WTF should I do ?! WIFE CRASHED THE CAR (1 Viewer)

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Long Story Short... Wife crashed the 05 gx470 (our nice car) with 150k miles . The fix it shop told me I couldn't drive it, but I did, I just couldn't turn right. The engine sounds fine, but now will die if I take jumpers off (alternator?). I left it as is all winter as my estimate was 8k for a full fix.

Is there anyway to just make this drivable ? The rest of the car is pretty much flawless. It kind of looks like if I just pulled the frame back to where it was that I might have a chance of driving?

What would I ever sell this for as is?

Any thoughts from the pros on what to do?


I have had enough dumb jokes from my dad and brothers so can we just pass on those, please and thank ou.

gx 470 3.jpg


gx470 1.jpg


gx 470 2.jpg
 
Alternator is right In that area. Also the air box with the MAF sensor. Some wiring might be damaged. Frame looks intact. It would be fairly easy fix.
 
Fairly easy fix? I have no clue where to start, but I thought 8k was too high. I dont need this to look pretty. I just want to be able to drive it, possibly convert it to my hunting rig or just my daily as I drive a 1999 lx 470 (rust bomb).

Where do i start to fix this? A come along?
 
Step one, take everything off the front including the hood. You'll be able to assess what exactly you need to replace once you get all of the bodywork off. Like @Jstawgn said examine all of the wiring and if you don't have any wiring damage then that makes it much easier. If you feel overwhelmed grab a mechanically inclined buddy and start tackling each of these damaged components one by one starting with the bottom going up and firewall going forward to the front. It isn't as overwhelming when you focus on one thing at a time. That's why it is good for your mental health to remove as much of the damaged components as you can before getting started. It's a mental thing I promise you. My buddy and I completely disassembled an '85 MR2 and put it back together and we approached it like this and it did make it easier on our mental health. LOL

No idea if it is $8k worth of damage in parts...but if you add labor hell yea that is a strong possibility and will likely total the vehicle if insurance gets involved.
 
So .... i am not mechanically inclined whatsoever.

Any advice on whether to proceed with it or try and sell it ?

Would anyone buy this ? No clue what to do
 
If the goal is just to drive it, I'd recommend the tear down as mentioned above to verify the frame and other critical components are intact. if they are, I'd try and find replacement parts from a salvage yard to put it back together. It might end up a different color, unless you either bought new body panels or had them repainted by a body shop. However, if you aren't mechanically inclined, it might be in over your head, and would not be something I'd attempt unless you have a friend/family member who could help you. As mentioned by others, it's probably not a huge amount of work to do the teardown and rebuild with used parts (pending no frame damage), as it'd mostly be a bolt-off, bolt-on affair.

Frankly, $8K does not seem like an unreasonable price given the parts will be several thousand dollars, plus a few days of labor, and a couple thousand to color match, repaint, and apply new clearcoat.

If you do wan to sell it I'd throw it on Craigslist as a rebuilder or a parts vehicle. Assuming the GX was worth $9-12K pre-wreck, you'd maybe get around a third to half of that as-is, so a reasonable value would be $3-6K.
 
So .... i am not mechanically inclined whatsoever.

Any advice on whether to proceed with it or try and sell it ?

Would anyone buy this ? No clue what to do

I’ll echo @Rednexus. Maybe you should sell it and start over. $3-4K seems reasonable and $5k is the rest of the vehicle is immaculate inside and out and rust free.
 
I’ll echo @Rednexus. Maybe you should sell it and start over. $3-4K seems reasonable and $5k is the rest of the vehicle is immaculate inside and out and rust free.
Doesn't look rust free underneath, also OP said he isn't mechanically inclined so $3k-$4k is probably his best bet....
 
No, its not rust free. I live in Iowa. But for my concerns it is. How much to make it drivable in regards to a hunting truck?
For a hunting truck, you'd need to rebuild it with salvage yard parts. So it'll depend on if you can find good parts semi-locally in a salvage yard (presumably this would be hard in IA as it would here in MO - there aren't many GX's around period) and the cost of those parts. If you are interested in rebuilding it as a DIY, you should do the tear-down as mentioned earlier, get a list of parts, and then see if and where you can find them in a salvage yard.
 
If you are not mechanically inclined, this car is not the place to start learning. Sell it and move on. If you take it apart it will be worth less. Once something is apart it hurts the value. It shows someone dug into it and thought it was not worth fixing.

Some one could fix it, make a rock buggy out of it. Some kind of beater.
 
If it were me, and I have been working on cars for 40 years, I would take it apart as others have suggested. I would find used parts, eBay might have some or drive to Chicago and get them at a junk yard. After, and only after I found parts at a price I was willing to pay I would take it to a frame shop and make sure the frame was straight. The frame could be straightened, not real expensive, it might not be bent. Then I would put a tan bedliner on it for paint and drive it.

If the parts are too expensive, just pass. Sell the car.

If you seriously doubt you can do the job. Just pass, sell the car.

It's not rocket surgery. Many of the parts you will be changing can not be put on the wrong way.

For a more complete reply , I would need to see the full sides of the car and underneath. Take the tire off so I can see that also from different angles.
 
Sell the Wife...keep the GX. :banana:
 
If it were me I would take it to a frame shop. Probably $200 to straighten. It's been a while since I had it done. May be more expensive.

I would not try a come a long.

Also on the parts, it will cost more than your initial estimate. That's one of the reasons body shops are so high

I want to see the full side pictures and pictures with the wheel off because I may be able to spot more potential damage .
 
I’ve rebuilt several 4runners and a couple GX and this is a walk in the park, if you’re not mechanically not inclined I wouldn’t attempt to fix it. I’d probably pay around 3k-4k for it as is but I have too much projects at the moment. Parts for these things are getting harder and harder to find and even used they are really expensive.
 

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