Need opinions on car(damaged)

Ok, I'm looking into buying a car and stumbled upon a '00 Grand Am w/ 84,000 for $1.5k. It has front and rear bumper/hood damage w/ airbags deployed. Runs and drives good. I'm short on money and a vehicle like this would be perfect. I would be fine driving around this slightly damaged vehicle until i can repair - but, i'm wondering what you think?
http://images.autotrader.com/images/2006/10/14/210/807/1083588270.210807227.IM1.MAIN.565x421_A.562x421.jp g


It looks like they maybe went into the ditch or something? Could that possibly blow the airbags? I'd obviously have to fix the headlight ASAP, but around what would the rest of the repairs cost(without labor)? I'm mostly worried about the airbags.. Are the airbags a must or can you jsut replace the covers on and be fine until the actual bag is replaced? What would be things to look for under the hood/vehicle that would show possibly more damage than just the bumpers & hood?

Thanks!

Have more pictures? From what I can see, you would need a hood, fender, bumper cover, possibly the bumper support as well, radiator support (maybe), rear bumper cover, air bags, probably some electrical work as well. I wouldn't drive it damaged like that as its asking to get pulled over and checked out by your local department of transportation. Car is worth about $5k in excellent shape with the miles on it, but obviously it isn't. Check the local salvage yards for parts, see what is available and how much it costs. Personally, I'd stay away from it if you are not experienced in doing body work or if you don't have someone who can help you with it as its very easy to get in over your head on a project like that. If you do decide to buy it, take a close look under the hood at the area where the headlight mounts, make sure that isn't bent. Drive it if you can, see if it tracks in a straight line. If it goes crooked (back is off to one side or the other when driving straight) there is probably unibody damage, which means time on a frame machine straightening it out. Good luck.

BE VERY CAREFUL of that car! My first thing would be to find out what happened in the accident, was it driver error or was it a mechanical malfunction of the car. Next thing make sure the title is still clear and not turned to salvage, cuz you'll spend more money trying to get it clear again. Like Skimbum said if you are not used to doing body repairs or don't have the money stay away, cuz you'll put yourself in a bad position. You can get covers for the airbags and not put new ones back in, you'll just have the airbag light on, on the dash. definetly watch out for electrical problems, cause after a bad enough hit like that, you are asking for electrial problems as well as mechanical problems. My G/A suffered horribly after my accidents with various problems. If you are still unsure, ask to bring it to a mechanic and have them look over the car, and maybe a body shop to check the full damages. Best of Luck.

I'd bet thiers more wrong than what you can see.
That whole driverside front clip is probly outa square...

Also look like the front bumper is ready to fall off :shakehead
I'd offer $800 if the titles clear !
But like they said above, If you hav never done body/frame work, it might not be to easy nor cheap. Alot of work !

Thiers about $2-3k in parts(for new) from what I can see .
A salvage yard might hav about the same thing.
Even looks like that front tires outa wack too .

Doesnt look good :grinno:

Best advice I have for you is walk, to many great cars out there at great prices. If you lived in the Toronto area I would sell you a perfect 97, 3.1 with leather for less only one problem it has a dead cylinder.

You would also want to get the car up on a lift to check out the entire suspension system too. No telling what the operator could have run over.....
Best to check that suspension & frame very thoroughly.

I'd like to know more about fixing airbags - the car is driveable without them, right? I've had two parents tell me "a friend of a friend of a friend" said they dont or they cost $993942932 to fix and such. Can you just take them out and replace the cover?

Also, What kind of electrical problems could come up? Why would this cause electrical problems?

Airbag sensors, headlight wiring, wiring in the steering column for starters. Plus anything that got bounced loose in the collision. Problems will pop up for a while, sometimes connectors move a little, then vibrate out later on.

Air bags arent that expensive anymore.
From GM parts direct they are $523.04 driversside, and $505.35 passengers. They want outragous shiping though :shakehead
Maybe because its a class 4 explosive device :dunno:

Might find them cheaper through a local body shop :thumbsup:

Also you are supposed to replace the seat belt(s) that were involved in the accident.
If you look at the ones in the car I bet thiers a spot thats wrinkled where it pulled the belt into the buckle area.

I hav driven my personal car a week with out an airbag.
Hope you dont hav any incidents while you hav no bags :nono:
You will need to cut the bag offf the wheel though :D

When everythings smashed in like that thiers bound to be a few shorts. TO many and it;ll smoke the BCM , PCM :eek7:

You may experience problem, Here's a prime example... My 2002 Grand Am GT:sadwavey: I had a "few" accidents with it. My two main ones though was one in the front and one in the rear.... http://memimage.cardomain.net/member_images/11/web/443000-443999/443744_50.jpghttp://memimage.cardomain.net/member_images/11/web/443000-443999/443744_7.jpg

From these 2 accidents I had problems for the rest of the time I had the car, the rear one, caused me to have a short in my rear window defogger so it would overheat and melt right off the window, then my left turn signal and main taillight was constantly shorting out, my rear door sometimes wouldn't work. My front end accident took me two years to get everything back in order, Between suspension problems, to steering problems, transmission leaks, It was a nightmare. You may not have any problems with this car like i did, but then again you may have problems. Good luck, with everything.

Any idea how much it would cost to get airbags installed(just labor costs-not airbags themself)?

Drivers side is about .5, pass side could be up to 4.5 hours and at times the inst panel is damaged under the air bag. This is not normally a "dyer" type repair.

What would an average price be for the labor of that?

What would an average price be for the labor of that?

Whatever the hourly rate is in your area, every part of the country is different.

Drivers side is about .5, pass side could be up to 4.5 hours and at times the inst panel is damaged under the air bag. This is not normally a "dyer" type repair.


Does it really say 4.5 for the passengerside ?

That must be taking thier time :lol:

Does it really say 4.5 for the passengerside ?

That must be taking thier time :lol:
You are right that is for the full size car, 1.2 is the Mitchell time.

1.2 is plenty of time :D

:lol:

So, most regular autoshops could replace airbags? I'm having a lot of people talking about some "myths" of airbags costing $1000+ to replace. I could probably get both bags & module for $200 on ebay - then it would just cost a few hours of labor?

Nevermind the airbag question - does anyone know if all 99-05 Grand Am SE's have compatible hoods?

Basically every part is interchangable, from 99-05 SE and GT ( other then some engine parts and some other parts that only a GT has over an SE). To answer the question the hoods are interchangable.

Dito'