[Couch]

*Pics will be posted this evening*



So the 1st day of 2008 my car gets pummeled by a 3-3.5" bolt, flung up by another car. Somehow, it smacks my driver side kidney grill right in the middle and cracks it. This causes the outer part of the car come flying up and smacks my windshield.

No damage to my windshield thankfully. Sadly I had just installed the new matte black grills (from jlevisw) 3 days prior.

When I get home the bolt is magically resting just inside the grill. I noticed however, that when it hit it caused a few of the holes the grill pops into to break off.

My question is, are these repairable? It doesn't appear that they would be, but maybe they are. I'll post pics this evening when I get home.

I'm in touch with my insurance company to see what they have to say.

Any help/suggestions are appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[thegeneral101]

i guess we need to see pictures to decide sounds like it did some major damage though

[MonteB]

YEP

[Couch]

Originally Posted by thegeneral101

i guess we need to see pictures to decide sounds like it did some major damage though

Yea, it's hard to describe how it looks exactly.

Originally Posted by MonteB

YEP

LMAO! I know, I know. I knew someone would give me a hard time.

[trick50]

why would you even bother posting this without pics...?? How could anyone tell if it is repairable without seeing a pic. And your description of the damage isn't even that good

[Couch]

As promised. Again, I appreciate any help at all. If someone needs a certain angle pic I'll take it as time allows.

And the bolt show is the cause of the damage.

[txusa03]

Oooh, I know exactly how you feel right now. Houston roads are infested with debris. But here is my advice. Looks like you have no visible surface paint damage (very lucky in this regard). However, the grill and the bumper opening for the grill is also fixable. I would not suggest getting a new bumper because 1) it is a big hassel handing your car over to a body shop and 2) the work might not be satifactory to your factory standard (which leads to more hassel to get it corrected).

I noticed a few slits where the grill is inserted are broken (big deal), here is how you can remedy that.

1st) take some silicone and glue the broken piece of the slit on the bumper back to it original shape. Yes, I know silicone is not going to hold much but we are talking about a slit. Also, no one will see that area once you replace it with a new grill.

2nd, since a few slits are broken, after you replace the new grill, add a few extra daps of silicone in the slit that were broken to reinforce the grill (to help the grill stay in place).

Why did I choose silicone, because it is a flexible material that can be peeled off later on if you need to take out the grill for some reason.

Hey if that was my car, I would take my advice any day then hand the car over to a body shop. GL.

[Couch]

Originally Posted by txusa03

Oooh, I know exactly how you feel right now. Houston roads are infested with debris. But here is my advice. Looks like you have no visible surface paint damage (very lucky in this regard). However, the grill and the bumper opening for the grill is also fixable. I would not suggest getting a new bumper because 1) it is a big hassel handing your car over to a body shop and 2) the work might not be satifactory to your factory standard (which leads to more hassel to get it corrected).

I noticed a few slits where the grill is inserted are broken (big deal), here is how you can remedy that.

1st) take some silicone and glue the broken piece of the slit on the bumper back to it original shape. Yes, I know silicone is not going to hold much but we are talking about a slit. Also, no one will see that area once you replace it with a new grill.

2nd, since a few slits are broken, after you replace the new grill, add a few extra daps of silicone in the slit that were broken to reinforce the grill.

Why did I choose silicone, because it is a flexible material that can be peeled off later on if you need to take out the grill for some reason.

Hey if that was my car, I would take my advice any day then hand the car over to a body shop. GL.

Thanks for the advice TX. It actually makes a lot of sense. I'm very fortunate the bolt hit square on the grill and didn't cause any other damage. I'm also very lucky that it didn't hit the window. No telling what damage it would have done.

What type of sillicone would you recommend, just any kind that can be bought at Home Depot?

The damage to the slits is what I was soley concerned about. The broken grill will have to be replaced. If anyone has one matte black grill I can buy please let me know.? I really don't want to reinsert the factory chrome ones since I have already spent the money on these. Plus I like the look better.

You're dead right about our roads, terrible. I hit enough crap in my truck, so I knew it was only a matter of time before something hit my car.

Thanks again, if anyone else has advice or just agrees with tx I would appreciate your opinions as well.

[txusa03]

I know there are a dozen different type of silicone out there. I was thinking the good ole all around purpose silicone for home use. Make sure you wipe down the area you going to apply silicone to give it a clean surface to adhere to.

[pikkashoe]

That is easily repairable. Any epoxy will fix that. Bodyshops can also fix that all day long, but your probably better off doing it yourself, since the area is under the grilles and will never be visible .

[Chowbow]

Claim it against the department of transportation in your state. They are usually the ones held responsible in regards to road debris that should not be on the roadways. Just submit the claim and fix it on your own, and have them reimburse you later.

[Couch]

Originally Posted by pikkashoe

That is easily repairable. Any epoxy will fix that. Bodyshops can also fix that all day long, but your probably better off doing it yourself, since the area is under the grilles and will never be visible .

Originally Posted by Chowbow

Claim it against the department of transportation in your state. They are usually the ones held responsible in regards to road debris that should not be on the roadways. Just submit the claim and fix it on your own, and have them reimburse you later.

Thanks guys, I appreciate it.

I'll probably just give the silicone a try first. May run by a body shop just to see what they say in terms of cost, but I'm sure it won't be worth the cost.

I thought about contacting the TX DOT. But the chance they'll actually give me anything, is slim imo. Even if so, the time it'll take will just be a waste of time.

[Chowbow]

True... it took me 6 months for CA DOT to pay me for my rims, but they did pay for them.