Piston Slap: Is a Modern Classic's Hail Damage a Death Sentence?

Luis writes:

Hi Sajeev,

I live in Texas where we’ve had terrible rain and hail storms. My daily driver is a 2004 Acura RSX Type-S with 111,000 miles on the clock. I purchased it second hand last year after driving my last car for ten years. A ’99 Civic coupe (178k miles, which I still own but leave parked). Anyway, the Acura incurred at least $7,000 in hail damage, mostly on the roof, hood and trunk, and minor damage on the sides. My question is: should I keep it? It runs great and has never been modded or in an accident. The insurance will pay off the balance of my loan (about $6,200) and make it even-Steven, or they will pay around $6,000 (which is the value minus the assumed auction price of $1,100) to the bank and I will have to pay the $1,100 balance and be able to keep it. Either way, it will make it a “total loss”. The adjuster said it will not be branded on the title as salvage but will be deemed a total loss that will show up on a Carfax. Making full coverage is not an option.

So I’m screwed either way it seems. Should I keep it? The car is all original, after all. Should I pay it off? Get a new car? Ride it out for a couple of years? Or all of these things? Selling it makes no sense. I have two reliable cars — should I really add a third?

Sajeev answers:

Yup, pretty much screwed either way! Yet you enjoy keeping cars for a long time, since you haven’t sold that Civic yet. And perhaps your Honda love mirrors that of my penchance for Lincoln-Mercury products.

A bad Carfax isn’t terrible on a 12-year-old car, especially with photos explaining why that happened. At this point, what buyer is is gonna hammer you for non-structural hail damage? I’d take the insurance company’s $6,000, research your local collision centers, and shop locally and online for a new hood and hatch.

Perhaps you can fix it cheaper — getting the parts yourself, especially if someone’s parting one out/selling stock parts from a project car locally. Poke around the forums and Craigslist!

I’d keep the RSX because the Type-S is the last great hot hatch from Acura, perhaps the last of the era. Honda quality and engineering even appealed to yours truly back then. I reckon selling your Civic is a quick and easy way to make a big dent (sorry) in the RSX’s hail damage repair.

What say you, Best and Brightest?

[Image: Acura]

Send your queries to sajeev@thetruthaboutcars.com. Spare no details and ask for a speedy resolution if you’re in a hurry…but be realistic, and use your make/model specific forums instead of TTAC for more timely advice.