Need advice
 

My son was driving back to college last Sunday evening when he hit a deer. He was driving a 2001 Honda Accord EX. The front passenger side was fairly banged up but I was actually able to drive the car out of the ditch and onto a tow dolly.

Using Edmunds TMV calculator the Honda Accord with present mileage and condition is worth ??? ($2,935-cost of parts needed to restore) using the "damaged" calculation.
If it had not been damaged it would have been worth $4,131.00 (private party)

I took all the damage parts out so I could estimate the parts needed.
So far it appears I need the following:
1) Windshield ($250)
2) Passenger Front tire (Will be covered under Discount tire warranty)
3) Front bumper cover ($$ @ junkyard)
4) Passenger Fender ($60 on ebay)
5) Bumper retainer - passenger side ($20 on ebay)
6) Hood ($$ @ junkyard)
7) Radiator core support ($50 on ebay)
9) passenger headlight assembly ($50 on Ebay)
9) Hood latch ($25 on ebay)
10) battery (covered under Autozone warranty)
11) Radiator ($$ @ junkyard)
12) Radiator fans assemblies (both) ($$ @ junkyard)
13) A/C Condensor ($160 at autoparts store)
14) A/C system recharge ($$)
15) Air filter housing ($$ @ junkyard)

I might be able to do all the work myself (since I didn't have comprehensive coverage) except the radiator core support seems to be part of the front frame and is bent severely.

I'm wondering should I part the car out or try to restore to original condition?

Re: Need advice
 

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Re: Need advice
 

Its certainly not worth paying someone to repair it, but if you're willing to do most, if not all the work yourself, then put a $500 Maaco paint job on it, you can probably have a decent looking, drivable car in the end without spending too much. Have you also considered buying a similar car with a blown motor, and either using it as a parts car to fix yours, or transplant your power train into it?

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It's fixable and it's worth fixing. How are we to assess your skills and desire to tackle the job?

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Skill level = intermediate

Desire = low

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LOL, +rep for you!

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Collision coverage is what would cover this, not comprehensive...though most people get collision and comp together.

Anywawy, I'd go with Jay's idea of buying a similar car that needs what your car has. With your intermediate skill level and low desire it doesn't sound worth doing all the work correctly to fix this one up, so the only other option would be to hack it together half-assed so it is a beater.

Re: Need advice
 

This is my thought process:

If I could part the car out for at least $1500.00 I could take the money I would have spent fixing it (~$1200) and buy a fairly good car.

The 2001 Honda Accord EX has leather seats, sun roof, 6 CD changer, power windows, power seats, tires are 80%, rims are good.

The car runs fine so I'm thinking if I'm patient and part it out by next summer I could buy a 1998-2000 Honda of some sort.

I'm going to try to sell it outright for $1500 and see if I get lucky.

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Unfortunately my collision coverage does not cover birds or animals. :eek:

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I agree that you should spend the time, money, and effort trying to locate a different car. I do think that you will have a hard time finding an Accord with a bad motor but is in decent shape otherwise... those are really durable engines.
Still, if your skill level is no better than my own, you will probably never be able to get it perfect, and that may affect the car's drivability and/or safety.

Re: Need advice
 

when our 97 accord was totaled, i couldn't let it go for small change or parts. our damage was/is much less however.

NO WAY i was going to let someone offer me charity for a car w/ a perfect interior, cold ac, smooth shifting AT, and a motor that burns less than a qt of oil every 5k miles.

i'm repairing it a little at a time. i didn't even make an insurance claim.

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??? I'm mystified by those who think this car is repairable. Just the cost of one airbag replacement (seriously, it didn't deploy?) raises the estimated parts cost to the $2000 mark. What good are replacement fenders, a hood latch, passenger headlight, AC compressor, etc. without a structurally sound and aligned frame to bolt them to?

Re: Need advice
 

If it was mine I wouldn't replace the bag.

Metal is "plastic" and if it isn't bent too severely and/or too often, it'll be OK. If there is a questionable spot, there's nothing saying that piece couldn't be replaced or even left alone but add your own home-baked reinforcement.

It hit a deer, not a semi or a tree. Looks to me like the main chassis is OK or at most, minorly tweaked; while the radiator header took the brunt of it. That isn't a major structural part that would cause me to worry about the integrity of the car.

I've done some driveway bodywork and straightened a front end hit although it didn't look as bad as this one (didn't need fenders). I was lucky to own another identical car so I was able to go between the two for measurements and looky-sees as much as I wanted.

Re: Need advice
 

That's a hell of a way to go deer hunting...did you at least keep the deer?

I'd vote for finding a cheap, cosmetically good car with a bad engine...then transplant stuff. Keep the good parts from the damaged car, junk the rest.

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Honda had problems with the transmission behind the V6 in the 2000 and possibly later years. Engine plus transmission swap is more work, but that improves the odds of finding another car.

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The main structure looks OK to me. However there is bending back the radiator support frame. If I replace it I have to grind off the existing and somehow attach it to the main support frame.

I'm adding up the parts that I could sell and I'm up to about $1500 WITHOUT the engine and transmission.

Re: Need advice
 

Try hooking up a chain from the point of impact to a tree. Back the car up carefully and safely. See how much you can straighten before you buy anything. I've done this with many cars. You would be surprised to see how wimpy that metal is.
This may get the basic shape of the front radiator support back. It may be easier to replace just the right section of it instead of the whole thing.

Re: Need advice
 

DON'T FIX IT! You need to part it out. That looks like unibody damage. I know that the front core support. That's a lot of work, and unless you know alot about body work, It will never look right. Look at it like this, if you paid someone to fix it and do it cheap, you are looking at at least 3500. You need to sell parts off of it. Motor 800-1200, trans 500-700, stereo 75, ac compressor 100, etc. then crush what's left. You'll come out better.

Re: Need advice
 

Let whoever buys eng and trans pull it out themselves, i've done it before

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Unibody damage? You are on crack.

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No drug use yet... but you would need a frame machine to get that car straight. I'd bet money on it! Otherwise you wouldn't be able to keep tires on it.

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Why do frame machines exist, if anything that's tweaked should be scrapped?

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After pricing out parts that sold on Ebay for similar Honda Accords I've decided to part it out.
When you have air bag assemblies selling for $125 each and speedometer casing selling for $100 the parts start adding up.
I figure I could get $1500 in parts even if I don't sell the engine/transmission or seats.