06 Legacy post Accident; Worth repairing?

dan_barnhart

My 2006 Subaru Legacy (LTD) was recently involved in an accident involving a deer and a guardrail. My friend was driving it, so unfortunately I only know what happened secondhand from him. Sounds like there was little that could've been done to avoid it. Consequently, theres some extensive front end damage. At the very least, the hood, right fender, grille, bumper cover, radiator, as well as various superstructure pieces would need to be replaced. We didn't have comprehensive insurance on it so any repairs made will be out of pocket.

The car has 183,000 miles on it and received a complete engine rebuild last summer. She runs like a champ and has been a great car. There's a possibility that I could do most of the work on it myself, with the help of my dad. If the frame is good, is she worth trying to save, or am I better off moving on? Any advice, thoughts, comments, etc. are appreciated. Thanks.

stever

Could be a good learning experience. Although, as my favorite uncle used to tell me "it always costs you something to learn something". When you get done you'll have a ten year old car with lots of miles on it.

Otherwise - part it out if you can.

Mr_Shiftright

Well in terms of having a body shop fix it, the car is obviously totaled. (damage actually exceeds retail value in this case).

Not sure about a DIY project because you will have to do some welding and a pull on a frame machine. You're not going to get everything to fit otherwise.

I would say that unless you and your dad are pretty skilled in welding and painting, and pretty well equipped tool-wise, then it might be better to pull that good engine. Is that a 2.5L? There are plenty of nice old Subaru Legacys that need a 2.5L engine replacement, so maybe that would be the place to put your energy. Buy a clean one with a bad engine and start over.

Or you could sell the engine. If you have some receipts for the rebuild (parts, invoices, etc) you could probably get $2,000 for it, or more.

stever

Oh, yeah, get a donor car. That would be a good idea and a fun project.

dcm61

Paint it JD green and add a loader?

My 2012 Impreza Sport Limited encountered a deer in May 2014 at 60 mph. There wasn't a whole lot more damage than yours, but the front airbags blew. It was 2 years old and had 30,000 miles ,,, insurance company totaled it.

stever

Those Deere's and the barn in the background make me think that mechanical and welding skills are readily available.