Bondo's not gonna fix this, need some advice

Discussion in 'Mazdaspeed 3 General Discussion' started by khoney, Mar 19, 2023.

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  1. khoney

    khoney Greenie N00B Member

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    Hey everyone,

    A Kia Sportage decided to mate with my beloved 2007 Speed. Neither of them enjoyed it, especially my car. If there's anyone out there with repair experience, I could use some advice on how (or if) to proceed. I'm the original owner in south Texas, so not rust issues. It's got 180k miles on it. Just a few weeks ago, I fixed both oil and tranny leaks by replacing the pivot shaft assembly and upgrading to the newer oil cooler. The car runs well and drives well, and I was hoping to get another 5 years out of it.
    I'm pretty sure the dude that hit me's insurance will want to total it and give me maybe a few thousand if I'm lucky. I really don't want to give up the car, because it's been a reliable vehicle all these years, not to mention I love driving it.

    20230319_144410_resized.jpg 20230319_144424_resized.jpg 20230319_144451_resized.jpg 20230319_144529_resized.jpg 20230319_144637_resized.jpg 20230319_144723_resized.jpg 20230319_144937_resized.jpg 20230319_145043_resized.jpg 20230319_150708_resized.jpg

    Obvious things to me are that it needs a whole new hatch and glass, new bumper and bumper frame, right-side taillight, and right fender panel would need to be straightened out. Whatever the hatch latch is attached to on the bottom is undoubtedly messed up. Some of the interior parts got pushed forward, but without pulling the hatch it's kinda hard to gauge the damage.

    Would like some advice on where to go from here. I think I could to most of the repair work myself, since it's mostly bolt-on parts, but not sure what's gonna be needed to fix the latch area, and how bad it is. Even though the hatch is lifted up above the roofline on one side, it appears from what I can see that there is no damage to the upper body where it attaches.

    Any ballparks on repair costs would be appreciated, or other advice. Was also thinking I could part it out if I had to, but that is probably a major hassle. What say y'all? With the mileage, is it worth saving? Pretty much everything's original that wasn't meant to be replaced.
     
  2. L337TurboZ

    L337TurboZ World Class Truck Squatter Greenie Member

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    My advice? Find a cheap 3 sedan chassis and swap it all over. You'll have everything to do a front end swap too.
     
    L337TurboZ, via a Motorola device, Mar 19, 2023
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  3. Easter Bunny

    Easter Bunny Professional Engineer Motorhead Platinum Member

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    It's totalled, and there is structural damage to the fender and roof. Even if you tracked down all the parts they wouldn't bolt up correctly

    I agree with @L337TurboZ about just getting a lower mileage standard 3 and swap the necessary parts though I would go hatch over sedan it won't really make a difference
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Mar 20, 2023
    Easter Bunny, via a mobile device, Mar 19, 2023
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  4. khoney

    khoney Greenie N00B Member

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    I did a rough calc of all new factory parts, and it came out to about $2,700. $2,350 if I go with aftermarket bumper cover. I'm really not sure there is roof damage - it looks to me more like the liftgate deformed while roofline stayed intact. The hinge is still flat and level. I really need to pull the liftgate, but I can't do that yet because the adjuster hasn't seen it. If the interior mating areas of the liftgate are messed up on left or right, it's probably game over. But if not, I might be able to get this repaired for under 5K. I don't think I want to do a swap, because (a) I'm not capable, and (b) Not that motivated. I guess my bigger question is, even if I could theoretically get her back for 5K, is it worth it on a 180k mile car? Could I reasonably hope to get another 70k out of it?

    P.S. - Have NOT replaced the timing chain.
     
  5. L337TurboZ

    L337TurboZ World Class Truck Squatter Greenie Member

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    Trust me, damage like that goes deeper than you can see.

    A swap isn't hard. You have to swap the wiring harness, ECU, and engine. Then swap fenders, bumper, and hood.
     
    L337TurboZ, via a Motorola device, Mar 19, 2023
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  6. Easter Bunny

    Easter Bunny Professional Engineer Motorhead Platinum Member

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    The swap will br easier than what you are proposing

    You also need to swap the instrument cluster. Or at least you do on gen 2
     
    Easter Bunny, via a mobile device, Mar 19, 2023
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  7. SyntheticAtmosphere

    SyntheticAtmosphere You only get ONE ride, ONE ticket, ONE time! Silver Member

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    If you repair it, dont forget the 5 more years of water leaks, creaks and rattles and things not fitting right or popping loose. Unfortunately in the interest of saving lives cars cant take much of a hit anymore. Cars have become appliances, not feats of engineering, lol.
     
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  8. Raider

    Raider Administraider Administrator Platinum Member

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    Kia owner probably has trash insurance coverage too.

    The speed is repairable, but will cost more than it is worth. Find a donor car and migrate your parts over. Also get checked out with an MRI on back and neck.
     
    Raider, via an iPhone, Mar 20, 2023
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  9. khoney

    khoney Greenie N00B Member

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    FYI, this is what the other guy's car looked like (except for the dents he put in his doors while kicking them in and yelling f*** over and over, both at the accident scene, and here, 10 minutes later). Gotta give some props to Kia, I guess...

    20230317_152020_resized.png
     
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  10. Easter Bunny

    Easter Bunny Professional Engineer Motorhead Platinum Member

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    sucks it looks like somehow they jumped over your bumper and fucked your car, if it had been bumper to bumper it may not have been as bad.
     
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  11. Awafrican

    Awafrican Moderator Gold Member

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    Dunno what you guys are worried about that'll buff out no problem! /s

    Sorry about your luck, although it could be repairable if you convince insurance
     
    Awafrican, via a mobile device, Mar 20, 2023
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  12. khoney

    khoney Greenie N00B Member

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    All of the electrical works (rear lighting), but I dug deeper today. I could hear the solenoid for the hatch, but the latch is stuck. Couldn't pry it open, so I ripped off the interior trim piece to reveal the body, and the body part where the latch is attached is pushed in a couple inches on the passenger side :(.

    If I could just get the dude's insurance to cover the body repairs, I would gladly buy the hatch, glass, bumper comoponents, tail light, etc. and install them myself. Still way cheaper than trying to get into a newer vehicle. I'm just too leery about buying another three that I DON'T KNOW and doing a swap. Besides, my front trim is a bit f'ed up also. Some drunk hit my right front fender in a parking lot, and my bumper keeps pulling out because when our builder poured my driveway, the f'ing county made them put a big dip in it, and my bumper keeps getting hung up ever since I lowered my car. I really just want it to be functional again. Don't even care much about cosmetics.
     
  13. Raider

    Raider Administraider Administrator Platinum Member

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    Functionality in play, there is simply a lot of work ahead of you to make the hatch properly seal (exhaust fumes are kinda deadly) from rain etc. The bottom of the trunk at minimum has to be replaced, and both quarter panels. Then anything else.

    For the front bumper, my RaiderFab Bumper Fitment Solution is totally possible to fix that. But the rest is more important.
     
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  14. khoney

    khoney Greenie N00B Member

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    Well, I decided my best option was to take the insurance money and use it for repair. The shop did exactly what I asked, and kept costs down. They found a used liftgate that already had good glass (although it looks like someone ran the wiper with no blade in it), and I only had them pull the passenger side quarter panel and get as good a fit as they could. They wanted to refinish and paint it, but I said I didn't care, the paint was in decent shape. They did create a crease up by the side window during the pull, but I don't really care. It ended up costing me ~6,100 from the shop, and insurance gave me $6,300. Had to buy new gas lifts and an interior piece on ebay, and I need to get an alignment done, so I came out about even. It's good to have her back home. Hopefully I can get a few more years out of her.
    After Collision Repair.jpg
     
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  15. SyntheticAtmosphere

    SyntheticAtmosphere You only get ONE ride, ONE ticket, ONE time! Silver Member

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    At least you get to enjoy the car together again, luckily it was a rear end, the business end is the front!
     
  16. Raider

    Raider Administraider Administrator Platinum Member

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    Amazing they didn't write it off!
     

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