Replacing Bonnet Release

[Shinzo]

Hi Guys, please help.

I have a 1999 1.8 GLS Avensis Saloon.

After some clown dented my driver side wing yesterday, I thought I'd pop the bonnet and see if I could maybe push the dent back out from the engine compartment, but found that I couldn't. Luckily for me , at that point I couldn't shut the bonnet properly (only the safety catch would engage), as it appears that either the release cable, bonnet lock or bonnet lever (or a combination of the three) are damaged.

Having contacted my local Toyota dealership, they said that the parts would cost £66.43 inc VAT, plus another £123 to fit, which to me is a lot. Now the bonnet lever (under the steering column) is easy to replace as it only has 2 screws, and the bonnet lock looks easy to replace as it's got about 3-4 bolts holding it on, but the bit I would be worried about doing myself is the cable as of the route it takes from the bonnet release through the engine compartment to the bonnet lock.

Does anyone have any experience of doing this themselves and can anybody give advice on how to route the cable properly (maybe taping the ends of the new and the faulty cables together and carefully pulling the new one into place?). Any advice would be most gratefully received, as I think £123 (£189 total) is a lot of money for this job, and can't afford it at the moment.

Thanks in advance.

Shinzo.