Hello All,
I had recently purchased a 2005 RX330 with 80K miles and mint interior. Unfortunately the car was parked in the front of our home when a storm came in and blew a tree over onto it.
The car was for my kid for their 16 bday so I only had liability insurance on it at the time until it was to be driven on a regular bases which then i would have put full coverage on it.
The damage is to the rear of the vehicle.




I had a body shop come out and give me an estimate and they state it was not worth repairing since the repair would out way the actual value of the car. So my question is, would it be worth finding a high mileage 2nd generation RX330 and swapping out the engine, seats, and any other parts worth salvaging? It just seems like a waste to sell it for scrap but I also do not want to invest money into a lost cause.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Michael

 

So sorry to see this. It looks like toast to me. I would give it up. Maybe sell it for parts if you have time. Good luck!

 

Check with your homeowners insurance. If the tree was from your property, they might pay it off.

 

Thanks for the recommendation guys. HO wouldn't cover it. Insurance stated that all vehicle related issues are covered by auto insurance. Totally aggravated. If I do decide to sell it should I use a company like carbrain?
Thanks,
M

 

Sorry to hear about your situation.

Here's a radical idea: see if you can find a 2005 with a dead engine and a reasonable body on the cheap. Then move the 80K engine (probably the most valuable part remaining in your RX) over.

You can even broaden the search to include (even cheaper) dead cars that are missing parts (wheels, tires, suspension, interior, etc) that you can move over.

 

I don't have much to add but I just wanted to say I feel for you. Sorry this happened

 

Are u sure that home owners insurance wouldn’t cover it? I would think your insurance would have something in it that would cover it. If not then yea sadly it might be a lost cause unfortunately

 

part it out!!

 

yikes.... even if that was worth $100k, it would be a total loss.

 

Get an 04-09 with a crap motor or trans for $1500-$2000 and just swap over the engine or tran that car is totaled they have to weld a new dog leg piece on which involves removing pinch welds and stripping stuff down the the shell very expensive to fix that car would be about $8000-$10,000