Well, after a nearly three-month wait, I finally got my car back from the body shop after being rear ended at the end of January. I can't believe it took this long, but I could not be happier with the results. Basically, in order to make sure all the panels matched/blended well, the entire car except for the roof and passenger door panel were all re-painted. The result is an absolutely fabulous paint job with absolutely NO imperfections! Total bill came to just over $27,000!

Since a bunch of parts got wrecked, and because I had some downtime, I went ahead and upgraded a few items: (1) Speedtech 60mm exhaust with x-50 style tips; (2) x-50 intercoolers; (3) clear bra; (4) turbo script pedals; (5) epl k16 flash; and (6) flat black turbo script (diy--turned out great). Just days before the wreck I also switched out the center console for a silver one.

I'm loving the way the car feels now. The exhaust sounds awesome (although it is now virtually impossible to "get on it" in an inconspicuous manner and without drawing glares from surrounding pedestrians and motorists!), and the epl flash is just great...awesome mid-range torque and super drivable (came from a GIAC chip which worked great, but always just seemed a bit "jerky"). the combination of speedtech exhaust, epl flash, and gt2 intercoolers really made a big seats of the pants difference in my opinion.

I'm so happy to have my car back, I forgot how much fun it is to drive, and now its even more fun with the new mods (although I'm still a bit nervous about picking up any cosmetic blemishes (thus the clear bra!). I even got my amp back from Memphis (it was out for repair), so now there is not a single thing wrong with this car at the moment!

Here are a few pics:

 

and for the audiophiles, here is a shot of the custom amp/sub-box set up behind the rear seats (all memphis audio). It sounds great, but I haven't really used it much because I've been so enamored of the new sounds the engine makes with the exhaust.

 

glad you have your car back and it sounds like it is better than ever, which is what you hope for after an incident...I was on vacation for a couple of weeks and couldn't belive how much I missed my car so I can only imagine what you have gone through...enjoy the heck out of it and make up for lost time

 

Thanks Chuck, I plan to do just that (safely and prudently, of course!).

 

$27k........, did they replace the engine?, do u have before pix?

 

I know, crazy expenisve. No, the engine was fine, and not even the turbos were affected, which was surprising since the exhaust was mangled (and it is connected to the turbos, of course). Here is a before picture. The most expensive parts were the exhaust parts and the spoiler body parts...about 10k right there alone, not counting labor. Also, when you add up all the little parts that need to be replaced, from intercooler brackets to heat shields to the little shock absorbers, it really adds up. The other thing that caused some expense was that the rear quarter panel got buckled a bit from the impact, which resulted in a bunch of extra labor to make sure everything lined up in the end. Here is a before picture (I know, it doesn't even look that bad):

 

well with that much money they got from the insurance they should of put some aftermarket body kit or something, still looks good though enjoy!!!

 

Scott,

Congratulations on getting the car back! It sounds as though it's now better than ever (pun intended) :-)

Great time to get it back, enjoy it and stay safe...

 

Looking good, glad that you got it fixed and back to more mods. It will start slowly, it is like a leach.....works its way slowly.

 

John, you are correct, the car does sound better than ever!

Art4iza, you are right...I'm already thinking about the 16/16g upgrade (which is one reason I went with epl...they have a good flash "trade-in" policy when I decided to upgrade the turbos).

 

Might as well throw in 60 pound injectors and go with K24/18G. You will be much happier.

 

Congrats on getting her back.
Enjoy her as much as possible!!

 

Thanks Scott! Glad to see your enjoying the flash.

 

I am Tony. Thanks for a great product. Scott.

 

How about the torque at low rpm after the flash? Is it less or more?