Testing The Rear Bumper

[NigeSt]

:tsktsk:

Manouvering into a parking spot today and gave the the gentlest nudge to a low wall with the rear bumper...

The damage is minor, some scuffs and a small bulge, but of course I now want it repaired.

Can bumpers be repaired? It would seem OTT to replace the bumper, but I guess repair and respray is pretty labour intensive and therefore costly...

Worst case scenario, how much is a new bumper supplied and fitted?

Just started a couple of weeks of work and I was looking to destress....

Sick as a parrot,

Nige

[dribble]

Hi Nige,

I guess that its not a huge "mess", perhaps worth getting the old filla out and smothing it over?

Then perhaps trying with the "courtesy" paint you would have got, to cover up the area?

I would have thought a little job on the bumper would "only" be about £150, as they would have to blend it in etc etc... (professionals)

making you think about parking sensors now?

I hope its cheap to put right... if not, just make sure now one drives too close to you

-drib

[NigeSt]

Hi Nige,

I guess that its not a huge "mess", perhaps worth getting the old filla out and smothing it over?

Then perhaps trying with the "courtesy" paint you would have got, to cover up the area?

I would have thought a little job on the bumper would "only" be about £150, as they would have to blend it in etc etc... (professionals)

making you think about parking sensors now? 

I hope its cheap to put right... if not, just make sure now one drives too close to you 

-drib

Cheers Drib, it's not a huge mess by any means just very annoying (pause to kick myself once more). I'll want a repair better then I could manage with a touch up pen :-)

You're right, parking sensors look a good idea right now, I'd be relieved to have the current damage sorted for £150...

Nige

[dribble]

Nige,

well my little bro used to work for a company called East Bilney Coach Works (quite expensive but v good)... and he seemed to think thats about right for a "bonnet", cant seeing it being any more than that, if not less.... seeing as its only a "little" scuff.

I know the feeling is probably a lot more painful than the scuff, I hate stone chips enough to chase the culprits down like a rabid dog :-) (esp' on a black lex )

-drib

[Bazza-old]

dont use a touch up pen on anything more than a stone chip

buy some spray paint from lexus (under a tenner)

try the repair yourself then if your still not happy with it you can consider using a bodyshop

even if you do a crap job, it still worth giving it a go, with minimal outlay

how about some pics !!

[NigeSt]

dont use a touch up pen on anything more than a stone chip

buy some spray paint from lexus (under a tenner)

try the repair yourself then if your still not happy with it you can consider using a bodyshop

even if you do a crap job, it still worth giving it a go, with minimal outlay

how about some pics !!

Hi Bazza,

Like the idea of trying a bodge job for minimum outlay :-)

It's certainly more than a stone chip, but mostly digs into the plastic from rough stone and a 'blister' about the size of a 50p that seems to have taken the brunt

Took some pics but it doesn't show the marks to well, lost in the general glare from the polish :)

I'll get a dealer quote and see how much it motivates me to have a go myself.

I thought I was very very careful in such manouveres, but one slip and 'Ouch!'... ...be careful out there.

Nige

[Brian Berry]

Just after getting my car I nudged someones rear bumper when , in heavy rain at 10mph, the wheels locked. I got a mobile body repairer out and he did a first class job on my bumper. The damage was only paint damage and the job cost £60. I did attempt to do it myself and it looked pretty awful.

This chap was recommended by the Lexus garage who stated that if they had the car their policy is always to take the bumper off and respray it entirely which is costly.

The mobile chap in South Hampshire stated that he has a number of Lexus cars on his books as the owners are always first to contact him when a slight problem occurs.

I know the 'sick feeling' but I would say that at a cost of£150 you will be feeling better!

[Parthiban]

my dad did a similar sort of thing to my old car, was able to be repaired, didnt need replacment

they did a great job too but it cost £450 so £150 seems a bit too low unless the damage is very minor

[kev dood]

don't chips away also get rid of scratches etc. They will do a wicked job for not alot.

[NigeSt]

Thanks for the tips guys. I'm not expecting it to cost me less than £150 :( I'd just be relieved if it did ;)

I'll talk to the dealer tomorrow and see what they say. Hopefully they can recommend someone 'mobile' to sort it out.

Nige

[Exeter]

hmmm, i nudged into someone in front of me the other day, but luckily there was no damage watsoever to him nor me, maybe a small scratch or so but thats about it

i was very surprised

[PQuist]

Had mine done for £90 recently by Lexus Croydon. The use a mobile guy who did the repaired. Neat job though....

If you live in London then Speak to London or deal with this mobile company direct. I think they are called chipsaway.

http://www.chipsaway.co.uk/

[NigeSt]

An update:

I got a couple of quotes:

The Lexus recommended body shop just want to replace the bumper. The guy estimated £350 + VAT though the official quote hasn't arrived yet. I'm expecting it to be around £500 all in

Chris Shipley helpfully let me know the price of a new rear bumper £110 + VAT. Unfortunately they come unpainted :duh: However, the price is a lot less than I expected given the price of a sports grille (around £220!)

The next place, an independent body shop, said they'd try and save the bumper as it wasn't an insurance job, and quoted £200 to take the bumper off, sort out the damage and respray.

The battle of the bulge:

The 50p size bulge that appeared as a result of the bump is the most awkward bit to fix and seemed to be a hurdle to a straight scuff repair service.

Getting a quote from the independent bodyshop yesterday, the guy said they'd apply heat to press that back into shape, so taking Bazza's good advice that I might as well have a go myself before giving up and replacing the bumper, I set about it this morning with an ordinary clothes iron (and some greaseproof paper).

Good progress: on the hottest setting the plastic melted so I found the hottest setting that didn't actually melt the plastic. I also used a sharp knife to shave off some of the more awkward bumps.

After an hour or so, I felt I'd got it to a point that a chipsaway type service might be able to tidy it up.

I looked in the yellow pages and found this local place in Swindon:

www.bak2nu.co.uk (naff name)

Went along, and the guy quoted £110 to address the damaged area. He said that the plastic can harden when heated which might not help, so I'm regretting that now

Anyhow, the guy seemed confident that the minor scuffs can be easily sorted and that the bulge could be made near invisible.

I've booked it in for next Tuesday, so I'll let you know how they do next week.

Fingers crossed.

Thanks for the help and advice.

Cheers,

Nige

[NigeSt]

OK, here's the outcome....

As reported, I decided to risk the £110 (+ VAT) option and try one of those

repair services, and went with www.bak2nu.co.uk in Swindon. They advertise a mobile service but requested that I left the car with them.

I handed the car over this morning, and my confidence wasn't helped by the rather gruff service - the guy grumbled that he hadn't been told that the car was booked in... but said they'd look at it anyway.

Anyway, just been to collect it and they've done a terrific job! I'm very pleased.

The bulge is completely invisible i.e. gone, and the paint is a perfect colour match by my eye, and in today's daylight at least.

Oddly, there are a couple of very minor dimples where the minor indents from the rough stone were - most have gone completely, so it's very slightly disappointing that this more minor aspect of the repair has been done less well given what they've done with the rest.

The dimples are very minor and small, and aren't noticeable unless you know what to look for, so I'm quite happy.

Hopefully the repair will weather well...

£129 including VAT, compared to the options that were: ~£280 (independent body shop, repairing damaged bumper) or ~£450 for the Lexus recommended bodyshop, replacing the bumper altogether.

If you're looking for a minor bodywork repair in the Swindon area I highly recommend you consider these guys.

It's great to have the car looking great (from every angle ) again!

I actually feel less concerned about any future dings having seen what can be done.

Nige

[Zee007]

fantastic news nige........ chuffed for you pal! :D

[NigeSt]

fantastic news nige........ chuffed for you pal! :D

Cheers Zee, let's now hope that Claire can get her car fixed equally satisfactorily...

Nige

[NeilW]

Nice one!

Its good to get recommendations for this type of service because you never know whats round the corner (hopefully I will never need to call them...) B)

[NigeSt]

I should have asked the bodyshop, but can anyone tell me if the repair would have been both painted and lacquered, or do they get away with painting only?

The repaired patch is superbly blended at the moment (I can't spot the blend) but I'm wondering if I should take extra care to wax etc this area.

Thanks,

Nige

[SteveAudioX]

Bumpers are designed and tested to a certian extent..

I was at MIRA today having a product tested..............

[Monster-Mat]

they may not have to have done any painting, i did a similer repair on a silver is2 a few weeks ago....bulge from very low impact..........

all i did was heat up the plastic....and push it back.....took 5 mins