Hit A Guardrail. Lost A Light.

On "Fat Tuesday" a couple weeks past I was heading to work in the morning and my temp reading was around 43-45 degrees. This was the Tuesday after that sucky blizzard and the warmth was a welcome change. Down the street from my house I drive into a shaded area of the street that has a slight curve. I was going no more than 20mph if that and I lost control of the front heading directly into the guardrail. Smashed. It threw me back in a way that rotated my car and it got the rear end too. SMASH! "Ugh".

I pull over at the next possible turn and survey the damage. Getting to the rear of the car I slip on ice and slit open my hand. No blood just a deep cut. Hurt though. I immediately decide it would be a great day to stay home. But then the realization of how to pay for this repair forced me to opt for work. Thankfully the car was drivable and the only casualty was the front right passenger headlight. Lower amber turn signals were fine and for hitting the guardrail directly with my bumper that too was intact aside front a few deep scratches.

On my break, I left the office and tried to turn on the lights. They worked, all of them! My only need is a new headlight lens.

With some smart ingenuity and frugality I have created a repair simply based on a clear plastic folder(5-star brand strength). I cut the folder of which had a similar opacity/transparency to the size of the opening and secured it tightly with weatherstripping. I am very proud of my craftsmanship and quick thinking since many storms have been coming through since then. The fix has held up against drenching rains, snow, over 35mph gusts of wind and highway travel. Not bad.

But of course I have been looking for a replacement. The lens is not available alone and can only be purchased with the whole assembly.

OEM new = over $350
GM part supply websites= $150-180

Salvage yard= $2 admission to You-Pull-It and $29 for the light. I'm going to try for this one.

My repair= $1for the folder, Dad had the weather stripping.

Here are some pics:

Nice quick fix. Here's your final answer.

to tell you the truth I wish I could find some aftermarket lights.

One, to update the cars appearance and Two, most likely it would be cheaper than OEM.

Just not enough fanboys out there for Buick to do something like that.

It is one of the only reasons I would consider one of those common cars. Parts are cheap and you have the opportunity to stand out with you own designs.

Are those headlights above legit? do they fit our car

Sorry to disappoint, but Charlie is just teasing!

Bummer

I guess it could have been a lot worse! Did the fender come out ok? Glad you're alright.

let me look when i get home i may be able to salvage the lense off my old one from before my wreck (fence post thanks to ice) im pretty sure i saved it and if i did you can have it if youll pay shippin. ill know tomorrow night and have a reply by saturday on here for you andrew

Let me know if you don't have any luck, I "might" have a right one in with some spare parts I bought a few years ago. Not real sure of condition but I can take a look and see and send you a pic.

i have one like i thought. if ya want it let me know

andy if ya want that lense let me know and we will get together on shippin.

Well it's been about 3 weeks since I got my new headlight and its the first weekend that hasn't snowed.

I've looked on youTube for Buick headlight replacement videos and some were insanely easy. Yet I could not find a video that shows how to take out a Riviera's headlight.

I did do a search on here in hopes to find a topic showing the method but I didn't get a result.

Anyone know how to remove a headlight?

You have to remove the cornering lamp and the bumper cover to get to the bolts on the headlight. I have tried to remove it without removing the bumper and could not get it. Probably not what you wanted to hear but that is what I had to do.

HTH

Really?man...so it's not that easy then!

i remove the corning lamp, raise the hood, remove the 2 10mm bolts in the front, then the 2 in the back of the headlight. next i remove the front torx bolts holdin the fender and lift it up and remove the headlight. pretty easy once ya figure out that shortcut. ive replaced my headlights a few times and this has been the easiest way for me