What is your question?
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What is your question?
I was in an accident a few weeks ago. Everyone is okay, the car could be better off. Damage is the front end. Mostly on the front passenger side. I'm a novice and not sure how to inspect to see if the frame is bent... I've looked under the hood and it looks like the radiator hose is pinched, but aside that, nothing under the hood looks to be damaged...no leaks, no engine light... the radiator looks like it may need to be replaced... I can provide pictures. I'm trying to figure if this is something a novice like myself can fix, replacing parts from salvage yards or finding good deals... are there repair shops that come out to your location to inspect vehicles or no? I'm new to this all...
1 Reply
difficult to asess damage from here. if the rad is hurt, you may have bent the rad support in the front. with the age of the car, you may want to consider replacing in lieu of repairing. body work is not cheap and doing it yourself is a tough job with a frame aligner or port a power to move support pieces around. you could always get a free estimate at a body shop to help make up your mind. Roy
I've already replaced the vehicle with a 2010 Mazda CX-7... Only reason I'm leaning towards repairing is... #1.. it's probably worth more to me than a salvage yard... highest quote I received on the phone around here is $350 dollars... the engine only has 102k mileage on it in 10 years... I would think that alone would bump the price up... #2 there's no reason to get rid of it... paid it off years ago, living at an apt complex where there is plenty of space for it, I just keep a car cover on it to keep it not being an eye sore... #3... I've always wanted to learn about cars and repairing them... if someone's going to offer $350 for it.. I'd rather fiddle with it and if it breaks it breaks... *shrug*... Long story short - if the frame is NOT bent... I think I'll take a stab and repairing it, it appears to be mostly cosmetic... if the frame IS bent... is it even legal to drive? I'm not up to speed at all on how vehicles are deemed legal or not in regards to damaged cars... I guess you can have the frame repaired, but its just never as strong as it used to be? Would photos help to give input? Is there a location to upload photos here or a site that other users use that is allowed on the forums?