ILX Accident & Reconstruction
Odometer (Legend): 552,392
Odometer (ILX): 193,298
Had you noticed my lack of ILX updates in the last 6 or so weeks?
My car recently got disassembled almost more than it had been since its original build in May 2012. Thanks to a late February fender-bender, it was out of commission while the qualified team at Impact Auto Body in Mesa, Arizona put it back to 100% roadworthiness. Lead representative “JJ” and his team were kind enough to snap some photos along the way so I could follow the car’s progress. I had a nice intermission and excuse to drive around the older cars.
Now, back to racking up the miles I go!
Initial damage February 28, 2017 at 7th Ave & McDowell Road in central Phoenix.
Sad day!
Awaiting the tow truck after GEICO inspector had done his initial estimate.
Off she goes! They opted to tow it even though the car was fully driveable. The airbag light was on, even though the airbags did not deploy. Didn’t want to risk something triggering the system to deploy.
Impact Auto Body in Mesa, Arizona was the place for the restoration.
Here are just a few of the many photos the Impact team was able to take for me. They’re out of sequence because I’m using the WordPress upload utility to submit all 23 photographs at once. But you get the idea.
Impact’s attention to detail was phenomenal. We ended up doing an entire new wiring harness, front apron, and wheel, in addition to the obvious bumper, headlight, foglight, and fender.
This past Wednesday, April 12th, I got the car back in all its pristine glory. It looks great again. I’m actually amazed at how incredibly perfect the paint match is. The front end (sans hood) is already protected with a clear bra. That hood, by the way, didn’t get refinished. It still has 193,000 miles worth of wear and tear – including a rock chip that I got on the Alaska trip last year. I’m proud of that one and I didn’t want to lose the story behind it.
Thanks to JJ for his tireless efforts in getting this car back on the road for me!
Home and tucked away in the garage for a couple of photos.
Hope everyone has a great Easter weekend. I’m off to southern Utah (in the freshly restored ILX, of course) with a couple of friends.
drivetofive 
April 14, 2017 at 7:53 am
This is like that episode of Knight Rider where KITT is destroyed and the Foundation’s technicians work day and night to make him operational again!
Looks terrific, especially the garage shots back at your home.
April 14, 2017 at 8:12 am
The NSX’s fender on one photo! 👍
April 14, 2017 at 8:19 am
Haha, I figured someone would catch that!
April 14, 2017 at 8:19 am
Haha, yes, I was on pins & needles until the car came back. Luckily a car that’s only 4 years old has no issue with parts availability. A Legend or Vigor on the other hand, yikes!
April 14, 2017 at 11:59 am
Speaking of K.I.T.T. … that car was in the shop with my NSX getting the interior and electronics completely updated. What a cool surprise when I went to visit! 🌞
Pam (Vancouver area)
April 14, 2017 at 12:34 pm
Wow, that’s a celebrity encounter if I’ve ever heard of one! I guess your NSX was in good company at the time 🙂
April 14, 2017 at 8:08 am
Was there any talk of totaling it out, in consideration of the miles? I hope you didn’t have to fight for its life…
April 14, 2017 at 8:21 am
I’m glad you brought that up, Mark. Yes. Repair costs ended up at the threshold where the car could have been considered totaled due to the miles. It’s amazing how expensive quality body work can be. Parts, too. That wiring harness alone was about $2,000. So as you can imagine, it did become a bit of a battle to keep the ILX’s clean title as opposed to salvaging it. In the end, Impact did the fighting for me and everything worked out in the end.
April 14, 2017 at 8:11 am
Wow! That is carnage there. Looks like you have a real craftsman in “JJ”. Awesome effort and great documentation.
Happy Easter – take care!
April 14, 2017 at 8:21 am
Thanks Joe! Hope you and your family have a great weekend as well.
April 14, 2017 at 8:38 am
They did a superb job on it! See you in 6 hours.. We MUST get some SPKs before heading out! Ha!
April 14, 2017 at 8:43 am
Yes!! I plan on stopping at the Shell station in Wickenburg for SPKs, RKT’s (Rice Krispy Treats), and a bevvy 😉
April 14, 2017 at 9:01 am
Good as new! Kind of amazing how much work had to be done for what looked like a pretty typical fender bender. Drive safely! 🙂
April 14, 2017 at 9:05 am
I know what you mean! In my mind I was thinking – OK, cool, fender, headlight, bumper, we’re good! But no – then I saw all these photographs including my dash COMPLETELY gutted! Yowzas! I had to double check that all my electronics still work properly, and indeed they do! It’s remarkable how complex things ended up being. Hope you have a great weekend, Brad! Treat that Accord coupe to a little road trip 🙂
April 14, 2017 at 9:52 am
Glad your car is back on the road. Have you had work done by Impact Auto Body before? I know your Legend has had body work done in the past. Is this the place you took your Legend to?
April 14, 2017 at 9:55 am
Hi Carlos, thank you! This was the first time I had been to Impact. The Legend did have some body work in the past, but it was done by a couple of different places (that I probably wouldn’t recommend). Impact came highly acclaimed by a couple of friends so they were the first choice. Believe it or not, the damage you see there ended up costing $9,500 to repair. Good quality work is not cheap, but I think in the auto body industry you get what you pay for.
April 14, 2017 at 11:54 am
Looks great Tyson! So nice and shiny and I’ll bet the interior smells good too. It’s heartbreaking to damage a longtime friend, luckily it was repairable.
Happy Easter weekend 🐇🐰🐣🐥🌼🌻
April 14, 2017 at 12:35 pm
Thanks so much, Pam. I hope you have an amazing holiday weekend. I’m looking forward to spending mine with the family. We have an Easter egg hunt planned for the kiddos this Sunday.
April 14, 2017 at 12:48 pm
Gee I would think at least one person here would ask if you are OK after the accident, even if you did say it was just a fender bender. So I’ll do it.
Happy Easter.
April 14, 2017 at 12:52 pm
No worries – I actually told very few people about the incident in the first place because it really was no big deal from a wellness perspective. I was a little shaken up is all. This was my first accident (aside from hitting deer) in 18 years and over 600,000 miles driven. So that was a pretty good streak. I was lucky though – and grateful for it. Thanks for the concern, and I hope you have a great weekend as well Jay.
April 14, 2017 at 2:04 pm
For what appeared to look like a minor accident, the strip-back and repair photos show just how much work goes into repairing a car after a small incident. Kudos to the team for managing to keep the bonnet (or hood as you call it) in the original finish. Have fun in Utah!
April 14, 2017 at 2:21 pm
Yes the original bonnet was totally intact – within centimeters of being damaged, though. Glad to have my baby back!
April 14, 2017 at 3:26 pm
Wow! I noticed a lack of updates, but didn’t think much of it… At least she’s alright now… Well, she’s now well on her way to having the character and charm of your Legend coupe!!! Looks great now… Because of this I’m still ahead, 195,415, haha… But not for long, I suppose!!!
April 15, 2017 at 6:48 am
Haha I’ll catch you soon my friend! Thanks!
April 14, 2017 at 5:09 pm
Nice job they did there on the ILX. Amazing they were considering totalling it. Too bad we couldn’t sync up while my family and I were touring Utah and a bit of northern AZ but we were constantly on the move
April 15, 2017 at 6:50 am
I know – would have loved to connect with you guys while you were out this way. Glad you had a good time, and it sounds like you put a few miles on that Explorer in the meantime!
April 15, 2017 at 10:32 am
Hopefully by the time you read this you will have wrung a few miles out of the ILX and it’s performing as good as it looks…
Have a happy Easter and keep a watchful eye out for lane splitters…
April 15, 2017 at 9:57 pm
Indeed! I’m in southern Utah about 400 miles into the trip, and wouldn’t you know it, the car has developed a starting problem. All day I’ve had to make sure I’m parked on hills so I can do a “push/clutch start” while rolling. Off to Acura of Tempe it goes when I get back into town tomorrow. Battery is known good – I swapped it out this morning and the start button just clicks. Here we go 🙂 Hope you have a nice Easter too.
April 15, 2017 at 10:09 pm
Just a suggestion but you might run through this through the insurance company since it’s highly likely the root cause is from the wiring repair.
Did Acura of Tempe perform the electrical repairs or did the body shop sub the work out?
April 15, 2017 at 1:24 pm
Glad she’s back on the road! That color match and overall repair looks impeccable. Looks like Impact will get some very well deserved press here. Hope the Easter egg hunt goes well! 😊
April 15, 2017 at 9:58 pm
Oh I think the hunt will go just phenomenally! I just hope the Easter Bunny left a few treats for little ole me 🙂
April 16, 2017 at 5:56 pm
Holy crap that’s an extensive tear down to replace the wiring harness. Half the dash was taken out. With all that body and frame missing I could’ve done that serpentine belt in 5 minutes.
April 16, 2017 at 6:22 pm
Yeah so it’s no surprise there are a few issues here and there to sort out now that it’s put back together. At least I made it to Utah and back safely this weekend.
April 17, 2017 at 8:15 pm
Glad to see the ILX is back on the road. It was a sad day. Now put some miles on that thing… I can’t wait for its anniversary!
April 17, 2017 at 8:39 pm
Oh, I am! There’s another drive planned for this coming weekend. That car has quite a bit of ground to cover between now and the second week of June. Let’s roll.
April 18, 2017 at 1:04 pm
I noticed a lack of updates. Glad you got your car back. The last couple pictures your ILX looks nice and shiny ! Now go put some miles on you car. 😀
Any updates on the push start issue??
April 18, 2017 at 1:56 pm
Hi Michael, yes, the work turned out phenomenally. On Sunday evening I got back from the 1,000 mile trip to Utah and back. Took the car straight to the dealership. The problem was diagnosed as a bad starter. They had to order the part from LA and it was installed this morning. I have the car back $750 later. Cranks so quickly now! I guess the lifespan of an ILX starter is 194,000 miles. It was just odd timing that it happened to go out around the same time I had this body work done.
May 10, 2017 at 5:13 pm
Hi Tyson,
Just catching up on all your posts for the first time in a bit. I didn’t realize the ILX sustained damage. Nice to see it repaired so thoroughly! Reminds me of when my wagon took a hit, just a few months after I bought it…and you’re right, the bright side is that it gives you the chance to drive the other cars more. Glass half full!
Also, the TL is a stunner! So lucky to find one so well cared for. I’m sure the owner was thrilled to find the perfect new owner to pass it on to! Enjoyed reading about the meets as well.
May 11, 2017 at 6:58 am
Thanks Chris for catching up on things around here! I guess you missed a few news updates 🙂 Yes the ILX is back and beautiful. I have about 2,000 miles to spare until it’ll roll the big 200,000. Big plans for that milestone, as you’ll soon see too! I hope things are going well out your way.
May 11, 2017 at 9:07 am
Wow, 200,000 already! I’ll be looking forward to whatever’s in store for that! Things are good. Doing a little more roadtripping myself lately — headed to Fresno this weekend, of all places.