It is with great sadness that I have to make this post. Nearly 6 weeks ago, and uninsured asshat T-boned my beautiful 2002. He was in a great hurry to visit the vape store before going to work 
I was totally blindsided and had no time to react. The fortunate part is that other than a couple of bruises and muscle soreness, no one was injured. The tragic news is that my baby is no more. The insurance agency had threatened to total it twice before but I managed to talk them off the ledge because they had little idea of the actual value of the car. As the body shop (Stuarts Paint and Body in Dallas) began removing damaged pieces, they kept finding more damaged pieces. The final nail in the coffin was when they discovered the drivers side frame rail was damaged. The supplemental estimate put the repairs at over 80% of the value and that means "totaled" to them. Today, I got that dreaded call. Now, decisions have to be made. They have given me a settlement figure of $75K, clear after deductible. I have asked for a "buy back" amount and they are going to have that for me tomorrow. So, I am asking you guys what you think is best to do. Let her go and start over on another NSX with a clean history or buy her back, make the repairs and have a care with a salvage title. FWIW, I had never intended to sell her anyway, I will talk to the body shop tomorrow to see if it is truly unrepairable (as was stated) or if it is not repairable because the insurance company closed the purse strings. If it is unrepairable, the decision is made for me. If it is repairable, things get tougher. Here are a few shots of the damage from the scene of the accident. The force of the impact ran my car up on the curb but it was there was a wheelchair ramp at the entrance to the strip mall (where asshat was going to the vape store) so the NSX went up smoothly and the passenger side seems damage free. The main impact was on the driver side front wheel and the momentum of my car dragged his forward and down my driver side door. The door was effectively welded shut. No damage to the rear quarter panel at all.
If I let her go, I have gotten the OK from the insurance company to remove all of my upgrades and replace them with the OEM parts that I have stored in my attic. Lots of work for sure but it will be worth it.
UPDATE March 23: I spoke with my insurance agent and he said that if I buy the car back and restore it, it will have a salvage title, which I already knew. It will be insurable but only from a liability standpoint. He explained it as "insurance is not going to pay you twice". That makes me inclined to not buy it back. He also explained that my policy does not guarantee that the settlement value will be sufficient to get me back into a comparable car. I have not received a buy back price yet but should hear something today. Thanks to everyone for their comments and sympathy.
UPDATE March 28: I have decided to save the NSX! I managed to get the insurance company (State Farm) to back off on the "Total Loss" thing and cut me a check for a bit over $50K to bring her back to her original glory. After speaking at length with Joe Lamarillo (pbassjo) at Vincent's Auto Body Works, I've decided that he is the surgeon with the skills! Now all I have to do is find a way to ship the car to him in NY and the project can begin. Thanks, everyone, for the suggestion, tips and references :smile:
I was totally blindsided and had no time to react. The fortunate part is that other than a couple of bruises and muscle soreness, no one was injured. The tragic news is that my baby is no more. The insurance agency had threatened to total it twice before but I managed to talk them off the ledge because they had little idea of the actual value of the car. As the body shop (Stuarts Paint and Body in Dallas) began removing damaged pieces, they kept finding more damaged pieces. The final nail in the coffin was when they discovered the drivers side frame rail was damaged. The supplemental estimate put the repairs at over 80% of the value and that means "totaled" to them. Today, I got that dreaded call. Now, decisions have to be made. They have given me a settlement figure of $75K, clear after deductible. I have asked for a "buy back" amount and they are going to have that for me tomorrow. So, I am asking you guys what you think is best to do. Let her go and start over on another NSX with a clean history or buy her back, make the repairs and have a care with a salvage title. FWIW, I had never intended to sell her anyway, I will talk to the body shop tomorrow to see if it is truly unrepairable (as was stated) or if it is not repairable because the insurance company closed the purse strings. If it is unrepairable, the decision is made for me. If it is repairable, things get tougher. Here are a few shots of the damage from the scene of the accident. The force of the impact ran my car up on the curb but it was there was a wheelchair ramp at the entrance to the strip mall (where asshat was going to the vape store) so the NSX went up smoothly and the passenger side seems damage free. The main impact was on the driver side front wheel and the momentum of my car dragged his forward and down my driver side door. The door was effectively welded shut. No damage to the rear quarter panel at all.If I let her go, I have gotten the OK from the insurance company to remove all of my upgrades and replace them with the OEM parts that I have stored in my attic. Lots of work for sure but it will be worth it.
UPDATE March 23: I spoke with my insurance agent and he said that if I buy the car back and restore it, it will have a salvage title, which I already knew. It will be insurable but only from a liability standpoint. He explained it as "insurance is not going to pay you twice". That makes me inclined to not buy it back. He also explained that my policy does not guarantee that the settlement value will be sufficient to get me back into a comparable car. I have not received a buy back price yet but should hear something today. Thanks to everyone for their comments and sympathy.
UPDATE March 28: I have decided to save the NSX! I managed to get the insurance company (State Farm) to back off on the "Total Loss" thing and cut me a check for a bit over $50K to bring her back to her original glory. After speaking at length with Joe Lamarillo (pbassjo) at Vincent's Auto Body Works, I've decided that he is the surgeon with the skills! Now all I have to do is find a way to ship the car to him in NY and the project can begin. Thanks, everyone, for the suggestion, tips and references :smile:
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