Wreck in Wife's New Car - Advice Req.

[shrouded]

Well, this was a fun one. My wife, just a little over 300 miles into ownership of her new car (an RSX-S, don't tell ), got into a fender bender. She bumped an older SUV, so there was no damage to the other guy. I don't see anything but cosmetic damage, and the parts guy at the dealership concurs.

We have dents & a crease in the right fender, a slight crease in the plastic filling the wheelwell, and a bend in the front bumper that keeps it from sitting true (picture a 1/4" gap between the bumper & the right fender & hood). My question is this: if we opt to replace those three parts, is this work that someone learning the ropes of auto-work on his 911 do at home? Can I save much in cost ordering the parts & replacing them in the driveway instead of having a body shop do it? I'm concerned about my cost for sourcing the parts, & perhaps having them painted (can I just order them in the factory paint color?) instead of having the shop do it.

For Porsche content: I am going to have to complete my engine drop on the SC & return it to daily driver duties before we can leave her new car in the shop for any length of time.

Thanks in advance for replies....

[Willem Fick]

Take the plunge and do it yourself! I taught myself autobody repair when I was a student with a bashed up car, but no money - sure I got things wrong once or twice, but I'll still never look back!

Worst off, you'll have to pay someone else for the paintwork, but nothing beats the satisfaction you'll get from doing the job yourself!

[stomachmonkey]

At only 300 miles I'd let a pro do it.

Scott

[porschenut]

Why on earth wouldn't you let the insurance pay for it and get it professionally done???

[Bill_Rockoff]

Because "insurance" doesn't pay for it when you rear-end somebody, YOU pay for it. They pay the body shop up front, so it seems like magic at first - "My car got fixed, and somebody else paid. This is like being sixteen again!" But then they increase your rates. Typically, they'll do this for EVERY car you have insured with them. (Picture paying for an at-fault accident next time you insure the 911, even though the accident happened in the Acura.) And you better believe it won't take long for the rate increase to cover the money they spent on your behalf - and then you keep paying the higher insurance rate.

Also, they probably won't pay a cent without a police report. If there's no visible damage to the other guy's SUV, the other guy may have let your wife go on her way without requring police involvement, am I right? But, in every US jurisdiction I'm aware of, rear-ending someone automatically means getting a ticket for "following too close." So, if you want insurance to pay, they'll want a police report, and you have to tell them "we hit someone else's car" and get a moving violation ticket for an accident that damaged nobody but you. This is also known as "giving away money." Alternately, you could lie to the police and the insurance company and claim someone did this while you were parked. This is known as "insurance fraud" and "filing a false report." "Insurance Fraud" usually involves jail time. Ask that Runaway Bride girl in Georgia how that "filing a false report" thing worked out for her.

Or, you could spend a couple hundred bucks on parts, pay your pennance in time spent on your car rather than money given to a large company that already has plenty of it, and "go thee forth and sin no more."

Chalk up another vote for 'fix it in your driveway' and making this whole incident un-happen. This lets you spend less money on traffic tickets and the legally-mandated-gambling-against-yourself robbery that constitutes the auto insurance industry, which makes the world a better place.

[ras911]

Most body work that is home done by non experienced people looks it . It is a brand new car, advise would be to replace all affected pieces. If you are worried about your insurance rates, go out of pocket, but personally I would have a professional do it.

[DW SD]

At least if you do it, the parts should be clean and easy to take apart (no rust or corrosion to fight the fasteners). I changed a fender on a later model Lexus Ls-400 because I backed one of my other cars into it. I bought a new fender and brought it to a body shop for paint. It was metallic and never matched perfectly, but the car looked straight and everything was good, after, except the color. I sold the car shortly after, which was the plan from the start (before hitting it.) I'm sure you could do the work, if you are patient.

[Bill_Rockoff]

Agreed, this isn't "body work," this is "swapping parts." Take of bent/broken parts, install new parts. Better still, you may be able to find at least a fender that's already the right color in a salvage yard, from a car that had its total-loss accident on the other side or aft of the windshield.

Leave fasteners snug and take your time lining up the panels (that's the hard part, like front-end alignment - figuring out what to line up first.)

Although if you don't have the time/patience/interest, the suggestion of paying a body shop out of pocket is a good one. They already know how to line everything up.

[porschenut]

Originally posted by Bill_Rockoff
Or, you could spend a couple hundred bucks on parts, pay your pennance in time spent on your car rather than money given to a large company that already has plenty of it

A couple hundred bucks?????? Bill, where ya been? An entire bumper, fender and fender well for a couple hundred bucks? Try a COUPLE THOUSAND, or more, and that's without paint!

Guess you haven't had any bodywork done lately....it is by far the most expensive type of work on any car.

AND, it takes more skill to do bodywork than any other type of work on a car. I'm sorry to disagree with the others, but I don't believe he can do an acceptable job of repair if he isn't experienced in that type of work. It's not as simple as just ordering the parts and bolting them on with a screwdriver and a socket wrench. Try it if you want, but if you want the car to look like new again you'll end up taking it to a body shop in the end anyway, and you'll end up paying 5 times as much as you would have if you just paid your insurance deductible.

Oh, and when I was rear-ended 2 years ago in my Jeep, the other guy's insurance paid my claim with no hitches and there was no police report. Some insurance companies might push for a police report, but they're only trying to protect themselves from possible fraud claims. I've already looked into this 2 years ago. If they refuse to pay your claim just because of no police report, all it takes is a phone call from your lawyer and you'll have a check in your hand. The police report is for THEM, not you.

BTW, in every jurisdiction I know of, it is against the law to fail to report an accident.

[coldstart]

I have an RSX and it is fixable at home if you are so inclined.

I have the service manual (dealer's copy) online and I can send it to you via e-mail or posting it on a site (as it is a very large file). The front bumper is fairly easy to remove as is the hood (friend recently had a fender bender in his RSX) adn parts can be found MUCH cheaper than the dealership - check forums.clubrsx.com.

Best of luck!

[daka]

If you elect to do it yourself, assuming nothing other than replacing parts,(I would), If any of the parts are to be painted afterward, have the body shop "flash" the undersides with the color if this what is on the original parts, install them and then let the body shop paint it...that's the hard part. Color match should be good as it is so new.
And, yes they will raise your rate if they can! One more thing, it will probably show up on CARFAX not that you are hiding anything !!!!! The extent of the damage, if minimal, is not something you want on CARFAX.
Just my opinion

[silverc4s]

Not sure about your area, but here I know of two or three body/paint guys that "moonlight" on repairs such as these at home.
My favorite here is a manager at a major bodyshop in town that doesn't get to actually work on cars in his job any longer, and likes the extra cash money too... look around, ask your favorite car dealer, for example. I guarantee he does not send cars to big bodyshops...

[Nine9six]

Daka gave you the best option yet...You should consider following the advise.

[Bill_Rockoff]

Originally posted by porschenut
A couple hundred bucks?????? Bill, where ya been? An entire bumper, fender and fender well for a couple hundred bucks? Try a COUPLE THOUSAND, or more, and that's without paint!

Guess you haven't had any bodywork done lately...

Well, not LATELY - it's been a couple years.




Panels for my car were probably a bit cheaper than RSX parts (half a million cars in the US came with the same body panels.) But my front fascia was $200, and a fender was $150 or so - new, from a dealer. Better still, see if a salvage yard has used ones in the right color - no paint work required at all. If someone with an RSX and a shop manual says replacing the parts is DIY, I sure wouldn't dispute it.