When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Hey there everyone , long time lurker here in an unfortunate situation. So a week or so back my G37xs coupe was involved in an accident and was deemed totaled. I owned the car and was offered a cheap buyback from my insurance company , so with my girlfriend’s grandmother offering a place to keep the car until I’m done with school in a few years I ended up buying the car back. I love the car and was planning on getting it fixed when I’m out of school in a few years but in the meantime I was wondering , from the photos is there anything I could realistically work on myself without a shop in the meantime? And if not is the car still manageable enough that a body shop could still fix the car? Thank you in advance.
First off, sorry that you find yourself in this situation and I hope that you're ok.
In terms of what you can do for yourself it depends on what level of knowledge you have when it comes to working on your car, or how much you desire to learn to do things on your own. The biggest thing here is whether the car itself is still straight. There is plenty on the front end you can easily replace and rebuild with new parts but if you tweaked the unibody chassis then you have much bigger problems on your hands. If the car is still straight then it is just a matter of removing all the damaged parts and replacing them. If you're not familiar with the car the best thing you could do would be to jack up the front end and look at the driver side (provided it is undamaged) to see what everything is supposed to look like and use it as a template for fixing the damaged side. If you're unfamiliar with things take lots of pictures along the way to help with reassembly especially if you plan to do it over a long stretch of time as its easy to forget where things are supposed to go. Also make sure to disconnect the battery to be safe.
There are YouTube videos galore and plenty of forum DIY's that will teach you a lot. Just be careful if you are new to working on your own car, take your time and you'll find you can probably accomplish a good bit on your own provided you have some mostly basic tools.
First off, sorry that you find yourself in this situation and I hope that you're ok.
In terms of what you can do for yourself it depends on what level of knowledge you have when it comes to working on your car, or how much you desire to learn to do things on your own. The biggest thing here is whether the car itself is still straight. There is plenty on the front end you can easily replace and rebuild with new parts but if you tweaked the unibody chassis then you have much bigger problems on your hands. If the car is still straight then it is just a matter of removing all the damaged parts and replacing them. If you're not familiar with the car the best thing you could do would be to jack up the front end and look at the driver side (provided it is undamaged) to see what everything is supposed to look like and use it as a template for fixing the damaged side. If you're unfamiliar with things take lots of pictures along the way to help with reassembly especially if you plan to do it over a long stretch of time as its easy to forget where things are supposed to go. Also make sure to disconnect the battery to be safe.
There are YouTube videos galore and plenty of forum DIY's that will teach you a lot. Just be careful if you are new to working on your own car, take your time and you'll find you can probably accomplish a good bit on your own provided you have some mostly basic tools.
Good luck!
First I just wanted to say thank you very much for your response I appreciate it , I’ll say I have basic knowledge of working on cars (changing oil , spark plugs , brakes etc ) but not to this extent. I’m 100% willing to work / learn how to work on it because I love the car and want to keep it for life , I think the only thing bothering me was where to start. The taking photos of the driver side which is Undamaged
Is a great idea so I’ll be doing that for sure. I’m not an expert but I do think the frame should be good , what would be the best course of action on being able to check the unibody? Do you think a body shop would be willing to look at the car where it is and be able to tell wether the frame is damaged/which parts would need to be replaced?
After you're done with school you'll need to work to pay off those student loans. Sadly many such projects end up on the backburner then forgotten then unloaded because you're moving or you need the space.
Cars are meant to be driven, not sit rotting away outside.
It's a win win if you can part it out for more than you paid the insurance co.
Any estimate a body shop writes up is likely to expand given unforeseen hidden damage which has likely resulted. How deep down the rabbit hole are you willing to go......
After you're done with school you'll need to work to pay off those student loans. Sadly many such projects end up on the backburner then forgotten then unloaded because you're moving or you need the space.
Cars are meant to be driven, not sit rotting away outside.
It's a win win if you can part it out for more than you paid the insurance co.
Any estimate a body shop writes up is likely to expand given unforeseen hidden damage which has likely resulted. How deep down the rabbit hole are you willing to go......
Jsolo isn’t wrong here... it is really easy to have a big project like this sit for so long that you lose interest or have need to get rid of it down the road. Odds are also that the value of the G will continue to decrease making it potentially more practical to part out the car, invest the money, and buy another one in a few years when your done with school.
Originally Posted by G370715
Is a great idea so I’ll be doing that for sure. I’m not an expert but I do think the frame should be good , what would be the best course of action on being able to check the unibody? Do you think a body shop would be willing to look at the car where it is and be able to tell wether the frame is damaged/which parts would need to be replaced?
I also absolutely understand attachment to a car and not wanting to part with it. If your intent on going this route, it is possible you can reach out to a shop to take a look at it where it sits. I have never tried it so I cant say how likely it’ll be. You also are at a disadvantage because in a shop they have appropriate equipment to really get a better sense of what is wrong so they will likely only be best guessing by coming to you. If the unibody is out of whack I would part out the car and take the money to put toward a new one. If the frame is ok I’d make a list of all the parts that need replaced and price out those parts to determine how much you are likely to have in fixing it. I’d also probably add 25-30% of whatever you “think” the cost would be for all the unforeseen or unexpected things you find along the way.
My first steps would include putting the car firmly in the air supported by jack stands. Take lots of pictures, then slowly start removing the bad parts, like the front bumper, fender, wheel. Keep taking pictures along the way and comparing to the undamaged side. Bag and tag any and all parts and nuts/bolts/clips etc. that you remove along the way that are undamaged. They can get expensive if you have to buy hardware and even more of a pain if you forget where things go. Make sure the battery is disconnected and then inspect wiring and connectors for damage. Once you get a lot of the damaged parts off the car you can more effectively visually inspect the structure of the car. Take measurements and compare to the undamaged side, this does not guarantee that you are in clear but it’ll help you see if there are significant issues. Ultimately a frame shop is who should look at the car and can give the precise measurements to know if everything is straight.
Finally I don’t know what your situation is financially and how much time you may have but the odds of you actually fixing the car yourself will increase if you start now and slowly but frequently work on it. If you let it sit for years odds are better you’ll never fix it and end up taking a loss by trying to off load it when you are done with school and priorities change.
A lot of good things have been said already, but I just went through this in May with my beloved Audi A4 and so I figured I'd chime in. Your biggest concern should be, like mentioned before, whether the frame is straight. The damage on the outside doesn't look to bad but if the frame is damaged then the cost of this is going to get extreme. I was quoted at least 10k to have my Audi's frame "fixed". It seems from everything I read, even if you went down this rabbit hole, there's still a chance the car will never be the same. Regardless, I know how you feel. If I was you, I'd start by taking off every part that's damaged and get an inventory list on what you need to replace. I was able to swap a few parts on my car to get it driving again. I got hit in the rear so it was only a control arm and shock, but the frame was still busted and I ended up selling it a few weeks later to someone that would part it out. I didn't have it in me to just scrap it and I hated seeing it how it was...
If you have the spare time and really love the car, start with taking it apart. Just realize that if the frame is damaged this is going to be something that might just be better letting go off.
One last thought, this could be a great chance for you to learn more about the mechanical side of cars if you want to. Even if you don't get it fixed, it's not like you're going to make the situation any worse by dissecting everything.
I looked at mine more in depth today. The rear frame is crushed on the back drivers side. Otherwise it runs and drives fine. Tragic how a little frame damage that doesn't affect the driveability totals the car.
I looked at mine more in depth today. The rear frame is crushed on the back drivers side. Otherwise it runs and drives fine. Tragic how a little frame damage that doesn't affect the driveability totals the car.
Not quite sure why you camped onto this thread, but I assume this comment is for the other G37 that was totaled. The only thing to say is that these cars are designed to deform and absorb impact energy that would otherwise go into the occupant's bodies and cause greater injuries. That would be the greater tragedy.
Back OT, I wonder if the G37xS pictured by the OP ever got rebuilt? It's been a few years, and maybe he finished school and can start the restoration? I know it's hard to keep a project like that on hold for a long time.
Not quite sure why you camped onto this thread, but I assume this comment is for the other G37 that was totaled. The only thing to say is that these cars are designed to deform and absorb impact energy that would otherwise go into the occupant's bodies and cause greater injuries. That would be the greater tragedy.
Back OT, I wonder if the G37xS pictured by the OP ever got rebuilt? It's been a few years, and maybe he finished school and can start the restoration? I know it's hard to keep a project like that on hold for a long time.
He hasn't been online since making this thread, so probably not.
IDK what camopaint0707 is doing here, that was weird.
09-03-2021, 12:13 PM
Comment deleted.
