just scratched my new titan...

titanrookie · 12-02-2004, 04:03 PM

i bet i win the dumbass of the day award. i have only had my titan for two weeks and i hit the side of the garage trying to exit. it is a tight squeeze anyway and i wasn't paying enough attention to what i was doing and the next thing i heard was a loud scratching noise. i got out and almost threw up. i took a picture for you all to see. i scratched the hell out of the left front fender. i also bent the bottom left plastic bumper, and i scratched part of the left headlight. i got an estimate today and it will cost me 1300 dollars. if i replace the headlight, that alone will cost about 350 bucks. i wonder if i can live with the scratches on the headlight. i didn't break it but just scratched it a little. anyways, the size of this titan takes some getting used to. i may park this beast in the driveway from now on. i will feel much better when i get this fixed. titanrookie

morpheoussc400 · 12-02-2004, 04:14 PM

Ooopps!! I hate it when that happens.

creaturefromthedeep · 12-02-2004, 04:14 PM

That really sucks, but at least any small ding you get in the future won't be as big of a deal after this. I wouldnt sweat the headlight to much. Save your money for the next big dent you might get.

**CaliforniaTitan** · 12-02-2004, 04:14 PM

Rookie...

No way that should run $1300. There was a guy on here that did worse than that and it wasn't near that either.

The left 'cover' on the bumper is a $40 part....The fender probably $300-$350 or so and then paint. As far as the headlight, saw some on ebay a couple weeks ago that were going for $75 each.

Chris

titanrookie · 12-02-2004, 04:22 PM

thanks for the advice californiatitan. how hard would it be to actually raplace the headlamp myself? does anyone know? your correct on the price of the left front bumper. it only cost 48 dollars. the major cost in my repair estimate is in the labor. i may opt not to fix the headlamp because it isn't broken, just scratced along the back edge. thanks for your replies, titanrookie

Titan4x4Aggie · 12-02-2004, 04:28 PM

i ran my titan into a pole at work 2 months after getting my titan. ruined the driver-side plastic front bumper cover, and bent the bumper behind. it. $130 later, it's as good as new. i got the plastic bumper cover new from nissanpartsdistributor.com for $40, and got that painted good as new for $90.

the fender is steel with reinforcments behind it, but shouldn't cost that much. and if you get them painted together, shouldn't be too high priced.

do all the labor yourself (remove parts, bend bumper back, re-install), and you will save probably $700 at least.

as for the light: save your money. sand it down, then polish with a light abrasive. people clean up their 10-year old faded / fogged yellow plastic lights up like that. what can it hurt anyway, you were going to replace the whole thing in teh first place, might as well give a cheap fix a try.

if you need tips on removing parts, let me know. i've learned a few things working on mine. i'll post pics later also to ease your pain

**CaliforniaTitan** · 12-02-2004, 05:15 PM

The headlamp replacement should be pretty straight forward..nothing wierd..But I would suggest trying to polish/sand it out with acrylic products (A lot of Fish tank places have kits for less than $40) and this stuff works GREAT! The kit has various types of sand paper in them till you get down to a dust...then a polish and buffer liquid to finish the job.

Chris

Ape0r · 12-02-2004, 05:18 PM

Bang that **** out and put some touch up paint on it - $5.

vw1972bugs · 12-02-2004, 05:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ape0r

Bang that **** out and put some touch up paint on it - $5.

Amen.....!

Titan4x4Aggie · 12-02-2004, 08:24 PM

here is my first damage, the result of the GINORMOUS A-pillars in our trucks. before and after:

**CaliforniaTitan** · 12-02-2004, 08:35 PM

Thanks for posting those again Aggie...your the one I was referring too up toward the top here...

Chris

titanguy25 · 12-02-2004, 08:42 PM

Ouch... those are tough to look at. I feel for ya man! I got a very un-noticeable ding on my cargo door about a week after I purchased my Titan and I was sick for two days.

rawze · 12-02-2004, 09:07 PM

welcome to the club-your ding looks a lot worse than mine. i let a friend back up my boat and he jack knifed it with the tailgate down. dinged up the top part of the tailgate

offerings12 · 12-02-2004, 10:02 PM

i hit a saturn... cost my 5500 Large ... replaced all front except left headlight , left bumper end cap and left fender... (had to replace the radiator core since the head light mounts are plastic and bonded to the core..no way to replace the mount....) :-D sorry no pic's put it in the shop to fast to be able to photo it. .... the saturn looked like a dump truck hit it ( i hit it right between the left front fender and door) total smashing

pciley · 12-02-2004, 10:57 PM

That's what he gets for buying a plastic GM car. lol

I think $1300 is reasonable, I would have guessed $1000. I did $1300 in damage but it was down the bedside with no damage to bumpers, lights, etc. Just the metal surface.

They are most likely going to rework that fender, and the COST is from having to blend the Fender into the DOOR and the HOOD to get the paint to look like it matches.

I agree with Chris, get parts cheaper and bring them in to body shop. Do all the R&R your self to save labor. Anyone can turn a ratchet...