Hi, all. Thanks for taking the time to read this and if ur leaving an opinion as to what i should do...

So it was a very rainy day and i lost control of my accord going down the highway while trying to change lanes. i hit the Concrete highway dividers in the front left of the vehicle going about 50 mph. and thats the only place the car took damage. my front tires are sitting toed it. i can fix the fender, hood, and hopefully the bumper also, but what i need to know is how much damage do u guys estimate is done as far as the tires / suspension / control arms/ tire rods and all that stuff goes. i have some pictures, hope they help.
Im trying to do all the things i can do on my own, but ill let the pros handle alignment, and any work needed on the suspension things as mentioned earlier. and i walked out of the crash unharmed if some of u were wondering thanks for wondering lol.

I will upload more but i have to go somewhere emergency and i need opinions fast so i can let the insurance company know to total it or if i should keep it.



as i said earlier i will upload more pics later. thanks.

 

Without seeing any of the other picutures. I'm going to suggest that you take it to an alignment shop or two. Get a few quotes & make sure to request a parts list of what they figure will need to be replaced. That way if you want to do it yourself you will know what parts are beyond repair (if any).

No matter what you will most likely require an alignment after replacing any parts. So you might as well get someone to give you a parts list, in exchange for having them do an alignment job for you when your done. worth a shot.

 

^x2. Is that a pic of a pretzeled lower control arm? IMO, as long as the frame is good, swapping the suspension will put you back to a quality ride.

 

If you need advice fast, my suggestion is let the ins. co. total it. A hit like that can cause a lot of damage.

Maybe you can let them total it out and then you can buy it back for the salvage value. Then toy around with it to see if you can fix it. If you can't, then you can part it out/have it hauled off to the junkyard.

 

they can put it on a jig and straighten it or they can put in new front buklhead peices. I cannot see the pictures but my gues is that the car is no longer square and util they get it square trying to replace peices will not work.....

 

Sorry For the wait and thanks for those who replied.

Here are some much needed pics.











As you can see in the last pic, the front wheels are sitting weird, the steering is turned all the way to the left at the time. could this be an alignement issue only? im not sure how bad an alignment can get but could it be just that? or is there more?? Theres also a pic of the suspension area of where the car took impact in there. can u see anything that looks bent? or broken?

I wanna know about how much money im looking at to fix this? im gonna try to do most stuff on my own but some stuff the pros will have to do. im getting all my peices from a junkyard so i just wanna know ball park estimate of labor costs.

Thanks so much for any opinion. the insurance company is giving me 2700 for it. or 1900 dollars if i keep the car. would it be wise to keep the car and fix it up? or just let them keep it?

Happy Thanksgiving To All!

 

Personally, for $800, I would buy the car back and tinker with it. That's assuming the rest of the car is in good shape.

I would take it to a bodyshop and get an estimate from them to see what all is in need of replacement. I would then try to source as many parts on the list as I can. I would then install as many of the parts I can myself and then take the car to them to have the paint and alignment done.

If the car is in great shape and you plan to keep it for a longtime, I would buy new suspension parts from here:
http://www.tasauto.com
Also, if you like the 96-97 frontend better (I sure do), I would take this opportunity to convert it.

http://s785.photobucket.com/albums/y...t=IMG_0276.jpg
Front lower control arm is definitely bent. Is that brake fluid leaking?

 

If you can fix the car yourself, then keep it. You should be able to do what needs to be done for less than a grand, including paint, as long as the suspension mounting points aren't bent up. If you have never done anything like this, then take the $2700, buy a '94-'97 in good condition for under $2,000, and throw the change into maintenance/upgrades.