I own a '94 Camaro Z28. Recently I was involved in a wreck which really bashed up my rear end and passenger side.

My insurance company say it is a TOTAL and will give me approx. $3000 for it. I really love my car which gets a lot of looks and would like to repair it, but am wondering if it is worth it. The engine was rebuilt about 1-1/2 years ago and I've put a lot of work into it, mechanically and cosmetically, and it has a custom gold metallic paint job.

The first body shop I took it to told me he could 'make it all new again' for $4500. This is only a little bit more than the insurance co is going to give me, but do-able. The other 5 shops I took it to told me either they can't (won't) do it, or gave me amounts ranging from $6000 to $12000!!

I don't know why the first shop gave such a low figure, and has me now worried that they probably would do a crappy job. So now I am waking up to the fact that I may have to give up my gold chariot and just try to find another car. It's a pain to find another car for the price I'm getting from the insurance plus some of my own money. Plus when buying a second-hand car, you always get someone else's problems.

I know what's been done on my car and the engine is good, so now I have to decide whether it's worth putting the money back into it to get the rear end and right side fixed. I love my car, but I don't want to be foolish about it.

The first photo shows most of the damage. The other 3 photos show the car as it was before the wreck.

Any advice and/or suggestions?

 

I would go with the one that has the lowest est, if you want to keep it ,I just seen 94 on craigs list for 3800.00 with 37.000 miles ,so depends on where you live ,its your choice ,I would go bye miles ,how much we have on them ,what I do if figure $200.00 per month an take that amount off for each year I have owned = the round off to 10 years of owning it $24.000 now I don't have that much in it ,but cant own a new one for the price an don't want to couse I like the 4th gens,so I kept mine after 2 desent size wrecks ,about 3 more years I am even again an its paid for again after an engine swap an a accident too ,they pull our heart strings ,but I imagine unless things just go real well for me to keep it for another 9 years ,or be in a ls1 car in 3 to 5 years ,I am some times compulsive when it comes to money,so I could make the change or not ,good luck with it ,oh to add why some get so much more then others,couse some know what its worth like the guy with low price ,the guy charging 12k is out of there mind $4500 seems right from what I can see,as far as the low price check the shops reputation too,body work is a racket an cost way to much anyway

 

Can u buy it back? Find a roller and transplant your engine etc? It may not b cost effective, but can b done, the other guys are right, as u could find another one,, but I would want to save the engine if possible, can u negotiate w/insurance& show them your cost to rebuild engine or show them comparable local Camaro from dealers az their prices for flipping trade ins can be inflated, if you repair your car it will have salvage title FWIW. It's a tough call but comes down to money, not emotions, sometimes cars are never the same after rear end accident, later u may issues w/flex plate headers etc because the body shop didn't see hidden damage nor the ins adjusters

 

i would guess the frame is bent. unibody is not that hard to screw up. take the 3k and if you can find a good roller offer 500 bucks for the car.

 

I'm gonna just be talking out my hat here. But I just did a search for 93-2002 4th gen Camaro used quarter panels and found hundreds, many in grade "A" condition for under $500. Several were within 100 miles of my location in Florida. Of course you would need a quality repaint and I don't know what that costs. But in my humble opinion this is doable.
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Thanks for the suggestions guys....
But what's a 'roller'?

 

car with motor missing or not any good.

 

The first thing to determine is whether the uniframe is bent or not. If not, there wasn't any structural damage done, and a panel replacement with inner fender hammer/dolly work will straighten it back out. Sounds like you have an attachment to the car, so to you it may be worth it to fix back up.
As far as the title goes, that depends on your state. Here in IL, if you buy back the car from the insurance company (for pennies on the dollar), the state does not reissue a "salvage" title to you, as would happen if the insurance company took it over and sold it at auction, which is what they do. But even though the title isn't branded as "salvage", it would show the car was totaled and given salvage status on a Carfax report. Also, once your car has salvage status, your insurance company is unlikely to still cover it for collision. You're still covered if someone else hits you, but not if you wreck it yourself.

 

the shop should have told her that already if the frame is shot I had a similar accident but not the rear end the rear quarter panal drivers door an front fender an nose bumper cover front . was $5500 , to fix at that time that's excactly what they gave me ,looks like you spent a lot on that custom paint job .so just make sure they tell you nothing wrong with the frame get it all in writeing should be fixable an do it up ,roller is a car with no engine ,you realy want to waste the paint job if the car can be fixed probley not

 

Can't the unibodys be straighten out?? Did you ever find out IF you can buy it back and how much? I guess it depends on your abilities to fix the car or have the funds to pay someone to do it "right". Anyway....what ever way you decide I hope it works out for you.