Technical Front Bumper Repair

[sarahkhan1252]

Few days ago I went to turn on my car to defrost it. Ended up rolling from the payment hitting my neighbours parked car in the rear. Did more damage to me than him. I’ve only had my license for 4 months so I think it’s best I don’t contact insurance. What do you think the overall cost is to fix my car? Any opinion other than full front bumper replacement?

 

[the green vanper]

Hello,

I looks like it is has been broken into several pieces, in my opinion it would be hard to weld. I'd try looking for a bumper at a breaker, I've chcecked on ebay bumpers are like 100 - 200 GBP. With a little chance you'll be able to get same colour

Probably some clips will also be needed, but they are not expensive.

It'd be good to check the undertray and the wheel arch status.

Hopefully the clips holding the lights are OK.

+ labour.

 

[sarahkhan1252]

Thanks for the quick reply!! It’s been on my mind since I’m waiting for my neighbour to give me a bill of his damage as well as needing to fix mine. That cost seems alright, hope it is as much. In terms of colour it’s a red orange colour which is harder to find. For that reason if there isn’t an exact colour match would the only option be getting it painted since prices for that seems steep. The only similar part i’ve seen yet is the one attached and my cars a Pop not a Lounge if that makes any difference.

 

[AVI8]

Hi, I’ve been buying a few accident damaged cars recently, I’d say your bumper is a wee bit too damaged to plastic weld unless you really know what you’re doing.
Look on eBay there are a lot of bumpers which are way cheaper than the one you posted above.
Looks as though you only need the bumper cover itself not one with all of the grilles and lights which will save you a lot.
All of the grilles and lights are removable and can be transferred onto another bumper after painting, if you can get one the correct colour that would be a big win as getting a bumper painted would be around £2-3 hundred.
From memory the colour code for a 500 is a sticker on the rear tailgate.
These are popular cars you should be able to get a bumper for nearer £200 for a bare bumper which is what you need.
If you can get your paint code I’m happy to have a look for you.

Edited to say that if you get a bumper which needs sprayed in order to get the paint matched it will likely need blended into the bonnet and wings which will be a significant added cost so getting one in colour would be your best bet, if the one you posted above is the only one you could find maybe ask them if they are willing to strip the bumper of lights and grilles to bring the price down.

 

[The Panda Nut]

Hello,

I looks like it is has been broken into several pieces, in my opinion it would be hard to weld. I'd try looking for a bumper at a breaker, I've chcecked on ebay bumpers are like 100 - 200 GBP. With a little chance you'll be able to get same colour

Probably some clips will also be needed, but they are not expensive.

It'd be good to check the undertray and the wheel arch status.

Hopefully the clips holding the lights are OK.

+ labour.

Repairs are possible and someone did a post about a year ago about repairing them. It could be done, but Green Vamper is right it would almost certainly be be better to seek a second hand one in the right colour. As long as you have not damaged the chassis leg it should be straightforward. From the pics I would not expect damage to have got that fat, but check as better safe than sorry. I had damage that was more extensive repaired on my panda Cross a year or two ago. Less scratching but more cracks on mine. It involved bracing welding and filling then repainting and cost me £400 but still looks good. As my car was and is still in showroom condition I would have bought a replacement but the bumper is sold in bits and costs a fortune.

If you buy from a breaker online say what yu are doing by email i.e. in writing and insist anything less will be returned. My experience is some bits come dented and scratched so get it in writing about ANY damage so you get what you expect.

 

[AVI8]

Repairs are possible and someone did a post about a year ago about repairing them. It could be done, but Green Vamper is right it would almost certainly be be better to seek a second hand one in the right colour. As long as you have not damaged the chassis leg it should be straightforward. From the pics I would not expect damage to have got that fat, but check as better safe than sorry. I had damage that was more extensive repaired on my panda Cross a year or two ago. Less scratching but more cracks on mine. It involved bracing welding and filling then repainting and cost me £400 but still looks good. As my car was and is still in showroom condition I would have bought a replacement but the bumper is sold in bits and costs a fortune.

If you buy from a breaker online say what yu are doing by email i.e. in writing and insist anything less will be returned. My experience is some bits come dented and scratched so get it in writing about ANY damage so you get what you expect.

Don’t worry the girl, this is superficial damage and definately no damage to the chassis, In my experience these car breakers are very good at getting parts delivered undamaged, they are very well protected. I got a BMW bonnet delivered to Scotland from London today, took 20 minutes to get the protective packaging removed, no damage, same for the wing I got last week and the 500 wing I got a couple of months ago. Breakers in my experience do not want returns and take measures to make sure that will not happen.

 

[The Panda Nut]

Don’t worry the girl, this is superficial damage and definately no damage to the chassis, In my experience these car breakers are very good at getting parts delivered undamaged, they are very well protected. I got a BMW bonnet delivered to Scotland from London today, took 20 minutes to get the protective packaging removed, no damage, same for the wing I got last week and the 500 wing I got a couple of months ago. Breakers in my experience do not want returns and take measures to make sure that will not happen.

I had several panels- two doors and a mirrow and a wind delivered from one of the biggest UK breakers, described as perfect but delivered with yellow pen marks round an extensive number of dents. As they were the only ones available for a rare car at the time I set to and repaired them but is was a weeks work. Hence I strongly recommend careful clarification so you get the quality you want. It may cost a little more. Just based on my experiences.

 

[AVI8]

I had several panels- two doors and a mirrow and a wind delivered from one ofthe biggest. Described as perfect but delivered with yellow pen marks round an extensive number of dents. As they were the only ones available for a rare car at the time I set to and repaired them but is was a weeks work. Hence I strongly recommend careful clarification so you get the quality you want. It may cost a little more. Just based on my experiences.

Yes absolutely you need to get some detailed photos of the part that you are buying, in my experience that is normally what you get before purchase, but there’s no harm in asking for more.
Looks as though you got parts delivered which did not match the item description so hopefully you managed to get a good discount, but as you say if it’s for a rare car and there’s no competition sometimes you have to make good from what you’ve got, I own an old classic so know where you’re coming from.