cheapo

I had a little "incident" yesterday which I would like to avoid explaining due to personal embarassment. I wish I could say it was a reckless manuever that caused it...at least I could just say that I was stupid.

Anyways, I was wondering if anybody here has gotten their front bumper fixed or replaced. I wanted to know how much this will cost or if anybody could give me recommendations on how I should go about getting this fixed. Any major difference between going with a generic bumper cover vs a stock OEM bumper? Price differences?

Here's a pic of the damage:
http://www-inst.eecs.berkeley.edu/~e...s/IMG_6883.jpg

There's also a lot of scratches and scrapes on the front bottom right "lip" of the car. You can't see it in the picture because it's on the other side of the car. I figured I might just get the whole front bumper fixed all at once. Any ideas how much this would cost to get it fixed and painted? I'm in the Bay Area also if that helps give a more accurate estimate. I might consider taking my car back down to L.A. too if it's cheaper down there.

Maxine

Find a bumper on ebay put it on yourself and get it painted total $300 max

happyricefob

iTrader: (7)

those $50-60 ebay front bumper's quality is questionable...


i would e-mail the seller and ask specific questions before buying...

Max Noob

iTrader: (5)

i have an ebay bumper in my bedroom right not.. quality seems fine..its real urathane. it bends. does not feel like its gonna brake. its even.. my bumper lenses fit fine in the holes..only problems mayb slight fitment issues.but any good shop can take car of that and still make it look clean.

cheapo

What kind of material is the stock bumper made from? My rear bumper has been hit many times from people who can't parallel park. Usually, it scratches the paint but it doesn't really take the paint off the bumper. I had the rear bumper replaced and it's been hit again since. Apparently, they either used bad paint or replaced the bumper made with different material because the paint comes up and the plastic on the bumper gets chipped away too. This never happened before with the old stock bumper. I'd want to avoid using inferior material if possible when replacing the front bumper.

cheapo

BTW, what are the odds of getting my current bumper fixed? Can they reshape that indentation or will it crack the bumper?

Max Noob

iTrader: (5)

you can reshape urathe.. they would jsut bondo it.. if it got hit again bondo will probably crack.. u would stil hve to get a full paint job.. might as well pay 70 bucks for a new bumper while your at teh shop.

EZ

$400-$450. I had to replace a bumper about 3 years ago.

MaxedOutOfCash

normal paint job and install if you find a good deal should be $150-$200 (that's if you find a good deal) i think your color is pearl white right??? that's probably a bit more expensive because the paint is expensive....
i wouldn't trust those $60 bumpers...you'll probably have fitment issues and will regret it later.

Sam

cheapo

How much would it cost to get a factory bumper? I assume a lot, but I might be willing to put in the extra money if it's not too much.

Brudaddy

iTrader: (2)

go to www.rockauto.com. They have OEM stuff, and you should be able to get a bumper cover for pretty cheap. You can order the bumper assembly separately if any of that underneat is harmes too.

Use this discount for rock auto:

You give this discount code: 8311393101 to friends, neighbors,
relatives, the guy at the corner garage--anyone you know who
works on cars or trucks.
- When someone places an order at www.rockauto.com and enters
your discount code in the "How did you hear about us" line of
the shopping cart, he or she will receive an immediate 5%
discount on that order.
- The discount code expires on May 11, 2004; so don't wait!

**Each month we see people who put the word "discount" in front
of their code and do not get the discount. Please enter ONLY the
discount code.**


I know it is not much, but it would probably save you half on shipping or something. They are a good place and ship quickly. I have ordered from them a couple of times.

cheapo

Brudaddy - how do you tell if those bumpers are OEM. The prices I'm seeing for bumper covers are in the $50 range so I find it hard to believe they still have OEM parts. Or are they really selling OEM bumpers that cheap?

MaxedOutOfCash

cheapo, in my opinion it's not really worth buying oem bumpers... a bumper is a bumper... i buy them aftermarket, and have installed them in a few maximas...i had no fitment issues...

i can buy a bumper for you, paint it, & ship it out to you . . . .
don't really remember how much i paid for the bumpers but i don't pay sales tax... paint job would run you $150 with me. . . shipping is a factor here... don't know how much it would be...

Sam

Brudaddy

iTrader: (2)

everything that I have bought from them that said "OEM" was OEM. That is that I am going off of.

YOu have to realize, like I told you, that is not the whole assembly. They sell it separately. That is the urathane cover, not the bar or absorber underneath.

cheapo

Sam, quick question for you...

When you mentioned those aftermarket bumpers, are they the same as the stock bumpers but made by a 3rd party or are they differently designed bumpers? You mentioned those "$60" bumpers had fitting issues. How much are the good bumpers that you get?

I would probably take you up on your offer but I'd like to see if I can get a paint job locally (where I can check the paint job to see that it matches my car). But I'll keep your offer in mind.