My brother has an accident in his 07 nitro. Body shop estimate is large compared with cash value of car.
He is considering doing minimal functional repair (eg headlight) and driving it. Body man had told him that
a crumple zone was partially collapsed and the car might be somewhat dangerous. I have the impression that this
is not very much, as the car does not look crooked. Would you drive such a car?
One body shop opinion isn’t enough. Get a couple more informed opinions from 2 shops who’ve put the car on their lift and taken a look at it. So after that you’ll have 3 independent opinions. If 2 say “yes, its ok to drive”, go with that, do what you’re suggesting. If 2 say “no”, then either fix the safety problems first or sell/junk it.
There may be insurance company rules and state DMV rules involved also.
The crumple zone did it’s job absorbing energy to minimize the force on the passengers. Now that it has been compromised, even a little, it cannot do a good job on the next accident. Some will argue that I won’t have another accident for a long time, but another one could happen tomorrow morning.
With a compromised body and frame (crumple zone components) the next minor accident can end up being very serious. Get the car fixed or sell it for parts.
Can you post photos of the damage?
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No…
Considering I’ve driven thousands of miles on a motorcycle…of course I would.
;-]
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Just a matter of perspective … lol …
The title may turn to a salvage title that can have insurance issues.