2001 Honda Civic NIGHTMARE

DARKSPIRIT

MEMBER
2001 HONDA CIVIC

2001 Honda Civic 4 cyl Automatic 189000 miles

okay so I got in a accident with my honda civic. I was at a stop sign and let off the brake because I got distracted with my ipod. I smacked into the jeep in front of me. The main damage was to the hood because the jeep in front of me had a spare wheel on the back of it. The hood is dented in and actually came off the hinges. The bumper and grill were scrapped up pretty good too. Afterwords I tried to pop open the hood to see the damage as a result of this the hood dug a small dent in the right fender because it was off the hinges. I was wondering how much it should REALLY cost to fix this. I went to a body shop and they told me 1,400 (rounded up). When I told him I wasnt even going to fix the fender he told me I should because if I didnt he couldnt blend the color into the sides and it would look bad. He said he was planning on filling the small dent in. My question is that I have herd alot of nightmares about filling in dents because it usually doesnt last long. He also told me that I should get new after market hood cause you cant tell the difference and it would be under warenty. I have herd bad things about after market parts and am planning on going to a junk yard to find a hood for $300 instead of what he said (what do you think of that?). He did not address whether or not he was planning on filling in the scratches on the bumper and fender. I have herd from other people that filling in scratches specifically on a bumper is a bad thing because its like a bra and is tightly fitted. This causes the scratches that were filled in to expand and eventually crack back open. I asked him if I should just get a new bumper and he said no. At first I wasnt even thinking of doing anything to it but he convinced me too. My question is if I was going to do this is it going to look good for the price he gave me? I have herd horror storys about people getting paint jobs that went to hell in 3 months on the internet. I dont want to be a victuim of this after spending ALOT of money (for me) on this. I mean if I am already spending this much should I spend more or less?

1 Reply

CARADIODOC

MECHANIC
33,742 POSTS

Seems like you're putting too much faith in what other people are telling you and not enough in what the experts are telling you. I've been helping a fellow who rebuilds smashed Dodge trucks. Some are hit so hard, the engine is pushed back over a foot into the firewall. He uses salvage yard parts to keep his cost down, but it takes a lot of time to pull the used parts off the donor vehicle. Aftermarket parts aren't necessarily bad. If the person you spoke with didn't trust them, he wouldn't install them.

Filling dents is standard practice too. They weld on small metal sticks, then use them to pull the sheet metal out as much as possible, then fill in the rough spots and sand it smooth. Nothing wrong with that if it's done properly. You're paying for their experience and skill. They know you'll be back if they don't do it right.

Caradiodoc