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2005 Vibe Repairs

Chevelle_Nut

Shop Foreman
As the other thread states my kid was in a wreck and the poor little 2005 looked bad off. I pulled her in the garage and am very surprised, she is not that bad. Hood doesn't look to be bent, suspension is fine, steers straight.

I will start working on it once I hear from insurance company. Pick and Pulls have some of these around, none in white. It is a rare AWD model, hopefully I can wheel and deal and keep it from being totaled where I have to buy it back and get a salvage title.


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I took my wife into the garage to look at it, she agrees we need to fix it. We are original owners of it, it runs strong and my daughter needs a smaller car.

Unfortunately she is scared to drive now, her not having a car for a while may be a good thing. I do need to get her behind the wheel "get back on the horse."
 
You may have to do like I've done when my kids had accidents. I would just punch out the dents, replace broken lights, make sure it was safe, and then put it back in service.

Sometimes it doesn't pay to "fix it all up" as the the value just isn't there. My eldest daughter got in accidents regularly because she wouldn't pay attention. so I'm used to having multi colored body panels.
 
You may have to do like I've done when my kids had accidents. I would just punch out the dents, replace broken lights, make sure it was safe, and then put it back in service.

Sometimes it doesn't pay to "fix it all up" as the the value just isn't there. My eldest daughter got in accidents regularly because she wouldn't pay attention. so I'm used to having multi colored body panels.
It would drive me nuts to leave it like that. OCD thing.
 
Located 05 White fender flare, ordered part.

I am not a Rock Auto fan but I saw they have a bumper cover for a decent price, shipping doubled the cost! Sorry, no.

If the rain is gone I will go to Greensboro tomorrow to get a cover off of an 06 and paint it. If the fender is decent I may grab it to avoid going to Raleigh to grab a white one they have. Greensboro also has the wheel. If it is still raining I will go on Sunday.
 
How easy is it to refinish a used plastic bumper cover? A new cover is still available and a couple hundred more than the used cover.
 
Easy. Scuff sand the cover, feather out any chips, shoot a primer/filler on those spots, then primer/deal the entire cover, then shoot base, then clear coat.
 
Easy. Scuff sand the cover, feather out any chips, shoot a primer/filler on those spots, then primer/deal the entire cover, then shoot base, then clear coat.
Took a short time to teardown. Bent fender tie bar back into position, needs a washer bottle. and bumper cushion.

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They make cleaner & adhesion promoter for them not sure if it's needed, but you need flex additive in the paint.
 
Todays progress after junk yard run. Washer bottle is in, had to "adjust" brackets for washer bottle and fender to line up. Fender is temporarily in place. There is a small dimple in the new fender, I will massage that out. Both front and rear washers work.

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I think it's industry standard to locate the washer bottle in the most vulnerable spot. I'd bet they're also the most overlooked item in a collision estimate.
 
I don't do much body work. It is amazing me how cheap stuff is, I can bend the brackets with my hands, forget that on the Chevelle. 10MM socket is all it really takes to dismantle this thing.
 
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