Your best bet may be www.slhonda.com . It's located in San Leandro. Isn't
that a short distance from you? You can get a price for a new hood there,
and it should be somewhat less than the dealer. Then maybe you can pick it
up personally. Once at the site above, click on "Parts and Service," then
"Buy Parts Online." The rest will be self-explanatory so you can get a price
without any hassles. Looks like it will cost under $300 new at slhonda.

Second option: Are you sure there aren't junkyards dedicated to imports in
your area?

Third option: If not, online junkyards have become big business. Many have
search engines. I googled for a few hours last year and turned up several
that resulted in finding the part I wanted. So it just became a matter of
choosing the one with the best price.

I would start by contacting the folks at any online junkyard and asking
about the shipping costs for a hood. The shipping costs might result in it
being cheaper to purchase from your local dealer instead.

www.olstons.com gave me great service and a fair price on a crankshaft
pulley last year. Maybe call them and see what they think.

For a friend I searched for a used quarter panel (fender) recently, and
indeed the shipping costs were so high that the cost was almost the same as
buying from the local dealer. Fenders are pretty flimsy and have to be
packed carefully for shipping. I suspect hoods might fall into the same
category.

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Honda home studies: http://home.earthlink.net/~honda.lioness
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Check out "Import Center" in Hayward CA. It is a junk yard for
Honda/Acura cars.