advice on accident repair

I recently put my '94 SL2 (145K mi) into a ditch off a highway ramp
(high speed + wet road). The bumper cover is smashed up, but otherwise
the suspension and bottom of the front chassis bore the brunt of the
damage.

I put new (used) rims and one new tire on it to limp to a shop, but it
was pretty clear that the damage was bad. The alignment was serverely
off--to go straight, I had to put 90 degrees of left steering lock on
it, and the suspension had almost no ability to cope with bumps in the
road. Additionally, the engine sounded rough (though no apparent loss
in power delivery), and the car vibrated when it was stopped at a
light.

Otherwise, there are no leaks and electrics are fine.

The shop checked it out, and once they put it up on a lift, the picture
was clearer.
I'm looking at:
- crumpled K-member
- bent anti-sway bar (and crushed sway bar mounts/bushings)
- both lower control arms bent

The shop quoted me ~2 grand to repair--$1000 for labor, $1000 for parts
(all used, except the sway bar links, brackets, and bushings). After
some poking around online, I believe I can get the parts for somewhere
in the 600-900 range shipped, but it'd be much easier dealing with
someone local--and time is a key factor since we are down to two cars
between four people.

Given that the bluebook on the car (in good condition) is just about
$2000, I have the difficult decision of whether to go ahead with the
repairs or declare it a loss cause.

If I do repair it, there is chance of more problems--specifically the
engine roughness worries me--and perhaps some latent problems that
manifest only after some time. I could very very easily be spending
much more than 2 grand.

If I don't, I only need to pick up enough 'new' car to last me less
than a year--but I run the risk of problems with the new car.

On both other hands, the saturn could run great--as it has been--for
many more years if i repair it, and if i buy a new car, I might end up
with something quite good that is also solid for many more years.

Any suggestions?

 

I think you can find a better deal.
But I could not tell you how to find it.
The parts from a you-pull junkyard would
be one hell of a lot less (probably get the whole of your parts for
$100 or less).
A couple of people have been selling off their mid 90s SC models on
Ebay - piece by piece - you might check there!
-WaV

 

With respect to the rough running engine -- you might want to check/recheck
all the motor mounts. If you hit as hard as it appears, they may have
failed, allowing the engine to torque/twist/flop around inside the engine
compartment. Damn things aren't that expensive, but they can be a pain in
the posterior to replace. Good luck ....