Noob with a totaled 08 Land Croozr

[ekolpack]

Curious about the front passenger door. Seems the impact was from the rear....but if it buckled all the way to the front? Wow. What’s the frame situation?

Frame is perfect, wasn't even touched. The only real area of possible structural concern is the rear quarter panel inner frame and D pillar support structure. I've talked to a few body shops and they are all telling me it can be pulled out without having to replace the quarter panel.

 

[ekolpack]

I’m guessing it went into a ditch and spun. The rear bumper partially torn off was not from impact, but rather extraction. Door damage was from a tree... Just a guess.

Wow, you hit the nail on the head! I found receipts in the car from the original owner and contacted her. She said she started drifting into the oncoming lane in heavy rain (hydroplaning?) and swerved to avoid a truck. Ended up on side of the road with vehicle resting on passenger side and had to crawl out through sunroof. She said she wasn't sure how the rear quarter panel got damaged as she doesn't remember actually hitting anything, so yes, this was probably a side effect of extraction. It's crazy that the extraction seemed to cause far more damage than the actual accident! Either way, doesn't seem to be a major accident at all, no heavy impact as far as I can tell.

 

[ekolpack]

That looks like a pretty decent truck, considering the damage, and assuming you got a good enough deal on it to cover your costs and the reduced value. Are you returning it to stock, or do you have build plans for it?

She only has 120k miles on her, and I got her for a little over $16k after auction fees. If I can get her back on the road with a "clean(ish)" title for roughly $20k total, I'll be a happy camper.

I'd love to do some mods. As others have stated, bumpers are the most obvious choice. But the added cost of aftermarket bumpers, along with the fact that many still require decent condition stock bumpers (which are cut to accommodate new ones) and the fact that they will probably impact gas mileage, I may have to pass. Also, as others have pointed out, the front bumper just needs a little heat gun and push/pull action to pop out the dents, so tough to justify swapping that one.

Are there any aftermarket bumpers that aren't too expensive and don't require a stock bumper to cannibalize? Also, how do these bumpers (especially front) affect real world mpg? Thanks!

 

[ekolpack]

Congratulations, looks like a great project. If you have any aspirations to build it out, this is a great excuse to upgrade to front and rear metal bumpers, since you need to replace/repair them anyway. Best of luck with everything, and keep posting while you work on it. I'm looking forward to seeing you bring it back to life.

Hey Charlie! Thanks man! See previous reply regarding bumpers/bull bars. I'd love to do em, but a few concerns....what say you?

 

[ekolpack]

Do you have this site on your parts list?

Car-Part.com--Used Auto Parts Market

Absolutely! That's my go to! ALready found several parts on here! Great site!

 

[ekolpack]

Curious about the dirt and debris on the passenger seat and center console. The truck looks markedly cleaner on the outside than the inside. If the outside had mud all over it like it rolled in a swampy median, then I might get that a not-so-tidy tow driver brought some of the outside in. Might just be the photo, but seemed odd. Maybe busted off parts were thrown in there at the accident scene. Looks like a fun project.

Yeah there is tons of dirt and gravel inside.....not sure how it got there. The lady escaped the accident via sunroof, and most of the debris is on/around the center console. If I had to guess I'd say gravel somehow got in through the open sunroof as the vehicle was being extracted from the scene? Really not sure on that. A little cleaning/interior detail will be the easiest part of this project.

 

[CharlieS]

Absolutely! That's my go to! ALready found several parts on here! Great site!

I've had some luck when needing a lot of parts by contacting the salvage yard and seeing if they'll work a package deal. It's less hassle for them shipping several parts to one location, and I've saved a good chunk of money this way.

 

[ekolpack]

I had a vehicle that did damage like that, where the leading edge of the door was misaligned and when it opened, it bent the rear of the fender. I wonder if that might have happened here?

Yeah, the passenger door scrapes against the fender when opened. A body shop told me the rear quarter panel could be saved, but the front fender would need to be replaced. I was kinda surprised. If anything, I was thinking it'd be the other way around and the dents on the front fender could be pretty easily pulled and filled.....but apparently it's toast!

 

[ekolpack]

This going to be the first US chopped 200...?

Ha, dude, she was ONE BID away from ending up in Bahrain. Day of bidding, started out at $12,500, I was the only US bidder (weird?). Yemen and Bahrain quickly bid it up....ended up in a battle with Bahrain and they bid her to my absolute max limit ($15,100). I never break ranks with a hard limit, but had an intuition that I should give it ONE MORE try (what's $100 when you're talking over $15k?) That was the winning bid!

Had it gone to Bahrain, they'd probably cut the airbags and seat belts out and drive it as is for who knows what purpose. After getting up at 3am, renting a car and driving 4 hours to check her out, then spending the whole day at the Copart yard getting to know her, I couldn't let that happen

 

[ekolpack]

I’ll bite. What was your cost?

Can you get a rebuilt title on a vehicle without airbags. I don’t think anybody “reinstalls” curtain airbags.

Au contrair mon frere!

 

[ekolpack]

Here in TX you can get a rebuilt title all day long, only thing they are concerned about is having working seat belts.

They are pretty picky in WA state. Used parts have to have a VIN # attached so they can verify they aren't stolen. New parts need to meet certain criteria. Worst case, you can apply for a title with ownership in doubt, where they wait 3 years to give you your clean(ish) title. It's really not bad, and the value of the vehicle is much better than just having a salvage title.

 

[John Guedry]

They are pretty picky in WA state. Used parts have to have a VIN # attached so they can verify they aren't stolen. New parts need to meet certain criteria. Worst case, you can apply for a title with ownership in doubt, where they wait 3 years to give you your clean(ish) title. It's really not bad, and the value of the vehicle is much better than just having a salvage title.

My 2016 took a tiny hit to the rear bumper, insurance paid 1k to fix, the bumper is plastic couldn't be repaired and the little reflector broke. My suv took a big value hit like 9k. I'm like the plastic bumper was only involved not really an accident. If I 2ould have known the value hit, I would have just paid out of pocket to have the thing fixed. It was completely drive able and honestly unless you stood 5ft away (or were my wife) you weren't able to see where the bumper was damaged. My neighbor didn't even realize it was damaged until he asked where my suv was.

 

[ekolpack]

My 2016 took a tiny hit to the rear bumper, insurance paid 1k to fix, the bumper is plastic couldn't be repaired and the little reflector broke. My suv took a big value hit like 9k. I'm like the plastic bumper was only involved not really an accident. If I 2ould have known the value hit, I would have just paid out of pocket to have the thing fixed. It was completely drive able and honestly unless you stood 5ft away (or were my wife) you weren't able to see where the bumper was damaged. My neighbor didn't even realize it was damaged until he asked where my suv was.

You took a $9k hit on one of the most rugged off-road vehicle ever built because of a fender bender? That's crazy! Does it show up in VIN records as a "collision" or something? I'm guessing if you have pics and documentation to show it was minor, no buyer in their right mind would care. Then again, people are weird.

 

[KLF]

You took a $9k hit on one of the most rugged off-road vehicle ever built because of a fender bender? That's crazy! Does it show up in VIN records as a "collision" or something? I'm guessing if you have pics and documentation to show it was minor, no buyer in their right mind would care. Then again, people are weird.

The problem is accidents on CarFax generally don't provide much detail, very vague. Buyers see anything mentioning accidents and run away (many are on this board).

 

[ekolpack]

The problem is accidents on CarFax generally don't provide much detail, very vague. Buyers see anything mentioning accidents and run away (many are on this board).

Makes sense. Honestly, if we were talking Toyota Highlanders (unibody) or some cheapo Kia SUV, I'd be a lot more concerned about even a small "accident".....but a body on frame truck built for some of the worst off-road abuse on seven continents? Man, some people need a little perspective

 

[DCOVIEL]

Makes sense. Honestly, if we were talking Toyota Highlanders (unibody) or some cheapo Kia SUV, I'd be a lot more concerned about even a small "accident".....but a body on frame truck built for some of the worst off-road abuse on seven continents? Man, some people need a little perspective

This LC 200 looks like it was in a moderate accident. via a Sticky Bomb. 100% repairable: Armored 200 blown up.

 

[Lester did that]

Ha, dude, she was ONE BID away from ending up in Bahrain. Day of bidding, started out at $12,500, I was the only US bidder (weird?). Yemen and Bahrain quickly bid it up....ended up in a battle with Bahrain and they bid her to my absolute max limit ($15,100). I never break ranks with a hard limit, but had an intuition that I should give it ONE MORE try (what's $100 when you're talking over $15k?) That was the winning bid!

Had it gone to Bahrain, they'd probably cut the airbags and seat belts out and drive it as is for who knows what purpose. After getting up at 3am, renting a car and driving 4 hours to check her out, then spending the whole day at the Copart yard getting to know her, I couldn't let that happen

They <the middle east> snatch up all of our totaled 4x4/super high mile trucks. They just fix them right up like new. You can learn a lot watching these guys fix things. Better than the Russians. Heck I would trust any one of those guys more than 99% of Toyota dealerships.

Do you recall that plumber from TX I think who sold his old work truck at auction? It showed up in a ISIS propaganda video with his company name, logo, address and phone number on it! Needless to say it did not go over well in TX HA!

 

[Lester did that]

They are pretty picky in WA state. Used parts have to have a VIN # attached so they can verify they aren't stolen. New parts need to meet certain criteria. Worst case, you can apply for a title with ownership in doubt, where they wait 3 years to give you your clean(ish) title. It's really not bad, and the value of the vehicle is much better than just having a salvage title.

Can you go to a "friendlier" local state if you know anyone? Get the paperwork sorted and return the title back to WA? It might get lost in paper work... and than when you transfer to WA you only have to deal with state inspection.

 

[DCOVIEL]

They <the middle east> snatch up all of our totaled 4x4/super high mile trucks. They just fix them right up like new. You can learn a lot watching these guys fix things. Better than the Russians. Heck I would trust any one of those guys more than 99% of Toyota dealerships.

Do you recall that plumber from TX I think who sold his old work truck at auction? It showed up in a ISIS propaganda video with his company name, logo, address and phone number on it! Needless to say it did not go over well in TX HA!

HHAHAHA I remember that. Here you go:

https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2017-01-09/plumber-whose-decaled-truck-went-to-syria-settles-lawsuit

 

[CharlieS]

This going to be the first US chopped 200...?

MITS Alloy has a us distributor if you want a ute tray and canopy. They're in Washington state. Mule Expedition Outfitters Overland Vehicle Specialists That'd be so cool!