[fivespeedsteed]

so today i was pulling out into a roadway and a guy in a verizon truck (ram 2500) was pulling in, it was mostly my fault, i pulled foward as he was coming in, very nice guy, neither of us got a ticket, he has my info, and i have his. my dad said that reporting my damage to the insurance company will make my rates go up, so i have to pay for it out of pocket. oh well, i figured it would be too nice to have all of my tax return, anyways, thank god i dont get to keep it all.

cop stopped by, she was driving by, she never used the word fault..she asked me if i had passengers, and was wearing my seatbelt. thats it.

i need a front bumper for sure, i need a passenger headlight, for sure, and then the hood got it, and the front part of the unibody by the headlight. this is after i pulled things back straight somewhat. i think i might get the metal (hood and side) straightened out, and use blue spray paint for now to get it so it wont rust, the most important thing is getting the headlight mounted back right. its kind of sitting in my bumper. how is the light attached. is there an assembly that bolts to the rad support that i have to replace? so where should i find a bumper, ill ask kolak how much for one, but what else do i need oem? any help is appreciated.

bummed the gfs camera and got pictures...

[MoonyJohn]

Dang man, sorry about that. We almost have the same battle scars. My hood is still got a crack in it. Heres a solution to the hood, get a bug deflector :smile: It will actually cover the whole thing and people would not notice.

[compcrasher86]

his hood actually looks like its bent a little, damm it sucks to replace a WHOLE hood for one tiny spot that messes it all up. My friend had a similar accident in his FJ cruiser and it ended up costing him 1500 for a new bumper/repaint some spots at Maaco autobody.

[99avant]

Is the headlight pushed in? Hopefully its the light that is broken and not the piece that it is mounted on...

Search the junkyard for the parts, and install yourself.

[wonderbrd937]

your headlight mounts to a header panel which mounts to metal bumper part and some brackets, very easy to change, all you need is a star bit and ratchet, and check on eBay, they have oem bumpers shipped for like 75 to 100 and header panels for about 40 shipped, eBay is the best thing that has ever happened for oem and aftermarket parts.

good luck

[CaseyC]

I would try a CertiFit location. Great prices on body parts. The closest one to you is in Baltimore. Check it out at www.certifit.com . I replaced my entire front end (header panel, grille and bumper cover) for less than 100 bucks.

[fivespeedsteed]

thanks for the help guys, im dissapoined ive messed so much stuff up on this thing.

now since neither of us got a ticket does that mean that he cant make a claim against me?

im at school in radford, the charlotte location is about 2 hours from me. they have amazing prices on stuff. ill probably call them and get my stuff ordered and go down and pick it up. gotta wait for my tax return to come in. the fender part that points out was folded behind the headlight, thats creased pretty bad. the hood i can save with bodo i believe. im gonna get a fender, grille, headlight, and front bumper. proably tow hooks while i have the bumper off. is that certifit place used parts or reman ones?

[perfectcircle]

I got a bumper and header panel if you end up needing them. I'm even coming down to Charleston in a lil bit (if that's around you)...pm me if things don't work out at the other places!

[fivespeedsteed]

south carolina? might be too far of a drive for me. if your driving from ct i can meet you somewhere just off the highway from you. youd probably be on 95 though which would be a drive for me too.

[perfectcircle]

I'm terrible with geography but yeah you're right VA is before SC from here. I don't know yet when I'm heading down so don't wait if a deal comes up, but if it falls through i'm definetly going for the drive so it wouldn't be a big deal for me.

[redhatman]

[fivespeedsteed]

ive bondo'd in already roughly where im dented on the hood and the side, it looks better. shifted my hood over too. im just gonna get my return and buy the stuff from certifit. gotta find a good price on getting my fender sprayed. and there not going to be able to find my pinstripe so i guess i gotta pull the pinstripes off.

[frankie_b11]

Hey Man,
Sorry about your luck. I am not sure who your insurance company is but my wife had a couple accidents that were not her fault, we used insurance to fix them and our rated did not increase.
I would go that route, it will cost you less and your will have certified body shops fix it. New paint, parts...

It is worth avoiding the headache.

Just my .02

[JrMechanic]

If nobody was at fault, your insurance shouldn't go up... If you have full coverage, that's what its for. What's your deductible? $250 or $500? I figure it will be at least $500 for everything you need, plus your time.

[fivespeedsteed]

well i dont think i can find anyone at school to paint me a quarter for a decent price, i have a friend at home that can get me a good price. i slapped one coat of bondo on the hood dent, and the quarter after i hammered it somewhat straight, let it set, then smoothed it somewhat with 40 grit real quick, and hit it with some generic royal blue with clear in it from advance, it looks okay. ill get pictures in a bit. im just going to get my return, and drive down to charlotte and get a bumper, header pannel and a new headlight for that side, fix that stuff, get some tow hooks maybe, and then ill deal with the quarter, the hood dent, and the dent in the liftgate through my friends dads shop at home over the summer. i cant stand it looking so beatup, but i have other priorities.

my dad said "now that your having wrecks and stuff im not sure i want you driving a bunch" (after telling him (dunno why i told him) that i was going to charlotte to get the parts). thanks dad. great. he seems to think its cheaper for me to get a 200 dollar bumper and 130 dollar header panel from the junkyard here, than to spend almost 60 on a bumper, and about 40 for a header pannel and drive to charlotte (2 hour drive). funny how im in charge of fixing this myself but hes telling me how to do it ehh?

parents are a burden.

took it to a body shop around here, the guy felt it and said " i can tell youve never done any body work before" and looks at me and smiles.

ehh heemm....this is one coat of rough bondo with 3 coats of generic royal blue spray paint to make it look somewhat better, and to keep it from rusting.

does this look my honest best work? its no where near it. so please guys, for the love of god dont tell me its not perfect. i know its not. far from it. please please please go gentle here, ive been made fun of by everyone i know more in the past 2 days than ever before.



does that look a little more pleasign to the eye than this?



i thought so, maybe im crazy though...