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So. I just dropped $1300 on repairs and maintenance on my 2003 TL with 159K last Tuesday.
Chojun, TwoTLs and others helped me prioritize what should be done. My greatest fear was that, after putting all this money into my car, the transmission would fall out or I'd get rear ended.
Guess what happened today? No injuries, my fault
You guys think this will buff out? Should I zip tie it all back together and keep going? Only the passengers' side fog light is a total loss.
Get another bumper cover from a salvage yard and zip tie that on there?
Of course, I'm going to have to pay my deductible to repair the other driver's car.
Right now I just want to throw up.
Ouch, that blows!
I'd say grab one from the yard and slap it on - might want to use the proper bolts rather than zipties, but I'm not sure what aesthetic you're going for :P
I wish I had a pic on-hand of my car after my son drove it for the first time. It looked pretty (really) scary but after a trip through the body shop ($2500 later) it's as good as new. Until my kids a few weeks later slammed my brand new painted bumper with the garage side door.
The bumper really is quite easy to remove and now maybe you get to find out for yourself You might be able to source one from a local car yard for pretty cheap, possibly matching your color. You shouldn't need to zip tie anything because it's held on with those little plastic clips. I think you can get a bag of replacement clips from any Honda or Acura dealer for cheap. There are 2 screws that anchor it to the fenders on the sides. The grille (chrome part with Acura emblem) is also normally attached to the bumper so you'll have to check it for damage.
The headlights are mounted to replaceable brackets but it looks like yours are still aligned properly.
The bumper itself is attached to the frame and is pretty sturdy. I doubt you damaged it unless you were going pretty fast.
When the bumper is off you could remove your air intake resonator (driver's side, big black box) if you want a more sporty growl from the engine)
EDIT: There is a Styrofoam piece that fits between the bumper and the frame. You'll probably need to replace that as well.
You did tell me the bumper was "super easy" to remove. I'd estimate it took me less than two seconds to accomplish this task.
I've already called a guy I know (replaced a headlight bulb for me years ago on this car) who owns a body shop. He's done a minor cosmetic repair for me in the past. Fair price, too. I just need an inexpensive fix that is cosmetically acceptable.
The shop does after market modifications---like on Porches and stuff---so maybe they can throw in some HID headlights while they "take the bumper off."
The clip that plugs into the foglight was sheared off. Not sure how they would fix that since they only have bare wires to work with---no clip or plug or whatever. I guess I could go back and pick up my fog light out of the middle of the street and salvage the clip.
But, if they can get both headlights working, I can live without the fog lights.
Sucky, sucky day for sure.
Did you repair the damage yourself or take it to a body shop? That is a beautiful repair. Is this from when you hit the garage or something else?
I've been hit twice in my car but had never hit someone else (until today). The person I hit had amazing reflexes. If she had over-corrected (and entered oncoming traffic), it could have been a lot worse.
I'm sick about getting this fixed. My TL is nowhere near as nice as yours.
Chojun, I re-read your last message. A garage door came down on it right after you got it back from the shop? I'm guessing you understand my pain. I looked around online for Acura bumpers in my area. They all have front end damage. Not sure what that says about Acura drivers!
05-08-2018, 09:38 AM
You might be able to source one from a local car yard for pretty cheap, possibly matching your color. You shouldn't need to zip tie anything because it's held on with those little plastic clips. I think you can get a bag of replacement clips from any Honda or Acura dealer for cheap. There are 2 screws that anchor it to the fenders on the sides. The grille (chrome part with Acura emblem) is also normally attached to the bumper so you'll have to check it for damage.
