I've been driving this car for nearly two years. Just this past series of winter storms, though, I got rear-ended. I saw the damage and was pretty well devastated. Looked up the parts I figured I needed (tailgate and the Driver's Quarter are damaged). I thought that was about it, I found the price for both parts to be less than a grand. Today the adjuster dropped by so that I can get the money to repair the car. Due to the poor weather conditions and lighting as of recently, I hadn't thought to check the frame or anything. We checked that...and it's buckled. Now, I'm only 17 and I don't think I can afford to let them total it and then buy it back.

Should I just take my Stereo system that was put in about 2 weeks ago and my speakers I put in myself and let them total it, then find a different elky, or what?

That all depends on the overall condition of the rest of your Elky. If it is fairly rust free and the drive-train is in good condition it might be good to buy it back and fix it. If your Elky is rusty and the engine and transmission is old and tired it may be time to walk away from it.

Lol, when I was in an accident (woman turned infront of me) I had a broken headerpanel, dented bumper and fender and they tried totaling my car - I bought my car back for $55 and got a check for $1100 which I promptly built a 350 with. :lol: :P

That all depends on the overall condition of the rest of your Elky. I would tend to agree with you. Since it was a rearend collision, I would look at the rest of the frame. The rear frame horns (frame section from axle to bumper) are the most susceptable area of the frame to rust. If that's the area it buckled it could be because of the weakened frame and impact of the collison. The horns are available but require some serious bodywork to remove the old and install the new. You'll have to do an overall assessment of the rest of the car and decide if it's worth saving or not. Remember when it comes to an Insurance company...(yours or theirs) they're your friends when it's time to pay your premium...but they can suddenly become your worse enemy when it comes time to cut a check for damages. A lot of Insurance companies no longer allow you to buy back a vehicle once they pay off...and a lot of boneyards will not let you buy a complete car from them anymore due to liabilities. If you think the car is worth saving, insist that the adjuster look at it again. If they agree that the car can be repaired...take it to a bodyshop that they work through...let that bodyshop do the work...not you. In the event that more damage is discovered from the accident, they will repair it and the insurance company will pay. I recently had a car that should have been totaled by the adjuster...he was just to lazy to climb under the car and make a good inspection. I had someone else (professional) look at the car on my behalf and said they'll probably total the car. When I received the accident appraisal it was for $1762...when the car went to the bodyshop and the repairs were made (correctly) the bill jumped up to over $4200 because of frame damage...my adjuster was right, they should have originally totaled the car. A Lawyer once told me Insurance Companies are not your friends...theirs or yours!

After further inspection and some more research, my car is worth around 5,900$. I'm going to let them total the car after my agent puushes the price that the other company is offering. Then I'll replace that tailgate, the QP (frame actually ISN'T bent, just looks that way due tot eh way the frame is made) then I can put a 350 in and probably due something witht eh paint job (horrible job done by some mexicans to a white). I would probably get the intereior reupholstered to match the paint too (hopefully keep it suede like it is now)

You definitely need to have a frame shop check the frame. It can look OK but be bent anyway. You have to put it on a frame machine to measure it accurately.

The hit was straight on tailgate and didn't touch the bumper, so it would make no sense for the frame to be bent. The area of the frame claimed to be bent is in the driver's rear about under where the gas flap is. The "bent" is actually a uniform concave shaping and the second supposed bend would be impossible, considering the fact that both sides have this "bend" next to the shocks.

So it's not as bad as my buddy's then?

http://img292.imageshack.us/img292/2711/dsc02031zl8.jpg

Luckily, he was alright. Can't say the same for the elco, though.