Sorry to hear about your car.  Hope you didn't get hurt -- make sure you get
yourself checked out before you settle anything with their insurance. Rear
ending can cause some issues with your neck and spine you won't feel until
much later.

I can't imagine anyone paying very much for a car that needs quite a bit of
work: If someone is willing to do that kind of work on a car, he's also
looking for a deal on the car. Getting a car "legal" from a salvage title is
not impossible, but he does have to jump through some hoops to make that
happen. Anyone willing to put up with that kind of hassle is not going to
want to pay a lot.
One might want to do serious surgery on a car if it were truly a classic, a
one of a kind. I don't mean to sound insensitive, but the Classic Honda
market is pretty small, if existant at all. You'll have a hard time finding
a person like that.

You could part it our yourself. The individual parts would go for quite a
bit more than the total car, but you'd have to make sure you find someone
that actually is looking for those parts. You also have to be technically
capable to disassemble the car and know what all the parts are.
Also - if you really love the car - parting the car out is a hard thing to
do.

If it were my car, I'd take the money and get another car. Eventually you'll
find another one you love just as much.

Remco

Brandy  Alexandre wrote:

unless you have your car insured fully comp, the other driver's insurer
*cannot* get your car written off for you.  that means you can get a
cash settlement, regardless of whether you choose to repair.  then, take
the car to a few independent repair shops and get *non-insurance* repair
quotes.  looking poor helps.  you'll be surprised how much cheaper they
are.  you may also be able to get a "frame only" straightening quote if
you try hard enough.  there will be no cosmetics with that, but at least
it'll be straight again.  [they just put it on a big rack, chain the
frame to the rack and start pulling 'till it's right.]

so, depending on how you want the car to look, how much rust you have in
the frame and how much appetite you have for the surgery required, the
vehicle is probably repairable.  that leaves you with the pleasant task
of negotiating with insurers.  again, it depends n whether you have the
car insured fully comp because insurers have a nice cozy little
agreement among themselves to cover their own insured in the event of a
write-off.  [saves on payouts don't-cha know!!!]  so again, the other
party can't get your car written off if your own company doesn't cover
you for that.  that leaves you with the repair/blue book value option,
and that's where your negotiation skills come in.  civics have shot up
in value locally because of high gas prices, i.e. values up from $1k up
to as much as nearly $2k, or even $4.5k for really nice ones.  so don't
take no historic values!!!  get a bunch of prices off craigslist if
there is one in your area.  don't know which state you're in, but here
in california, small claims court limit is $5k, so if you're not getting
satisfaction from the insurer, file in small claims.  you'll get your
settlement check so fast, your head will spin!!!