Yesterday, a SUV ran a red light and I avoided a head-on collision by pitching the car into a utility pole. The damage is somewhat severe. It's bad enough that I don't want to keep the car.

Let me run this by you guys in hopes of receiving some feedback and advice. I'm to meet the appraiser at the salvage yard at 10AM tomorrow. Afterwards, I plan to drive right down to the Mitsu dealer and trade the car in. They have a body shop, and I'm hoping that my bargaining position will be better for it. Basically, I want to give them the damaged Evo and the insurance settlement in trade on a new IX. Does that sound reasonable? I've never done something like this, and I'm not exactly sure this is the appropriate action to take. I do know that I don't want to keep the car, and I feel that the sooner I replace it, the better. Does that make sense to those with some experience?

 

They will take you to the bank on trade-in. I would wait to see what the insurance people say and try to get it written off as a total loss if the damage is indeed that bad.

 

ya i wouldnt even bother trying to trade it in because they wont give you anything for it. Id let the insurance ride through first.

 

Yes, I understand that.

If a total loss is not an option, which most likely won't be, I'd like to hear from a Mitsu dealer/salesman as to the best strategy. For varying reasons, I need to make a decision tomorrow.

 

I'm comfortable with trading it in. I need to know if my position is better, given the dealer's body shop. I need to know if I'm better off fixing the car and then trading it in, or letting the dealer fix it and adding the settlement to the pot. My thinking, as naive as it may be, is that the dealer can earn some extra shekels by doing the repair work himself, thus making my bargaining position better.

I would really like to hear from folks with actual insight in the matter.

 

Im a mitsu salesman and I can share what I know about my dealership. Anytime we have a trade-in with damage we get it appraised by our body shop. Whatever it cost them to fix, the dealership deducts it from the trade in price which is normally not much less than any other body shop since they still need to make a profit. Also keep in mind that they are gonna give you less for the trade even if it was in perfect condition compared to selling it to someone.

Is your trade paid off?
What is the ins. settlement?

 

any pics of the accident. by the description of the accident, i would imagine it to be total loss unless u hit it dead on hella slow.

 

Thank you for taking the time to comment, GG.

The trade is not paid off, but the down payment was substantial and there will be money left over even if the trade-in value is relatively low.

I don't know the amount of the insurance settlement, but I will at 10AM tomorrow. The insurer want the car off the impound lot ASAP - as in right after the appraiser's visits - so I need to decide where to tow it.

I really don't want to sell it, myself, so any strategy advice from you is more than appreciated.

Thanks again.

 

just take that money and build it unless you have chassis damage if you do then good luck cause the dealer is going to try to steal it

 

The car hit a high curb and then bounced off a utility pole. The front fender, the hood and the passenger door will have to be replaced, as will the passenger side wheels. The engine bay was torn open with leaking fluids, etc, and both air bags deployed. The front, passenger side wheel is sitting parallel to the pavement, so I imagine the suspension is f#cked. I'm sure there's a lot more damage that wasn't immediately visible. OTOH, the driver side looks fine, as does the back of the car.

 

I fully understand that the Mitsu store is not a charity and their need to make a profit. Keeping the car is out of the question. I'm looking for the best way to go about this, given my constraints.

 

[...text deleted - double post...]

 

I am a sales manager at a Cadillac dealer. I used to work at a Mitsu dealer.

If the car is driveable you'll want to give them the option of wether they would rather take the car in damaged with the check or give you an idea of what they'll pay you for it if it were fixed. There's no way anyone can answer you question without a hands on apraisal.

I have been involved in deals that have gone either way.

 

Hi, GPT. Thanks for posting. The car is not drivable and it needs to be towed from the impound lot tomorrow. How would you handle this if it were your car?

 

I would think that getting it fixed with the insurance check yourself and selling it on your own would be the best way to get back most of your money.

I think you'll lose a good chunk of change by trading it simply because it is now a used car. I wanted a WW IX, but the dealer said they couldn't get one for a month so I bought a TB. 3 days and 200 miles later they had a WW on the lot. Of course I asked for the trade and they wanted my car with 200 miles on it and $8K to get the WW one, same model IX w/SSL.

If you're prepared to lose money like that then go for it, otherwise I'd get it fixed and sell it yourself.