[BillW]

Is it worth repairing a supra that’s been rear ended or should I just take the insurance money and start over?

It is a little difficult to see from the pictures below, but the force of the impact buckled the quarter panel above the rear wheel, towards the door, and that makes me think the damage may be too much to fix.

I bought the 89, 7mge, auto, 160k miles for $700, 6 months ago. I put in $1400 in parts, replacing the head gasket, timing belt, radiator, drive shaft, differential, rotors, etc. After that, the car was driving very nice, thanks in large part to the information on this site, and answers to my questions from CRE, Bill UK, Dark Supra 2.5 and others.

A month ago I gave the car to my Nephew, who lives in Sumter, South Carolina (i live in NJ). He loved the car and all was well. A week ago, the car was rear ended by a pickup truck, while sitting at a traffic light.

The driver of the pickup received a ticket. My Nephew was not at fault, according to the police record. My Nephew had a stiff neck and drove the car home after the crash.

The body shop estimated it would cost $3,200 to repair the damage, using junk yard parts. The insurance adjuster looked at the car today and said its totaled, and would give an amount next week. My guess is they will give $2500.

Considering the money and time put into the car, is it worth fixing? I imagine the rear end and quarter panel will need to be cut out of a donor car and welded in to make the repair. I guess we’d end up with a salvage title, and cosmetically the car would not be perfect, but it seems like drivability would not be affected, since the impact probably did not affect the suspension or the engine. Are there any other options to consider other than scraping the car and starting over? Any ideas are appreciated. Thanks.

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