I just nailed a deer with my Fleetwood destroying the front grille. WHat do you guys think the cost would be to have it fixed? I lost the grille and the front valance I think it's called. Hood orniment, headlight bezels, and chrome pieces are fine, grille is destroyed and front valance is too. In all seriousness I can't photograph it because it is too emotionally damaging, at least not now. Bodyshops won't be open for me to take it to this weekend and I have to go back to college on Sunday night. Please someone have an answer. Thanks.
uh.... junkyard.. there are massive amounts of those cars floating around.. I bet you could get the pieces you need or less then $50 and put it on the carin a couple hours...
Yeah, I'm a little better now, but it still tears me up inside because it's my precious Fleetwood. My biggest concern is some lasy ass at a body shop throwing the wrong year parts on there and it looks wrong. I want the 89 grille and the 89 headlights ONLY. I don't want some half assed attempt to throw on an 80-88 grille on there because it fits, or a 90-92 front because it fits. I want the correct pieces on there and that's what worries me. My dad said he'd pick up the tab and she's going to our family's collision guy, so everything's sorta set. I guess you could say all I really need right now is someone to just pat me on the back and tell me it's gonna be ok.
Hey man, I just saw this listing on eBay for a grille; said to be removed from a new car and stored. It may be a good find.
ebay item #7927030688
I have no interest ($) in this eBay sale. I was considering the grille myself, as my '94 Fltwd is starting to show some wear, but decided not to get it. I may kick myself later.
Holy shiwow Dope, that is a tear jerker. Those deer are a real hazard to navigation. Hey, don't worry like the man said, those cars are all over in junk yards. The front nose will interchange off any 80s FWB and the grille is not to hard to find. If you get into a pinch finding parts, PM me. I've spotted another one in someones driveway rotting away just the other day. I'll meet you in New Haven or something. Don't worry about the cap either,remember my avatar,never junk anything, it'll be here. :crying:
Thanks dude. I'm starting to feel better about it. I managed to pull the nose away from the hood and check under there, everything looks fine and she still starts. Tiny little kink in the inside of the hood that slightly conflicts with the hood latch and I'm not too worried about it. I'll be dealing with the body shop myself and I hope they do a (Pun) bang-up job.
Well, wonderful news. My body guy is apparently a Caddy guy and is ordering the front from Cadillac directly, yep, new parts. New nose, grille, emblems, and a shiny new batch of red firemist metallic paint to spray on her cute little nose. I'm no longer upset, but excited. She's gonna look better than ever and for under $1,700.
Oh one more thing, where is the best place to mount deer whistles but keep them hidden? I want the protection, but not the ugly little black things on my bumper.
eh...painting it with NEW paint will not be good... the old paint fades.. you may not realize it, but it does... if you just do a stright paint job on the new parts, it'll never match...
your nose is the same from '80-'89... headlights bezels etc... I don't think someone will put a '90+ nose on it, the only thing that changed over the years was the grille...
...but $1,700 for it? your kidding!?!
my mothers bf has an '87 Brougham, he was stopped, got hit in the back form a lady in a car talking on her cell phone, and got pushed into the truck in front of him... it ruined both rear filler panels.. but they did their job, the trucks bumper didn't hit the bumper on the Cad, it went thru the grille, nose and headlights... for awhile he drove it like that... coudln't open the hood though, but he got all the new pieces.. under $100, did a quick paint job on it (has a paint sprayer) and it fit fine... there is a slight dent in the hood form the nose, but it isn't bad.... if you were serious about $1,700... to tell you honestly, that is a rip off... the only good part out of that, is the grille will be shiney... but still, that is alot of money...
Not having pictures to see what was damaged, we can only speculate. A good body shop will not be cheap if the hood and bumper inserts need painting. They will blend the paint with the fenders. The blend will most likely be made below the fender lines.
I recently had an estimate for a rear door repair and repainting on my daughters car. Three shops were withing $25.00 of $600.00. The blending of the existing paint around the repair is as much an art, as it is technical know-how. The additional labor involved to do the job right and restore the original finish is what brings the price up.
You're also correct about original parts. If they are using GM parts, that too will increase the price over the normal insurance repair quote where aftermarket parts and sometimes used parts are installed.
Oh no, there's no REpainting necessary. He's only painting the new part which is the nose (The plastic part the hood orniment is attached to if I'm not clear on that) The hood, quarter panels, and bumper fillers weren't even scuffed. I hit the thing at 25 mph with the bumper mostly, it rolled into the grille. As for the price, I got that estimate from the man's mouth, so I'm confident that's what he'll be charging.
I dunno, it seems on the cheap end of body work quotes I've heard from friends and family who've done the same thing. It could be that the parts are coming from Cadillac directly, or maybe the labor involved in the proceedure is what's weighing the price. I just want my car back really. I mean it cost me $6,000 to fix my Malibu after I F'ed that up and there was structural damage that they managed to fix. I don't mind paying a little more if the guy is gonna do a good job.
I am just saying... for about $100 you could have bought the parts, then bring the nose to a paint shop to get it painted, and do it yourself... the total would be less then $250, and you would never tell anything happened to it...
I hear where your coming from Dope. Sometimes it's easiest to just take a job to someone else if you're not equipped to do it in a timely fashion. That could be a big pain in the butt if you don't find it second nature to work on cars. I'd put those deer whistles behind the grille. I don't think they do much though, especially at this time of year. The deer are all out of their minds in the fall. They're doing the bone dance, and a buck is not distracted by anything when he is in hot pursuit.
Cool thanks, as long as they do somethin' I think it's worth the dollar for a set of whistles.
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