car salvage update

[LivingAlmostLarge]

So my DH got into a car accident at work building. He was leaving and the garage door came down on top of the car. So the roof was damaged. We went to our insurance and tried to find contact information for the building managers. So we went to our insurance and they said to go to their repair shop which we did. They made a quote of about $12.5k to repair the damage. The problem is they are talking about salvaging the car since the repairs appear to be more expensive than the car. But it's very driveable only damage to the roof was the side was split becaues it was a commercial garage door.

So the problem is I gave our insurance and I contacted the building manager. They said they are reviewing video and talking to their insurance, this was last week. So our insurance said it's better to go through them and let them deal with the building. Or do we wait and talk directly to the building?

Next thought is do we keep the car if it's salvaged? Fix it? Our insurance company said they do insure salavaged cars so it's possible to keep. We want to keep the car, it's a "used" car that we know. It's a 2016 subaru legacy with only 77k miles. We were planning on keeping it for my 14 year old kid to have to drive in 2 years.

So the plan was not to buy a new or used/new car for another 2 years then with 3 drivers possibly get a new car. What should we do?

This happened end of January, but in April the building accepted responsibility so i scheduled the repairs. Or i called to. The shop ended up freaking me out saying it would take 2 months and it's likely not repairable. The guy was like "when we take it apart it will likely not work." Okay then.

So now I am scheduling the repairs for may but know we have to get a new car. Buying the salvage is $5k and I don't want to do that. They will give us $15k. I am unsure if its worth upgrading our panel for $15k. And so what do we do about EV?

[ua_guy]

Is the building's insurance company not also declaring the car a total loss? If they aren't, I wonder if this is one of those scenarios where they get into the repair and declare it then. That's really annoying.

The cost of the electrical panel upgrade seems like it needs to be considered as part of a potential EV purchase, not as part of the total loss of your existing car. A whole panel upgrade comes with other considerations for your home, like bringing it up to modern electrical code at the panel, which has value.

You can still charge an EV at home using a regular wall plug, but it's slow. Even with a 50a 11kW charger installed at home, it takes our EV 6-8 hours for a full charge. Using a wall plug it would take days.

[myrdale]

Let me see if I got your story right.

A garage door at your husband's work damaged the roof of his car.

After speaking with your insurance, a repair shop has quoted $12k for the repair.

You've spoken to the building manager, and they are in the process of reviewing the video.

Your insurance prefers their insurance to pay (really!).

You'd like to give the car to your kid to drive.

The building manager has now accepted responsibility. They are going to give you $15k to scrap it.

The repair shop your insurance wanted you to use doesn't want to mess with it.

Something about an electrical panel and electric cars.

OK.... Assuming all of that is correct, here is my opinion.

Take the $15k and scrap the car. The Google suggest it's worth $10-14k.

Buy another used car. Get another used car, 2020 with the $15k.

You DON'T have to use your insurance company's or their insurance company's preferred shop. You can take it anywhere, or no where at all.

Don't mess with the electrical panel unless your house insurance is paid.

[disneysteve]

Scrap the car. If I didn't say that in the previous thread, I'll say it here. The photos you showed have extensive damage that they are very unlikely to be able to fully correct. That car will never be right again. Either it will leak (highly likely) or will have electrical issues or both. And I'd question the safety and stability of the car in the event of a rollover accident.

[scfr]

The cost of the electrical panel upgrade seems like it needs to be considered as part of a potential EV purchase, not as part of the total loss of your existing car. A whole panel upgrade comes with other considerations for your home, like bringing it up to modern electrical code at the panel, which has value.

You can still charge an EV at home using a regular wall plug, but it's slow. Even with a 50a 11kW charger installed at home, it takes our EV 6-8 hours for a full charge. Using a wall plug it would take days.

I said it before and I'll say it again: A plug-in hybrid might be the answer.

[kork13]

I agree, based on the repair shop's assessment of the repair potential, it's almost certainly not worth pursuing. Scrap the car, get a different, quality, used car for now (with the expectation of handing it to DS when you/he are ready), and start setting money aside for the desired EV. As part of that car-purchase savings, work in the cost of the power panel upgrade. Also, shop it around -- I know that retrofitting an electrical panel is somewhat costly, but $15k seems steep ... I'd expect closer to the $6k-$10k range. Of course, you're in CA, which seems to have a massive COL markup for everything...

[LivingAlmostLarge]

Okay myrdale yep no it depends on what our insurance wants to do the other company is just paying for it apparently. 80% of car value for total loss. I have an appointment to May 6th fortunately and will find out that week if we eek out a repair versus a salvage. The guy on the phone at the shop basically laughed at me.

I am looking at 1-3 year old used cars. There are a quite a few deals.

Some tesla are $40k including FSD for 2021. Then there are Hyundai ioniq for $28k and Kia EV6 for $35k. So i'm thinking is that enough of a discount?

[bjl584]

I'm with the others. Scrap the car and use the settlement money to get something else.
I don't think that car will ever be right again, especially if the shop is saying they don't want to touch it.
You could have some serious functional and safety issues if you keep it on the road.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

we are scrapping the car but now I need a spreadsheet over new versus used. The new is pretty good deal with ev credit

[james.hendrickson]

we are scrapping the car but now I need a spreadsheet over new versus used. The new is pretty good deal with ev credit

Supposedly the EVs are cheaper to maintain and cost less over the lifetime of the car.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

Supposedly the EVs are cheaper to maintain and cost less over the lifetime of the car.

this i heard is true because lack of parts.

[Jluke]

Supposedly the EVs are cheaper to maintain and cost less over the lifetime of the car.

Until you have to replace the battery???

[ua_guy]

Tesla warranties the battery to 8 years/ 125k miles. I'm not aware of any ICE automaker who warranties anything to 125k... Tesla batteries are going well beyond that. In the end it's about the same as an engine rebuild or transmission replacement.

A model 3 can be leased for $299/month right now. That's CHEAP. If you consider you can nix the cost of gas too and get free charging included with a new lease/purchase on an EV, that adds up quickly.

I'm not a fan of leasing except for EV's. Manufacturers have over-estimated residuals which makes for low lease payments. I'd be uncertain about keeping an EV long term for the anticipated changes in technology and battery range alone.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

How do you get free charging? and i am heavily weighing the lease versus buying used

[ua_guy]

How do you get free charging? and i am heavily weighing the lease versus buying used

I don't know about Tesla's program, but I have heard they include some amount of free charging through their Tesla networks.

For our BMW, it came with 3 years of free charging. The program is through the Electrify America network of charging stations. The first 30 minutes of fast charging are free, and that's enough to bring the car up from 20-80% generally or higher depending on your needs. After your 30 minutes is up, you have to pay their rate for the extra time used. No big deal, if you need it.

I'm not in love with Electrify America. The chargers can be busy (all occupied), some are broken and/or sabotaged, or issues with the charger will prevent it from charging at the full advertised speed. We've made it work when we needed it to, but the key to EV success is definitely charging at home right now. In some instances we've skipped going to EA chargers and have gone to better-rated pay chargers when we're on a tight schedule.

Plugshare is a must-have app in order to scope out chargers. Your EV will also provide assistance in finding charging stations (availability, directions, different kinds, etc).