Car accident...advice on repairs please!

[SocialStealth]

I was hit head on and the accident was deemed a 'no fault' accident (damn new jersey laws).
That just means we both have to pay for our own cars, but anyways...

my entire front frame is bent, I tried bending it back as best i could. But the bumper reinforcement thing is bent as well. I was thinking about buying a body kit, and what better time to do so when my current bumper is in shambles.

What I need to know is; do body kits normally require the stock bumper reinforcement? Do they come with one? or would I have to remove it to add the body kit? Until I can get that done, I think I'm going to take the reinforcement bumper off and put the bumper cover on the car, because the reinforcement bumper is preventing the cover from fitting well.

After the accident I examined my car and I noticed some black oil looking fluid leaking from the right engine mount (or at least it looks that way). Is there fluid inside the engine mount? What could have caused this to happen... i find it hard to fathom that a collision could have broke it., considering nothing near it was hit.

Also, the AC radiator is bent in the middle, so it looks like this--> )
It also bent the engine radiator a little, they are touching in the middle, will this be a huge problem or can I live with it?


Any info will help! Thanks!

 

[racerx43269]

i think for safety reasons the reinforcement is put there.. can ya pick one up at a junk yard? i would take it to a body shop and get an estimate to how much it would cost.. i personally like having my bumper reinforcement support.. just because it is there for something.. its not like mazda just threw it there and said hey that looks pretty.. plus i think there are air bag sensors in it.. but im not entirely sure... search the msp/ forced inducriont section.. some turbo guys cut away at theirs.. not many... but a few..

 

[flash75]

Describe where the frame is bent. If it's behind the mounting points for the suspension you need to get the car to a body shop to have the frame repaired or parts replaced.

The bent radiator will probably need to be replaced. The AC condenser isn't necessary if you don't care about ac.

Clifton

 

[Benji]

pictures of the damage might help give us a better idea of what could be wrong. but to answer some of you questions, a body kit won't come with the bumper reinforcement. The body kit bumper is just a replacement for the bumper cover. Your engine mount does not have fluid in it but if something is dripping from it you should find out where it is coming from.

 

[SocialStealth]

I've done a little research and I've found that some people have engine mounts with liquid and some do not. I've also found that front end collisions tend to break this particular engine mount. Partially because of the impact, partially because of wear.

I took some pictures with my cell phone of the damage.
The reinforcement bumper doesn't seem bent. The frame itself is whats damaged. Can a shop work the kinks out? about how much do you guys think it would cost me? I can't seem to get the bumper to line up at all with the frame so bent.

Overall picture (bumper cover removed)

Right side

Right side (close up)

Right side (close close up)

Left side

AC compressor (radiator)

reinforcement bumper (its only a little white (stressed/almost bent) in the middle)

 

[First88Rx7]

well I'm in the process of something similar with my p5. My suggestion would be to remove everything around that area and take a saws all and cut off the bad part and pick up one from a junkyard and get it welded in place. You'll pry have to get a spot weld cutter, just a bit for your drill and start cleaning everything up. It'll take a while but take your time and get everything lined up and measured and you should be good

 

[SocialStealth]

well I'm in the process of something similar with my p5. My suggestion would be to remove everything around that area and take a saws all and cut off the bad part and pick up one from a junkyard and get it welded in place. You'll pry have to get a spot weld cutter, just a bit for your drill and start cleaning everything up. It'll take a while but take your time and get everything lined up and measured and you should be good

How hard would it be to remove/weld a new frame onto a car?
My dad said hes only welded once before so he doesnt have much experience with it. He works at home depot and said he could rent whatever we need;

What kind of welder will we need?
Whats a spot weld cutter?

I have an 02 mazda protege es
I'm talkin to a guy thats parting out their 01 mazda protege;
are the 02 and 01 frames the same?

 

[mp3-79bronco]

its a unibody..there is no "frame"

and dont even attempt to cut out and replace broken frame..especially if you cant weld!!

 

[flash75]

To repair the car correctly requires some equipment you cannot rent. It needs to be placed on a body alignment machine to bring the car back to factory specifications. It requires lots of skill and training to repair a seriously damaged unibody car. It's not a job that should be attempted if you have to ask questions on this forum. If you want the car to ever drive well again don't even think about fixing it yourself unless you are an experienced body repairman.

Clifton

 

[bazooka joe]

your best bet given the lack of experience/tools etc. go to a body shop that a friend would recommend...ask him for a quote of the damage and you;ll get a professional estimate/opinion and you'll know right away if this is something you even begin to tackle

 

[SocialStealth]

heh thanks for helping me not make a huge mistake!

But I do have one more question:

Like i said before, I know a guy parting out his 01 mazda. Could I cut his unibody (I'm not sure what that is...) off of the front of his car and bring it to a shop and have them cut mine off and weld the 01 frame on?
Would that save me money? Or would it be better to just bring my car to a shop and let them handle it all?

 

[NCZ13]

no. you cant weld a frame onto your car.

bring your car to a shop and let them take care of it.

 

[LordWorm]

You'd wanna make sure the chassis alignment hasn't been pushed out by that bingle....the car is pretty flimsy forward of the strut towers...mine was pushed some 20mm (almost an inch in the old measure) from a low speed bingle - some $6000 AUD later.........even if you are going to do the work yourself - get the thing put on a car-o-tronic/car-o-liner machine (most reputable smash repairers will have these machines) to check everything is still straight, and straighten it if its not....

 

[bazooka joe]

heh thanks for helping me not make a huge mistake!

But I do have one more question:

Like i said before, I know a guy parting out his 01 mazda. Could I cut his unibody (I'm not sure what that is...) off of the front of his car and bring it to a shop and have them cut mine off and weld the 01 frame on?
Would that save me money? Or would it be better to just bring my car to a shop and let them handle it all?

(notcool) take it to the shop!

 

[SocialStealth]

About $350 estimate after a visual look of it (with the bumper cover on).
Thats just to fix the unibody, not including a new bumper.

6.5 hours total of labor @ $50/h
(set up mount and measure = 2.5)
(Unibody sway = 4.0)

+$15 Flex (???)
+$3 waste removal
+7% NJ tax

Does that sound like a good deal?
Think it will be more once they start working on it?

 

[starlifter]

If you have no experience with auto body repairs and attempt do do it your self then you could possibly turn what the body shop is charging $350 in a $3500 mistake. Then again, if you have patience, the right tooling, some proper guidance (Vo-Tech school type) you should be able to complete at least half of the work required saving some cash. But in my work time is money so if I'm tied up on repairing my car I'm loosing money else where. My P5 is currently receiving 3K plus in repairs from a very good body shop. In my case the other driver admitted fault so their insurance is picking up the bill.

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