[bhayes547]

Had a lady in an F150 catch the corner of my front bumper with her tire in the parking lot today. Damage isn't bad, but still sucks. Going to the body shop Friday for an estimate. Anyone have any ideas on the cost? Not sure if the bumper will need to be replaced, but since the biggest section of damage is right on a crease it might be difficult to repaint.

[overcoil]

I think mine was $600, repair the hole and paint/metallic. But I need to look at my paperwork to verify.

[bryan_G01]

paint should be no more than 400$, figure 200$ for body work, figure another 3-400$ they will charge you in labor.

Can be a $1000 job or more.

I have same type of damage on rear bumper. Not running out to get it fixed since mineral white will never match anyway.

[stevenvillatoro]

Since you know the vehicle and driver at fault, could you please explain your cost concern? Generally speaking, you should expect the lady or her insurance company to repair your car to its pre-damaged condition. I’d focus on finding a reputable bodyshop (or two or three), and discuss your expectations for quality with them. They can best advise you about techniques and costs, although the latter should be of concern only to the other party.

[redcars]

Try polishing out. Looks like some of it is rubber.

[jmwilson125]

I just had someone hit and run me at the end of August. My rear dash cam caught it, but I couldnt make out a plate number. The front cam started recording on impact but only goes for 30 seconds. I had also turned the front motion sensitivity down because my car faces a very busy street and basically records nonstop. It could have caught the guy fleeing if I hadn't turned the sensitivity down too much.

From the video I have a decently clear shot of the guys face, make model and generation of the vehicle and partial licence plate stamped into my rear bumper. I still could not find him though

Anyways insurance is cutting me a check for the damages about a grand, less my deductable. Rates won't go up and the damage is pretty minor.

I am just going to pocket the money and buy a da polisher, heat gun and touchup paint. Its really not bad as is. If I can remove the bumper, heat it, and push out the plate indentation it would look 99% after polishing.

I'd rather aquire some new tools and other mods than worry about the minor damage.

I head boiling water can also be used to help pop dents out. I think a lot of new bumpers are a type of thermo plastic, and they will want to comp back to the original shape with some heat and persuasion if they are not too badly damaged.

[USA-RET]

I'd shop for a small body and fender shop and see what they can do.

Often times car dealerships will have a guy come in to their store one or twice a month to do small jobs for them. These guys are independents that don't charge a lot for their work and are quite good. Many are enthusiasts that enjoy plying their trade rather than trying to get rich.

I had a much worse bumper incident w/ a Saturn coupe where someone backed into the corner edge of my bumper, caved it in, took the paint down to the black plastic at the point of impact and spider webbed the paint around it.

Shopped the car at body shops and every one quoted a new bumper and then paint + labor.

Found an independent that said he could fix w/ a heat gun and sanding, and paint for $125. I went w/ him since I figured I'd be buying a new bumper anyway if he screwed it up. Surprisingly, he completed job was perfect. I could not tell there was a repair at all. Disclaimer being this was a number of years ago, so that $125 is likely $400 or more now.

Dunno if I was just lucky w/ this guy or if there are more of them out there. If you are not in a rush, ask around. My guy worked out of a storage locker where he kept his equipment. He visited our Saturn dealer every Thursday for touch up work. I used him for a couple of years afterward when I need resprays for road rash on quarter panels. His work was flawless to my eye.

Most big shops won't repair anything. They want to slap a new part on and paint it. Easier and more profitable I suppose.

[bhayes547]

Small detail I missed in the OP is that the lady who hit me will be paying for everything so I'm going to try and get the whole bumper replaced. I have several other rock chips on the front and it'd be great to have those gone. $600-100 is about what I expected though. Thanks for the help, I'll update when I get quote from shop tomorrow.