My accord was recently in a parkinglot accident where I was stopped at a stop sign and a lady drove her SUV into the front drivers side of my car. The impact was what I'd consider medium to medium/hard as her vehicle was much bigger and she seemed in a hurry. At 1st glance the cosmetic damage wasn't too bad had to replace the front bumper skirt, and the impact steel bar (The metal bar that is there to protect in an impact) the carbon fibre hood suffered a small spider crack as well. The ladies insurance covered the bumper replacement and the bar replacement and the cost to straighten the frame but did not cover the hood dmg. The thing I am now dealing with is that prior to the accident I had no mechanical issues whatsoever and afterwards I hear a significant rattling from the pulley area under the hood. Upon quick inspection it appears to be the air conditioning condencer is going out, which if I hav to pay for it to be replaced will cost upwards of 1000 dollars quoted from a shop. Is this part really hard to replace and expensive? Just in case I have to do it myself as I can not afford the 1k repairs right now. Also do any of you know of any common issues pertaining to this type of thing being caused from this kind of accident? Any information is much appreciated thank you

 

after having it checked out the mechanic says I will need to replace the air condition condenser 's clutch as that is what is going out in the unit. He said I could do get that done for a cost effecient repair opposed to having the entire unit replaced. I was wondering if anyone knew of any places I could look for reasonable priced parts to do this as I am in a position where I need to get it fixed for cheap, until I can afford to get the entire unit replaced. This is my only vehicle and I really need to have it running so any help is greatly appreciated.

 

Wait a minute... The lady's insurance didn't pay for all the damage? Did you sign a release? They should have repaired ALL of the damage. Why are you paying for anything?

 

I do not recall signing any form of releases at all. However the ladies Insurance company told me that the damage has to be proven without a doubt to have been accident related. I had to take it to a shop to see if they could deem the mechanical issues as accident related and of course, with my luck, they could not prove that without a doubt so I am stuck trying to repair this at my cost....which yes, sucks big time!

Anyone who knows where to get a hold of an A/C eliminator kit? If so please let me know as I am now trying to get this fixed and this seems the most cost effective way to get this done as of now. It will also improve my performance and gas mileage which is a bonus, I never use the A/C anyhow so.... I have scoured the internet looking for such a kit for my 1998 Accord EX V6 and have only found the kit for 4cyl engines.... There MUST be one for my car somewhere. PLEASE any help is greatly appreciated.