Hey guys,

Long story short, i was driving when a truck spare tire came off and nailed the front of my car... some how i avoided it but still got hit, and now my radiator is leaking now, because the car heats up more than it should and I pretty much heard liquid leaking out when i pulled over immediately to check it out.

I need some help from anyone that can just tell me what the best thing to do here is... I've called up several local radiator specialist and they told me for my car (Accord 09' Coupe 4-cylinder, manual transmission) it would cost around 350$ for the parts+labor. I called Honda dealership where i originally purchased my car and they quoted me for around 650$ including parts+labor. But i do have a good friend of mine who works at Honda dealership who can get parts very cheap which im waiting to get in contact with him still.

So pretty much my questions are:
1. Will it make a difference if i put the original factory radiator or go to any radiator specialist?
2. Do you think i could have caused more damage inside my engine anywhere? (I plan to get it checked out from Honda when i figure out a towing situation)
3. What about the minor body work? The small crack on the bottom & the hood alignment bc as you can see it got pushed up a little bit... minor but still would like it fixed
4. Any thoughts or suggestions on my next steps/move?


Any help would be greatly appreciated, Cheers people!! I've attached some pictures also...

 

i'd go through insurance...might as well use what your paying for, unless your deductible is too high.

 

You may try and find who made the OEM radiator a lot of them are denso which you can buy outside of Honda ( same part ) for much much cheaper. Maybe even cheaper then your friend could get. You could bring that radiator to the radiator shop, some may complain but may work with you if you tell them you want a OEM radiator.

I have a 96 accord and you could get the OEM denso radiator for about $130 while going to a dealership cost ~300 for the OEM part. Thats the main reason why the quotes vary so much Honda is obviously putting a OEM part on, radiators are pretty cheap actually for a generic one ( $75 - $100 ). Some of the generics suck though.

Id be surprised if there was any other damage.

From a uneducated glance at the photo it looks like the hose is leaking not the radiator. Did you take the car in or just call around?

 

Ahh, just me but.....check the AC? Looks like the AC cond got some damage to it as well.

 

Ok so i spoke to my friend who works at honda.. he pretty much will get the rad from honda for his employee price ($240) and install it for 100$, same as the after market ones i got quoted for. But he said from the pictures he saw looks like the rack and condenser need to be replaced also and he told me that i can put an OEM after market condensor....Im taking the car in in a few hours, but i called around and I talked to my friend who is a mechanic at honda

 

So if the AC is out.....I'm totally with DR, call your insurance company.

 

yah i think so... and the right side fan (infront of the passenger seat) as you can see in the pictures is cracked and also does not spin, but the one infront of the driver seat spins...

 

Just me but based upon this pic's...you've got some body damage (bumper, braces, ect), Radiator, cooling fan, Cond ?, plus more if I had to guess. Right now just the parts is going to run you in the <$800 range. Then add labor.

I AM NOT AN ISURANCE EXPERT - there is a member on here every now and then that works for them. So the below is just my guess and from what dealings I have had with my company over the years.

Worth a call to the insurance company. Wish you had a police report, witness or something to show them what happened. It would still be a claim but maybe a "no fault" claim. This might keep any rate changes down.

I'd at least have the car looked at, by your dealer friend. Have them give you an estimate for the repairs. From there, you are going to have to make the decision on where to go next.

Right now, with the rad leaking, fan broken. I'd suggest NOT driving the car until at least those are addressed.