Car Advice

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wonder if you could find spare doors at a junkyard? If you could, that would probably be much cheaper than fixing the current smashed in doors. The junkyard doors could be painted to match the rest of the car.

Op here - will look into it. I presume the doors would have to be for the same model year as my car right?

Junk yard door suggester here again. I am not an expert on this kind of stuff. According to Wikipedia, your is an 8th generation Mazda. Generation 8 was for the years 1998 to 2003. Therefore, I think that any doors you can find at a junk yard for cars that were manufactured for a four-door Mazda protege should work. But please ask your body shop buddy as he surely would have more expertise than I do.
Here is the Wikipedia link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mazda_Familia

Meant to say any doors you find for a 4 door mazda protege manufactured between the years 1998 and 2003 should work.

[Anonymous]

Op here - just wanted to give an update. Went to the insurance vehicle inspection service and they said they were going to total the car but found one of the doors for me. So they actually approved repair of one door, replacement of anothe, replacement of the mirror and paint etc. Was not expecting that at all. My friend offered to sell me their old car so I have some decisions to make over the weekend re. Whether I proceed with the repairs or purchase my friends 2006 car which is quite a bit larger than mine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op here - just wanted to give an update. Went to the insurance vehicle inspection service and they said they were going to total the car but found one of the doors for me. So they actually approved repair of one door, replacement of anothe, replacement of the mirror and paint etc. Was not expecting that at all. My friend offered to sell me their old car so I have some decisions to make over the weekend re. Whether I proceed with the repairs or purchase my friends 2006 car which is quite a bit larger than mine.

OP here with a final update. Just wanted to thank all those who chimed in last week with truly valuable advice. I've decided to proceed with repairing my 2000 Mazda protege. 19 years and actually 260,000 miles and by some good fortune the insurance adjuster approved 1400+ in repairs. Additionally, my deductible went down to $200 since the claim was made against uninsured motorist insurance. Barring an accident I am pretty sure I can get at least another year out of my car and probably 2-5 more years realistically. I almost bought a friend's very nice Cadillac srx which they were kind enough to offer to me at a very nice discount, but in the end decided to pass on the luxury car and keep old faithful as I know just what I'm getting with my car. I will say it was a hard decision turning down a significantly nicer more luxurious car. I hope (and think) I made the right decision for our family. Once we get past these real estate projects I'll be able to breathe a bit more and figure out what to do in the long run. I am happy that I am still in the running to reach the 20 year mark with my car. I've never owned something for so long before. Thanks again everyone!

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the update OP. I am impressed that the insurance people allowed $1400 plus in repairs for a vehicle that is supposedly worth one-third of that. Hope it lasts you a good long time!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thanks for the update OP. I am impressed that the insurance people allowed $1400 plus in repairs for a vehicle that is supposedly worth one-third of that. Hope it lasts you a good long time!

OP here - I was pleasantly surprised as well. Maybe it was the two car Seats in the back? I didn't tell the inspector anything in particular except that I was side swiped. I must have just got someone on a good day who maybe felt that rather than sebd me home with $50 after my deductible he would do something nice ....like a good neighbor state farm actually was really there!