Thread: HARD decision comments needed!

I have a 1996 200SX SE-R.And so basically i was driving home from school and it was raining last Wednesday and the car in front stopped short. i hydroplaned and i crashed into the car in front of me with my se-r...

the minor things:
bumper and fender are broken
headlight broken
corner
scraped hood

major(more concerned) things:
control arm bent
frame might be slightly bent...
sway bar is bent
wheel is massively off
tie rod is bent strut is bent
and a few others...

but basically i just spent 1500-1700 dollars in repairs less than a month ago just on suspension and brakes!!! all of the aforementioned items where brand new excluding the cosmetics... but all in all i am more or less out of money...
should i risk trying to fix the car slowly or just part it out and look for another?
its a hard decision... please give feedback

what i learned about cars and accidents...is when any accidents involve suspension issues and alot of em....the car is a more of a headache then anything trying to get back to normal...not trying to talk you outta it..but it might be better off parting

Try to source some parts first, gather up some prices for parts and labor (if you don't do it yourself), and move on from there. Seems like all parts that are easily replaceable, just a PITA the work on. If it seems like too much money to fix it all right, maybe look for another car.

well i already sourced the parts and it turns out its gonna cost me roughly 700 about give or take... but thats from what i have found as of now... im afraid as i start to take things apart ill find more... i understand, but my biggest fear is spending all the money on parts and dont forget the time its gonna take for me to work on it... between college and a full time job... and the car doesnt drive like it used to! like you said suspension is a biggie, and its a pita to screw with...

Get a new car

not that easy...

I'm with this. Especially since you think there's frame damage. That right there is the killer. Tough to repair, and you'll undoubtedly be constantly paying to fix and maintain the car should you keep it. While $700 is the number you've got now, that will quickly balloon into a monster, and the labor involved will turn into a nightmare.

After an accident of the magnitude you described, a car can't be simply "fixed", only managed. Sadly, you'll fare much better in all respects with another car. Another 200sx would be an amazing solution.

Part it out man and get a new car. Perhaps you can find a 1.6 and swap all your parts over from your SE-R to the other shell? If the frame is messed up, like you said, it'll be a pain to try and fix. And even then it might not ever be 100% again.

Part it.

find another 200sx and switch your parts to that and thats your best bet