What's this gonna cost?
 

Daughters car 2006 Honda... just switched insurance companies.. luckily noone was hurt and no air bags... she is a good kid but I need to make her learn some financial responsibilities any reasonable advice? Cost to repair?

Gotta love teenagers.....

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1367851058.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1367851073.jpg

Might be totalled.

Punch a couple of holes in the hood, big enough to get the ends of a bungee cord into. Wrap bungee around license plate bracket. Duct tape crack in bumper and elsewhere as need. Purple duct tape would look cool on a sliver car. 1/2 an hour and $15 and you're done.

I don't know if there's really any fix for your daughter's poor depth perception and slow reaction time.

bumper cover, hood, paint, radiator and maybe other things mechanical

about 3-4k.


but what about the car she crashed into? liability insurance?

I was going to say the same thing.

Bungee and duct tape until she can afford to fix it herself.

Was she distracted by her electronic device? My daughter is 15 and I am already teaching her how to ignore her phone so as to avoid this happening.

My son had a similar event- much less damage. It was a 3mph tap.
He had been working and saving all summer for a new guitar.
His savings was used to fix the car instead.
Never had another incident.
Use it as a learning tool.
Glad no one was hurt, this time
Gary

How much is the collision deductible, dad?

definite text and drive kinda wreck...

I would fix this myself with used parts and have it sprayed cheaply. I would let her drive it as is (making it safe with hardware store items) until she has the funds to go shopping for used parts.

If you can't do this yourself, have her get estimates at body shops and start saving while she is driving it as is. I think driving it in this condition will remind her daily, which will be good.

If there is any chance a phone was involved, I would enforce the phone to be in the trunk while she is driving. It is just too tempting to go check real quick ...

G

Write "I'm a bad driver" backwards on the hood.
She will have to explain it to everyone.

Why did the accident occur? Accidents do happen. If your daughter was texting or talking on the phone, then the lesson learned should be much harder than if it truly was an accident. The way I read this is you have insurance to cover the damage but want your daughter to pay anyways? If so the cost of the deductible should be a sufficient future deterrent.

What is it going to cost? It looks like a complete bumper cover assembly, headlights, all logo trim, hood, maybe two fenders, and a radiator core support at the least. The car is silver which means you will have to find a shop that is good at panel blending or it will show. You might be able to find a used front clip which would be easier for you body-man to use and get pieces-parts if you can but some body-shops will only guarantee work if you use new parts. I am just guessing with what I see at it being in the $3k to $4k range with paint and a used clip. If there is frame damage it is a write-off.

That car seems to have a value of around $8k to $11k on autotrader, so if the estimate to fix it is high, it will probably be a total. The value of the car also goes down with each reported hit and fix so be prepared come trade in time.

You could just park it until she can work and get the money for the fix.

make her take it in for an estimate

BUT,
if she was on a phone/texting then sell the car and take away her license for a year

you can get the records from the cell company to make sure she is "accurate" in her story

I agree here. Responsibility must be learned, and at a young age. If she was texting/calling while driving, instant revocation. If not - then let her take it in for an estimate and pay for the deductible/fix.

TOTALLY, TOTALLY AGREE with RWebb!

Excellent.

The only change I would make is she can drive to work, school, etc., but no social driving for six months.

Done and done.

If she wasn't phone/texting then you have a bit of a pickle: Did you discuss the terms of her driving in advance? Does she pay any of the insurance, etc.

My kids know what the insurance deductible is on their car and what their current rate is. They also know they will pay the deductible when they are at fault and the delta if insurance rates change. This goes for tickets, etc. I don't pay parking tickets, fines, etc. and they owe me the difference in rates.

Seems fair to me...and I wasn't too worried what they thought.

3-4k to fix. If that's a v6 Accord, you're aware of the tranny issues? My son had just done his trans when he had a similar accident.

:d