather interior.. Front door is $175 rear door is $152. Freight for each is $375. But I'm sure ordering both doors would save you some money. All in including shipping you could have 2 new to you doors.. that match each other for $1k USD.

Drivers Door
Drivers side rear door
Drivers side mirror

Drivers side fender being an R3 means a respray anyways.. since you'll likely have to repaint.. so you can buy new from the dealer.. and the side skirts were also being made a few years ago and can be ordered. I just doubled checked and the left side is still something that can be ordered but it is backordered. Worst case if you can't get an exact paint match.. pick one that is available and then have it painted.

Part number for Sparkling Black Mica Left Side Skirt F197-51-P50A-16 - MOULD(L),SIDE STEP. MSRP - $834.25

Need to conform that Left is indeed the drivers side.

Part numbers for both skirts
F197-51-P40A-** MOULD(R),SIDE STEP
F197-51-P50A-** MOULD(L),SIDE STEP

Link to part numbers and paint codes

Hope this helps and cheers you up some.. its not a total loss.. you can fix it if you want to.

speed7

Regarding price. At 195k kilometers in perfect condition.. would be about $10k CAD.. they are giving you a really good price. FWIW, a perfect white R3 is on sale for $20k CAD and has 59km.

I wouldn't total the car if you can. Simply because finding another car that is as much fun to drive is going to cost you a bit of money. I've driven the 370Z myself.. I wasn't a fan.. the car felt really heavy for some reason.. was the Nismo edition as well.. with the rev matching manual. I put it on the bottom of the list of cars I've enjoyed driving.

diomedes

That's quite some insight there... Appreciate the time put into it honestly. I knew that dropping the 8 would mean losing the forum community which is out to conserve the endangered species.

So yea the front fender is banged in hard, would need to be replaced and ordered from Mazda, I would assume it costs less than doors typically. As for the impact on the wheel, my underground parking has a ramp that continually rotates in circles so I managed to drag it down two floors of continuous left turn and then back up for towing. Side skirt drag was the only real event on that occasion.

So a door off a series 1 would fit on a series 2 r3?

All in all I'm surprised that it would be possible to repair this situation. Side skirt and front left fender I'm guessing costs close to 2000 in parts. So we're at 3000, how much labour costs would we be looking at?

Yea I felt on an insticitve level that their offer was high, I then did comparisons on auto trader and various other platforms and it sort of confirmed it. Good to hear it from your perspective.

speed7

Front fender is about $500 USD from the dealer. The doors I linked are from a Series 2 in Sparkling Black Mica. So depending on how much sun the car got.. they could be near identical to your doors in color.. ignoring sun exposure. But yes... a series 1 door is the same as a series 2. I was trying to save you from painting if at all possible. There is no way to guestimate labor since that is a per region thing. Labor in San Diego is drastically different than it is in San Francisco. The cost of living usually dictates the labor rates. In regards to the fender.. I think the retail price is about $500, but it only comes in primer. So you'd have to get it painted regardless. This is the same with the front bumper.. at least you really only need the main portion. If the mounting hardware and front air damn is good.. then that can all be swapped over.

spectre6000

Speed delivers and then some! I was sure he'd have some comps in his hip pocket. Didn't know he'd just waltz in and solve the case!

diomedes

Yes speed is rather bit of a God around these parts, at least to me. If this works I'll build him a shrine. I'll post questions if they come up, profoundly grateful.

diomedes

So I called the garage that the insurance brought the car to, he kind of stated he doesn't really want to put parts of an older model onto a more recent one. When I stated I had reliable sources suggesting this method his response was why doesn't the person making such a suggestion do the actual work on the car... Lol

Anyway my issue is this, that he said roughly his estimate on the labor if I provided the parts would be 3500 Canadian which is several times more than what I expected. I did ask what the labour for this would be approximately before but I'm fairly sure this is more than anyone here would recommend. I feel like I'm back at the Mazda dealership all over again.

He also said to talk to insurance to ensure that they'd be up to reinsuring a car that was referred to as a total loss but that's a whole other topic I'll deal with after the immediate one.

Thoughts? Thanks

speed7

Question on this.. why is the insurance of the person who hit you dictating where you get your car fixed? The reason I ask is when I was rear ended (accident that happened in the past and not an rx8) I took my car to the place I wanted to work on the car. Then had the insurance for the at fault party pay them.

It's the same car! All rx8's are the same.. but in this particular case.. the links I posted are from an 09.. which is what yours is. Even if your car was a 2010.. it's the same generation or series. I feel like he's trying to fleece the insurance out of more money by tacking on addiotnal labor to painting new doors.

Tell them I would but I'm in San Diego... I would actually do it.. swapping doors isn't complicated. as long as the hinges are not damaged on the frame portion of the car. That's what the body shop would be fixing anyways.

Again.. he should be in contact with insurance for repairing the car and the quotes.. the whole part of having the car insured post fix is something you and your insurance cover.. not the persons insurance who hit you.

Yeah I have many.. personally.. from what I've delt with in the past.. I pick who works on my car.. and in this instance I'd tell this guy to pound sand and find a body shop you want to work with. This whole back and forth thing with the shop is a bunch of hog wash.. ignoring the part about using used parts.. the conversation about whether the car is insured post repair isn't something he should be even caring about. His task is to quote and fix the car.. that's it. All the at fault parties insurance should be doing is contacting you with "options".. like this car is totaled here is your pay out etc.. I'm kind of wondering if this shop wants you to fail and give up.. so he can buy your car from you for cheap and then fix it himself. Another question is why does it matter how much it costs to repair if the insurance company is paying the bill... it could cost 10k to fix.. but as long as insurance is paying.. who cares.

Sorry probably a bit of a ranty post. but I don't like it when I feel someone is being taken advantage of... and to me this situation feels shady.

speed7

And another thing...

Those links were for you fixing your car if it was totaled or if insurance wasn't fixing your car.

If the at fault parties insurance is paying to fix the car.. yes.. all new parts.. charge them 100k.. who cares.. as long as it's not totaled and the car is fixed back to it's original condition.. that's all you're looking for. No need to "save the insurance company money" this is their job.. this is why we pay them.

diomedes

Well that's why I keep coming back, these places that are big or are associated with insurance as in this case are not to be trusted. Can you believe last time I took my car to the Mazda dealer for a deflood, because my new aftermarket rotors had some rust from winter storage outdoors told me everything had to be replaced otherwise I risked crashing into a tree when breaks failed cause of their condition. I had someone here just tell me to strip the rust off by breaking very heavy on them for twenty minutes which I did and they are as good as new. The guy flat out lied to me with safety threats. No I don't trust mechanics at all, like I said especially big ones.

As for the insurance and fault aspects I had that talk with the insurance, it was like talking to a wall. I think as you said they try to wear you down by using your lack of experience to put you into a position where you pay them thousands. No, I said it's the fault of the other driver and he disclosed it to his insurance that way. I thought to myself absolutely, their insurance should burden all the costs of repairs regardless of how much, when its absolutely not my fault at all. I'm still totally mistified with their reasoning.

I tried reasoning with them today cause that's where insurance towed my car there for starters just cause of logistics and under the (senseless) assumption that they'd give some decent feedback. Apparently I was wrong. But what do you think about their 4k labour costs.... I'm no expert but replacing body parts supplied by me should not amount to such a quote.

And yea I said that the guy that recommended the doors would do it but they aren't local.... Obviously he had nothing to say on that matter....

That said yea he can go pound sand or whatever he does in his spare time, I don't take a word they say seriously. I'm willing to find another place, as far as where and who, I'd have to do some research.

So should I get back on the phone with insurance and demand options on the fault parties insurance to deal with it? I cannot see that going anywhere but wasting my time.

No it's not a rant on your part I'm just as pissed off. As I said the insurance offered me keeping the car and handing out about 9k, I figured the whole repair with parts (about 2k) and labor being no more than 2k, I could at least bank on this nonsense and put it into my car. I'd really like to put a cat on it and enjoy a nice sounding 8 with heavy exhaust sound for the rest of its existence. I really enjoyed my 200k miles with this r3, I'd like to return to enjoying for as long as I can.

How would I go about searching for a trustworthy garage to get this done without taking advantage of me?

I'm glad I'm following up with this and appreciate you keeping on top of it, as my professional knowledge is outside of dealing with repairs and such nonsense with insurance companies. I really appreciate it man, thank you for your thoughts.