Well, I keep my little beastie as far from harm as possible, but someone managed to smack my drivers side rear bumper and crease the plastic and bend the little round doo-dad which I think is the backup sensor. The hing cover popped off.

The paint seems OK, with a little buffing. Can these creases in the plastic bumpers be fixed without replacing the bumper or repainting? My car is Hot Orange, and I've never seen metallic paint matched up right after a repair.

The sad thing is I know this happened at work and I work in my bosses home office, so it's a visitor or a family member (there's a bunch of teeenagers in and out this time of year) who know me, and didn't have the guts to tell me they smacked OB. I park the car in the safest place possible, but they still got me. Urgh. OK, I'm a bit ****, what can I say. But it just REALLY cheeses me off. Just have to cry somewhere. LOL.

Lee

 

It could have been worse. The best thing to do is just replace the bumper cover. My front bumper got smacked pretty good and I was told that it was just a cheaper option to pick up a used bumper and have it painted. Its never a good idea to have just one sport repaired because it often turns out patchy. Its extremely hard to blend new paint into old. Thant being said Id just see if you can pick up a used bumper and get it re-painted to match.

 

Oh, I know it could have been worse. Want to avoid a new bumper if possible. There's no holes in the cover itself, just a crease. I'm wondering if they can basically "iron" it out without having to replace/repaint. The round plastic around the sensor will need to be replaced in any event, assuming it's even available separately.

 

If the paint is fine, and it is just a crease, You can do it yourself. Take the bumper cover off, and carefully heat the area with a heat gun, then you can pop it out from behind safely.

 

Agreed. If the paint seams fine then. Try to fix it yourself. My bumper was buckled pretty badly and the paint scratched deep.

 

The crease goes "out", from where the bar/brace underneath the cover shoved into it, not from the car that hit it. Not sure if that makes a difference or not. Hopefully a good shop can handle it. I imagine this has to be a somewhat common occurance with our modern bumper systems.

 

Pretty sickening that someone did this and didn't man-up about it. Lots of idiots out there.

 

If you post a pic, I can tell you if you can fix the crease. more then likely the answer would be no. I would be prepared to spend upwards of 500 to replace the rear bumper cover.
you may be able to save if you can find a used one in a wrecking yard, or aftermarket. (don't worry, no one will know but you)

 

Hey Mula:

I can get a new Bumper Cover for around $300, so I don't know if going to the salvage yard will be worth it. I haven't been able to locate the little Mounting ring that goes around the PDC sensor. I will know, and that's what ticks me off, I try to keep this car PRISTINE. I want a car like "Christine" that fixes itself and goes after the perps. (one of my favorite movies, LOL).

I'm heading to the body shop for an estimate today. The only "upside" is that I have a new set of Aerosills that need to be painted and installed as well, so I can get the shop to do it all at once.

In good conscience I have to admit that when I was a teenager, I backed into my wife's Uncle's Mustang II (with my 65 Must. convertible), and dented the chrome trim on the front bumper of the car, and I didn't fess up right away. I did eventually get called on it and confess. Minor compared to this hit, but if it was one of the teenyboppers, I can understand the reluctance to come forward. It was a character building lesson for sure.

My conscience bugged me until I took care of the problem. Today, most people don't seem to care much about their own stuff, let alone someone elses. Such is life.

 

Christine was just on TBS this sunday! watched it with my son!

If you can get a cover for $300 then it's not to bad. i bet you can go aftermarket for about $100-150. you may want to check it out.

if you do the labor yourself of removing and installing the cover, youll save a pretty good amount of $.
there real easy to do. probably 1hr. if you have no experience at all.

 

Yeah, I will probably do that. I'll stick with the OEM parts though. They are pretty easy to work on.

Love that Movie. LOL.

 

I took off my rear bumper and replaced it within' 30 minutes. Its really simple. The front bumper is a little more challenging because all of the lights and such attached. As well as a lot of bolts.

 

the aftermarket are identicle. they have come a long way. as a matter of fact 90% of collission jobs are repaired with aftermarket parts as per insurance companys request.
the bumper will be an exact fir.
i just changed my rear of my 07 mazda3 and it was the exact same thing, just 130 cheaper

 

Do you have a source for these third party parts?

 

i use a company called AUTO FIT. Ive been using them for over 7 yrs now, the only time i run into issues with fit is with older vehicles from the 60's and 70's. other then that, no problems. they have a few different states they operate in. you may want to check them out online.

 

Well, the body shop can "repair" the current bumper, but it will require a repaint. Total with labor is a bit over $500. Just enough to be a PITA, and not bother with an insurance claim. Would really love to nab the culprit and make em pay up.

Going to get the Aerosills I have done painted and installed now too, as long as we're messing with paint.

FYI, Mula, Auto-fit didn't seem to have any Mini parts. I found a couple used ones for around $130 and new would be $280. Since they can repair it, guess it's mute. Oh well.

 

sorry about the autofit, well at least youll have your mini looking like new again.