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.

[hitcachi]

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.

Totally agree. I've seen it first hand. My friend took his cavalier to macco after we installed full body kit, aftermarket hood, and he went with the best paint job they offer. Well, right away we noticed small hairs in the paint, and small runs. Also, a couple months later, there was chipping. Another friend took his nice MK3 supra to get painted by some other economical based paint company, and now, 8 months later, being exposed to cold and hot the paint is fading and chipping. A bad paint job is easy to spot and a good one is hard to find. I have very little knowledge of auto body but from what i do know, it has allowed me to paint some things on my own and save tons of cash and headaches becasue i took my time.