After work I noticed that someone had bumped my car with their front license plate holder. It left two screw marks and a 1.5 inch gash (didn't puncture the bumper, but I can definitely see that the scratch is more than a surface scratch) that removed the paint from the back bumper. The question is: how do I get the bumper fixed? Is it possible to have the affected area sanded and airbrushed over so that it won't be too noticable? Also, know of any good body shops in the DC area that can help me out?

 

Damn parking lots. Even if you park away from everyone. Just noticed that my front bumper has a 2 - 3 inch scuff and mine actually got punctured. I'm going to a body shop in next couple days and see what they can do. Even if they can patch it, they will probably have to remove it to fix and repaint ($$$$). My deductible is $200. Good luck getting your bumper fixed. Hopefully it won't cost too much and will look good.

 

Has anyone had a bumper repaired?

 

take it in to a body shop and have them take a look at it.

most likely theyll fill it with something, sand it down, and repaint/clearcoat it.

then i suggest your invest in a 3m clear bra.

 

Can they repaint only the affected area? Or will the whole bumper have to be taken off and repainted?

 

I had my front bumper repaired. The body shop used a hi-tech plastic compound to fill-in the gash marks. They remove the bumper, repair and repaint the damaged area and then clearcoat the entire bumper ( even though they don't make any repairs on the rest of the bumper ! ) That I didn't like. I just assumed that they would repair the entire bumper while they were at it. Not so they tell me. The insurance company only pays for repairing the bumper damage related to that specific claim!

 

im on my 3rd rear bumper cover. rear ended a couple times... ive just had the whole bumper cover replaced every time because the person who hit me each time got to pay

 

Do you remember what the body shop charged to fill in the gash and clearcoat the bumper?

 

In addition to the bumper repair I had some minor fender work done and a splash guard replaced. The total was $1173. Looks like they stuck it to the insurance company pretty good. They charged $150 for a splash guard ! I can buy a set of 4 from a Nissan dealer for $99 and online is probably even cheaper. Anyway, the bumper work shouldn't be more than $500 to $600 depending on how much damage you have. Much beyond that it's probably a better deal to just get the bumper replaced. Good luck.

 

I am convinced that manuals take more of a beating on the bumpers than autos. On autos, if you nudge the car from the bumpers, it rocks. Manuals don't do that because of the ebrake. The autos are able to absorb more of the impact when it's bumped. Manuals don't give so the damage is worse.

 

I doubt that means anything. Alot of people with autos use the ebrake too.

 

That comment was for the ones who don't use the ebrake. Damn...