[W126 Coupe] Update and new problem...

[Tad Heckaman]

First, thanks to all the people who helped me with the audio equipment. All
I need to do now is to put in some rear speakers, but now I am listening to
music without it turning off randomly and sounding awful.

My new problem is this... how should I spend my money?
Over Christmas I got rear ended by a Ford Focus. He bounced off the bumper
and promptly started dripping oil. (hah) My bumper in the back moved a full
inch, but it returned to its normal spot. I think he braked at the last
minute, because he managed to hit my exhaust, breaking the mount/hanger in
the rear. The bumper is kind of buckled on the passenger side, but it looks
like I could just push it back under the body panel and it would look like
it was never hit. I also have a hole/leak in my exhaust under my car near
the transmission, and the transmission has issues going into park at times,
almost like the shifter isn't lined up with the slot any more (reverse is
where N was, and park is just a tiny bit out of reach, most of the time it
works, but every once in awhile it doesn't engage and the car will roll).

The insurance company looked it over and gave me a check for almost double
what I paid for my car. (hehehe) Basically the check would cover for the
cost of the car, the insurance (which was very high because of my age), the
gas I have put into it since I bought it, and for the radio and speakers I
have installed. With some left over.

I am going to get the broken things fixed, but I am not sure about the
bumper. They estimated around $900 for a bumper and another $900 for a
bumper cover(?). They also included $170 for each shock on the bumper and a
few hours of labor.
The question is, should I send it to the body shop to get the bumpers fixed
(it LOOKS fine) and spend over 2 grand, or use that money to take it to a
good mechanic and have them fix the mechanical issues, and fix all the other
issues with the engine (squealing noises, rough idle, hard to accelerate,
squeaky strut (I think), check timing chain, check condition of rest of the
engine, etc)

If I take it to the body shop, they will send the car over to the dealership
to get the mechanical issues looked at and fixed (exhaust and transmission
issue). If the cost goes over what they originally estimated, they (the
insurance company) will compensate for anything extra. If there was any
damage to the internals of the transmission, or if any of the mounts were
broken, or anything else caused by the accident, they would cover it.
However that would mean I would have to take it to the body shop, show them
the estimate and they would naturally replace both bumpers, and I would lose
out on the chance to get the engine a good overhaul.

What would be the best course of action to take? I really would like to get
the engine looked at and get all the issues fixed, but I risk having to pay
for major repairs in case something serious got messed up.

Or should I get rid of the car and use this money toward a newer SEC that
has airbags, ABS, reliable service history, and all those good things?

Thanks,
-- 
Tad Heckaman
1982 380SEC

PS other things in the future that needs to be addressed:
Paint job (clear coat is coming off)
Vacuum leak somewhere in the lock system (already locked my keys in the
trunk once, same day I got rear ended too)
Rear shelf is all cooked, along with the tops of the rear seats (leather
just peels off)
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