Long story short I rear-ended a suburban and the tow hitch crushed into my bumper, breaking part of my right headlight (the casing on the inside of it is broken, leaving it exposed near the engine compartment), and also denting my hood up a little bit.

The damage isn't severe but I know that repairing it would require replacing the bumper and right headlight, possibly replacing the hood, labor/installation, and paint matching (grinding down the paint and repaiting the front of the car).

I haven't had it estimated yet but I'm sure it'll be around $2000 in which case I won't have it repaired, but I was wondering how much it'd cost to at least buy a new right headlight. I'm worried about moisture and **** getting inside of it now through the open side.

You guys have any advice about what I should do? I may claim it on my insurance but I don't want my premiums to go up. It's bad enough I got a "careless operation" ticket today D:

I know the bumper is around $500, anybody know how much a new 2004 Accord hood and headlight costs? Ugh this sucks.

 

look for the headlight on eBay. I'm ballparking the price to be around $150 for that one headlight from the dealer. If the damage is not enough like you said and you can live with it then just replace that one headlight. If you can't stand seeing that everyday, then claim it under insurance and get the front end repainted.

 

it would probably cost the same amount to get the hood fixed as it would be just to get a carbon fiber one. If i were you i would just get a CF hood becuz then you dont have to worry about getting it painted while getting a bitchin' addition.

 

What's the advantage to a carbon fiber hood?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by BaddMo2002 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> If you can't stand seeing that everyday, then claim it under insurance and get the front end repainted.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Do you know if my premiums will go up a lot? I don't want to do it if my rates spike but if its a slight increase, my $500 deductable is probably a lot cheaper than this will cost to fix.

 

It's about $1200 to fix it all.

What I plan to do is take off the bumper, heat up the dent w/ a hairdryer, and try to knock it out as much as possible. I want to take out the headlight and seal up the hole in the back with something just to keep moisture and **** out of it. Lastly I plan to try and remove the insulation under the hood and knock it back into place with a rubber mallet.

It won't be perfect but it'll be free and better than it is now. I can't do anything about the cut and scrapes that the tow hitch gave my bumper, but hopefully just getting the dent mostly out will improve the aesthetics a lot. The same goes for the hood. Getting the dent mostly out would probably be good enough. $1200 seems like too much for something like this unless I was trying to sell the car.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by nukem2k5 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">It's about $1200 to fix it all.

What I plan to do is take off the bumper, heat up the dent w/ a hairdryer, and try to knock it out as much as possible. I want to take out the headlight and seal up the hole in the back with something just to keep moisture and **** out of it. Lastly I plan to try and remove the insulation under the hood and knock it back into place with a rubber mallet.

It won't be perfect but it'll be free and better than it is now. I can't do anything about the cut and scrapes that the tow hitch gave my bumper, but hopefully just getting the dent mostly out will improve the aesthetics a lot. The same goes for the hood. Getting the dent mostly out would probably be good enough. $1200 seems like too much for something like this unless I was trying to sell the car.</TD></TR></TABLE>

wow. you pay for insurance, you might as well use it. it sounds like it would cost waaaay over $2500 + rental car to fix it right with OEM factory parts. most insurance companies allow 1 accident or ticket b4 raising your premium.

 

I got it quoted today. The hood can be sucked back out and they would replace the bumper, repainting the whole front. The headlight may not need to be changed, but if it did I would buy one on eBay and install it myself.

I have insurance in case I **** up someone's body and I get sued for medical. Using my insurance to claim something and save me about $500 is not worth it in my opinion. In fact I don't think an insurance claim is an option for me because of the way I'm having my ticket handled.

Anyway, my brother and I are going to see what we can do in terms of just heating up the bumper with a hair dyer and popping the dent out and trying to knock the hood dent out as much as possible. I know it's ghetto and won't be perfect but it'll be free and better than it is right now. I can always have it fixed later if it doesn't end up a way that's bareable. I already put a scrape/gash on the side behind the back driver-side door and saved $600 by living with it being sealed with touch-up paint. As long as that spot doesn't rust I can live with that minor aesthetic eye-sore.

 

There is no frame damage correct?

CF hood; $300
headlight; $150
bumper; $200

This is all unpainted, those are about the prices i've seen on hondaautomotiveparts.com

 

Yeah there's no frame damage.

Your prices are pretty accurate. I'll have to decide if I want to get it repaired at a body shop after I try my hand at it.

 

If you try to fix it yourself, the shop may not guarantee their work, for example if you put filler on your car and they put their stuff over it.

check the rules and guidelines.

I feel ya man i just got into an accident. If you love you car you'll have it fix.

make sure they don't paint other panels around your car that weren't damaged.

BTW don't go to maaco in albany NY

 

i just got into a minor fender bender myself on friday in nyc when it snowed.. (black ice couldnt brake on time) and crushed my hood + rad support + grille + minor dent on bumper which imma leave... all that oem parts/labor/paintjob they charged me 530$ to get it done next day which is today.. but i have work so mondays my pick up time...

headlights like said above can be purchased off ebay for like 30$ + shipping sometimes if youre lucky.

hoods aftermarket oem styles cost like 70$ wholesale price...around my way
bumpers cost like 60 wholesale priced..
all bare... no primer nothing.

 

dude, you have nothing to worry about. i work for progressive insurance, and handle insurance for every state in the USA. you should just claim this. the reason i tell you to claim this is because an insurance company can only charge you for one incident a day. to give you an example, say you get two speeding tickets in one day, you can only be charged for one. or in your case, an accident(3 insurance points) and a careless or improper operation(4 insurance points). your company is only going to charge you for the higher of the two, the careless operation.

was any damage done to the other persons car? if they file a claim its going to go on your policy anyway.

 

I say don't get a Carbon Fiber hood unless you plan to still paint it. The advantage to them is that they are lighter but unless painted to match your car they look like crap. I used to like the look ok but now they are played out and just plain ugly. I am a fan of the clear hoods now lol.