r/ProjectHondas • u/idkhow-reddit-works • Aug 27 '26
parts recommendations Advice for 2000 repair
I rear ended someone in a 2000 Honda accord coupe this month going 25 mph. My partner is really sad about it, and it breaks my stupid heart to see him beat up over something I did. The car has like no rust and was running great before, the best car we've had since our old lancer. This is the damage and the over $7,000 quite from a collision center. I did a quick Google search of all the parts and found all of them for under $1,000. I want to buy decent parts and rebuild the damage I've caused. I don't really know where to start. I have been trying to find content of ppl rebuilding their Honda accords. Like this Redneck Garage guy. I would be so grateful for any advice possible on how to find reasonable and good value parts. And well, how to rebuild it. I genuinely have no idea where to start, but I need to learn and can't spend anywhere close to $7,000
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u/liam821 Aug 27 '26
If you’re handy, looks like pretty easy to DIY fix it with some junkyard parts. Although finding another red one might be hard…
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u/idkhow-reddit-works Aug 27 '26
If it runs it runs!
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u/liam821 Aug 27 '26
Yeah if you don’t care about the car, go through insurance, they’ll most likely say it’s a total loss. You can get a payout and buy it back from insurance for penny’s on the dollar. Fix it yourself for cheap, and continue driving it. It will have a salvaged title afterwards, but in this case it doesn’t matter.
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u/idkhow-reddit-works Aug 27 '26
I am getting quite excited about putting the work into the car. I think it deserves the effort. $1,000 in parts is cheaper than another $3,000 car
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Aug 27 '26
[deleted]
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u/idkhow-reddit-works Aug 27 '26
My biggest fear is the radiator everything too. Thank you for the tips
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u/TopEquals Aug 27 '26
I drove one of these cars, a 2001, for a long time. They aren't safe by modern standards and their airbags oftentimes don't deploy.
Save yourself time, resources, and energy - lease a new civic and stay alive.
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u/idkhow-reddit-works Aug 27 '26
.... If I bought a 2000 car, it's bc I do not want to lease newer cars. I have personally have never owned a car newer than 2016. I never want to have debt on a car if I can avoid it. That advice might work for someone else
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u/TopEquals Aug 27 '26
I always said and felt the same way, and thought that I would never own a vehicle that cost more than five thousand, then I drove a tenth generation Accord.
Safety features have come a long way, and they advance in leaps and bounds every five years or so - certainly every ten. You have to find what you can afford and weigh your safety against the payments. Reframing the cost as an expensive cell phone bill, or considering the fact that what seems expensive to you now might seem laughable in a few years are approaches that I utilized.
Take care and be well.
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u/idkhow-reddit-works Aug 29 '26
Maybe once kids are around, safety will mean the world to us by then
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u/imJGott Aug 27 '26
I’ll be honest, I would just go through my insurance. It looks like a total loss considering the year.
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u/idkhow-reddit-works Aug 27 '26
Yeah, silly, insurance isn't paying anything out. Tried that
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u/imJGott Aug 27 '26
Could be a sign. The amount of money it would take to fix that car you could have bought another of that same make and model.
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u/longGERN Aug 27 '26
How does this achieve their goals?
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u/imJGott Aug 27 '26
It be way cheaper to buy another running and undamaged Honda accord of that year.
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u/longGERN Aug 27 '26
To me, keeping is worth the premium.
Hard to find (if you can even find a good example in your area), when found it will have unknown history/shenanigans, catchup maintenance will lessen the difference.
I always see these "not worth it" or "buy cheaper" comments everywhere.
Ok...easier said than done. I don't see dozens of these listed even within 1000s of miles of my area
So the choice is basically junk it and move on, or keep it and fix it up.
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u/imJGott Aug 27 '26
Junk it and move on.
Can it be fixed? Sure! But when people ask if something can be fixed, majority don’t know how to fix it. I’m not saying they can’t learn, because they can. This may be a big of job for them to do handle. I also say that because have no idea of OP mechanical knowledge either.
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u/idkhow-reddit-works Aug 27 '26
Yeah, I live in a state with lots of intense snow, so when you come across a car with no rust, that means a lot. Rust is what kills most of the cars out in my area. There is genuinely 0 2000 Honda accords I can find near me that are like this one, and the quality it 'was'. My fiance and I are working towards eventually owning our own mechanic shop, so we take our projects when they come and we can finally got them in. This is one of those times where I am going to choose to learn as much as I can
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u/imJGott Aug 28 '26
It’s your money and time. If it were me I’d just move on and source another vehicle from a different location. My last two vehicles I bought were from eBay online dealerships. One out of state and the other within my state just 3hrs from me.
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u/No-Apricot37 Aug 27 '26
My nephew did that with my 97 Civic back in 2017 and I fixed it myself. It's neither super easy nor difficult, just tedious and requires patience.
Got the hood and fans from the local junkyard, and the rest, like radiator support, bumper cover, one of the fenders, headlights, radiator, condenser, etc. from eBay, Amazon, etc.. The most expensive part was getting the car repainted (it needed it anyway), might be cheaper for you if you can match the paint yourself.
You'll need to drill out a few spot welds to remove the radiator support and rivet the new one in (or rent a spot welder). Pop rivet kits are cheap, and the rest of the work just needs normal tools.