Beyond repair *SAD*, Going to cost over $10,000 to fix Options

[silverspyder]

I just got the estimate this morning to fix my beloved celica.
My wife hit a deer in it.

The labor is going to be a little over $2000, but the parts are killing me at a whopping $8000.
I refuse to post pictures of my celica as is because it's heart-breaking.
And it's really not that bad, a hood, a fender, front glass...
maybe an upper core support and a couple headlights.

The freakin' body shop told me, and I quote, "It would be stupid of you to fix this car"

I can get wholesale toyota parts from a dealership I used to work at,
but they're still expensive. Especially those airbags.

I'm depressed and I just thought I'd share.
Nobody else's celica to compare to mine in my heart.

I have to decide whether to part her out and buy a newer 6th gen,
or continue on this "stupid" quest to restore her to her glory + extras like a GT-four hood and C-one front cover.

Ebay doesn't look too promising at this point. I don't want a convertible or a 1.8L.

[creamed_corn]

Thread is old, but a word to the wise....

Don't be a cheapskate on autobody work or you'll regret it the rest of your cars life.

95% of the guys out there do absolute **** for work, and the 5% that are actually good are well worth the price they charge you.

Basically, you pay for what you get. I've seen "professional" paint jobs and rust touch ups come back a year or two later peeling, cracked and bubbling. I've seen hood and fender gaps that would make General Motors wince (and that's saying a lot). Any idiot can be an auto body tech. It takes someone who likes his job and cares about you to do it right.

"I have a buddy that..."

Your buddy is ****. If he does it for free then that's just an excuse to do a bad job.