Can a Bumper Be Repaired?

[bwb3]

Yesterday a landscape service truck decided to back up without looking. Threw the car in reverse but not fast enough to avoid the trailer hitch hitting the bumper. Is this repairable? There is a salvage yard in south Florida that has a good silver bumber for $350. ARRGGHH, first damage in 15 years.
Gene

[SubaSteevo]

To me it looks like it may be able to be pulled out with a heat gun, but would probably need a repaint.

[Manarius]

They backed into you - why don't you just make them pay for proper bodywork to be done?

[bwb3]

They backed into you - why don't you just make them pay for proper bodywork to be done?

Just trying to get the options lined up. You know how insurance companies work. Not sure if they will push for patchwork since the damage is minor. Right now we don't have no-fault any longer. New unpainted cover is $341 shipped from Subaru Parts.com. The south Florida silver bumper assembly is supposedly in excellent shape.
I'm just glad I got it in reverse. That step bumper was hood height and he travelled another good 6 - 10 feet before stopping.
Gene

[RojoRocket]

Gene, I was just at the body shop Weds picking up the wife's Legacy (Thanks to Pa-in-Law!) and got an estimate on the SVX to restore front and rear bumpers from the numerous paint "shatter" marks from the park by feel folks in SoCal where the car originated. I was told they don't repair the bumper skins, just replacement. The $341 shipped was better than the $400/ea I was quoted, plus paint at $500 per end. Only in Cali!!

Glenn

[svxistentialist]

Originally Posted by bwb3

Yesterday a landscape service truck decided to back up without looking. Threw the car in reverse but not fast enough to avoid the trailer hitch hitting the bumper. Is this repairable? There is a salvage yard in south Florida that has a good silver bumber for $350. ARRGGHH, first damage in 15 years.
Gene

Gene

Sorry to hear about your bad luck with this..

A friend of mine who is more than a little handy with bodywork repaired my rear bumper when I had a similar prang in the claret. It was impossible to see the repair when finished, he used a heat gun to shape it.

However, if you are going to fix the front of yours I would advise you to look for an unmarked bumper skin.

You don't need the whole bumper, it has about 4 parts and is very heavy for shipping. You only need the skin.

Joe

[SomethingElse]

It can be repaired but eventually it will crack from flexing due to temp. fluctuations and vibration. it will look good for half a decade or so.

[Mike621]

I just went ahead and ordered new OEM covers for my Claret. They were around $300 each from the dealer and they came rather quick! I'm pleased I spent the extra money.

[It's Just Eric]

short answer

No. That bend will NOT come out. although you can sand out the scratches and repaint the cover, there's always going to be that bend where the hitch hit it, as well as an upward push / wave right where there's them spider cracks in the paint

[YourConfused]

I wished my bumper looked that good. Hope the insurance comes thru for you.

[bwb3]

Thanks everyone. I'll push for the skin replacement. Talked to the south Florida salvage yard again, he said the bumper was in great shape,.....................except for the peeling paint.
Gene

[redlightningsvx]

you could fix it... just sand out the high wavy abnormalities and reshape it with a special plastic adheasive that sticks to bumbers and such like a 2 part resin mix , shape the mix on the bumper and sand it back to origional

[bwb3]

Damn, you are hitting on my soft side. I was raised to think about what if I was in his shoes. He seemed to be decent guy. Quiet residential street, probably looking for an address. The truck was so high and the SVX so low. I wouldn't mind working with him and he did offer cash over insurance claim, but I do have the necessary information if I need to go that way.
Gene.

[Roo]

Originally Posted by RojoRocket

Gene, I was just at the body shop Weds picking up the wife's Legacy (Thanks to Pa-in-Law!) and got an estimate on the SVX to restore front and rear bumpers from the numerous paint "shatter" marks from the park by feel folks in SoCal where the car originated. I was told they don't repair the bumper skins, just replacement. The $341 shipped was better than the $400/ea I was quoted, plus paint at $500 per end. Only in Cali!!

Glenn

I'll see what I can do to help out a bit. Sounds like it could use some reconditioning then some paint.

[SVeXy96]

My bumper looked a lot worse than that from an accident I had in San Diego and the dealership said all they did was heat it up and it pops out to the original shape (like memory metal or something) Then they repainted it and looks like new