For those I haven't spoken to, the car was declared beyond economical repair (Cat C) by the insurance company's engineer. The body shop it was taken to wouldn't even put a number on the job, mainly due to parts availability from Lotus, apparently.
Having haggled hard with the RSA insurance company valuation guy (who was very helpful and understanding, incidentally) I'm very happy to say I'll be getting her back for salvage, plus enough cash for a decent replacement.
In the end, because I got a good deal on the car in the first place and asking prices have risen in the meantime, I'm getting back almost what I spent on her, plus the car.
I'm still not sure what to do from here:
- try and repair her? Might well be possible, but then again I still don't know whether the chassis or tub reinforcements are bent.
- buy the BRG with the dead engine and do a swap?
- buy a good replacement, swap the upgrades and pass on the rest of the old car to someone else?
I'm quite tempted to pick up an Excel, then look for a replacement Elan when convertible prices come down next winter.
In any case I probably won't be out of pocket by much, and she's been saved from the Douglas Valley dungeon.
Adam
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