So I am currently in the process of fighting with my insurance company and a local body shop about the repairs on my 2004 Cooper S from an accident back in october. One of the last issues I'm still dealing with is the hood and how it closes. After the accident, one of the hood latches broke, and that has been repaired, finally. But i think there is still an issue in the actual closing of the hood, but it has been so long at this point, I don't remember how the hood is supposed to close. Right now when I close my hood, it more or less slams down, hitting into the front bumper cover at the end. Is this how it is supposed to be? I find it hard to believe they would design it this way, but who knows. Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!

 

The seam between the bumper and the hood is supposed to be even all the way across. There is some adjustability built into the latches, as well as the placement of the bumper skin, or bumper itself. So there are several things that might not have been put back right, and several things that might need to be adjusted.

The edge of my hood was slightly bent long ago and the bumper skin had been torn off. With repaired tabs it was reinstalled. Anyway, my hood touches my bumper in a few places and I don't mind it. Adjusting it out, caused too large of a gap in other areas. The problem with mine is that the bumper skin is warped or twisted.