Ya, the estimate was legit. My brother used to work at that body shop so we know everyone that works there. So a second opinion or whatever was not needed.
It doesn't take much to total a car anymore. The airbag alone is $1200. And when you throw in shit like the airbag sensors (need both since the drivers didn't work for some reason) which are $350 a piece, and that's not even including the modules for the individual airbags, the dollars and cents stack up quick tangs.
Is there really that much in damage however? No, not even close. There are resale markups on each of the items on the estimate and labor charges for literally everything. But in order for the car to be properly fixed in the eyes of the insurance company, their estimate is the golden ticket.
I already have all the parts to fix the car except the front bumper. The only thing the shop is going to have to do for me is all the frame work since my brother doesn't have a frame rack. Ironically, this is one of the least expensive repairs on the estimate. All together, including parts and labor and frame time, it's about $600. There won't be any body work needed after that because I'm buying mint parts (bought an oem fender for $94, etc.) so all I'll have to do once I "buy the car back from the insurance company" is slap the shit together and paint it and we're good to go.
When it's all said and done, I'll have purchased a car that is $24k grand new + over $13k in mods for $3000. Yeah sure it's going to have a salvage title due to the wreck, but that doesn't matter. I'd be retarded to try and sell the car as whole anyway. I could make twice as much money parting it out than I originally paid for it.
Oh, and for what it's worth, my brother and I did a mock estimate last night and we came up with $7400, but that wasn't including the mark up on the parts that the body shop attaches. So I knew it was going to be expensive.
