I was sitting at a red light last week and got rear ended by another car going 10-15 mph.
The impact left three significant scratches on the bumper that went down to the base. It rained all weekend and water has gotten underneath the scratches and some of the paint has begun to peel off.
How much do you think it will cost to repair or replace this bumper? I am going through the other person’s insurance policy to get it fixed, but am debating about just pocketing the money instead of fixing it. It’s a 2001 Camry with 125k miles and I am a college student, so if it’s just cosmetic I would just seal the scratches and go on about my business. Thoughts and opinions are appreciated. Thanks!
If you were rear-ended by another vehicle that was traveling at 15-20 mph, the damage is definitely more than cosmetic, even if it might appear to be merely cosmetic to the naked eye.
The car needs to be put on a lift by a qualified body shop in order to determine just how many parts (there will be several…) need to be replaced in addition to the bumper cover.
Most body shops will give you a written estimate–gratis–in the hope of getting your business.
Thanks for the comment! I don’t know if it was 15-20 mph, that is just a guess. I was hit in a residential neighborhood when the other person was rolling to a stop, so it may have been like 10 mph. Either way, the car hasn’t driven any differently and the bumper is not cracked or broken.
It doesn’t matter how much or how little damage is done to the cover, it gets replaced by either a new one or a remanufactured one. Body shops do not repair these, but they do have to repaint them to match the vehicle.
My Saturn was $600. Cost will vary by manufacturer.
I agree with those that suggest having a body shop look at it. There may well be invisible damage to the substructure of the bumper. These impact-absorbing parts are replaceable. They sacrifice themselves to save your neck… literally. You’ll find some of those costs in the attached link.
My body shop was able to repair a half dollar size hole in a PT Cruiser rear bumper cover and repaint it for 300+ dollars with a lifetime guarantee. Sadly. the car was totaled 5 years later.
Make sure someone looks at the energy absorber. It likely needs to be replaced in addition to the bumper cover. You should replace anything that you are told needs replacement. The last thing you want to hear when you sell the car is that you fail a safety inspection because one of these parts is damaged and needs to be replaced.
Update: Went to local body shop today. They told me the integrity of the bumper was fine and nothing else had been damaged. When I got hit the bumper flexed and the stripped the paint.
They estimate repairs at between $400-500. 3.5 hours of labor, sanding bumper down, coat of primer and coat of paint.
It’s a 2001, so I’m not going to get it repaired. Will just pocket the insurance money.
A relative got rear ended in a Camry a couple of years ago. The body shop replaced the bumper cover and I don’t know what else, but they did an awful job painting it. It looked fine at first, but the paint started peeling off in large sheets within a few months, revealing the black plastic beneath. The shop said they would repaint it, but they are hundreds of miles away.
We scraped it and washed it and sanded it and wiped it with paint thinner, and then repainted the metallic silver with Duplicolor aerosol can primer, paint, and clearcoat. The best I was hoping for was a result that looked better than big jagged patches of black on the bumper. I was quite pleasantly surprised that it looks pretty good. The casual observer would not notice that the bumper has been repainted and the paint is staying on so far.
Outstanding, Manolito. I too have used Duplicolor on a truck bed outside panel with excellent results. I prepped well, primered, layered the paint, and followed with a good rubdown with rubbing compound and polishing compound on a drill-operated wetted sponge buffing pad (my personal preference).