Well it wasnt my fault. They slid on ice and hit me. Called the cops and drove her home. Its my first accident so Im wondering about how much its going to cost even though I wont be paying. The hood wont open(I dont want to force it up). Here are the damages.






Theres a big gap here


where the hood went over






It also has the big gap upfront

 

I thought about the gaps and everything. It seems that the front end shift to the driver side.

 

yeah that is what it looks like given the pictures above, you should try and open the hood someway or take the front bumper off so you can get a better look at the damage

 

if its structural damage its gonna cost alot, if its just body damage around 500 or so

 

I do want to but I want them to come check it out first before I do anything. Besides, Im kinda afraid that the hood wouldnt be able to close again. When I tried opening it. It was hard to latch back down.

 

good point, probably best to wait and have the insurance pay for a mechanic to take a look at it, yeah just pray there is no structural damage, Hope it all works out and they repair it all

 

If it is structural a body shop can probably straighten it all back out with hydraulics. It will cost you more though.

 

I dont think itll matter. Her insurance should be covering all since this was 100 percent her fault but do you guys know if it gets fixed. How long they will have it for? Estimated time?

 

Good call. Just make sure the insurance company doesn't total it.. They like to do that with these old cars..

 

Forever lol. The body shop will tell you a week, and when you go to get your car it will be another week and so on for about a month lol

 

Sorry man but body shops have ZERO grasp of time.

 

yea most body shops suck and take forever to do a lot of simple stuff, sometime its because they have a lot of work other times it's because they like sucking up as much money as possible. If you can do some research and call some body shops near you and ask about turn around times and basic price estimates on front end damage similar to yours. Otherwise if there is no structural damage and its just a bent bumper and fender you can do it yourself and just have it painted at a shop near you.

 

I dont think theyll total it but I wont let them if they try. I swapped a tii in it and havent even driven it to its fully potential. Its only been half a year.

 

I dont think I'll be getting a rental car from her insurance company so I'll fight hard!

 

I first thought it was just the fender and bumper and thought Id get a JDM front bumper to replace it but I dont think thats the case now with the front end shift

 

easy. get a come along and hook it to a tree, and to someplace solid on your front end and tighten that come along. it should pull it little by little back into shape.

 

I popped out the front end of one of my old cars like that after I had smashed it in. Worked really well..

But since your going to have insurance pay for it all, I'd just let the body shop do it.

 

heh. i went to an auto body tech school and we pulled a saturn back in alignment after it was off 2 inches. we used a come along and a BFH.

it lined it back up perfectly.

 

ey you are from mn..lol.. well lets get to it. i have worked at a autobody shop for about a year now and i do my own work. but then it seems that everything seems to be shifted right. the only reason why your hood wont open is because the head lights are either pinned on the hood or the headlight pushed the hood over and the latch is pinned shut. i had alot of these come in through the winter.. it sucks but one question..? why are you driving your rex through the snow/winter.?

 

I've have similar damages.. My damages just bent the driver's side bumper support a little. (structurally) It really only destoried the headlight and fender. I had it straightened out.. I'm going to have it looked at professionally in the future.

 

I looked at it today closer. The head light was holding down the hood so I forced it up. When the hood was up I decided to see if the lights would go up. The drivers did but not the other. This means I cant drive at night..damn it..I did also notice that the driver side head light sat lower than the front bumper and the fender when closed. I did drive it around today for a bit too. Felt kinda weird. Strange noises more than usual but not much. Boost was still there. Idled didnt seem to good at times.

I drive the rex cause I dont have a winter beater and besides that it teaches me more control.

It was bent here where the circle is. (this was not taken now..it was during the swap)

 

The Body shop can Fix that..No problem
Take it from a guy who had the same thing wrong with his Car(I bought a Car with front end damage,as a parts car.Now it is being driven for 3 years,with Zero issues!)
I got the body Guys to put it on the frame straightener and pull it back into alignment
Your Damage is Not Much,In my opinion.If you do it yourself,Hmm.maybe 100-150 Tops.The body shop?.gonna estimate at least a Grand,as they need to replace the fender,front bumper,and most likely the headlight motor assembly.then Straighten it and put it back,and Paint.See??.it gets expensive.
The car may be drivable,as is,But if the insurance is paying,get everything looked at.You are gonna come out of this just Fine,with the Same car...and I am glad you came out of it OK too.Cheers,STYX.

 

the insurance company will write a nice estimate on that damage, aftermarket front bumpers are not availible, aftermarket fenders are.

The bumper cover alone is in the $800 range from mazda, factor in supports and having to straighten out the metal where the fender and bumper bolt up, they will pay for frame machine time, and alighment.

Take it to a shop otherwise the adjuster who comes to your house will hose you because you dont know what needs to be done. Trust me on this one- surely you must know SOMEONE at a bodyshop who can handle the claim for you?

and who cares if they total it, all that means is they will give you full value for the damages, being that you were not at fault you will have your car and a nice check to go along with it. They wont salvage title the car.

 

It won't take much to total one of our cars. The insurance company will value it around $2000-$2500. Make sure you have receipts for any work that you have done to the car to increase the value. Look at the For Sale section on the forum to find several cars for sale that you can show them that the car is worth more than their offer. I got hit in the side and the estimate was for $2400 and they wanted to total the car for that. I showed them receipts for work done and several for sale ads and they settled for $3100 and I got to keep the car.

Doesn't hurt to be prepared.

 

Same accident, other side of car.

Insurance company wanted to total and I wanted to keep it. Received $2600 cash and got to keep the car. A used front bumper and used fender later and I was good to go!

Just FYI I have a white passenger fender I could sell you if you wanted to pay shipping. =)