algorithm

When trying to avoid a collision with another car in a parking lot, my TSX hit a (relatively high) curb. From the right side, it looks like the picture attached.

The paint is scrached <B>badly</B> underneath. Fortunately, both the rightside doors and the rims of the wheels were not affected.

Now I'd like to replace it rather than repaint it since this car has only 2,000 miles on it. The first question is: is this possible? The second question is: will Acura dealers do it without outsourcing to ourside bodyshops? Overall, I'd appreciate any advice. Thanks very much!

[B]

Bass Mechanic

eekk! unfortunatly my car was involved in an accident recently i didnt post here i felt too bad abou tit after it happend.
i hit a curb just like you and for the same reason. my car was in the shop a month.
better look at your roof around the sunroof opening. my whole roof had to be replaced because the car flexed slightly and caused the roof to wrinkle around the opening in 3 corners.
i bent the lower control arm and damaged the lower subframe. also wasted 3 wheels
it doesnt sound like your car is that bad off by comparason. but they can get the parts if that is what your asking. $10,000 later my car is as good as the day i bought it. and i also had 2,000 miles on the clock when my accident happend.
good luck to you.

majormojo

These stories of wrinkled roofs and $10K worth of damage from hitting a curb make me worry that the TSX is turning out to be a car that gets excessive damage easily and is expensive to repair. Not good for insurance rates and ownership costs over the long term. Erk.

algorithm

Sorry to know that. My best hope is to replace the damaged part only. I am not sure what it is called; possibly "rocker panel?" Does Acura have those these body parts pre-painted?

Bass Mechanic

i wouldnt say that exactly, but i did read about another guy that hit a rather large bump at a pretty good rate of speed that caused the damage to the roof. i did hit the curb pretty hard. in fact hard enough to activate the seatbelt pretentioner. the SRS tech said any harder would have deployed the airbags.

and the 10 worth of damage was mainly due to the fact 3 tires and rims for the TSX cost 2100 bucks and the lower subframe peice although not a large peice was over 700 bucks, the roof panel was 450 plus labor and paint and several other smaller less expensive peices adds up quick.

and for the record all the people who complain about rattles must be nuts because after all of this my car is still rattle free.

Yui

I had a curb accident too but haven't noticed any wrinkling on my roof when I checked...

algorithm, that part is plastic so it's not going to reshape very well. Your best bet is to find a service shop that can order that part from Honda/Acura and paint it to match your car. At least you avoided an accident with another car =)

bob shiftright

Scary. I had thought that once the roof is buckled in an accident the car is usually totaled. I guess not. Also, on the EURONCAP crash test the car only got 4 (out of 5) stars. The US Accord received 5 stars on the US DOT test and was actually the "top rated" 4-door on the Insurance Institute crash test. Apples and oranges, perhaps, but I'm interested in seeing a US crash test of the car.

Bass Mechanic

when we say wrinkled i mean that the roof has waves in it , not creases, you would be suprised how much flex there is in a body.
also they have a frame alignment machine where they can measure the chassis and pull or (bend) it back into alignment. they can get as accurate as about 1/10th of a mm.

bob shiftright

Not that I doubt it. But in all my years of driving I've run through potholes, over curbs and bent more rims than I can count. I've never wrinkled a roof. And in my years of hanging out at the Volvo boards, a post about an accident resulting in a dent in the roof was usually followed by a post stating that the insurance company totaled the car. A crease would no doubt be much worse than a wrinkle. Now, I hope this is happening as a matter of design, because the TSX's car body absorbs the accident forces so that the occupants don't. Nevertheless, I remain concerned. I also hope NHTSA or IIHS crash tests the TSX soon.



http://www.euroncap.com/details.php3?id=car_169_2003

Interesting. Are the side airbags deploying in a frontal crash test?

algorithm

So that means I find a good body shop myself instead of going to the dealership?

I wonder if that body part comes pre-painted; it's probably asking too much.

leftride

iTrader: (1)

I am pretty sure it will be pre-painted, and I would guess it would be a less than a couple hundred for a new side skirt, you could get oem body kit pieces if nothing is messed up except the plastic skirt.

esr5096

I don't think honda (acura) sells any pre-painted replacement parts....

esr5096

I was wrong! (shocking, I know)....

Anyway, I did a little research and you can get that piece factory painted.

Check out...
http://www.acuraparts247.com/sunnysi...All&vinsrch=no

if that doesn't work, go to http://www.acuraparts247.com/sunnysi...atdisplay.jsp, and go through to select the TSX. Once you're at the page that lists all the parts, check out "Side Sill Garnish" (yes, Garnish), and it list that piece in various colors, list is around $190, they're selling for $150.

algorithm

Wow. That's a big help. Seems like I have a big chance of getting away with a major repair (as long as the frame can be confirmed to be undamaged).

Thanks a lot!

DEVO

in order to wrinkle the roof you have to hit the curb pretty hard and if the curb is high enough and you are going fast enough... this is what is going to happen regardless of car... actually the more a car wrinkles around the cage the better it is from a safety point of view.

but once this happens... repairing it is a bitch and very costly.

Bass Mechanic

agreed but when they inspected the frame and upper cabin of the car they found only the right side of the front part of the frame to be high about 1/2 an inch they did 1 pull to correct it, the cabin and rest of the structure was undamaged except for the damage to the roof.

forever_twins

Actually the exact same thing happened to me. All you need to do is take it back to the dealer than they will screw it back in for you. Just pay for labour, that's all.....no worries....

Yui

esr5096, that is an awesome link. Thanks for hooking us up. This should be accessible somewhere from the main page so readers can get an idea of how much repairs are going to cost, and also if they're getting a fair price on the parts. Man, why pay $500 for fixing a bumper when you can buy a new painted one for $300? Just might do that one of these days, freshen up a car.

Okay, I know one of you has more time than you know what to do with on your hands. I challenge you to take that list of parts and figure out how much it'd cost to build a TSX part by part! Hahaha

esr5096

Yui, I don't think they sell painted bumpers, did you see the actually bumper on that page pre-painted? Unless they list the part once for each color, it's not pre-painted.

Yui

Oh, doh. Hmm... I could still find some place to paint it though, probably higher quality paint job than OEM as well... and still not as expensive as having the dealership do it... it's just the front bumper I'd like to replace - some rock gouged about a centimeter long gash into the front bumper, and plus the dealership had drilled the center hole for the front license plate, bah... maybe I could find some shop to sand it, fill it, and repaint it for cheap instead, hmm....