ok, i am SLOWLY getting into car repair and upgrade so i am still in the learning fase. now i know i need to take my car to a body shop but i figure if i can do any of the work at home myself it might save me alittle bit of money. i bought my car from a salavged title for 12000 as is. what i am guessing is that it got hit or it hit somthing. ANYWAY it is back where the fuel door is and it not only affects the rear wheel but the body is pushed up against the spring on the rear axle and the drivers side door jam is pushed up against the door ( theres no gap) and dont even get me started on how fun it is to try and get the gas cap off! what i want to know is is if theres anything i can do at home here to try and fix it alittle before taking into the shop. i have already trying putting a jack stand under the back end and kinda jumping on it to try and bend it back, but obviously i am not heavy enough and i don't want to make this discontinued car any worse. anyone have any suggestions? i'll try to upload some pics if it will let me.

 

hopefully it was 1200 you paid and even then that is expensive for a damaged 3ed gen.

You are into the structure of the unibody there if the damage is as bad as it sounds. Personally I would find a different body and use yours as a parts car.

 

yeah i paid 1200 put one too many zeros on there ha ha and i got an estimate and its about another grand to get it repaired

 

here are some

 

and the other three. i am an over the road truck driver so i may not be on here for a few weeks after tommorow but any help is much apprecited

 

That doesn't look too bad. do you know where it was hit and by what? Sometimes damage at the wheel flare is caused by a rear impact and that is where the 1/4 tends to wrinkle. Although the dent line along the top of the panel seems to suggest a side impact with someone trying to repair it.

1000 is resonable for that damage, does that include paint or just finished in primer? If you are going to have a shop do it I would let them do it if you try to start it you will stretch the metal and make it harder for them to do it. You could probably cut cost by having them just do the metal work and you do the final mud sanding and replacing bolt on parts.

I would check the filler neck on the tank they are prone to cracking and yours has been stressed more than most.

The shop will probably remove the rear bumper cover so you could probably save some cash by doing that for them. Talk it over with the body guy on things you can do to prep it to save cost. Most of the time you can make cost more if you don't know what you are doing.

 

i dont know where or what, this poor thing was at a used USED car lot and like i said its title was rebuild from salvage. what i CAN tell u is that it was probribly owned by a teeneger because the wiring harness is sliced into and they put a stronger alternator on it suggesting they had subwoofers and a stereo in it.
the filler neck is ok. i know this because when i got the car the necks welds actually were broke and the neck was independant from the tank itself.
and i totally agree about not making it any worse, that is the last thing i want to do, which is why i asked before i tried anything too extreme. i have wanted on of these cars since i was 5 so i am holding onto this thing. its paid its dues, time for some tlc

 

Yea not trying to talk you out of fixing it. The body shop that did your quote can probably tell you if the damage is from a rear impact or a direct dent from a side impact. Each require a different technique in fixing it. Rear impact you will need to pull the panel/frame from the rear and the dent will natually release. A side impact the frame should be checked for alignment and if its ok (by the price you got I am guessing this is the case).

If its just metal you can get to most of that panel from the inside. but you will need some specilty tools such as a srinking hamer, several prybars, dollys and probably a stud gun and slide hamer.

Does the body shop plan on pulling it or replacing the metal?

 

eeek shrinking hammer...Use a sunchaser shrinking disc or its equivalent. Its hard to tell in that where the panel is under stress. Id say if the shop is reputable, youre in luck for a grand. Id also get a second opinion. If theyre just gonna yank it out and slap some bondo and primer surfacer on there for a grand...you can do that yourself. If theyre going to asure you no damage to the unibody, no problems with keeping it aligned and all the panel gaps are correct...a grand is a steal

Spend your money wisely...this is a wise expenditure