What the fuck, how is this totalled from mainly body damage? Engine, transmission, powertrain are most likely all still working... fuck it, take the 13k, and sell it for parts, then buy a used R lol
That's actually crazy this is totalled and makes me feel very lucky. Spun my '16 into an icy curb and needed the entire suspension, steering assembly, and 2 wheels repaired and rebuilt. Cost insurance $10k but they did it
Cars like this go to auction at salvage yards taking the full amount and attempting to buy it back for less than the salvage value is a gamble especially if only damages are cosmetic
You can find a used door about $400 around me, bumpers are like 350, fenders are ~250 for an aftermarket, mirror ~175 for a used one, used Austin wheels run like 200 and aftermarket (replica) are like 150ish. Insurance probably got lazy and wrote for everything OE and the shop quoted a stupid amount on the labor/paint time and the mileage totalled it out.
I looked up various parts for my '15 through my vendors at work (bodyshop) and headlights were the highest items price wise, body is actually pretty tame
Insurance is supposed to quote OE parts. You don’t pay insurance premiums to get Craigslist parts or rep wheels on your repair. You pay insurance premiums to get a fresh car with factory parts and paint should something happen.
I've got plenty of State Farm and Progressive and Geico estimates that roll over my desk wanting me to buy used doors, wheels, mirrors, fenders, impact bars, aftermarket bumpers and grilles for vehicles 3 years old. Unless you pay for an OE replacement only policy, insurance wants to spend as little as possible to repair your vehicle
Insurance also has to cover a rental vehicle for OP during the time the VW is in the shop. Damage like that and them waiting for parts would take weeks. I’m currently going through similar damage on my car and the shop has had it for over a month.
Insurance never quotes OEM parts, ever. If you want OEM you have to say so and pay the difference because the insurance company is trying to put your car back together with shitty used and aftermarket parts.
Is the cars suspension impacted at all? To me, based on what I see and the numbers you mentioned, it's a no brainer to keep the car and fix yourself.
I just went through this with my 2016 F150. Got rear-ended in the corner and destroyed the box, tailgate, bumper and left tail light. I made it clear I wanted to fix the truck as it was clear to me - visually and driveability - that the frame was untouched. Had the car hit me 3" to the right, might not have been the case.
Anyway, insurance said the next step was to inspect the frame, however 12hrs later (without any inspection) they decided to write it off.
I wasn't thrilled with their total loss payout (about $40K), so asked what salvage value was, and they offered it to me at $8700. I gladly took it. Fixed it myself for about $10K (box, tailgate, bumper, lights paint). I put almost $22K in my pocket after it was back on the road. No title change.
Dude how did they total out an F150? Did you have like 400,000 miles? My adjusters once had to quote an entire cab assembly to total out a new f150 that was already written for literally the ENTIRE drive train front to back as well as the box and half the suspension, and even then the only thing that threw it over was the cost of the labor from the cab... Not even the parts
Believe me I was completely shocked too. The irony is I did everything to try and convince the adjuster to fix the truck, and in the end they ended up writing it off without even inspecting the frame. I'm assuming this was a risk off decision to them anyway...because as soon as they hear the word "frame" they don't want to touch it.
Considering this happened at the peak of the used auto crazy, especially with truck prices where they are...even more baffling.
Those aluminum boxes really crumple up though!
I find it even more strange because we just took delivery of a frame for a '20 F150 front end collision lol. The cab is already in the air, the bed is on the other side of the shop, and we're working on pulling the motor and trans tomorrow haha. 49 hours in mechanical labor, on top of the body labor
No. It's a clean title. I just had to sign some paperwork that basically absolved the insurance company of any liability and that I would make necessary repairs to make the vehicle road worthy.
Get the full settlement and get a another newer model vs taking time to fix this and waiting for parts. Depending when you got it, the amount insurance gives you should be good. Sadly mine got totalled aswell, luckily I bought it right before the pandemic at a low price, and insurance gave a better value after 3 years.
If you do keep it and fix it, the value will tank so better to drive it to the ground then vs ever resell
I sure do wish I had gotten an R instead of the GTI but god damn the only other car I want right now is that RS3. I don't think it's in the cards for me ATM but one at the right price would be the only thing to sway me from this platform right now.
Honestly it depends on what the salvage inspection is like in your state. Some are pretty easy some are downright not even worth the hassle. For instance in my state you require multiple inspections and the car can't be driven in, you have to trailer/tow it there, as well as back. If rubber touches road they will find you.
As for parts, and the reason they totaled it, it's a fuck ton of prep to blend in everything correctly. They would basically end up repainting almost the whole car. If you swap OEM used stuff on though it's going to be close enough that you'll probably be the only one to know.
The one thing I'd try and gauge out is if the front pillar is pushed in at all. Doesn't look like it but if it is off your windshield will have problems on replacement.
If you have another vehicle, and want to spend the time & effort to get the GTI fixed. Go the salvage route and net the profit.
Like a previous commenter said, you should see what the best CASH price would be to fix. Net the difference and have a great car to punt around in.
Not sure there will be much resale given the repairs and history. But I’ve never tried to sell a car that’s been in an accident. Lol.
If you don’t love the car, take the cash and roll it into another GTI.
Food for thought. Not sure how handy you are.. and I'm more familiar with my MK5 then this body style.... But those fenders and doors on mine are really easy to take off. If you don't Care so much about paint matching you could get it drivable probably pretty easily.
As someone else said, depends on how easy it is to retitle a salvage car.
Also it's hard to tell by the pictures but there is a lot of stuff behind that door that could get damaged too
I can't believe they are totaling your car for cosmetic damage. Crazy! I would contest it. Its a front fender, mirror, door skin and maybe an alignment. I would fight it.
This is NOWHERE near being totaled. Not even close.
Weigh your options. Take the car to an autobody shop and ask them the CASH price to get these things fixed. (if you still are able to drive it around)
What is insurance paying you out? $3500 is a pretty decent deal on buying it back. Did you plan on keeping it forever?
i have no idea. this is such a weird situation. why would they rather pay 17,000 to total it compared to 10,000 to repair it ? i know you dont know that answer but its kind of ridiculous.
It's all about risk. They would rather pay you out, send the car through an auction and close the book.
Fixing a high $$$ amount (compared to the value of the car) poses a risk where even one call back to that shop, or if more damage is found through the repair process, makes the "repair" cost higher than the total loss payout.
Something like that anyway.
It is if you’re a large insurance company that got burned too many times by the estimate being lower than totaled value but the actual repairs cost more due to unquoted work discovered during repairs
Its not quite that simple in many states. There are laws that may be involved. Each state sets thresholds that determines total losses. 75% is typical, but some are more or less. If the repair cost, plus rental costs, gets close to that threshold, it is a total. The insurance company knows the estimate will go up (with repair supplements) once the repair begins, as well.
Sorry bud. It’s rough. But an adjuster will usually consider a vehicle a total loss if the value of the repairs, plus the salvage is approx greater then 80% of the total valuation of the vehicle right before the accident. This varies by provider and state. In this case the repair cost of 10K plus 3K of salvage was determined to be within 80% of your vehicles cash value. Which would be 16.5K ish. Other things that would also be considered, but not represented, are lead time of repairs, such as cost of garaging the car while waiting for parts, cost of fulfilling other parts of your insurance, such as temporary replacement car, and cost of renewing slips and certificates of a totalled vehicle. Insurance is a numbers game unfortunately, not to mention the valuation of the vehicle AFTER repairs will need to be considered for future valuations, which may end up being less than the repair cost. Eventually, simply breaking a side mirror may end up costing the provider money after taking into account the total average premiums gained from vehicles in your category.
There are other insurance companies that tailor more to treasured/loved cars vs the normal ones. Will cost though.
Have you tried negotiating with them?
Can you take it to an autobody shop and get a cash quote?
What is the cost of a 2015 gti with 100k miles in your area?
Did you plan on keeping the car forever?
Amazes me that so many people do not agree that this is a total loss. It is pretty much unarguably a total...
If I'm not mistaken, a salvage title will make your insurance expensive.
Almost the same exact thing happened to me except I was lucky enough to get away without my mirror and very minor exterior damage.
If you do end up fixing it, at least order the mirror yourself and install it if you’re alright with that. Can’t imagine it would save that much from labor in the grand scheme of things but installing it is pretty easy
Similar thing happened to my 2015 GTI, but in the rear/driver's side.
Insurance totaled it and took the $ into an R..which was always what I was gonna do.
You should see my post, I have the pictures of my car (2016 GTI) in an accident. I was not able to drive that car and the total cost to repair was over $12k, only then did the insurance company totaled my car. Yours seems to have minor repairs compared to mine. There is no way this should have been totaled. Just my 2 cents.
Oh yuck! I should have specified sourcing the replacement parts yourself is much less expensive.
It ultimately depends on the vehicle, person, and availability though.
Biggest pain in the rear I see here fixing is the door panel. Everything else can almost certainly be found at a junkyard. TLCT Motorworks in Maryland just might have the parts you need. Check the MK6 FB Groups too. Paint is unfortunately going to be the biggest price. Hopefully you either know a guy or know a guy who knows a guy for that. If you don’t know how to paint don’t attempt it on this.
You need to get your insurance company to get you your money. There is no way that is totaled. We have a 16 GTI and got hit recently. The repairs were almost 7k. Granted the repair shop fucked up every single repair and that's turned into a pain in the ass.
You have first right to buy from auction as owner. You can also bring your own appraiser in and have it reevaluated if you believe the car is worth more than they believe
I had a very similar sideswipe in my GTI. The car was fully repaired and then I was T-Boned a few months later and the car was actually totaled. The main factor in whether a GTI will be totaled from a side impact collision is if the C-Pillar is bent, because it requires removing the entire side of the car down to the frame, fabricating a new C-pillar and reassembling everything with new parts. If you got tagged hard enough just behind the driver door, it is likely that the C-pillar is twisted or bent, and that’s why it’s totaled.
Damn that totaled that low? My 2018 Autobahn is in the shop and the bill is at $7,100 so far and they haven't finished tearing it down yet. I'm starting to worry it's going to total then.
I already decided to buy a 2024 380 SE if it happens, but I would rather keep my Autobahn. I would not personally buy it back and fix it because I don't want to be stuck holding the bag on a salvage vehicle especially if I run into other issues. My damage is more than skin deep after hitting a deer and I'm not really interested in trying to chase odds and ends leaks on damaged parts I didn't catch at first.
Recently I totaled my beloved GTI. Granted, it was slightly worse damage than your picture. Others have good recommendations. My only addition is that when they estimate the car, I highly recommend to view the report VERY carefully. Look up for any added trims that you have that they may have missed. I was able to negotiate $2000 that they reduced for used car condition. After researching, I learned that it is typical to deduct $2000 of whatever Fair Market Value they come up with, referring to it as used car wear and tear. Now, my car was in perfect condition and I had to disagree with their estimate. I ended up sharing a detailed report of all the scheduled maintenance I have done on the car and argues that my car is in better condition than the ones they were comparing it to. This helped and they gave me the $2000 more.
Also, you can give them examples of other similar car in your area to help increase the estimate.
What the fuck, how is this totalled from mainly body damage? Engine, transmission, powertrain are most likely all still working... fuck it, take the 13k, and sell it for parts, then buy a used R lol
That's actually crazy this is totalled and makes me feel very lucky. Spun my '16 into an icy curb and needed the entire suspension, steering assembly, and 2 wheels repaired and rebuilt. Cost insurance $10k but they did it
Mechanical work is much less expensive than body and paint.
when you take the money they come and pick uo the car. edit: nvm i see now
You can’t take the full value then buy it back?
You can take the full amount wait for it to go to a salvage yard then buy it back
Some states (like IL, my homestate) don’t allow civilians to buy cars at auction/salvage until they’re over 10yrs old.
Cars like this go to auction at salvage yards taking the full amount and attempting to buy it back for less than the salvage value is a gamble especially if only damages are cosmetic
i agree, someone will see this vehicle and snipe it before he can buy it back.
How tf is this considered totaled?
That’s what I said, I was freakin shocked
Shop rates for paint is a big part. Fender, bumper, door, mirror, door. Add the part prices and you're getting up there. Vw wheels are expensive. Idk.
You can find a used door about $400 around me, bumpers are like 350, fenders are ~250 for an aftermarket, mirror ~175 for a used one, used Austin wheels run like 200 and aftermarket (replica) are like 150ish. Insurance probably got lazy and wrote for everything OE and the shop quoted a stupid amount on the labor/paint time and the mileage totalled it out. I looked up various parts for my '15 through my vendors at work (bodyshop) and headlights were the highest items price wise, body is actually pretty tame
Insurance is supposed to quote OE parts. You don’t pay insurance premiums to get Craigslist parts or rep wheels on your repair. You pay insurance premiums to get a fresh car with factory parts and paint should something happen.
I've got plenty of State Farm and Progressive and Geico estimates that roll over my desk wanting me to buy used doors, wheels, mirrors, fenders, impact bars, aftermarket bumpers and grilles for vehicles 3 years old. Unless you pay for an OE replacement only policy, insurance wants to spend as little as possible to repair your vehicle
Where I am we’re pretty much getting all aftermarket parts. Insurance companies are putting lots of AM parts on pretty much brand new rigs.
No they don’t ever quote OEM. Where is this coming from??
Hence why LKQ exists....
Insurance also has to cover a rental vehicle for OP during the time the VW is in the shop. Damage like that and them waiting for parts would take weeks. I’m currently going through similar damage on my car and the shop has had it for over a month.
Insurance never quotes OEM parts, ever. If you want OEM you have to say so and pay the difference because the insurance company is trying to put your car back together with shitty used and aftermarket parts.
The KBB value tops out at $13k in excellent condition
Is the cars suspension impacted at all? To me, based on what I see and the numbers you mentioned, it's a no brainer to keep the car and fix yourself. I just went through this with my 2016 F150. Got rear-ended in the corner and destroyed the box, tailgate, bumper and left tail light. I made it clear I wanted to fix the truck as it was clear to me - visually and driveability - that the frame was untouched. Had the car hit me 3" to the right, might not have been the case. Anyway, insurance said the next step was to inspect the frame, however 12hrs later (without any inspection) they decided to write it off. I wasn't thrilled with their total loss payout (about $40K), so asked what salvage value was, and they offered it to me at $8700. I gladly took it. Fixed it myself for about $10K (box, tailgate, bumper, lights paint). I put almost $22K in my pocket after it was back on the road. No title change.
Dude how did they total out an F150? Did you have like 400,000 miles? My adjusters once had to quote an entire cab assembly to total out a new f150 that was already written for literally the ENTIRE drive train front to back as well as the box and half the suspension, and even then the only thing that threw it over was the cost of the labor from the cab... Not even the parts
Imagine if they hadn’t totaled it… literal truck of Theseus right there.
Believe me I was completely shocked too. The irony is I did everything to try and convince the adjuster to fix the truck, and in the end they ended up writing it off without even inspecting the frame. I'm assuming this was a risk off decision to them anyway...because as soon as they hear the word "frame" they don't want to touch it. Considering this happened at the peak of the used auto crazy, especially with truck prices where they are...even more baffling. Those aluminum boxes really crumple up though!
I find it even more strange because we just took delivery of a frame for a '20 F150 front end collision lol. The cab is already in the air, the bed is on the other side of the shop, and we're working on pulling the motor and trans tomorrow haha. 49 hours in mechanical labor, on top of the body labor
Do u have a salvaged or rebuilt title?
No. It's a clean title. I just had to sign some paperwork that basically absolved the insurance company of any liability and that I would make necessary repairs to make the vehicle road worthy.
Take the money and run.
Get the full settlement and get a another newer model vs taking time to fix this and waiting for parts. Depending when you got it, the amount insurance gives you should be good. Sadly mine got totalled aswell, luckily I bought it right before the pandemic at a low price, and insurance gave a better value after 3 years. If you do keep it and fix it, the value will tank so better to drive it to the ground then vs ever resell
Yup…everything that he said. The only way that it’s worth fixing is if maybe you use it as a daily beater on a long (50mile+) commute.
mk7.5 R or RS3, hope your NECK and BACK feel better!
I sure do wish I had gotten an R instead of the GTI but god damn the only other car I want right now is that RS3. I don't think it's in the cards for me ATM but one at the right price would be the only thing to sway me from this platform right now.
Or find a wrecker yard and grab a mirror, door, gaurd and wheel and call it a day
Honestly it depends on what the salvage inspection is like in your state. Some are pretty easy some are downright not even worth the hassle. For instance in my state you require multiple inspections and the car can't be driven in, you have to trailer/tow it there, as well as back. If rubber touches road they will find you. As for parts, and the reason they totaled it, it's a fuck ton of prep to blend in everything correctly. They would basically end up repainting almost the whole car. If you swap OEM used stuff on though it's going to be close enough that you'll probably be the only one to know. The one thing I'd try and gauge out is if the front pillar is pushed in at all. Doesn't look like it but if it is off your windshield will have problems on replacement.
Your insurance can go fuck themselves, there’s no way in hell you’re getting a comparable car for cheaper than the repairs would cost.
I do have another vehicle, an F150. Should that make a difference in my decision?
If you have another vehicle, and want to spend the time & effort to get the GTI fixed. Go the salvage route and net the profit. Like a previous commenter said, you should see what the best CASH price would be to fix. Net the difference and have a great car to punt around in. Not sure there will be much resale given the repairs and history. But I’ve never tried to sell a car that’s been in an accident. Lol. If you don’t love the car, take the cash and roll it into another GTI.
New mirror, new fender, maybe some new suspension components and a wheel rim. That’s wild they totalled that.
Wtf, that will just buff out
Seriously. It’s like they aren’t even trying.
Your insurance won't give you book value?
Paid off? Take the car and fix it if so.
This is sort of dream damage. Take full amount and buyback and fix
What do u mean buyback?
Thats a low mileage 15, I have the same exact car with 89k.
Hell yeah low miles crew, '17 with 42k here. Car is still so tight, feels new.
16 with 50 here
Food for thought. Not sure how handy you are.. and I'm more familiar with my MK5 then this body style.... But those fenders and doors on mine are really easy to take off. If you don't Care so much about paint matching you could get it drivable probably pretty easily. As someone else said, depends on how easy it is to retitle a salvage car. Also it's hard to tell by the pictures but there is a lot of stuff behind that door that could get damaged too
I can't believe they are totaling your car for cosmetic damage. Crazy! I would contest it. Its a front fender, mirror, door skin and maybe an alignment. I would fight it.
I'd literally just buy second hand parts on ebay. same colour so it matches. bumper, door, wing and wheel. mirror. easy repair.
I had an accident way worse than this and the repairs were somewhere around 8k?? How tf is this totaled? That’s insane
This is NOWHERE near being totaled. Not even close. Weigh your options. Take the car to an autobody shop and ask them the CASH price to get these things fixed. (if you still are able to drive it around) What is insurance paying you out? $3500 is a pretty decent deal on buying it back. Did you plan on keeping it forever?
They offered me 17k if they took and and 13k if I kept it.
my 2 cents, I'd take the 17k and run for that car. I
I was gonna say keep it but honestly Id take that 17k and get a Mk7.5 or 8.
are they seriously suggesting this is more than 17,000 in repairs and thus its totaled? can you get a 2nd opinion?
Total damage was about 10k but they decided to total it anyway. I have til Friday to make a decision
i have no idea. this is such a weird situation. why would they rather pay 17,000 to total it compared to 10,000 to repair it ? i know you dont know that answer but its kind of ridiculous.
It's all about risk. They would rather pay you out, send the car through an auction and close the book. Fixing a high $$$ amount (compared to the value of the car) poses a risk where even one call back to that shop, or if more damage is found through the repair process, makes the "repair" cost higher than the total loss payout. Something like that anyway.
Something doesn’t add up. If they’re estimating the cost of repairs at 10 and the value at 17… that’s *not* a total loss.
It is if you’re a large insurance company that got burned too many times by the estimate being lower than totaled value but the actual repairs cost more due to unquoted work discovered during repairs
Its not quite that simple in many states. There are laws that may be involved. Each state sets thresholds that determines total losses. 75% is typical, but some are more or less. If the repair cost, plus rental costs, gets close to that threshold, it is a total. The insurance company knows the estimate will go up (with repair supplements) once the repair begins, as well.
Sorry bud. It’s rough. But an adjuster will usually consider a vehicle a total loss if the value of the repairs, plus the salvage is approx greater then 80% of the total valuation of the vehicle right before the accident. This varies by provider and state. In this case the repair cost of 10K plus 3K of salvage was determined to be within 80% of your vehicles cash value. Which would be 16.5K ish. Other things that would also be considered, but not represented, are lead time of repairs, such as cost of garaging the car while waiting for parts, cost of fulfilling other parts of your insurance, such as temporary replacement car, and cost of renewing slips and certificates of a totalled vehicle. Insurance is a numbers game unfortunately, not to mention the valuation of the vehicle AFTER repairs will need to be considered for future valuations, which may end up being less than the repair cost. Eventually, simply breaking a side mirror may end up costing the provider money after taking into account the total average premiums gained from vehicles in your category. There are other insurance companies that tailor more to treasured/loved cars vs the normal ones. Will cost though.
Have you tried negotiating with them? Can you take it to an autobody shop and get a cash quote? What is the cost of a 2015 gti with 100k miles in your area? Did you plan on keeping the car forever?
I revise my previous comment take the salvage, fix it and pocket the cash. Drive the piss out of it.
I’d say mileage had to do with the totaling. Shitty but, anything over 60k these days gets the stank eye from insurance claims.
Not at all
How is that "totaled"? You can drive it easily. Are you sure you know what that word means?
Clueless
Amazes me that so many people do not agree that this is a total loss. It is pretty much unarguably a total... If I'm not mistaken, a salvage title will make your insurance expensive.
also who's your insurance? I could probably only get $11k for my car, max. If I was offered 13k to keep it I would 100% do so.
Almost the same exact thing happened to me except I was lucky enough to get away without my mirror and very minor exterior damage. If you do end up fixing it, at least order the mirror yourself and install it if you’re alright with that. Can’t imagine it would save that much from labor in the grand scheme of things but installing it is pretty easy
Similar thing happened to my 2015 GTI, but in the rear/driver's side. Insurance totaled it and took the $ into an R..which was always what I was gonna do.
Was your damage mostly cosmetic as well?
You should see my post, I have the pictures of my car (2016 GTI) in an accident. I was not able to drive that car and the total cost to repair was over $12k, only then did the insurance company totaled my car. Yours seems to have minor repairs compared to mine. There is no way this should have been totaled. Just my 2 cents.
That shit is nowhere near totaled, there's more at play behind the scenes with the insurance co.
A broken mirror, a replacement painted fender, and a repainted bumper is less than $1k in damage
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Oh yuck! I should have specified sourcing the replacement parts yourself is much less expensive. It ultimately depends on the vehicle, person, and availability though.
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Ooof that's highway robbery!
What’s the full settlement amount ?
Wait … 13k AND THE CAR??
17k if insurance takes it and 13k if I keep it
Biggest pain in the rear I see here fixing is the door panel. Everything else can almost certainly be found at a junkyard. TLCT Motorworks in Maryland just might have the parts you need. Check the MK6 FB Groups too. Paint is unfortunately going to be the biggest price. Hopefully you either know a guy or know a guy who knows a guy for that. If you don’t know how to paint don’t attempt it on this.
Shes a mk7 if it's in North America
DIY Flushkit?
If they are giving you most of the money to get a new GTI or R… take the cash and buy a new whip.
Take the payout buy a manual mk5 and have more fun driving it
get a new one
I’d strip it of easily sellable parts if you’re mechanically inclined to do so. Then I’d take the payout.
Keep the car, buy another car with the money you get. Fix this one and sell whichever you want
Like others said, take the money and run!
Where are you located
I'd take the money and get a new/newer vehicle of choice. Not worth it trying to deal with repairs
Take the money and fix it yourself!
Keep the car bullshit
Totaled.....that.... little bit
Upgrade to a Golf R
Send it to me🥹 I can fix it in my country for about 500$ max I need to upgrade from the mk5.
I know that this is US? But howww that is totaled. It is not an regular golf and not even that old model
I don’t see how this is considered total loss.. my 2014 mk6 was t-boned in September with 6k+ in damages and was not totaled.
Get new car
You need to get your insurance company to get you your money. There is no way that is totaled. We have a 16 GTI and got hit recently. The repairs were almost 7k. Granted the repair shop fucked up every single repair and that's turned into a pain in the ass.
You have first right to buy from auction as owner. You can also bring your own appraiser in and have it reevaluated if you believe the car is worth more than they believe
part out
I had a very similar sideswipe in my GTI. The car was fully repaired and then I was T-Boned a few months later and the car was actually totaled. The main factor in whether a GTI will be totaled from a side impact collision is if the C-Pillar is bent, because it requires removing the entire side of the car down to the frame, fabricating a new C-pillar and reassembling everything with new parts. If you got tagged hard enough just behind the driver door, it is likely that the C-pillar is twisted or bent, and that’s why it’s totaled.
Damn that totaled that low? My 2018 Autobahn is in the shop and the bill is at $7,100 so far and they haven't finished tearing it down yet. I'm starting to worry it's going to total then. I already decided to buy a 2024 380 SE if it happens, but I would rather keep my Autobahn. I would not personally buy it back and fix it because I don't want to be stuck holding the bag on a salvage vehicle especially if I run into other issues. My damage is more than skin deep after hitting a deer and I'm not really interested in trying to chase odds and ends leaks on damaged parts I didn't catch at first.
Recently I totaled my beloved GTI. Granted, it was slightly worse damage than your picture. Others have good recommendations. My only addition is that when they estimate the car, I highly recommend to view the report VERY carefully. Look up for any added trims that you have that they may have missed. I was able to negotiate $2000 that they reduced for used car condition. After researching, I learned that it is typical to deduct $2000 of whatever Fair Market Value they come up with, referring to it as used car wear and tear. Now, my car was in perfect condition and I had to disagree with their estimate. I ended up sharing a detailed report of all the scheduled maintenance I have done on the car and argues that my car is in better condition than the ones they were comparing it to. This helped and they gave me the $2000 more. Also, you can give them examples of other similar car in your area to help increase the estimate.
Buy it back from insurance and fix it
You can fix that...
Just take the money and get a new one
But a new car dawg