Body Damage Question

[Fingolfin269]

My brother was in an auto accident where basically some dude swiped him down the driver's side and then drove off. He only had liability insurance and the vehicle and basically just decided to get a new car rather than repair.

The car is still drivable but just looks horrible (it basically peeled off the plastic covering leaving the inner parts exposed) on the left side. From what I can tell, both the driver's door, the "3rd" door, and the rear quarter panel (or whatever they are called on this vehicle) will probably need to be replaced.

In addition, all of the airbags were discharged including front driver/passenger as well as passenger side abags.

If you had to guess, how much would replacing these kind of parts run? I don't want to just send it to a junkyard because it is in good running condition but I do want it to at least be a safe vehicle to drive. Perhaps selling it to a junkyard is the better decision but I've never had to deal with that before and have no idea if I'll end up with just $100 or something.

The engine is fine, the transmission is fine, nothing is leaking after the accident, the doors open/close even after the damage, etc.

Any tips/advice would be appreciated.

 

[Nutdotnet]

Originally posted by: Fingolfin269
My brother was in an auto accident where basically some dude swiped him down the driver's side and then drove off. He only had liability insurance and the vehicle and basically just decided to get a new car rather than repair.

The car is still drivable but just looks horrible (it basically peeled off the plastic covering leaving the inner parts exposed) on the left side. From what I can tell, both the driver's door, the "3rd" door, and the rear quarter panel (or whatever they are called on this vehicle) will probably need to be replaced.

In addition, all of the airbags were discharged including front driver/passenger as well as passenger side abags.

If you had to guess, how much would replacing these kind of parts run? I don't want to just send it to a junkyard because it is in good running condition but I do want it to at least be a safe vehicle to drive. Perhaps selling it to a junkyard is the better decision but I've never had to deal with that before and have no idea if I'll end up with just $100 or something.

The engine is fine, the transmission is fine, nothing is leaking after the accident, the doors open/close even after the damage, etc.

Any tips/advice would be appreciated.

Pictures would be good.

Doors are usually fairly easy to replace, especially if the car uses a door skin AND the door itself didn't suffer any structural damage.

Rear quarterpanels on the other hand can be a real pain in the ass.

 

[Fingolfin269]

I probably won't see the car again for another month or so (it's at the parents house a a couple of hundred miles away). I'll see if I can get some photos and post them up then.

 

[OdiN]

Airbags are usually expensive as hell to have redone.

 

[halik]

Originally posted by: OdiN
Airbags are usually expensive as hell to have redone.

Not on ebay!
If my memory serves me correctly, the car has plastic body panels... it shouldn't be too difficult to replace.

 

[bruceb]

Air bags are very costly, upwards of $500 each in some cases.
And you can not install them yourself, unless you are trained in
how to handle them. One mistake and the bad goes off while you
working with it. As to the doors, if they are still physically sound
and close ok, then just get them reskinned at a body shop. Should
run about $300 or so per door for parts, paint, labor. Or just get new,
used doors and hang them, then align the closures. Of course, if the
used doors are wrong color, then add in the cost of repainting them.

 

[halik]

Originally posted by: bruceb
Air bags are very costly, upwards of $500 each in some cases.
And you can not install them yourself, unless you are trained in
how to handle them. One mistake and the bad goes off while you
working with it. As to the doors, if they are still physically sound
and close ok, then just get them reskinned at a body shop. Should
run about $300 or so per door for parts, paint, labor. Or just get new,
used doors and hang them, then align the closures. Of course, if the
used doors are wrong color, then add in the cost of repainting them.

You're talking out of your rear end. Pull the battery and you can install them w/o any issues.

 

[LTC8K6]

Pull the battery and wait for the backup power supply to drain... or unplug the backup too.

There is often a backup power supply so that the airbags will work even if power from the battery or alternator fails for whatever reason.