94 Accord repair: online ordering of large parts?

Greetings, all!

My 94 Honda Accord EX ate the trailer hitch of a pickup truck the other
day, and the damage looks minimal enough that I'm willing to try and
do the work myself. (Translation: There doesn't appear to be any
mechanical damage, although the radiator has a loose mount and the
A/C condenser has a few more flattened cooling vanes.)

Basically, I need a new grill and grill molding, hood, and radiator
mount upper crossbar (the side bars behind the headlights look fine,
as I hit the hitch dead center). Having failed to find a matching
hood in the local salvage yards, my thought was to order the stuff
online, get the hood and crossbar painted at a local shop ("sage" in
color), and then coerce a friend or two into helping me put it all
together. I'm hoping I can strip all of the other parts (windshield
washer lines/ nozzles, rubber seals, bolts, etc.) off the existing
hood and crossbar assemblies.

So, on to my questions:

1) I've ordered some auto parts online before, but nothing as major
as a hood and radiator mount assembly. Does anyone have any
recommended sites? (I was looking at http://www.autopartsland.com,
but I know nothing about them. Their prices looked good, but I
haven't checked their continential U.S. shipping charges yet.)

2) Based on past experience, how safe/reliable is the shipping process
on parts this large? The last thing I want is the hood to arrive
and have it start life with pre-formed dents.

3) Does anyone know of any likely pitfalls involved in the installation
of the radiator mount upper crossbar? I have a friend willing to
drill out the existing spot welds and weld in the new part. It
looks simple enough, but I usually limit my repair efforts to
components with bolts, so I'm no expert. The alternate plan was
to install the entire radiator mount assembly, as it looks like it
bolts in place once the individual parts are welded together. The
downside is that, compared to just welding in a new upper crossbar,
much more front end disassembly is required to install the entire
radiator mount assembly.

Pardon the length of the post, but I'm trying to avoid hidden snags.
I'm up for trying something new (especially if it saves me money), but
as I have no other car, I can't afford to put my ride to work out of
commission for more than a weekend! Many thanks for any help you
could provide!

-Brian

 

I ordered a front door for the Mazda MX6 before. The yard boxed the door in
wooden frame. There was no damage from the delivery. S/H was $75 us.

 

I usually take the hitch off my truck when I'm not towing a trailer.
I felt bad that the hitch punched a hole in the cushy bumper of a CRX.
If he had hit my bumper, there may have been no damage.

The hitch sticks out so far on some vehicles that it is a real hazard.

 

I usually take the hitch off my truck when I'm not towing a trailer.
I felt bad that the hitch punched a hole in the cushy bumper of a CRX.
If he had hit my bumper, there may have been no damage.

The hitch sticks out so far on some vehicles that it is a real hazard.

 

I usually take the hitch off my truck when I'm not towing a trailer.
I felt bad that the hitch punched a hole in the cushy bumper of a CRX.
If he had hit my bumper, there may have been no damage.

The hitch sticks out so far on some vehicles that it is a real hazard.

 

I once bought an after-market replacement hood for a VW GTi and was
quite disappointed. The steel was much softer that the original and the
mounting surfaces for the hinges had a very poor fit (original hood had
vertical surfaces for mounting the hinges, replacement was slanted at
about 20 degrees).

There is a trade organization that certifies after market parts for fit
and quality. The organization is CAPA, and can be found at
http://www.capacertified.org. CAPA certified parts are more expensive
than non-certified parts, sometimes by a wide margin. I don't know how
much better they are.

You can buy after market body parts from
http://www.hondaautobodypartstore.com, looks like a CAPA certified hood
for your car is $140 vs. $90 for non-certified. You can also get
original Honda parts from http://www.hondaautomotiveparts.com.

I wouldn't be too worried about shipping, just make sure the shipment is
insured against transport damage. After all, these things are shipped to
body shops on a regular basis.

 

I once bought an after-market replacement hood for a VW GTi and was
quite disappointed. The steel was much softer that the original and the
mounting surfaces for the hinges had a very poor fit (original hood had
vertical surfaces for mounting the hinges, replacement was slanted at
about 20 degrees).

There is a trade organization that certifies after market parts for fit
and quality. The organization is CAPA, and can be found at
http://www.capacertified.org. CAPA certified parts are more expensive
than non-certified parts, sometimes by a wide margin. I don't know how
much better they are.

You can buy after market body parts from
http://www.hondaautobodypartstore.com, looks like a CAPA certified hood
for your car is $140 vs. $90 for non-certified. You can also get
original Honda parts from http://www.hondaautomotiveparts.com.

I wouldn't be too worried about shipping, just make sure the shipment is
insured against transport damage. After all, these things are shipped to
body shops on a regular basis.

 

I once bought an after-market replacement hood for a VW GTi and was
quite disappointed. The steel was much softer that the original and the
mounting surfaces for the hinges had a very poor fit (original hood had
vertical surfaces for mounting the hinges, replacement was slanted at
about 20 degrees).

There is a trade organization that certifies after market parts for fit
and quality. The organization is CAPA, and can be found at
http://www.capacertified.org. CAPA certified parts are more expensive
than non-certified parts, sometimes by a wide margin. I don't know how
much better they are.

You can buy after market body parts from
http://www.hondaautobodypartstore.com, looks like a CAPA certified hood
for your car is $140 vs. $90 for non-certified. You can also get
original Honda parts from http://www.hondaautomotiveparts.com.

I wouldn't be too worried about shipping, just make sure the shipment is
insured against transport damage. After all, these things are shipped to
body shops on a regular basis.

 

A few years ago, there was an article in Consumer Reports magazine
that discussed the quality of OEM versus aftermarket replacement auto
body parts. You may be able to find it in the library.

 

A few years ago, there was an article in Consumer Reports magazine
that discussed the quality of OEM versus aftermarket replacement auto
body parts. You may be able to find it in the library.

 

A few years ago, there was an article in Consumer Reports magazine
that discussed the quality of OEM versus aftermarket replacement auto
body parts. You may be able to find it in the library.

 

Hmm... I did a search at the CR website (all articles back to 1999 are
online,
most require subscription) and wasn't able to find such an article anywhere.
I'll go to the library next, but is it likely the article is older than
that, or
perhaps in another comsumer magizine?

Thanks for the tip!

-Brian

 

Hmm... I did a search at the CR website (all articles back to 1999 are
online,
most require subscription) and wasn't able to find such an article anywhere.
I'll go to the library next, but is it likely the article is older than
that, or
perhaps in another comsumer magizine?

Thanks for the tip!

-Brian

 

Hmm... I did a search at the CR website (all articles back to 1999 are
online,
most require subscription) and wasn't able to find such an article anywhere.
I'll go to the library next, but is it likely the article is older than
that, or
perhaps in another comsumer magizine?

Thanks for the tip!

-Brian

 

Hmm... I did a search at the CR website (all articles back to 1999 are
online, most require subscription) and wasn't able to find such an article
anywhere. I'll go to the library next, but is it likely the article is
older
than that, or perhaps in another comsumer magizine?

Thanks for the tip!

-Brian

 

Hmm... I did a search at the CR website (all articles back to 1999 are
online, most require subscription) and wasn't able to find such an article
anywhere. I'll go to the library next, but is it likely the article is
older
than that, or perhaps in another comsumer magizine?

Thanks for the tip!

-Brian

 

Hmm... I did a search at the CR website (all articles back to 1999 are
online, most require subscription) and wasn't able to find such an article
anywhere. I'll go to the library next, but is it likely the article is
older
than that, or perhaps in another comsumer magizine?

Thanks for the tip!

-Brian

 

I don't remember when, but it was definitely Consumer Reports magazine.
Fortunately, old issues are readily available in the library.

 

I don't remember when, but it was definitely Consumer Reports magazine.
Fortunately, old issues are readily available in the library.

 

I don't remember when, but it was definitely Consumer Reports magazine.
Fortunately, old issues are readily available in the library.