Sorry if this post doesn't belong to the General section, but I need a lot of advice.....

Let me run it down for all of you..... I was being an idiot, turned into this parking lot off the street, tried steering left, car just went straight since it was snowing, I feel like the biggest idiot because of this, my first accident.....

I ended up running into the left rear bumper of this old Dakota... his bumper's a bit off (one of those cheap metal shiny ones, and a little plastic piece came off).
My protege

The front bumper is scratched a bit, and I can't yet tell, but I think is bent in just maybe half a centimeter at one spot. The front headlight is smashed, the case that is...... The piece that comes between the bumper and the door is all bent.... the hood is untouched.........

The guy said he wouldn't be going to the insurance company with this as he can fix it himself, now I beg anybody to offer me some advice.......

How much is a fair price to fix the other guy's bumper as it doesn't look too bent, it's an old car, and it seems that it just came down a bit, didn't break anything from the body of the car?

What do I do to repair my car? If I go to the dealer, I'm afraid that they'll rip me off, and I don't want to report it to the insurance company. Could I go to a mechanic, and how much would I expect to pay?

Sorry for the long post, but I really feel bad right now, and need some advice

 

Sorry to hear about your accident. I'll guess that the piece you're refering to is the fender. If it is II suggest to get a new fender and for sure a new headlight. If the funds are short, if you're mechanically inclined you can change them yourself and when funds are available get the fender painted along with the scratches in the bumper.

For the Dakota bumper, Check the price for a new one in Pep-Boys, Auto Zone, or any auto parts Then offer the guy what you think is fair. I suspect that all he has to do is to realign the mounting brackets on his.

 

Hey bro, the bumper for the guys truck should be about $50 at a junkyard. you can get a metal one or plastice type one. Even JCWhitney sells parts for dakotas.

For your car, find a slavage yard, or check http://www.mazdarecycling.com/
they can hook you up!

any questions e-mail me!

 

unfortunatly there are no pep boys stores in ontario that i'm aware of....i'm thinking it will cost him $200 canadain at the most to fix it


yours on the other hand is going to be realy expensive especialy if you've smashed the light casing....your propably looking at $1000 canadian to fix you protege

 

So Maz94, basically just spend the day at the junk yard right? I will go there right now I think....

The Old Guy, what tools would I need to replace my fender? My household has never been mechanically inclined unfortunately....

nightowl, you're thinking about 1000$ CDN for the fender and the headlight? What if I did go to my dealer, but didn't like the price, then they would know what happened to my car, would they make me fix it then? The car is being leased, and even though I plan on purchasing it later, they might be **** about it.........

Would a mechanic be able to repair it for me, like get the Mazda fender, headlight, etc?

 

protege headlights, 202$ CDN for a 'plastic one' or 275$ for an 'aluminum' one.....

are they talking about the ones that come on the ES model, the dark looking ones when they say 'aluminum'?

 

First of all Mak. if you want to find out what mazda is going to cost dont take it to the place you have it leased threw. Just take it to another dealer. and ask about it. also something to keep in mind. some leases state that you can only put factory oem parts on the car. and if they arent you will have to replace them at the end of your lease. I know you said your keeping the car. but something that you might want to still think about. as for the truck. what year is it?

and second it was your first accident *sniff* welcome to the group. it sucks but what are you going to do about it. huh?

 

aw geez mak.. sorry to hear about that.. snow sucks.

No wonder you couldn't make it to the meet.

You can also try to find the headlights for your car in the junkyard too. So many proteges in vancouver, someone's gotta have done a total loss on their car. And like the other guy said, just phone up another dealer.

Maybe you can upgrade to the lights the protege5 has =).

 

nevermind this is a old tread...