Should I repair my car myself?

Question

I recently hit a pole/column in a parking garage driving my Scion tC. I have gotten estimates around $1600 to replace a fender, the front bumper, and one of the headlights. I am wondering if it is a good idea to fix it myself (with the guidance of a friend who has mechanical knowledge)? According to the collision centers, my headlight should be replaced because the plastic tabs have been broken where the screws attach underneath the hood. But the light still works and only has minor scratches on the side, and I cannot see a reason why it is necessary to get it fixed right now. Should I purchase the parts myself , do the work myself, and just pay to have it painted??? Do I need to replace the light?

Answer 1

The reason why the price is so "high" is that its not the parts and the labour to instal the parts that are costing, its straightening and repairing the damaged structure. What does the fender and bumper bolt to? Isn't there any chance that the body structure may have been damaged and is in need of repair? Bolting the body pannels on are not the hard part, its getting everything to sit straight and look good afterwords. Not every pannel is the exact same on every vehicle, sometimes they have to be shimmed to have body lines match, or to have gap lines even. If thier off even a 1/16 of an inch, its enough to make the job look bad in the end because body lines don't match up. I am an apprentice Automotive Technician, and Auto Body Technicians and Automotive serviece Technicians are nothing alike, the only thing that are in common is that they deal with vehicles. So having a friend with mechanical know how isn't of much help, it takes a lot of practice and a lot of time and stress. Don't worry about the pannels, worry about the vehicle structure, this is where the money is going. If thats not right, it doesnt' matter how much time or effort you put into the pannles, it wont sit right, and depending on the damage area, you're vehicle will not drive straight, even after alignments, as some of the mounting locations may have moved in the damage, even is its out 1/8" thats enough to cause major problems.

Answer 2

Scour the junkyards for a fender that is your color...then bolt 'er up. (The junkyards have a parts locator service, so if you go to one and they don't it, they should be able to find out who does). This way...no painting. If you get a different color or a new/aftermarket fender that needs to be painted, by the time you get it painted and pay for the parts, etc. you will not have saved much money.

The damage is probably very light and easy to fix, if the shop only wanted $1600 to fix it...as $1600 doesn't go very far at a body shop these days.

Find the right color parts and give it a try!

PS: Be VERY careful when you install the new fender, at the gap where the door opens. If the fender is not aligned perfectly, the door will crunch it when you open the door- and maybe even damage the door. Put the fender on..then check to make sure the gap looks the same as on the other side, and that it is level with the rest of the body surface. The try opening the door VERY slowly at first. We've all seen our share of cars with fenders/doors that are bent where the fender and door meet...and now you know how they get like that...don't let it happen to you! (Also check the fit of the hood very carefully the first time you go to close it)

Answer 3

Damage only appears to be on the surface. if there's no dents to the paintwork, then its a relatively easy repair. Are you sure the white scratches are paint off your car and not paint from the post that was scraped, if it is you may be lucky enough to get it off with some cutting agent like Tcut.. If not, your going to need to mask off the area around the wheel arch, preferably taking the time to perfectly align it round the raise in the panel. sand it down using various grades of paper till very fine, then prime, resand with wetpaper then spray with the right colour a few times, then spray again with lacquer. If you take your time, you can get a very good finish with this as its only the raised arch so the slight discolouration between the old paint and the new paint will be barely noticeable. However as its just the arch that's damaged, it may be cheaper to go to a body shop. Once you take into account the time it'll take you to try and fix if you don't know what your doing, and the cost of the grades of paper, the primer, the colour matched spray and the lacquer . It may be more cost effective to just let a professional do it.

Answer 4

well i can tell you $1600 sounds pretty cheap to get a new fender, and a bumper, tC's are newer cars, your getting those parts from the dealer, by the time you buy those parts, and put them on, then take the car to get it painted, you'll probably spend more than $1600, just too paint those two parts it will probably cost around $300.. i do a lot of my own work, but you should call the dealer and find out the cost of those parts first, and find out how much just a paint job would be

Answer 5

Sure, if you can handle body work. But the car may need an alignment depending on where and how hard the car hit the pole/column.

alive 962 and psychoholiday are correct. Some of the parts may end up not being fitted the way they originally were. That's the result of pulling and hammering away bent metal. Even professionally-done work ends up like this sometimes.

Answer 6

Fix the body panels with some junkyard parts (ie a Scion that got totalled from getting hit in the side or rear).

The light might be necessary to fix/replace because it might be angled too high, too low, or too much to one side or another. This can be dangerous to other drivers as well as yourself.

Answer 7

I think it comes down to how much you value your time, you can save a fair amount of money if you have the skills to repair your car. I personally have been involved in a few restorations and wild customizations as a assistant to a long time friend.

You may also need a front end alignment to go with the body work

http://www.autocarparts.ca

Answer 8

this could be a simple "bolt on the replacments" repair on the surface. But there can also be damage underneath the surface that might make the repairs more difficult than you thought. You and your friend need to be prepared to deal with pulling out, bending, and hammering if needed.

Answer 9

Your friend with the mechanical knowledge would be the one to ask. They would have a better idea.
If you price out the parts and check to see what tool you need to buy, you can then make a more accurate evaluation.

Answer 10

i own a repair shop and you probably could repair this one your self,it would save you a lot of money on the labor part of it that's for sure,but on the light you,ll have to use your own judgment on that one i cant see it so i really have no idea of how bad it is,but as far as buying the parts and putting them on your self, i think you could do it ,with no problems at all,and like you said you have a friend to help,so that's going to make a big difference in the way the job turns out ,but i wish you good luck with it i think between you and him it will get done good luck with it hope this helps.