Hey everyone,
A Kia Sportage decided to mate with my beloved 2007 Speed. Neither of them enjoyed it, especially my car. If there's anyone out there with repair experience, I could use some advice on how (or if) to proceed. I'm the original owner in south Texas, so not rust issues. It's got 180k miles on it. Just a few weeks ago, I fixed both oil and tranny leaks by replacing the pivot shaft assembly and upgrading to the newer oil cooler. The car runs well and drives well, and I was hoping to get another 5 years out of it.
I'm pretty sure the dude that hit me's insurance will want to total it and give me maybe a few thousand if I'm lucky. I really don't want to give up the car, because it's been a reliable vehicle all these years, not to mention I love driving it.
Obvious thinks to me are that it needs a whole new hatch and glass, new bumper and bumper frame, right-side taillight, and right fender panel would need to be straightened out. Whatever the hatch latch is attached to on the bottom is undoubtedly messed up. Some of the interior parts got pushed forward, but without pulling the hatch it's kinda hard to gauge the damage.
Would like some advice on where to go from here. I think I could to most of the repair work myself, since it's mostly bolt-on parts, but not sure what's gonna be needed to fix the latch area, and how bad it is. Even though the hatch is lifted up above the roofline on one side, it appears from what I can see that there is no damage to the upper body where it attaches.
Any ballparks on repair costs would be appreciated, or other advice. Was also thinking I could part it out if I had to, but that is probably a major hassle. What say y'all?
A Kia Sportage decided to mate with my beloved 2007 Speed. Neither of them enjoyed it, especially my car. If there's anyone out there with repair experience, I could use some advice on how (or if) to proceed. I'm the original owner in south Texas, so not rust issues. It's got 180k miles on it. Just a few weeks ago, I fixed both oil and tranny leaks by replacing the pivot shaft assembly and upgrading to the newer oil cooler. The car runs well and drives well, and I was hoping to get another 5 years out of it.
I'm pretty sure the dude that hit me's insurance will want to total it and give me maybe a few thousand if I'm lucky. I really don't want to give up the car, because it's been a reliable vehicle all these years, not to mention I love driving it.
Obvious thinks to me are that it needs a whole new hatch and glass, new bumper and bumper frame, right-side taillight, and right fender panel would need to be straightened out. Whatever the hatch latch is attached to on the bottom is undoubtedly messed up. Some of the interior parts got pushed forward, but without pulling the hatch it's kinda hard to gauge the damage.
Would like some advice on where to go from here. I think I could to most of the repair work myself, since it's mostly bolt-on parts, but not sure what's gonna be needed to fix the latch area, and how bad it is. Even though the hatch is lifted up above the roofline on one side, it appears from what I can see that there is no damage to the upper body where it attaches.
Any ballparks on repair costs would be appreciated, or other advice. Was also thinking I could part it out if I had to, but that is probably a major hassle. What say y'all?
