02 LE - had accident, question about body work

[etc]

Greetings,

My 2002 LE 5 speed has been in an accident.
It looks like I will need to have the following replaced:

1. Hood
2. Bumper
3. Driver's side headlight
4. Grille and toyota emblem

I will have this work done for me professionally, anything I should be aware of?
Looks like a pretty straightforward job, except I am not sure how they will bend the driver's side fender to its original position? Will they have to drill it?

















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[CharmCityES]

the fender looks fine to me...the headlight has shifted as it has broken off it mount on the rad support.
even if the fender is slightly bent, its def fixable.
as for the rest, looks like a pretty straightforeward repair
perfect excuse for an updated grille and SE headlights

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Wish I had found out about updated grille before I ordered one

I am just wondering how they will bend the fender. Maybe push on it from the inside somehow, and avoid drilling?

[Avalonman]

Wow. You made a second tow hook hole thingy... And, this is the perfect time for you to update to SE headlamlps, and a limited edition grille....... and the fender looks untouched really.

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Nothing on the inside seems to be damaged...

[james399]

dont know about prices in maryland, but roughly...

if you shop around you can get parts pretty cheap...
new oem hood, 70-80 bucks
new oem fender 30-40 bucks
new oem head light 75-85 bucks
new oem front bumper cover 60-70 bucks
dont know about grill...

also body shops in so-cal generall charge 250-300 per panel to paint...

hope that helps...

[ScrooYoo]

your fender looks fine. looks the bumper cover just shifted and separated a little from the fender on the driver's side.

+1 on an excuse to update the headlights and grille. If it was me would also update the bumper and maybe get an SE or XLE one. There's one particular front bumper that looks real nice on the gen 5 but i'm not sure what its called.

also +1 on getting cheap parts. Check the listings and call around. There are salvage yards that sell brand new aftermarket parts for less than a fraction of the dealer prices.

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I paid $530 for all the parts, with local pickup. I didn't try to look online as I think shipping would be bad.

[TRD VVTi]

That's an easy fix. I don't see any damage to the fender either. Be sure you have a really good painter.

Did you rear end a truck or something?

If you're interested, I have a Gen 5.5 LE/XLE chrome grille that I'd sell.

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It's not damaged, but it does look bent. Does it need to be bent back, in the direction of the arrow?

Or is it the bumper that shifted? Or both?

Yeah you are right, I rear-ended a pickup... no damage to them at all.

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[james399]

Originally Posted by etc

It's not damaged, but it does look bent. Does it need to be bent back, in the direction of the arrow?

Or is it the bumper that shifted? Or both?

Yeah you are right, I rear-ended a pickup... no damage to them at all.

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easy way to tell is to install the headlight you got... just make sure you have clearance of the front bumper, and pop in the head light and bolt it up, if there is no gap between the fender and the edge of the headlight, and it fits flush... it should be fine... now the only problem with removing the headlight and popping a new one, is that you have to undo a portion of the bumper on the side...



hope that helps...

[etc]

I looked at both fenders and still cannot tell if this one is bent or not, if it's just the bumper that's misaligned. As you say, it should become clear during the install.

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Here are the AFTER pics...

Basically, they did a pretty good job given what they had to work with, I thought, including the paint job.

My only regret was getting after-market parts, especially the hood. It doesn't fit as well as the original. The tolerances aren't as good. You can see the gap between hood and fender is bigger than on a stock Camry. It doesn't really stand out however, unless you start comparing.

Also the other headlight will have to be replaced as it's dull while this one is very clear.

Mental Note: If I ever get into another wreck like this, I will use only genuine Toyota parts.

The hood vibrates a bit when driving, mostly on the driver's side.
Where do I get the rubber bushings to put under it so it's tighter? And where exactly. do they get put?

[TRD VVTi]

There are rubber stops that screw into the top of the core support (actually, next to it). It's visible between the broken headlight and the black fuse box in your damage pics above. You can screw them in and out to the proper tension.

The hood, bumper cover, left headlamp, and fender gaps are awful. Sorry, but it looks terrible.

You can also pick up a plastic/headlight polishing kit to make the other headlamp lens look like new without getting a new one.

[james399]

just so you know, regardless if you get oem, and or genuine toyota parts, you still have to adjust everything ever so slightly to get all the fender gaps perfect....

thats what separates the good from so-so body shops... if your insurance paid for it, i would take it back and tell them to fix the gaps...

if you don't believe me.. (if you get bored sometime... lol...) take of a fender and put it back on, it will not be a perfect flush fit...

one of the main reasons why the fender gaps are perfect coming out of the factory is because robots do most of that kind of work, and they have a level of precision very difficult to imitate by hand...

but true, sometime oem is wayyy off... lol...

the reason why i know is i've tried it all..... i've bought originial toyota equipment brand new, used from a junkyard, and oem... there have been major fitment issues with oem, i.e. missing bolt holes etc... but even with the factory made stuff, it has to be adjusted... thats why it is so easy to tell if a car has been in an accident...

but, if it is any consolation...no one will be able to notice the gaps on the freeway.. lol...