Originally Posted by Midori
That sux!
I dont think they wanted to scare you with the real labor estimate....parts are always the cheapest......what kills is the labor...which is usually triple to quadruple the cost of the actual parts. So $1000 labor for $4500 in parts is way too low.
I just visited the dealer, and they missed damage to the wiring harnesses, so that will add a lot of labor. Plus they used an outside tow service to move the car from the customer lot to their service bay, and the tow truck operator trashed my steering column by using a vice-grip to turn the front wheels. The cost has just gone up. At any rate, it's probably around twice totaled.
Best bet would be would be to just go out and get a wrecked or non-running donor car for $1000 and transfer everything over yourself.
My trouble will be finding any car in nearly as good condition as mine. We have some good yards around here, so I may be able to pick and choose, mixing in new parts from Honda as available.
One nice thing is that I met some CRX collectors as a result of this, and just looked at a nice Japanese, right-hand-drive SiR CRX with DOCH VTEC, glass roof, A/C, anti-lock brakes, and lots more. At least it feels good to be around folks who understand why I care about this old car.