More work

Someone hit the left rear of our 4WD when it was in the local hardware store carpark.  Initially I thought the damage wasn’t significant, but a more detailed inspection revealed it was more extensive than I first thought.  My estimate was about $300-400 for a panel beater to do the repair.   Well I got that wildly wrong.  The first panel beater quoted $1400 plus $100 for a replacement taillight.  That seemed excessive and it was therefore a shock to have the second quote $2000.  The third also quoted $2000 but informed me it might be more if there was unseen damage behind the bumper.

The vehicle is eight year old and likely to be our last.  I don’t want to spend that amount of money on what is now an old vehicle.  I’ve therefore decided to attempt to do the repair myself.   First I need to identify the extent of the damage.

The bumper plastic has been cracked and distorted

There are also slight pressure creases

The left side has popped away from the metal body

Removing the broken taillight revealed more cracks and distortion in the plastic

The damaged taillight is actually the reversing light and red reflector.  I was able to araldite it back together.  That’s $100 saved!

My initial plan was to purchase a new bumper, but Isuzu wouldn’t sell me one.  Their reason was they had previously sold one to a owner who had subsequently refused to accept it because it was unpainted.  They were then left with an unsold bumper.  This sounded spurious to me as bumpers are likely to be frequently damaged and replaced by commercial panel beaters.  With no replacement available I’ll have to repair the bumper.

I will need a heat gun, a plastic welding gun, body filler and paint.  I already have the heat gun and body filler.  An order has been placed with Aliexpress for a plastic welding gun ($40) and the local auto parts store can provide the paint. 

Whilst on the subject of the vehicle.  I’ve decided to replace the original Isuzu head unit.  Actually I’ve been considering replacing it for the last five years.  The cost of a replacement unit was delaying the project. 

My assumption is Isuzu approached several manufacturers of vehicle head units (eg, clarion, pioneer, jvc, alpine, etc) and asked for a price to provide 250,000 units.  The manufacturers submitted their heavily discounted price for a volume order.  However they didn’t want these units to be the same as the high priced units they sold to the public so they supplied unit with ‘crippled’ operating system.  The head unit in our vehicle is made by Panasonic.  It only has four functions. 1.  make and receive phone calls via the owners phone.  2. display the image from the reversing camera.  3.  Play audio media streamed using Bluetooth from the owners phone. There is also AM/FM radio and a CD player.  4.   Navigation.   I have never made a phone call in the vehicle and can count the number of calls I’ve received on two fingers.  Never used the CD player.  Regularly use the reversing camera.  Frequently use the Satnav.   The latter is the most annoying function.  The maps are out of date and an annual update costs $145.  Because the navigation system uses commercial maps they are usually already out of date by 12 months when purchased.

 

A replacement head unit needs to fit into the same location and not have a ‘crippled’ operating system.  It also needs to connect to the existing vehicle wiring loom.

Time marches on; technology improves and prices drop.  When I first started researching after-market head units 5-6 years ago they were $1000.  After waiting for the China National Holiday Sales this year I think I’ve found a suitable unit for $167

 

Fengshida Manufacturer Store – Aliexpress

Jan did even better and obtained a $26 discount.

I didn’t purchase their cheapest model opting for the one that has 4GB RAM and 64GB of onboard storage.  After showing the seller photos of the connection sockets on the rear of our Panasonic unit they have confirmed the unit they supply will fit.

The advantages of the new unit are:

• OS Android 15 (not locked down)
• Android auto and Apple Carplay
• Steering Wheel Controls
• Bluetooth and WIFI
• Bigger screen with higher resolution
• Google Store (can download and install any Satnav program I want)
• Two USB ports to extend storage, etc
• Rear reversing camera. (optional front camera or 360 camera system)
• Radio and video player

All of the above at almost the same price as an annual upgrade on the Panasonic Satnav maps.   It’s going to be an interesting project