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I bought some aftermarket non-HID headlights on Ebay for about $200, then baked them to remove the lenses and put them into my HID housings. Worked well, but a ton of work, not for the faint of heart.
I'm not sure I'd recommend this approach, considering you can get a set of new OEM lenses and housings for about $600. No baking required .
Well the total estimate was almost $6000, of which almost a quarter ($1400) was just the headlights. That number was really close to the magic ~75% of book value cutoff before totaling. Teh body shop really helped me out here, they documented that the car was in near perfect condition inside and out, so that pushed the value up a bit. I had a whopping 4 miles on a $1000 set of new tires, that would have been a shame to lose!
I was probably about 10 feet from the car on front of me. I have been wondering if I had my foot on the brake more firmly, maybe I would not have been pushed into the car in front of me. But everything happened so fast, I really can't remember what I did or didn't do in that 1/4 second of the chain reaction,
Well, I was under the impression that if you were a car length behind someone and STILL got pushed into them, it was not your "fault".
Well, I was under the impression that if you were a car length behind someone and STILL got pushed into them, it was not your "fault".
Oh, I'm not at fault regardless. The rear-ender (the one who started it) is by definition at fault for the entire chain reaction. The only thing I am out (assuming they don't find her) is my deductible.
Oh, I'm not at fault regardless. The rear-ender (the one who started it) is by definition at fault for the entire chain reaction. The only thing I am out (assuming they don't find her) is my deductible.
Derp. I am not sure why I did not put 2 & 2 together.
I probably glazed over the Hit and Run part. Twice. At least.
I bought some aftermarket non-HID headlights on Ebay for about $200, then baked them to remove the lenses and put them into my HID housings. Worked well, but a ton of work, not for the faint of heart.
I'm not sure I'd recommend this approach, considering you can get a set of new OEM lenses and housings for about $600. No baking required .
the issue witht the after market headlamp lenses is that they will fade out faster then the originals.
The exact same thing happened on the other coast, to me!! The insurance company wanted to total it but I said no. I knew the body shop owner and I have such an excellent insurance company the car was repaired in 6 weeks from the accident. I put so much money and love my GS so much, there was no way they were going to total it.
I95 rear ended from a young girl texing and pushed us into 3 other vehicles
I95 rear ended from a young girl texing and pushed us into 3 other vehicles
I95 rear ended from a young girl texing and pushed us into 3 other vehicles
I'm glad that you've been able to fix everything and you're happy with the results.
Thank you. extremely happy with the outcome. especially the new OEM headlights. The originals I tried to clean and de-fog with no results. It's not something I want to repeat though. The last time I was in an accident was 1984!
Wow, no kidding, looks just like my situation. I hope to have the same end result as you, your car looks awesome now!
Thank Leon. I really hope you get her going again. It is heart breaking after all the time and effort to take care of our cars that this has to happen to us. I am sure you will have much success. Sounds like you got a good auto body shop on your side. This will help ease the pain considerably.
I wish you good luck. Make sure you post pics after you get her back.
the issue witht the after market headlamp lenses is that they will fade out faster then the originals.
Do you mean fog up or the black parts fading?
EVERYONE should ALWAYS have a coat of wax or some protectant on your headlight housings.
The issue you may still see is delamination. That is what is happening to mine. I get a lot of stone chips. I think that is the culprit. (or rock salt, being in the midwest.)
I really hope you get her going again. It is heart breaking after all the time and effort to take care of our cars that this has to happen to us. I am sure you will have much success. Sounds like you got a good auto body shop on your side. This will help ease the pain considerably.
I wish you good luck. Make sure you post pics after you get her back.
Thanks Scott, I sure hope it comes out looking as good as new (that's what the insurance estimate claims, "restore parts to as-new condition"). Of course everyone has their own view of what "as-new" means, mine is probably more nit-picky than the average customer.
For instance, I asked them if they are going to replace the OEM emission labels on the replacement hood (after painting), and I got a somewhat confused "sure" response. But they don't seem to know what labels were originally there, so I may have to find out for myself. If it comes to that, I'll have to ask someone on the forum post me a photo of what labels are under the hood of a 2001 GS430 .
05-19-16, 04:49 PM
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