A co-worker had similar front end damage to his car but not totaled. He took the insurance money and was going to do the repairs "on the cheap" because he "knew a guy". You know the story. Well it ended with him selling it for cheap on Craigslist because "the guy" didn't come through, a family emergency took most of the money, and he later determined it also had a hidden and bad water leak somewhere in the console (my guess: windshield frame had flexed out of true).
I think the OP made the correct decision. Take the money and run. Start all over. It's like putting $22,000 in the bank for 2 years and they give you a car to drive. Now you collect $1000 interest on your investment and return the car......wrecked!
Replacing the engine with a used engine from Japan is around $3000 + around $500 for the radiator and other components in the front. fixing the body is around $3500. So it is a total of $7000 to fix the car. The cost the Salvage Title car would be $14,000. Too stiff.
The things people ask on car forums. And who really pays for all of this? .... all the other insureds in the pool. But hopefully the 'responsible party' gets a new 'special rate'.
But lets not forget.. the Camry rear ended somebody, lol Then the Camry drove itself away, losing all its coolant and overheating to the point of seizing the engine.
That is why I don't sign-up for comprehensive insurance. The reality is that I would end-up paying for this guy's destruction of his own car.
Mr Heagy, While I get the spirit of your response, it's dangerous to suggest that someone not carry comprehensive when their car value is over $5000 or so, which is most everyone on the forum. Also impossible if they have a car loan backed by that asset. If you can afford to write a check for your total loss when something like this happens to you - more power to you. You might want to consider that as you search for your next car, as you seem to be comparing vehicles in the $15-$25K ballpark.
I think you should take it to the local shop for repairing and if that doesn't work then it would be better to take help of insurance company to help you in repairing the loss because it is really costly.
Take a look at when the thread was started ... its a zombie ... done deal ... closed ... finish ... late to the party