[Philmeistr]

Well, I thought I had escaped the wrath of Isabel, but yesterday I got hit in an intersection where the traffic lights had lost power. Argh... The "epicenter" is where the front of the driver's side wheel skirt meets the two aluminum body panels; luckily the door and the wheel seem to be unaffected. The skirt was badly scratched and the panels dented in about 2". This sucks, but it could have been a lot worse: in a slightly different spot, or at a higher speed...

I was wondering if the standard Honda dealer procedure for fixing dented panels is simply to replace them. I thought I had read somewhere that since they're aluminum, replacement is the only option. Is six weeks an average amount of time to wait for new panels to arrive? Has anyone had trouble with getting insurance to cover the full cost of the repairs? Is there any chance that this would be considered totalled since it is a 2001 model that I paid $12k for? I would appreciate hearing from anyone who has had to get body panel repairs for a similar minor accident.

Thanks, and watch out for uncontrolled intersections...

Phil

 

[Rick]

Yes, that panel is alluminum and about the only one on the car. I have a little door ding on my drivers side one, grr. I think I have to agree with Hondas fix method being to replace the panel. I'm not sure, but if you find a shop that specializes in alluminum repairs they might be able to fix it. Your best bet might be to find a shop that does repairs on other alluminum cars like S2000's or NSX's.

I myself have not had any accidents in my Insight, but I have seen one that was. It took nearly 2 months for them to get all the necessary parts for his car and get it fixed. And even after that long the repairs were not all that great.

 

[bfivelover]

Well, I thought I had escaped the wrath of Isabel, but yesterday I got hit in an intersection where the traffic lights had lost power. Argh... The "epicenter" is where the front of the driver's side wheel skirt meets the two aluminum body panels; luckily the door and the wheel seem to be unaffected. The skirt was badly scratched and the panels dented in about 2". This sucks, but it could have been a lot worse: in a slightly different spot, or at a higher speed...

I was wondering if the standard Honda dealer procedure for fixing dented panels is simply to replace them. I thought I had read somewhere that since they're aluminum, replacement is the only option. Is six weeks an average amount of time to wait for new panels to arrive? Has anyone had trouble with getting insurance to cover the full cost of the repairs? Is there any chance that this would be considered totalled since it is a 2001 model that I paid $12k for? I would appreciate hearing from anyone who has had to get body panel repairs for a similar minor accident.

Thanks, and watch out for uncontrolled intersections...

Phil

A deer ran into my Insight, (yes, it ran into me) putting two holes in the front drivers side panel and taking out the mirror. I took it to Porterfields here in Martinsburg, one of the places my insurance gave me, and the repairs were done within two weeks, a good job too. It was $880 or so and insurance covered it all. Later I noticed there was a small dent in the drivers side door which they obviously didn't notice either. I tried the "Dent King" that was advertised on TV, and it doesn't work so good, at least not on Insights.

 

[Trans Am Don]

I'm an auto collision estimator by trade and can verify that aluminum is just as repairable as steel. The techniques are slightly different due to the aluminum being softer, yet work hardening faster. The autobody repair people are becoming more familiar with the techniques as more vehicles are using aluminum in many applications. Find out from your local Acura dealer who does their NSX repairs as the construction of the Insight is similar. Anyone with NSX experiance should have the skills required to fix you up.