Restoration Part 3!, All fixed. For now... Options

[enderswift]

Halloween 2009 some douche got beyond drunk and bashed into my parked celi before speeding off . I found the damage a few hours later and aside from an internal cuss-fest I kept my cool and was really relieved to see that there was no mechanical damage. Pictures say a thousand words so observe:


this picture is from when it first happened and doesn't really convey the magnitude of the damage, I seriously thought the rear suspension was boned. I'll post fresh pictures soon, they'll show my sad looking (but effective) attempt at rust proofing.


After saving every penny from my summer job while scouring the world for parts, paint, good advice, and someone to trust my celi to, I finally have everything in order


(thats $300 in paint supplies right there, the majority of which was the insanely expensive toyota 3l2. That taillight was damn near impossible to find for a reasonable price)

I just cant be happier right now. Ill finally be able to wax my celi without wondering if I'm an idiot for waxing a ruined exterior (I figured a dent isn't an excuse to neglect the whole paint job!) also, I'll finally be able to pull up somewhere or go on a date w/o cringing every time my drivers side is displayed

So now the next order of business is to take a few things apart before delivery to my body guy. The rear bumper has to be removed together with the taillight, mirror, power antenna, front head light, sideskirt, and window trim. I'm paranoid about having someone else work on my car so I insisted on being as involved as possible. In fact, If I had the time I would learn body work and fix this on my own. Too bad university has to be so time intensive while body work is a skill that comes with lots and lots of experience..Either way until I graduate I'd rather have someone fix this thing rather than count on my rustproofing to hold up.

I'll post pics of the tear down soon

This post has been edited by enderswift: Jun 2, 2011 - 8:34 PM

[enderswift]

Bloodmoney, Richee3, you guys know your stuff! the radiator support and bumper can indeed be saved. I just had a reflex reaction to try and replace everything since I saw pressure just popped in a new support and stuff.

Why did you blur out his plate?

Other members could take revenge into their own hands......

lol thats why I blurred his plate! Actually he seems like a cool guy so im gonna hold back the collective 6gc fury unless absolutely necessary haha, but be on standby


/copy paste from other thread:

as far as repairs go, I went over to my body guy and we discussed my options. right now it looks like paint supplies are going to be in $150 range, paint labor is $250, booth charge is $100, pulling out the radiator support is $150, a new radiator is $150 (not factoring my 20% work discount), new toyota coolant and some r134a for the AC should cost ~ $90. $740 so far... I still have to find and price a hood and high beam. Surprisingly this is turning out to be more expensive than the damage I just fixed!

This guy wants to keep insurance out of this so i'm gonna take the celi to get a repair quote at the local shop (which is definately going to cost more that $1200) and then I'm gonna give him the price through my guy. I think He'll choose the latter!

~so it looks like im gonna ask for $1,200. So again, if any of you chicago guys know of a local hood and head light please, PLEASE, let me know!

This post has been edited by enderswift: Aug 6, 2010 - 10:08 PM