I got in to an accident, I wont go into details but we agreed to pay for our own damage and not get insurance involved.

I hit the guy head on though, slow enough so airbags didn't come out. The only thing is, he was in a Jeep so his car cleared my bumper and crunched my hood and radiator support bar. The bumper is fine, only one small scratch. But in order to have it drivable again, I need to know what I have to do.

I can get pictures if it helps... but the hood will need to be replaced, and so will the bar that holds the radiator in place. The radiator is fine. But I got the impression I need to get the radiator support bar exactly in the right place in order for the car to be drivable, or else everything may be out of whack. Is this true? Again, I could get pictures to show what the damage is if it helps.

Where should I get these parts? And should I get a body shop to weld the support bar back on? How much am I looking at spending on this? The estimates were $2,200 but I feel that thats way too much to spend on this car for how much damage there is, especially if I do most of it myself.

It is a '95 dodge neon sport. Thanks for the help, and I'll try and get pictures asap.

Edit: Scroll down for pictures

 

Pictures would be very helpful. You might have more damage then what is perceived.

 

when i hit a deer in mine last year the front upper support bar crinkled in a bit, made it feel like a really bad alignment, but was drivable, but I reported to insurance, it was fixed for me

 

Without pictures, its hard. But from what your saying, unless you bent the frame, the supposrt bar should be a junk yard part and I am pretty sure it just bolts on. Again no pictures and I haven't looked at my car to be sure but I am pretty sure.

 

At the body shop where I live when a car comes in with a bent radiator support they hook a thing that looks alot like a come-along to it (ratcheting thing with a hook on one end and a handle on the other) and the metal is pretty flexible so it bends right back out. I would suggest taking the radiator out before you try this because if the hook slips its gonna be bad. I dont know the extent of the bending but thats what I would do.

 

sometimes damage may not seem like much but even little things can cost a lot.... get a second opinion. $2,200 sounds like a lot

 

$2200 is probably not excessive for a good job. If you bent that support in you bent the from frame are (Monocoque) and may have to be starighted by a ICAR specialist. If not to bad then just good body work and a professional paint job. A local body shop took a deep ding out of my door and it was ~$980. Just good work. And your body shop will hopefully do a great job. However if you are pretty experienced at body work and want to go at it have fun. One thing to takle light dent or rust repair but any major collision damage best left to the pro's. My take... Mods are one thing but straightening stuff out takes work and PATIENCE!!! Best of luck.

My last car similar accident but with air bag deployment was $5400 before they opened the hood. OWW!!!! Yeah she was a total. Now I got a MOPAR!!!

 

I took a few pictures and I have a few questions. I have decided not to pay $2200 to get it fixed, it's just not worth it to me on a $5000 car.

This first one doesn't show much because of the lightning, but you can tell the hood is dented in.


On the left side of the car the bumper is down a small bit.


This is with the hood open, you can clearly see the bent support bar.


This shows that the battery support got bent in a little, and it appears the screw popped out.


This is another angle of the engine.


The reasons that I haven't taken the bumper and other peices out, one because I have a VW bus thats occupying the garage (waiting to get a cover for that for winter). But I'm also waiting on getting the parts, are there any recommendations where I could buy a new hood, support bar, and parking light? Doesn't need to be the best quality.

My questions to the forum are: Is this easily fixable? Is there any damage that I may be overlooking? How hard is it to weld the support bar on, and how should I go about doing that (having it done professionaly, or asking one of my buddies with a few years of welding to give it a shot, etc)?

 

Where abouts do you Live?

I have a Hood that I picked up for my Race Car - however it is not the right hood for my car - I have a DOHC engine so I have a bulge on the passenger side of the Hood.

Its the wrong color for your car - but it can always be painted!

Are you near the Atlanta, GA Area?

Greg

 

I live over in Washington, the sunshine may have thrown you off, heh. Thanks for the offer though.