Hail damaged Mazda CX-9: What to do?

We have a 2014 Mazda CX-9 that unfortunately got pretty badly damaged in a recent hail storm.  So badly that our insurance company is offering a more than fair buyout for the loss of $12,700 after deductible.  As an option, if we keep the car, they will give us $8000, but then we have a devalued car.  I'm not even sure what happens then as far as whether the car is insurable, or if it is just tagged as worth less for future claims.

The kicker is that we had a round of bad luck with this car last year and had to address several issues.  These were mostly the known weaknesses of this range of CX-9s (the transfer case and water pump).  So roughly $7000 put into getting it past 130k miles.  In particular, a lot of stuff was freshened when the water pump was replaced, including struts.  Let's just call this sunk cost and it really shouldn't affect our decision.  But it's been running great since March.

We were planning on giving this car to our daughter, so really the decision of taking all of the cash or keeping the car and partial cash is up to her.  I'm just not experienced in cars considered a total loss and was looking for wisdom.  My gut tells me to take the money and put it towards another car, but things being what they are today in the used market, that may be foolish.

Its a known entity which cant be said of any other used car in the $12,000 range.  If your daughter likes it and its a good driver with good brakes, good rubber, not all torn up, fits her needs, etc.  I would take the cash, keep the car, and get plates for it that say "Titleist" or "Calloway" and rock and roll.  

If she hates the car and can get something she likes for $12,700, including tax, title, license, dealer fees, any deferred maintenance catchup, etc, then I would send it down the road.  

I see it as you have a car that's had known issues fixed, for $4700. Might not be the best looking car, but a reliable car for $4700 isn't bad. I'd bet you can find a PDR guy that would spend a Saturday getting it presentable for $1k cash. 

Are hail damaged cars there like butts, everybody has one? If she is a teenager/college I would keep it for her. That way if it gets it again no big deal. 

You need to check with your state/insurance. Here in CA, I bought back my totaled Nissan Titan years ago. It was rear ended and ever so slightly bent the frame where the bumper attached. The proper way to fix it was to replace the frame, so they totaled it. I bought it back, and just needed to get an inspection- it was really basic, pretty much just making sure all of the lights work. It is still insured. The catch is that I still have to pay the same rate as if it were non salvaged, but it it were totaled again, I'd just get the salvage value. No big deal, the insurance on it is cheap, but on a newer, more valuable vehicle, that could be significant.

Is it just body damage and no glass? $4700 is pretty cheap for a known good running and driving CX9, even if it's ugly. What panels are damaged? If mostly roof and hood, find a replacement hood in a matching color online and swap it out. You won't see much of the roof on an SUV anyway. PDR the most noticeable dents. Or just drive it as it is. Sometimes a well running but ugly car can be liberating. Park it where you want without worry. Great car for a kid. 

That's a difficult one to answer. There are multiple ways to handle the value on that thing, but none of them would be in your favor. I think if I kept it I'd just drop everything but liability on it and hope for the best. The rate savings on your insurance may balance it out pretty quickly after a couple of years. 

130,000 miles...yeah, tough call whether to bail or not on that one. 

Non-monetary consideration:  your daughter will be driving around in a golf ball. That won't instill any pride of ownership, and it will be treated like a beater. 

In this case I think I'd listen to your gut.

I was surprised there was that much damage.  I could have pulled it into the garage to check under the LED tube lights, but thought the damage was limited to the roof and hood.  Every panel has dents, including both rear fenders along the tops where they bulge out.  All of the silver window trim and a taillight are also damaged, so I think it was just an accumulation of things.  It was a fairly heavy storm that had quarter-sized hail towards the end.  Summer thunderstorms with hail are fairly common in Colorado, and you do see lots of unrepaired cars.  The insurance adjuster told us that Colorado is lenient with hail damage and that the title wouldn't be marked as salvage if we keep it, so there's that.

If we keep the car, I could always buy a PDR kit and experiment.  That might be a useful skill to have going forward.

The daughter really wants a 3rd gen 4Runner, so maybe this is an opportunity.  But finding a good one of those around Colorado (for a reasonable price) could be tough.  Prices vary from low thousands to over $30k.  Maybe a fly-and-drive is in my future.

In reply to ddavidv :

If a kid is going to treat this car like a beater, they're treating any car like a beater. People either take pride in their stuff or don't.

I've owned a hail damaged car and had no problem with that, but at 130k, I'd cash out. There are surely a few more big expenses lurking in this car's future. 

i'd keep it, maybe get it wrapped with a snakeskin pattern or build a 1-of-1 MACHO CX-9 

If you keep the car will you be able to have it insured? Fully or only partially?

12.7K is a lot of dough. What could you possibly sell it for in your area if it was in perfect condition?

AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) said:

i'd keep it, maybe get it wrapped with a snakeskin pattern or build a 1-of-1 MACHO CX-9 

LOL.  I'll run that by the daughter.  Or maybe suggest a 3rd gen 4Runner wrap.

Woody (Forum Supportum) said:

I've owned a hail damaged car and had no problem with that, but at 130k, I'd cash out. There are surely a few more big expenses lurking in this car's future. 

I hear you.  The slightly older daughter *had* a 2013 Focus with the DPS6 transmission.  I lived for years in fear it would E36 M3 the bed.  Somehow, it survived to 150k miles.  So my luck may be running out.

The fact that it won't have a salvage title means there shouldn't be any future hassles with resale or insurance.

The 3rd gen 4Runner (had to look it up) is at least 21 years old. How much do you want your daughter in an older car? It's unlikely to have fewer miles than the CX-9, more likely it'll have double or triple.

Hail damage is just ugly, it's not functional at all. I'm reading this is as an $8k bonus for an ugly car with a known history versus a pretty car with a known history :) 

a kids first car should be trash, more fun in high school with a beater. 

In reply to Keith Tanner :

Correct on all counts except maybe one.  A dimpled surface can actually improve laminar flow and reduce drag.  A MythBusters episode proved that this worked on an actual car.

Golf Ball Car

Of course, they probably blew it up with TNT afterwords just because.

I am aware of the golf ball/sharkskin effect, although I don't know how well it works with randomly placed and sized hail dents :)

Keith Tanner said:

I am aware of the golf ball/sharkskin effect, although I don't know how well it works with randomly placed and sized hail dents :)

True.  The damage is bad, but not that bad. 

maschinenbau said:

12.7K is a lot of dough. What could you possibly sell it for in your area if it was in perfect condition?

KBB suggests 8k to 10.5k, but they've been historically about $2000 below the market around here from recent experience with buying a RAV4.  So I believe $12,700 is a more than fair valuation.

Sorry about the car, Joe.  Can't live in Colorado and have a car free of hail damage.  Worst part of our climate, IMHO.

I went thru this with my old Protege 5, and I just considered the payout to be a "your car is no longer insurable" bonus.  I only got about $4K for mine, but I drove it for another 4 years and sold it for $2K.  So in my mind it's worth it to just keep it and rack up the miles.

Your title will show a "Salvage for hail" which isn't the same as a REAL salvage title.  The car will still be fine to sell and register.  You'll need to explain this when you go to sell it, but buyers of cheap hail-damaged cars will not be deterred by this.

I'd like to point out that the hail is not a Western Slope problem, so you can totally have a car free of hail damage in CO :)