steveski

I think $1,000 as stated earlier is a fairly close estimate.

LSfour

https://www.clublexus.com/gallery/sh...0&ppuser=79491

the trunk pops open quite well, but the gas gover does not. i have to pry it open, but it doesn't latches back when you close it. so we went to the auto bidy shop recommended by the insurance and their estimate was $4,091. i think the insurance would declare it "total wreck" and have it appraised and buy it. Another option our insurance advised us is to go to this "drive in" shop, they will estimate the job and give a check according to their estimate. i hope it'll be enough if i have it repaired by "Maaco" or some auto body shop.

option 1 is really not favorable 'cause we learn to appreciate how smooth and comfortable this car really rides and drives, even at 17mpg - city. i was even considering having it repaired and repainted after reading all the posts here - 500k miles as some say they have.

meanwhile i'll wait for the insurance's offer.

thanks guys!

PureDrifter

iTrader: (10)

take the 4grand, buy another one.

in socal 1st gens can be had for cheap if u look in the right places

heyhowyado

wow...that sucks....it's painful to look at

if you don't mind me asking, how did you manage to spin out like that??

Suneet

Ouch, ouch! I know how you feel. Let me post some pictures of the damage I incurred, and I'll tell you how much I paid for it.





That cost me $1300 to fix, $300 of which was for parts, and $1000 was a flat labor price, which was a discount since they painted my entire car only a month before

sbguyy

With todays labor rates,replacing the rear quarter panel and paint. It will come very close to the value of the car. The bumper cover and chrome molding is almost 700.00 alone, without paint! Good luck! Sorry for your mishap.

CK6Speed

iTrader: (1)

If the insurance company is willing to give you $4K for that I'd take that deal. Like PureDrifter said, 1st gens are pretty easy to find and they are not that expensive either.

LSfour

Went to Maaco today for a job estimate. Maaco guy said $1,800 plus tax which includes replacing of rear bumper, hammering back-to-form the dented part (including the old dings),heavy sanding of whole body, priming, and painting. Meanwhile, we're still waiting for the insurance's offer, which was sent through mail. Will see if it will cover this job.

Anybody got opinion on Maaco worksmanship? I was told they have 4 years warranty.

Suneet

DO NOT EVER GO TO MAACO!

The horror stories are endless! Search the internet.

PureDrifter

iTrader: (10)

99.999% of the time it is **** (<--4 letter word, starts with S, ends with T, and isn't Soot.)

TMaxxTim

I've heard the exact same thing. I hear they don't spend much time taping the car to keep overspray down, along with people having a lot of orange peel they end up having to sand themselves and polish, or take somewhere else to fix the first mess.

Try to find an independent person who has their own booth. I got my SC fixed from a kind of do-it all shop, they replaced my engine once and I asked if they did paint and they had one booth, so their body guy fixed my dent for 50% of what the bodyshops insurance want to use cost.

Sixdown

Take the insurance money if it's a good offer.

DO NOT go to Maaco, and I stress that point.
I went there with my 1987 BMW 325e to get it repainted a while back. They claimed to have primed and sanded, and only a year later, the paint was peeling away around the sunroof and wheel wells, to shockingly reveal the old paint underneath.
There was not one ounce of primer on the car.

You can find any decent LS400 for under 4k. I found mine after two months of searching for one, and bought it off of a retired banker, who owned it since he bought it new.

Sure it has 130k miles, but there isn't any ding or scratch on it...lets hope my LS wasn't Maaco'ed.

LSfour

Thanks for the inputs! Finally decided to have the insurance company acquire it. probably will find something else. honestly, i have to give up RWD vehicle for the moment. read a lot of reviews about fishtailing of such. but i have to admit i feel bad to give up such a car of smooth and comfortable ride.

avalon42

iTrader: (1)

I've driven in those godawful heavy rains last month and my LS didn't fishtail once. I'd be more worried if I was somewhere with lots of black ice though.

Maaco jobs look fairly decent when they're recent. When time starts to roll by, you're gonna see a whole bunch of screw-ups, peeling, and downright crappy work (most of them use only a single stage paint, which means that the clear coat and the base coat are the SAME level/thing). For that money that you were quoted, you can go to a reputable Mom n Pop Body Shop, get it fixed and get a lifetime warranty.

Look up an I-CAR Gold Class shop.

BTW, when the insurance company buys out your car, they are probably gonna auction it off and it'll end up at a dismantlers. Try and see if you can get paid for it but keeping a few of the nicer parts for yourself.

sonyman

You're giving up RWD because of concern for fishtailing? That's so silly it's like saying you're giving up FWD because of concern for understeering. Buy what you want, put good tires on it, don't drive like an idiot, and you're all set. RWD, FWD, AWD, 4WD makes no difference day-to-day.