My ex-girlfriend put her 1997 Eclipse GST into a guard rail in the rain on the fourth of July getting on the Thruway in Henrietta. She was on the onramp and hit some standing water or a really slick spot, then proceeded to do a 360 degree spin. The front of the car hit first then the right rear quarter, then the rear as she spun around.
The insurance company totaled the car obviously. Seeing as she has about $4000 invested in maintence and repairs (Shep Tranny - stock rebuild: new 3-4, new OEM clutch, new control arms, done at Hybrid, new brake calipers, rotors, pads, new tires with only 400 miles on them 
) over the past 2 years I told her to buy it back and she could sign over the title to me and I would reimburse her for the buy back amount.
Damage to car is nothing too major, it looks worse than it really is, and no air bags deployed. We are going to put in on the frame machine later this week to atleast get that all pulled out. Only structural damage is in the front (core support, inner fender, and headlamp brackets), the rear is cosmetic. It has around 100K miles on it, and has been properly maintained for the time she owned it. It was her daily driver and execpt for a few incidents was very reliable. The body was almost flawless prior to the incident too:(
I found a donor 1997 GSX with a blown engine, no tranny, and no drive train. I decided not to buy the entire shell, so with help from Bobby we cut off from the strut towers forward, took the hood, fenders, side skirts, front and rear bumpers, and a couple buckets of misc parts. Best part is that the parts are all the same exact color which my body shop guy says there is only one variant for, so some things may not need to be painted, maybe a good buff. Yet, I am extremely picky so I might just have him respray the entire car the same Sarrona Red Color, and then do a Silver Pearl or something of that nature in the clear coat.
I am not sure if I should actually go through with this, since the title will be rebuilt after I register it, yet not branded, I fear I will not get more than $2000-2500 out of the car if I go to sell it in a year or two even though the car will really be in perfect shape then. I figure it will cost me around $3000 or so in labor depending on how far I go with everything, plus the cost of parts I bought and will still need. I have the money for the project, that is not the problem, and I plan on keeping the car basically stock as it is right now. Also, I know the car will be fixed the right way the first time, I 100% trust the guy doing the work he had a big part in making my Eclipse looks as clean as it did, he is definitely a Great Detailer! And I have seen some before and afters of his repairs, and some of the custom work he has done.
So Should I fix it?
OR
Should I make a post tomorrow selling the entire car and all the replacement parts I have for it all in one big bundle so whomever buys it gets everything, I will not part piece by piece out which I know is where I can make a ton of money but I just don’t have the time/space/ambition to do that. The only parts I don’t have yet are headlamps, and I need an upper IC pipe.
Here are some pictures:
What does everyone think?
Tony
