Thank you for helpful message. I've already looked up the airbags online, found both curtains for a decent price. The horn was is a bit more expensive but not much. That stuff should be easy. If I can fix this all for 5k or less, I'll consider it a good deal. I'll have fun replacing everything, been a while since I turned a wrench

 

If it doesn't run or drive, there is more going on up front then you can see..

Honestly this looks totaled by a lot $ money wise. There is even damage on the roof.. This was for sure a hard hit!!

We are all here to help and give opinions. Let us know when you get the hood open to we can see how bad the crumble zone looks under and behind the radiator support.


^^ Above is the 2021 chassis - but all same mostly.

Joe Z

 

I have gap insurance, if necessary I will get it totaled out. I really don't want to have to take on a brand new car loan tho. Building up an LLC and trying to establish business credit etc. I've got a lot going on that I won't go into details about.

if the damage is purely cosmetic and just maybe need a new radiator and condenser, ive already got parts in my ebay cart that total up to less thank $2k. That will get it drivable. New sensors, Air bags, and air ducts/splash guards/whatever else is under car, will be done after.
nothing i can do about roof lol but at least it didnt hit windshield or sunroof

I have an is300 i can drive around in the mean time but even that isn't in the best shape.

I'll grab some pics tomorrow once I can get into it.

 

forgot to address this - the battery is just dead. I think tow truck driver turned on power to turn steering wheel then left it on.
couldn't jump car because hood was stuck closed. May have to cut it open tomorrow

 

It looks like the Front core support was damaged. It also looks like it will take a Body shop to weld and pull the Frame. If and when you start pulling off the damage is when you are going to find out all. It would also need some Body shop measurement rods to tell if the Front is twisted left to right. That ain't no fender bender.

 

I found some pics online about an hour ago that make me confident I can fix it all myself. Ive got a couple friends with welding machines and i can prob find a puller. Comparing pics to my car, once you get past the cosmetic stuff like bumper and hood folded up, there doesn't seem to be too much in the way. Just rad support.

I really don't think the frame is twisted at all, headlights and fenders line up 100%. And you can see in the pics I posted above that the frame rail adapter itself is bent, which relieved a lot of the stress.

I'll have more info in the morning and thanks to everyone giving helpful feedback.

I'm 100% prepared to total it out if necessary but dont mind busting my knuckles up doing it myself and saving the insurance premium.

Below are pics I found online of someones 250 after crashing it on highway




my headlights didn't move a single millimeter so those parts of the rad support/frame seem to be okay.

I'm hoping I can get away with just swapping a new upper rad support in, maybe ill have to bend the bottom one back out? Ill measure to make sure it's within as little tolerance as possible. But after seeing these pics of Front end exposed, my damage only went back as far as the ac condenser, MAYBE hit the rad. So got my fingers crossed.

If I'm wrong I'll be back here to let you guys know asap

 

If you call insurance, totaled for sure. I've had cars totaled for a lot less. I just don't understand why you're asking for our opinion, getting our opinion, and then getting confrontational when its not the same opinion you had. At that point just rebuild your car and forget about us

 

I was being colloquial when I said "totaled", so I guess bad choice of words. Moreso meant is it even repairable by hand with minimal effort. Not really what insurance will say, bc I'm in a state where it doesn't even have to exceed car value, it's basically up to insurances discretion whether they total something out.

I only meant to be confrontational to whomever suggested something shady was going on. I was really just anticipating getting some helpful advice and not the "op is lying" regurgitated bs.

Spent all weekend doing research and so far, think I can handle it from here. Posted this thread hoping to save myself some headaches.

Either way, once I see car later I'll get some more details and maybe make a new post on the rebuild so it's here for other members' future reference.

 

God help him if he doesn't tell his insurance company about this.

 

This entire situation seems sketchy at best. Will the increase in premiums outweigh the cost of repairs? Also, not sure how much you equate your time for $/hr, but that's another cost needed to be included, if you are doing the work yourself. Lots of factors to consider here, which is why most, including myself, think this is sketchy. I mean, if my house was damaged in any way; even though I know how to repair it, I'd let the insurance company handle....because that's what I pay them for. Not to mention, my time is extremely valuable. If I'm using my time to repair something that I pay someone else to take care of, is this not a loss on both ends? I'm with Tonio on this one, if you had it in your mind that you are going to repair it without contacting the insurance company, then why ask us at all? Just fix it and go on. But if you are repairing a vehicle that you have insurance on, in order to keep from filing a claim, is this not insurance fraud? Why would you gamble with this option? Think your premiums are high now, just wait....

Before you reply, just consider. I'm not trying to be an internet genius or know-it-all. Just trying to paint a complete picture. Ultimately, it's your car. Do with it what you wish.

 

Totaled for sure

 

Read above. I was being colloquial, aka didn't actually mean "will insurance total this out" moreso was asking if the community thought i could repair it myself.
is it worth my time? Yes. I have the fortune or being self employed and have quite a bit of time on my hands. I've helped friends with more daunting car repairs, for free. I can turn a wrench on my own vehicle.

Minus airbags, it looks like parts will set me back less than $2000. That alone is my deductible, so yes its worth me doing the work myself. I'll spend the next week or 2 trying to source some airbags for cheap, they seem to be the most expensive thing, as someone here mentioned.
this isn't my first crash, not even my first total. So I do NOT want to have to go through insurance. I don't live in a rural area like so many forum people do. Why do so many people gaf about that? In my teen/early adult years i've thrown together engine swaps and suspension work with hand tools and missing half the bolts, drove those cars for years. I'm sure I can take my time and get an is350 to decent road worthy status with stock parts.

You mention a house. Do you have any clue how many homeowners do home repairs on their own? Lol. Anyways. Thanks for the concern. Car even has gap coverage. I'm going to attempt to fix it anyways. I'll explain more in my next comment

 

The issue for some of us is that you're not telling your insurance company you were in an accident that caused quite significant damage to your vehicle. That could create problems for you downstream.

 

I want to thank everyone for the concern.
after checking out car, it seems like I should be able to fix things myself.
Frame rails appear straight. Passenger crash bar bracket is bent but those swap out easily. Few bolts.
Bottom rad support is a bit mangled up, should be able to pull it out without much issue. tugging on it didnt make it budge at all. As long as it holds everything it's supposed to, I'll be okay with it.
top rad support is toast. Good thing theyre cheap online.
Passenger headlight has a broken tab, the passenger rad support got pushed back and ripped a spot weld. Should be able to bend it back into place with minimal effort. If not I'll get a friend to weld a new one in. They are also cheap online.

Will need new ac condenser and radiator. Ac condenser is bent but held up well, I don't think it was punctured. Radiator isnt bent at all, passenger side of it just got pushed inward towards engine. There was some coolant in bay, not a lot so I think it may have been a hairline crack.
The radar is 100% okay thankfully. Not sure how much that would've cost. Just barely missed getting hit.

As far as I can tell, the structural integrity of the car is good enough to drive. Nothing is bent that would cause car to not track straight and cause any serious potential issues. Am I a metallurgist? No. So if there seems to be anything concerning during repairs, I will contact friends who work in body shops and see what options are. Hope that gives you all some relief.

Parts for front clip will run me less than $2000, minus any new airbag sensors I may need? I have to look into that. My list actually comes to less than 1500 but I'm leaving some margin for error. I'll be prepared to spend 3k.
airbags will prob be another 2000. Bodywork can be done for free by some close friends if necessary. I'll bring the beer.

Dent on hood will need to be banged out. Sunroof still seals. I'll get that done professionally in future.


Tl;dr
Would insurance have totaled this? Most likely. My mistake in wording original post the way i did.
I just wanted to know if i could fix car myself or if it was a lost cause. At this point, im going with the former. I would like to keep my awd f sport with dark red interior and low miles, that I've already been paying for, instead of getting a new car that I'd have to get a new loan for.

also i don't have to deal with higher premiums and potentially being dropped by insurance who I also am sort of in legal proceedings with (like I said earlier, multiple reasons. Won't list them here)

I'm back home now and relaxing. I'll get pics some time this week when I start removing the front end parts, right now bumper and all that stuff is in the way of rad support/frame.

I will hopefully be able to make a detailed rebuild thread.

if AMC squeezes ill part this out and buy an is500

 

As true as that is, I don't get what's "shady" about it. If I can afford the repairs, why go through insurance and get it totaled out? If my insurance was cheap and only cost like $60 a month I wouldn't care but it's much, much higher. I'd prefer to avoid them if/when necessary. No other vehicle was involved in accident. Police were on scene, obviously car is legal otherwise I wouldn't have been able to get it out. They saw all documents for car after accident.

This post could've been filled with helpful comments on what major things to look for after accident - which parts give way first, what I may or may not be able to do on my own, points of reference from other people's own crashes/repairs (like thanks to the guy who mentioned airbags being expensive, he was 100% correct. Also thanks to guy who provided 2021 body frame image)

You know, things that could help other people with their own repairs in the future. That's what forums are for