Crashed my Civic :( - need advice

[tylerjames]

Had a wee bit of an accident during the week
Was pulling out from the side of the street to do a u-turn, and didnt see the car coming from behind me (didn't see it before I got in the car, and view was obstructed by parked car behind me). pulled out about half way and clipped an 08 amg merc as it was coming up the road. from what I could tell he was probably going over the speed limit (50km).

anyway, ended up scratching up the side of his passenger door/rear left wheel, and he cleaned off my front bumper (completely). he hit the front right side, which push the bumper and left light off the body and all over the road. Luckily I had 3rd party property damage. so, his damages are covered (with a nice $1200 excess)

So now I need to sort out what I'm going to do with my poor civic.
I tried taking photos to best demonstrate the damage.

From the looks of it, I'm looking at:
replacing front bumper (pic)
replacing the steel support/bumper (pic)
replacing front left headlight

and whatever the container is on the front right of the car, (pic)
looks like its connected to the air filter? but not really sure what it is. (if anyone can confirm please)

Just wondering if I should look at finding a stock bumper to replace it, or look at aftermarket bumper.
and possibly headlights if i need to replace them.

+ if anyone can suggest the best places to look for parts in the Brisbane/ Gold Coast area, that would be great thanks.

open to comments and suggestions.

cheers,



http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f374/tjb2590/_MG_7942.jpg
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[projectsti]

hey mate, i've just damaged my civic in a similar way, except mine was the right side and i didnt quite do so much damage to the metal bar behind the bumper. I was quoted $1700 to straighten out the car and replace the front bumper etc, so you should be looking at similar money at the panel beaters, give or take. Just take it to them and ask for a quote unless you have a mate who's handy with this sort of thing, best to get it checked out by a pro though to make sure you haven't sustained any mechanical damage =S

[chauster]

The white thing thats smash is called the resonator. Its used to catch air to make your car more quiet. Most people take them off for more sound and better air flow.

From what i can see the front bar definately needs replacement. But the Bumper support seems ok. Im sure a panel beater could fix that. Rails are probably off so needs straightening.

Bar + Paint = 500
Support Bar repair +Paint = 200

Random stuff they tell you to fix = 800
Charge you for nothing cause they can = 300

So yeah you're looking at about 1.8k =D I'm no panel beater so i might be wrong. I only paint xD


Hope it helps.

[muzukashi]

damn looks pretty rough there, it all depends if your going to replace or fix the existing parts judging from that front bumper pic it looks pretty beat most likely that is 1 of the things that will need replacing but still try get quotes on both options as to replacing and fixing then you will have a good idea of which option is more logical and cheaper to go through with

but yeh from personal experience i think i would replace certain parts as once they are damaged it will never be the same unless you got a fair amount of spare cash sitting around but then again it all just depends on how bad the damage is behind the bumper

do make sure there isn't any major mechanical problems might seem fine but you dont want to come across any mechanical problems or leaks after your cosmetics are fixed up, goodluck mate

[dougie_504]

See if you can just source a second hand bumper in the same colour. Piss off the resonator, waste of weight and makes your car slower/quieter anyway lol.

Headlight same, try for second hand.

I paid $136 for my second hand bumper, headlight and guard. All second hand at a wrecker and in the same colour I need :)

[tylerjames]

UPDATE: from the post and photos that I took this morning,

Went around to a mates, was going to go to a wreckers in brisbane, but as everything closes at 12pm on a saturday, we probably wouldnt have made it.
SOO, we decided to just fix it up. looks awesome.

had to straighten and weld new bracket plates on the reo-bar (where torn and twisted in photos)
drilled holes along all the cracks and splits in the bumper (as seen in pics)
roughly took off all the loose paint chips, then zip-tied stitched it all together.

put the reo-bar back on fine, and it's probably more stronger now that it's reenforced.
there were a few spilts in the bumper that we just either re-drilled new holes for, or zip tied back on.

as for the headlights, the front left had snapped all its brackets, and the front right was hanging on by one. (out of 3 each)
so, again, zip tied it all together, drilled and bolted where we could.

everything is sturdy and sweet now.
also took the resonator off as well. (it was wrecked,+ pointless anyway)

so yeah, all looks pretty well considering this morning I had nothing, and now it's drivable again.
only thing I have noticed is a slight turn in the steering. but im assuming that its just the wheels needing re-aligning.
I took a few photos of the process, and will take some in the morning of the finished product,
actually looks kinda mean ;)

[tylerjames]

oh, and cost me a total of $0.
used half a packet of zipties + half a can of paint
wheel alignment will be courtesy of my mate that works at a honda dealership next weekend ;)

[dougie_504]

Fantastic mate, show us some pictures? It's a great feeling when you do something like this yourself with a good friend to help you out. Props :)

[tylerjames]

http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f374/tjb2590/_MG_7980.jpg
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f374/tjb2590/IMG00060-20100918-1833.jpg
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looks alright from afar. but pretty shitty up close.
didn't think I would mind the rat/pig look.. but I think i'm preferring it clean
also, will have to buy new headlights, so pointless having new lights and an ugly bumper.

[cheapdouchebag]

dudeee thats a spittin image of frankenstien hard haha
proprs to the diy!

[dougie_504]

As long as it can make do for now mate. Fix it when you're able, front bumper shouldn't be too hard to find :)