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I just picked up a 2007 GS350 with some very minor front LH Fender damage and the headlamp not working. I was told that the ballast was bad, so I decided to take apart the front end this AM to get to the ballast and inspect the damage further.
Well, the font lamp assembly is cracked and many of the mounts are broken, so it is looking like a full replacement is in order. My problem is I don't want to replace one lamp and have a new lamp and an old lamp so I am going to have to replace both together.
While I am at it, one of the fogs was damaged as well...
So, I think I am going to replace both LH and RH fenders, and the front bumper. I can order these parts pre-painted so that they match. I was also thinking about just getting a front end body kit and wanted to get everybody's opinion/assistance as to what I should do.
I am looking to do this the cheapest possibly without sacrificing on quality.
I was looking at these as they are priced well under the OEM lights, but I cannot locate a photo of them installed on a vehicle. http://www.spyderblackseries.com/pro...HID-fit)-Black I have located these for $512.50 for the set.
Here are some photos:
Front end removal to get to Headlamp Assembly
Cracked LH Headlamp Assembly
Damaged LH Fender
Broken Fog Light
Last edited by Nixsun79; Nov 30, 2014 at 08:39 AM.
As cheap as possible? Looks like you can repair those headlights if its just cracked at the bottom. JB weld them back together.
That lh fender looks repairable, from the picture. Fenders and bumpers are always best to buy from the dealer. You never want to buy nothing prepainted especially fenders, as a body shop will need to tint and blend the color properly for it to match. Last thing you want is a two tone paint job.
You can always install 08-up bumpers and grille but then it will be more expensive to find and buy a kit for.
Use this site to look for used parts www.car-part.com and I would look at ebay aswell, even Craigslist
Thanks for the tips guys. I was so close to pulling the trigger on a pre-painted fender from eBay. I just came from a body shop and they quoted me $900 to repair the current fender and respray the front bumper. Pre-painted parts would have cost me $810.71 for just the LH fender and front bumper.
So the headlight is not working at all. I did some troubleshooting and located a burnt out ballast. I am definitely going to JB weld the light back together and the fog as well. I think that using the Spyder lenses will really rice the car out too much.
The parts are serialized, so I am just going to go with the body shop repair and maybe a front lip.
I will have the headlight ballast in on thursday and will probably tackle the project this weekend. I will be sure to post pics.
Thanks for the tips guys. I was so close to pulling the trigger on a pre-painted fender from eBay. I just came from a body shop and they quoted me $900 to repair the current fender and respray the front bumper. Pre-painted parts would have cost me $810.71 for just the LH fender and front bumper.
So the headlight is not working at all. I did some troubleshooting and located a burnt out ballast. I am definitely going to JB weld the light back together and the fog as well. I think that using the Spyder lenses will really rice the car out too much.
The parts are serialized, so I am just going to go with the body shop repair and maybe a front lip.
I will have the headlight ballast in on thursday and will probably tackle the project this weekend. I will be sure to post pics.
If its a rebuilt title that you are going for, FL DMV inspections requires photos of before repair, if you have blown airbags that you replaced make sure to have serial numbers on the actual airbags, and all receipts of parts.
Ya, I dont like blacked out headlights on a 3GS. But to each is own!
its far from a rebuilt title, lol. Here is a photo of the actual damage:
I received a few quotes over the past couple of days and they were around $1k, so I am rolling the dice on a pre-painted fender $348.14. I vetted the company pretty hard and hopefully all goes well, if the paint is off a little bit I think I can live with it and have $650 in my pocket.
Headlight is all fixed and working great, got the job done for $60 (new ballast). I will post some pics once I get the fender and installation.
LMAO Why did you pull the fenders off? You should have left it alone, they could easily repaired that fender and sprayed the bumper.
In the end if you do not blend the paint, it will look two tone. That $600 bucks in your pocket, will be 2-$3,000 reduction when you go to resale your vehicle.
For a simple job like this, you could have easily called a mobile painter and for 2-300 bucks repaired and painted bumper and fender. 2-3hrs later the job would look unnoticeable and you would have had peace of mind.
Where in Florida do you find a shop as I used to live in Tampa and know some people
LMAO Why did you pull the fenders off? You should have left it alone, they could easily repaired that fender and sprayed the bumper.
In the end if you do not blend the paint, it will look two tone. That $600 bucks in your pocket, will be 2-$3,000 reduction when you go to resale your vehicle.
For a simple job like this, you could have easily called a mobile painter and for 2-300 bucks repaired and painted bumper and fender. 2-3hrs later the job would look unnoticeable and you would have had peace of mind.
Where in Florida do you find a shop as I used to live in Tampa and know some people
mobile painter, 300 bucks?
sounds like a Maaco paint job which won't be durable.
With paint this dark, you could polish and wax, make it look wet, and you won't be able to tell the difference with the prepainted fender.
LMAO Why did you pull the fenders off? You should have left it alone, they could easily repaired that fender and sprayed the bumper.
In the end if you do not blend the paint, it will look two tone. That $600 bucks in your pocket, will be 2-$3,000 reduction when you go to resale your vehicle.
For a simple job like this, you could have easily called a mobile painter and for 2-300 bucks repaired and painted bumper and fender. 2-3hrs later the job would look unnoticeable and you would have had peace of mind.
Where in Florida do you find a shop as I used to live in Tampa and know some people
If you look at my first post you will see that I had front headlight damage as well. In order to get to the front headlamp assembly, you have to remove the front bumper...
I am personally all set with hiring a mobile painter to do the job. I have an OEM fender coming pre-painted to factory spec, if it doesn't match I will still have damaged fender and can go down that road when the time comes to sell the car. If I was to take a 2-3k hit on resale I would simply spend the 1k to have the fender repaired and not take that loss.
sounds like a Maaco paint job which won't be durable.
With paint this dark, you could polish and wax, make it look wet, and you won't be able to tell the difference with the prepainted fender.
I purchased a 3M paint resto kit and will perform this after the new fender is installed. I think I will be ok with the pre-painted fender. People have had luck as long as it is done to OE spec, so we shall see what shows up.
sounds like a Maaco paint job which won't be durable.
With paint this dark, you could polish and wax, make it look wet, and you won't be able to tell the difference with the prepainted fender.
Auctions, carmax and many of big dealers use mobile spot fixers for small dents like this. When you buy that used "certified lexus" more likely it has had either a mobile guy or either a pdr guy pulling dents.
Their work is definitely not maaco's there great at blending spot repairs.
so the mobile painters blend the base coat, and spray the whole panel with clear?
all at your house?
I'd be worried about contamination from the air, and if they didn't clear coat the whole panel, it will fail. I don't trust spot repairs.
They spot repair, with a special mini gun and low pressure. Theyll base the primed repair, depending on the size of the repair will they decide to clear the whole panel or not.
Because they use such low pressure in a mini gun they dont really have much over spray. Plus most paints nowadays are waterborne solvents.
07 GS350 with front end damage
