Zcycore

My 1998 Celsior today was hit by a woman and drove away. Anyways, i need to repair the front fenders because it was cracked up by her, any suggestions?

SW17LS

That’s going to be expensive unfortunately. Honestly, if you go through insurance it would probably total it.

CELSI0R

This is very sad to see. I'm guessing you didn't get her plate?

Insurance might be worth a shot, but at the minimum you'll need:
- front left fender
- front left turn signal

And the following look like they can be repaired:
- front bumper
- rear bumper

The following will be hard to obtain or have to be repaired (likely no easy replacements to be found):
- rear mudguard
- front left lower marker light (JDM only) - the USDM one does not support the light bulb which yours used to have

Swapping the front bumper for a USDM LS 400 bumper cover would mean that the lights would be different, you would have amber marker lights on the sides of the bumper (which aren't on the JDM version), and if you have radar cruise control now on your 98, then it would either have to be modified to fit into the new cover (expensive) or removed entirely (which is a shame)

USDM LS 400 fenders also will not support your JDM fender mounted turn signal light without modification.

Repairs will probably cost you ~$8k-$10k I would imagine. Maybe more because there is quarter panel damage

If you go with insurance and they try to total it, then I would bring listings to them of Celsiors similar to yours that have sold in order to prove its value is more than what they have in the books.

Your last option would be to try to sell the car at a discount. Maybe get a cheap front left turn signal to replace your damaged one to help with that sale, if you go that route

Zcycore

Thank you, yes the right side of the car is completely fine and the radar is still functional, and I'm looking for a USDM 98 LS400 front left fender to try to replace it myself.

Thankfully, the quarter panel wasn't that damaged so I think it is still manageable, and for the lights I think I would just get them off ebay since I'm trying to keep the repair cost under 1000 dollars if I'm going to do it myself.

The turning signals with the fog lights only ended up to be 90 dollars, which I think is still very doable on my own.

Calling the insurance probably wouldn't work because I only have liability insurance, plus I didn't mark down the license plate of the hit-and-run perpetrator, but I do know what she drives and her appearance.

Zcycore

I'm trying to keep the car repair cost under 1000 dollars, so I'm probably going to do it myself

SW17LS

The issue is the damage to the rear quarter panel. Thats not a replaceable part.

Zcycore

Is it really that bad?

SW17LS

Its not "bad" its just a lot of bodywork to repair that. You need to pull the metal out, grind it down, level it, smooth it out with body filler and repaint. That right there alone is $3,000. Thats assuming you want it done right. The front fender is easy because you can just replace the fender with a salvage one.

My LS400 had the same damage behind the wheel, not to the dogleg in front of the wheel. It was $800 or so to repair that and that was over 20 years ago.

Zcycore

Welp, I'll just keep it that way I guess, because I'm not going to sell it anyways.

Since I'm a broke high schooler, I'll use the money to fix it when I get a summer job.

SW17LS

We left the damage on our LS400 too lol

CELSI0R

You are doing the right thing by saving your money. One day, if you still own the car, you can save up some funds on the side to repair it properly. But yes, that's fully cosmetic

However, what I would recommend doing now - anywhere that the metal is exposed, clean the surface, lightly sand away any surface rust (if there is any), and touch it up with a primer paint - either paint pen or spray can if you tape off the surrounding area with newspaper. This way it won't start to rust in the meantime.

Things like the fender mounted turn signal light, maybe just disconnect it when you replace the fender, use electrical tape to temporarily attach it to the body on the inside, and keep the light in your glove box until you have the means to have it reinstalled properly.

Good luck

as99east

Next time just a suggestion, leave gender out of it…

I have driven a lot of miles and certainly the strong majority but not all of the most reckless almost accident causing behavior I’ve observed on the highway are male drivers taking completely unnecessary risks to try to get to their destination 30 seconds faster.

Certainly, there are very bad and unethical female drivers too - and you met one of them…I am sorry for the damage to your car. It’s still a classic and try to keep it going.

DaveGS4

iTrader: (2)

To be fair, the OPs gender statement was simply a statement of a fact of the incident and didn’t cast aspersions or embrace stereotypes.

Lets take it as that and get back to the unfortunate damage caused & repair please

as99east

Respectfully, I disagree and I’m sorry you don’t see the issue here. The gender of the driver was 100 percent irrelevant to the post about body work. Would you have the same reaction if it had been titled “Got hit by an Asian driver” or “Got hit by a “Muslim driver”?

My comment was a suggestion - not a demand that the post be removed - as yes OP did not cast aspersions on a specific group - but bringing in irrelevant information to posts regarding race, gender or religion can have subtle effects. So again my SUGGESTION to OP stands. Keep gratuitous and unnecessary comments about race, gender and religion etc out of it.

As an ADMIN shouldn’t you be making the same suggestion to OP to keep discussion focused on the topic at hand???

SW17LS

I would save said "Some guy hit my car" that is not a statement impugning men. Its like saying, go talk to that guy over there...or "there was a strange woman walking around my property"...