Bumper Damaged

[micronesia]

Hey guys... it's now been almost 2.5 years since I bought my 2008 MS3 (you can search my post history for pics/threads etc if you care enough).

Today I discovered that my front bumper was dented! Check out this slide show (3 and 6 are best pics I think): http://img259.imageshack.us/slideshow/webplayer.php?id=img0812d.jpg

I'm really not sure what to do right now. I'm under warranty obviously, and I have travelers insurance. I called and made a claim but I haven't been able to talk to mazda service yet.

It sucks when someone does so much damage to your car while it's parked and then drives off ._.

I get appraised on Monday after work... how much is this gonna cost? I think I have a 500 dollar deductible for this but I'm not even sure and insurance documentation is a bit confusing if you don't know all the lingo.

BTW other than this I've been REALLY happy with my ms3.

edit: I'm currently looking at page 09-10-9 and the ones after that in the factory repair manual for the mazdaspeed 3 which shows how to remove the front bumper from a 5 door mazdaspeed 3 not that it really helps me lol

 

[SallySpeed3]

Most body shop places nowadays won't bother with trying to fix it as is. Meaning, they won't take the time to punch out the dent (if possible) and then correct any paint damage. I know this because I went to several in my area a while back concerning some very small warpage I got on my front bumper from hitting some tire shrapnel going about 80 mph. The only place I could find that said they would fix it WITHOUT getting a whole new bumper was Maaco, lol, and I didn't trust them. Our bumper costs about 1 grand, so plus paint and what not you're looking at about 1200-1300 bucks.

 

[rsvinylgraphics]

take it to a PDR shop they might be able to get it out.

 

[rsvinylgraphics]

take it to a PDR shop they might be able to get it out.

nevermind, I didn't see that the paint was scraped off when I first looked at it.

 

[micronesia]

Thanks for the responses. So ~1k + paint +installation will be well over 1k.

I'm praying my insurance company offers to pay it less the 500 dollar deductible (boom06)

My friend was like "time to get a carbon fiber bumper" -_-

 

[SallySpeed3]

Thanks for the responses. So ~1k + paint +installation will be well over 1k.

I'm praying my insurance company offers to pay it less the 500 dollar deductible (boom06)

My friend was like "time to get a carbon fiber bumper" -_-

They'll definitely cover it, I can't imagine how any insurance company couldn't? but since it's over 1k I believe it might increase your coverage costs

 

[spdjnke]

well for that I would just pull the bumper off and punch it back out, touch it up and your good to go...why pay 500 ded?? it's not that bad.

If it really bothers you then buy this one and get it painted.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/07-0...ptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories

 

[micronesia]

well for that I would just pull the bumper off and punch it back out, touch it up and your good to go...why pay 500 ded?? it's not that bad.

If it really bothers you then buy this one and get it painted.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/07-0...ptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories

How close to original condition could you get it? Would it look deformed? Also could you completely get rid of the white paint/scratches? Would you do this yourself or 'bring it in'?

Is that item you linked to an identical part except for the fact that it's 'refurbished'?

 

[Duo Maxwell]

How close to original condition could you get it? Would it look deformed? Also could you completely get rid of the white paint/scratches? Would you do this yourself or 'bring it in'?

Is that item you linked to an identical part except for the fact that it's 'refurbished'?

I did this on my tC. The whole thing was basically caved in on one corner worse than yours.

Here's what you do:

1. Remove bumper and take it inside.
2. Grab a hair dryer or if you have a heat gun use that. Wave over all around the creases that make the bumper cave in. DO NOT STAY IN ONE SPOT FOR TOO LONG. Your main objective here is to make the paint warm so that when you pop it out, you dont just crack the paint.
3. Once again, BE CAREFUL, bumpers can melt...don't stay in one spot for too long. You want the bumper to be about too hot to touch. (i.e. if 10 is too hot to touch and 9 means you can touch it, you want it at 10.5)
4. Work the dent out from the other side.

PDR guys won't be able to do anything for you. I've done some as a hobby and it only really works on metal as far as being able to form and fix stuff. You will probably see a little bit of warpage in the end but it will definitely look nicer than it does.

After you're all done with it, take a wet rag and just clean the hell out of it to try and get any grit or swapped paint off of it. You might want to go for some buffing compound and a buff pad on the end of a drill. Careful, the same rule applies here, don't stay in one spot for too long and don't press too hard. You can think of buffing compound as a very very very lightweight sandpaper. It takes layers off the paint in very minute amounts to get the clear coat flush with scratches so light no longer refracts off the scratch. If you buff too much, it will get hazy and you will need to stop and get a polishing compound to clear it up again.

Hope this helps, sorry for the novel! And definitely give this a shot before you run out and buy a new bumper. It might sound a bit complex but really it's as simple as just heating it up a bit and pushing. Don't be afraid to use force to pop the thing out. If you're not satisfied afterwards, buy an eBay bumper and get it painted at a shop. Cash talks and might be able to get you a decent deal since the bumper comes primed.

-Duo

**EDIT** Generally when body shops fix cars they will send in bumpers that aren't too badly damage into a core company. This company specializes in taking these slightly damaged bumpers and turning them into bumpers that look/walk/talk/etc. exactly the same.

 

[spdjnke]

When it says refurbished well it's just means that it's been reformed in some way and then primed, it's of a wrecked MS3 TR cuz if you look at the pic...inside it's still TR.

As for doing that repair myself, I've done many for friends with Honda Accords before they bring it in for Lease returns and it comes out just fine..just a few light spots in the paint cuz of creases but I didn't see any in yours so it should be fine..then buy a touch up kit from DR.colorchip.com and your good to go.

How close to original condition could you get it? Would it look deformed? Also could you completely get rid of the white paint/scratches? Would you do this yourself or 'bring it in'?

Is that item you linked to an identical part except for the fact that it's 'refurbished'?

 

[seven1nine]

Depending on your insurance company your rate won't go up at all if it was a hit and run and you have the documentation for it. (i.e. Police report, etc.) My driver's side door on my Infiniti was destroyed by an SUV that backed into it and then took off in a parking lot and the estimate was $2,300 for that and then my car got hailed on a month after it got fixed and had $5,900 in damage and my rate never went up a penny...in fact it went down $20/month. =) (They probably felt bad for me.) Honestly, I would file the claim and take it to a shop to get an estimate but don't get it fixed right away. You have 3 years (dependent on state) to get it fixed from the time you file the claim and the company still has to honor it even if you switch to another provider. If it kills you, get it fixed.

P.S. I drove around with a huge dent in my door on my Infiniti for 2 years, 11 months and 29 days...

 

[Russm]

I had a H&R that did a light scuff of the LF bumper and the three places I went too gave cost of $480-625, the one place said if I took the 2.5 Hr to take bumper off and bring it to them they would paint it for $160.

 

[marcusdigi]

Most body shop places nowadays won't bother with trying to fix it as is. Meaning, they won't take the time to punch out the dent (if possible) and then correct any paint damage. I know this because I went to several in my area a while back concerning some very small warpage I got on my front bumper from hitting some tire shrapnel going about 80 mph. The only place I could find that said they would fix it WITHOUT getting a whole new bumper was Maaco, lol, and I didn't trust them. Our bumper costs about 1 grand, so plus paint and what not you're looking at about 1200-1300 bucks.

Are you sure about the 1 grand? I was hit in a parking lot at work while I was sitting in my car, and the guy ran. Luckily he's in a Mercedes and I got the license plate number. AAA said they would cover it in full without my rates going up, and it's not my fault. I got a police report and everything. Today I was at a AAA certified shop and they pulled out some big book and claimed the bumper was $444. I saw the book, and it was the correct front bumper. I wanted to take that and put it towards an AutoEXE front bumper, but with the shipping fees added, I'm looking at over a grand for a fiberglass front bumper. I of course would like to get more than $444 if I can.

 

[SallySpeed3]

I can't remember the exact figure but it was somewhere around $800, they also added in a new undercover tray to the total so it came out to a little over 1 grand. That was about 2 years ago, who knows, maybe the price has gone down or AAA gets good deals. Maybe they were also factoring in labor to take off my bumper and put the new one on? But thats what they told me.