Coworker has a 2004 accord in decent shape - needs help, figured I'd ask you guys
 

So anyway, she has this old accord and it's starting to show its age. The usual road rash, a couple small dents here and there.

It has two "major" cosmetic issues:
1) her front bumper is cracked and will need to be replaced.
2) She has a rust spot on the hood underneath the paint.

Poked around on ebay and couldn't find a used front bumper. Are there any junkyards you guys use for this sort of thing? There have to be thousands of available parts for that thing. There were so freaking many on the road...

She wants to get it "repainted" but doesn't want to pay much. Are there any *passable* spray shops that aren't going to do a terrible job? I mean I know to do it right she's looking at 3k or so but let's assume she doesn't mind the fact that the underside of the hood won't match the exterior.

Any suggestions would be helpful.

It may be heresy, but MAACO doesn't do a terrible job if you do all the sanding and prep work beforehand.

If she has any friends who are willing to prep the hood for paint it knocks down the cost considerably. Most of the cost of paint shops goes to prep - painting is easy. Sanding is 90% of the work but make sure you have people who actually know how to sand (yes, there is a right and a wrong way to do it).

As far as the bumper, why not try a local ricer forum? Find someone who's put some godawful body kit on their car and buy the bumper?

That's a brilliant idea re: ricer forum.

I think Maaco will be fine for her purposes. The car will likely not last another 2 years to see the paint start flaking anyway. My concern is exactly what you hit on though - that rust spot needs to be sanded down along with the other chips that go all the way through to the metal. I'm afraid Maaco would just paint over it because lol maaco.

Speaking of bumpers: I'm looking for a Black Cherry front bumper for my 2010 Z (Non-NISMO). I don't care if you put some godawful body kit on your Z or not... Please PM me if you know of one.

They would. That's why you have to bring it to them sanded and prepped.

When I had a work car that we needed some parts for and did not want to spend for new ones (1900s Crown Vic), we went to Brandywine Auto Parts · (301) 249-3200 104 Crain Hwy · Upper Marlboro, MD. We were pleased with the part and I believe we called them with what we wanted and they had retrieved the part for a small fee. Otherwise, I think you can bring your own tools and retrieve the part yourself.

I wouldnt bring it to maaco, thats just me..

For a 10 year old beat up Accord? That's exactly the kind of car MAACO is for.

yeah I guess you're right, just as long as she doesnt care about a perfect paint job,

One other question - she has an issue with her driver's side window. Very likely the motor but it could just be the regulator.

I took a look at it and it seemed fine but she said sometimes it "just doesn't work" and she has to keep hammering the button to get it to work.

Even I can install a window motor. Any chance it could be something else? Her mechanic wants to charge her a fee to "diagnose" and to add insult to injury, they won't let her source her own parts. I'm afraid if I install a new motor and it turns out to be a short somewhere, she'd end up getting screwed.

If it works after it gets beat on, it's likely the switch. And she should find a new mechanic.

I agree. I told her to just buy her own parts and have the mechanic do it if she didn't want me to and they said "no sorry".

I wanted to slap the guy through the phone. "Hurrr yes order parts through us so we can charge you some retarded markup"

That's what shops do when a woman calls. Nothing new. Do it for her. Charge her parts+beer money and get it done.

Were you able to pull the door panel off and check out the wiring connected to the switch itself? If it is a short, it could be as easy as replacing the connector. Some of the parts store staff will actually have some good insight and possibly be willing to help her diagnose the problem as well.

Good luck installing a window motor, its not as easy as it seems, every car is different..

The fact it works intermittently makes me think it's a switch or wiring issue, rather than the motor.

Problem is that I have no idea how to shoot it down to the trouble and I don't want her buying parts she doesn't need. Could be the switch, motor or regulator or a short somewhere between the switch and the motor. I suppose she could return what we don't use...

Check the wires and grease the connections. Rule out the stuff that's free to fix. Then, the amount of effort you should put in to this is directly related to how hot she is.

make out a list of possible problems, and check each one.

:icon17:

Haven't done this yet but this is a good idea. I think I'll start here. Thanks for the advice.

Plastidip her bumper!

She could always take it to D&V, I hear they do really good work.

Not a bad idea actually ... for that matter look into plasti-dipping the whole car ... or a combo of plasti-dip and vinyl wrap it. Be way cheaper than even a cheap maaco paint job.


:tup:

I say save the money and leave the cosmetic stuff as is. Fix the mechanical stuff and the car will last a few more years. She can use that cash towards a new car the longer she keeps this one. These cars also hold value pretty well. We're talking about a Honda Accord here, not some classic that history would miss. The motors on these things are near bulletproof and last a really long time if maintained properly. I guarantee upgrading brakes, tires, etc..etc... will be far more beneficial to her wallet than a shiny new hood and bumper.

Had a similar problem with a window on the Saturn I drove in high school. Ended up being a dead spot in the motor winding. Her banging on the switch probably jars the motor just enough to get it off the dead spot.

A cheap multimeter and a schematic/diagram will allow you to troubleshoot the problem (if you know very much about automotive electrical, you may not need the schematic). Going by the symptoms, I'm guessing it's the switch or the connector that plugs into the switch.

She's not looking to pay anywhere near what they'd charge her.

Hilariously, the company I work for builds multimeters among other things. I'll snag one out of service. I think I know enough about automotive electronics to figure it out.

Bumper:
http://bit.ly/10KFJMV

Hood, bit more of a bítch, leave it alone


EDIT: I didn't read the whole thread

Check out Crazy Ray's

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But seriously on a car that old cosmetics are not really a thing to be spending money on. Tell her to bank the money for her next car.

Then at least fix the rust and rattlecan the hood. The bumper's not a concern.