Make sure you ask for the rate the insurance company has negotiated. Even if it's an additional $20.00 or so a day-worth it -IMHO.
Bumper cover repairs?
- Thread starter t1snwrbrdr12
- Start date
Make sure you ask for the rate the insurance company has negotiated. Even if it's an additional $20.00 or so a day-worth it -IMHO.
First of all there are 2 factors controlling the answer to your question, Statute and policy, read them both.
Generally
1) The rental - they will almost certainly manage the rental, you'll get a few days at best after the car is ready to pick it up and return the rental, they may be extra strict if they are trying to get money back from the at fault because the at fault is not going to pay loss of use for 30 days on a 4 day repair. The 30 day is a limit depending on how the coverage is written.
2) Can you demand a new cover - Yes it's your car you can always have what you want, your real question is will the insurance pay for it. The answer is probably not unless statute requires it. Fault is inmaterial in this answer.
3) Can bumper covers be repaired - generally yes including broken lock tabs, but some manufactures say they cannot be repaired in the area of radar sensors for cross traffic or BLIS. Some manufacturers have specifications for repairing.
4) a lot of new bumper covers are coming unprimed which makes for more sensitivity to prep and may require additional labor.
5) Non-OE may be new aftermarket, remanufactured, recycled or possibly OPT-OE which is basically OE from a discount dealer all Non-OE is not created equal.
I also agree that bumper looks repairable in your pictures.
Generally
1) The rental - they will almost certainly manage the rental, you'll get a few days at best after the car is ready to pick it up and return the rental, they may be extra strict if they are trying to get money back from the at fault because the at fault is not going to pay loss of use for 30 days on a 4 day repair. The 30 day is a limit depending on how the coverage is written.
2) Can you demand a new cover - Yes it's your car you can always have what you want, your real question is will the insurance pay for it. The answer is probably not unless statute requires it. Fault is inmaterial in this answer.
3) Can bumper covers be repaired - generally yes including broken lock tabs, but some manufactures say they cannot be repaired in the area of radar sensors for cross traffic or BLIS. Some manufacturers have specifications for repairing.
4) a lot of new bumper covers are coming unprimed which makes for more sensitivity to prep and may require additional labor.
5) Non-OE may be new aftermarket, remanufactured, recycled or possibly OPT-OE which is basically OE from a discount dealer all Non-OE is not created equal.
I also agree that bumper looks repairable in your pictures.
Thanks. You sound knowledgeable. Can you see the bump up where the bumper meets the trunk? That type of damage is repairable? What about the flat black lower portion of the bumper cover that is like flat black unfinished trim plastic. It’s heavily scratched from the license plate of the other person.
Ah i was going to mention that, Its hard to tell if its textured, but it can probably be repaired, though if that isn't a separate piece it may not be cost effective. There are products to repair even the textured portion but matching is a problem, i doubt most shops are going to want the deal with it.
I believe the upper would repair, but also agree it may be hiding damage (absorber/reinforcement/mounts/rails...) when everything is in the right place it helps the bumper maintain shape.
Yeah, I’m not sure but that kind of stuff makes me worry about repairing it on my own and just taking $, plus I already went to a doctor about it. I didn’t expect to be in pain although like I said, the hit was way harder than the damage shows. My water bottle flew out of the cup holder even. By the time I waited over an hour on the side of the road for her to show up, exchange info, and for the cops to never show up and I give up on waiting, I was already in a good bit of pain when I stood up that I didn’t realize I’d be in. I also don’t have any body guys that can do sidework anymore, they’re all in shops that don’t allow it now, so fixing it through insurance the typical way for a number of reasons is the route I’ll be taking.
A digit or two of the plate is imprinted in the lower valance flat black trim. If the car wasn’t in near perfect condition I’d just leave it be, but the car was bought new and in great shape. I looked up bumper covers and trim and it doesn’t look like that piece is separable unfortunately.
@DuckRyder … when I went for the initial estimate, the writer said the quarters need to be prepped and blended due to getting a new bumper cover. He also sounds very understanding and almost expects that I will not be happy with the fit of a new aftermarket cover, but he has to try that first, then go back to insurance to tell them I’m not happy, then get a used or new oem one.
My question now is they finally supplied the estimate (week and a half later, I had to call to get the ball rolling again since I can’t get a live person at insurance). The estimate does not mention any prep or blending of quarter panels to match the new bumper cover.
I almost prefer the least paint work possible…but I’m also not a body man. I’ve been told aftermarket paint will wear and fade differently than oem paint, to try to keep as much original paint as possible when doing body work, etc etc.
The original guy to look the car over vs the guy I talked to today and suddenly got an estimate within minutes are different guys.
Should I be pushing to get the quarters blended? Should I be happy they assume they can match the paint?
It’s the same shop and same painters on staff who fixed my front end years ago. They didn’t blend anything on that repair.
I think you are right to avoid blending the Quarters. If it's factory part in fact i would say "do not blend the quarters". There isn't agreement in industry but usually the bumpers don't match perfectly anyway, id rather have a slight mismatch and original paint elsewhere...
