pics of the damage?

 

TYC is OK but not outstanding, they make some OEM parts. Koyorad is a big scale radiator maker.

 

As requested, here are the pictures of the damage... The first one is right after hitting the snow drift, the rest are taken later in the evening at home in the driveway.

 

i have an idea. take off the bumper and take it the the dealer. let them know that u crashed it but wanted to know if everything else (that u dont know) is okay. then they will tell u. so from their u could move on. bumper and ac and hopefully thats all. just use ebay for that other stuff. im sure, here, in this website there's a DIY way how to take off the bumper.

 

i have an idea. take off the bumper and take it the the dealer. let them know that u crashed it but wanted to know if everything else (that u dont know) is okay. then they will tell u. so from their u could move on. bumper and ac and hopefully thats all.

Erik, I think you missed the point of my original questions. I have already had the damage fully appraised by a few fully licensced autobody shops. I know exactly what has been damaged, and it is significantly more than "bumper and ac and hopefully thats all". The parts list needed is as follows:

Bumper cover, tow hook cover, bumper crash absorber, 2 x fog lights, lower grill and brackets, under lip, 3 x splash guards, plastic guard over side of AC condenser, bumper bracket and hardware, inner fender liner, radiator and AC condensor. Also, they confirmed NO structural damage to the composite rad support, or structural damage of any kind and headlights were not damaged.

Quotes range from about $3500-$4000 for a total fix. However, the body shops said they could reuse many lightly damaged parts, straighten the condensor and radiator, and drop the price down significantly to around $1100-$1400. So, what I really wanted to know is if they aftermarket rad and condensor are worth buying or not. But, to be honest, I'm starting to think I may just leave the bent rad and condensor in it and just replace them if/when they start to go bad. So far, knock on wood, the cooling system and AC system are working geat!

 

I might take a chance on the bent rad.

I "think" if the bent condenser leaks, you can run the compressor dry and damage it, which would be expensive to avoid replacing an $85 part.

I'm not sure of that though, so hopefully someone else will chime in.

 

I "think" if the bent condenser leaks, you can run the compressor dry and damage it, which would be expensive to avoid replacing an $85 part.

Good point! Is there a way to actually check and see if the AC system is leaking? It's easy to see coolant on the ground, but I dont even know what to look for to check for AC leak...

The TYC condensor is only $85 USD from CARiD, but an OEM condensor is $775 CAN from the dealer.

 

Compressor won't run on if the freon is gone.

 

There is a dye that can be added to ac system then you check with UV light. I have seen kits at parts stores with dye, light, UV glasses etc

 

Red Raspberry said you won't damage the compressor, which was my main concern.

Easiest way to check for a leak is to wait a week or two and see if it still blows cold.

The dye is useful is you need to know WHERE it is leaking from, but I think you have a pretty good idea of that, if it is.

 

Fair enough. After researching the dye kits, it does seem excessive in this situation. I think I have decided to keep monitoring AC and cooling systems for the next few weeks and take the "If it aint broke, dont fix it" approach. For now, I'll just repair the cosmetics after the snow is all gone and deal with the rad/condensor down the road if/when they start giving me troubles.