[Jomz]

Originally Posted by dr.abhijeet

Here is the comparison thats going on in my head:
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Opinions are appreciated.

Why not get a new base GX?? I think they start at less than 50k.

Have you given the Jeep Grand Cherokee Eco diesel a try?? Would be worth atleast test driving.

[aah78]

Originally Posted by MrA

My friend is going through a tough time and yesterday he banged his car with a road divider and it managed to impact the front left side of the car bumper, just below the headlights (Image attached).
We live in New York and the quote provided by local body-shop is about $3000 which is ridiculous.
e.g The front bumper cover can be bought for $30.
However I'm failing to understand what other parts would my friend need apart from the front bumper cover.

Yes, $3000 is a lot.
The bumper covers are cheap but the cracked parts inside will be expensive, plus the paint.
You could ask the body-shop give you an itemized list.

Why not claim insurance?

Are you guys around NYC? If so, there are a couple of body shops I could recommend.

[MrA]

Originally Posted by Jeroen

The best way is to check on the inside of your old bumper. Are you getting it from a junkyard where they allow you to take it off the car yourself? Then you know exactly on how to put it back on as well and you can detach and take all other parts you need too.

Good luck
Jeroen

Thanks Jeroen. Yes, I'll be getting it from a junkyard, hoping to find a similar car. It's an Accord 2004, parts from 2003-07 Accord will fit.

Originally Posted by aah78

Why not claim insurance? Are you guys around NYC? If so, there are a couple of body shops I could recommend.

Thanks but I'm close to Syracuse, quite some distance. And my friend doesn't have collision cover hence can't claim it. All the cracked parts is just plastic cladding, hopefully it'll be cheap and I think just covering it with bumper cover might be enough? Just need to get the covering around wheel arch to protect the stuff inside from debris, rain water and stuff coming from the wheel, not sure what it's exactly called.

[dr.abhijeet]

Originally Posted by Jomz

Why not get a new base GX?? I think they start at less than 50k.

Have you given the Jeep Grand Cherokee Eco diesel a try?? Would be worth atleast test driving.

I am thinking the same thing about the GX. In fact I called a dealer this morning and he quoted me 52xxx + ttl for premium with blind spot, headlight washer etc.
I rented a grand Cherokee which was limited with tech pack pentastar it was a nice car to drive but it has software issues. I test drove the car and dealership experience is for credit credit challenged folks than a premium experience.
May go for new GX,Mercedes is still in the play as well.
Exciting times ahead!

[aah78]

Originally Posted by MrA

Thanks but I'm close to Syracuse, quite some distance. And my friend doesn't have collision cover hence can't claim it. All the cracked parts is just plastic cladding, hopefully it'll be cheap and I think just covering it with bumper cover might be enough? Just need to get the covering around wheel arch to protect the stuff inside from debris, rain water and stuff coming from the wheel, not sure what it's exactly called.

Yes, I'm familiar with Syracuse and all the trouble the snow causes there.

Aah, just when you need the collision coverage.

Well, the bumper cover by itself is cheap and even if you need to buy a painted cover it shouldn't be too expensive, but try to get a couple of quotes. Some small local shops do good work and charge much less.

If they just aren't trying to fleece you there might be a reason the shop quoted $3000.

[Jomz]

Originally Posted by dr.abhijeet

I rented a grand Cherokee which was limited with tech pack pentastar it was a nice car to drive but it has software issues. I test drove the car and dealership experience is for credit credit challenged folks than a premium experience.

Agree, the software is a mess. But on the bright side, they will eventually fix it with a re flash.

Originally Posted by aah78

Well, the bumper cover by itself is cheap and even if you need to buy a painted cover it shouldn't be too expensive, but try to get a couple of quotes. Some small local shops do good work and charge much less.

I think the car is a 2003-2007 Honda Accord. The car is only work 6k.

Honda does not sell painted bumpers. I would think ~400 for the bumper and $300 for painting the bumper alone. There are lots of parts missing which would easily add up.
I would still think you are looking at ~$2000. Maaco is the cheapest for body repair, but they do a substandard job.

[aah78]

Originally Posted by Jomz

I would still think you are looking at ~$2000.

Yes, that's about what I figured but since MrA's friend was trying to save some cash - if you get an aftermarket pre-painted bumper cover, or get an unpainted one and spray paint it yourself or locally he might get it done cheaper. Of course, depending on what else is broken inside.

[dr.abhijeet]

Picking this in 2 days. 500 below invoice.

[Jomz]

Congrats!!! That is Fast!!!

[dr.abhijeet]

@ Jomz, took your advice about looking at new and emailed a few dealers. One of them asked, "what price are u looking for" ? I was looking for premium with blind spot, wood steering in red. I asked, just to mess around, 500 below invoice. 57xxx Msrp, 531xx is the invoice, I offered 52500 and the dealer accepted. The car has 8 miles on the clock.

Clear bra and all weather mats for 700 more.

I did ask my wife to go ahead and test drive the JGC. The car itself was nice but the whole setup including the product, dealer, etc, reminded me of TATA dealers when we went buy our TATA Sumo in the 1995. What sealed the deal for Lexus was one small incident. When we were at Carmax, I was making my wife sit in full size luxury sedans. There was this LS460 which we sat in and it was pretty nice. I asked my wife to guess the age and mileage of the car - she guessed 2013 with 35-40k miles. The car had done 110000 miles and was 2010. This was more or less true about the 2012 GX that we saw as well.

We realized that the Lexus GX is old tech, is low on power, does not have 3 screens, head up display in car wi-fi etc etc but it does not age at all. So we did not even wait for the Mercedes diesel to arrive.

[Fraz33r]

Originally Posted by dr.abhijeet

Picking this in 2 days. 500 below invoice.

Is that the GX? I sometimes feel they overdone with styling. How is the utility side of things ?

Congrats btw!!

[dr.abhijeet]

I think you are right about overdone exterior styling. The interiors are actually very old school which I liked when compared to everything else. It's a typical body on frame SUV with body roll,slightly cramped interiors and poorly accessible 3rd row. But I love it. IMHO this is only mid size LUX SUV to buy rather than to lease.

[VIPER_SRT]

Originally Posted by dr.abhijeet

I think you are right about overdone exterior styling. The interiors are actually very old school which I liked when compared to everything else. It's a typical body on frame SUV with body roll,slightly cramped interiors and poorly accessible 3rd row. But I love it. IMHO this is only mid size LUX SUV to buy rather than to lease.

Congrats! Nice color and always good to buy a new one. Are you going for Clear bra? Since you wont be using 3rd row quite often, it should work fine for you! As for body roll, its pretty much there with any SUV unless you have active stabilizer bars. Its a great SUV for off-road drives. Now you may have to plan your trips accordingly

[dr.abhijeet]

Originally Posted by VIPER_SRT

Congrats! Nice color and always good to buy a new one. Are you going for Clear bra?

Thanks Viper_SRTYes, clear bra and all weather mats before delivery.

[josejoseph]

Originally Posted by josejoseph

Thanks Jomz. Guess I'll go ahead with purchasing Coopers since we don't get snow. Also, I'm not concerned about the thread life, but more about grip and handling.

-- Jose

I finally purchased Cooper CS5 Ultra Touring tires for my Odyssey. Bought the tires from Discount Tires Direct and then got it mounted by America's Tires.

Paid $557 for the tires which included certificates for replacement and valves + $77 for mounting and life time balancing and rotation.

Initial feedback is good. Steering has become light. Tires are silent and I've noticed the ride is comfortable.