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OP,
A new bumper will be in prime, not pre-painted, and although new, will require some prep prior to painting. The clearcoat as well as paint is visible gone. There may even be some gouging which will require some fill and sanding prior to priming and painting. Get some estimates from body shops for a repair, pick the one that floats your boat, then pay for it. That will be the least expensive alternative. Or... you could just ignore it until the next time. If your AO is anything like mine where playing parking lot bumper cars is an Olympic sport, that won't be long.
I dealt with a similar situation...concrete pillar jumped out and brushed my bumper while I was trying to park. It roughed up the clear coat, paint, and put a slight gouge in the bumper cover.
I'm thinking new cover.
Wrong.
Good body shop cleaned it up, filled the gouge, painted and clear coated it. Looks like new. Two years later no problems with color or workmanship.
I forget the cost, but I was pleasantly surprised....$160 maybe? I forget, but it wasn't huge.
The main reason I was debating on the OEM bumper was because my brother has connections and I could get it for "cheap". And he wanted to cover all bases to see what was the cheapest route. Turns out, although I could get the bumper for a dang good price, it'd still cost a lot more than taking it to the shop. The quotes I got from the shop are about $600.
Sorry I can't take a good picture of the damage. No gouges or holes, which is good, but just missing layers of paint/plastic.
I have to admit, I'm surprised how many of you said "wait until it gets hit again". In all the years I've been driving, I've never been hit like this before. I rarely even got door dings. Lucky? Maybe. I moved to Oregon 4 weeks ago, got hit on the bumper and I have two big door dings. Obviously they don't take care when they open their doors. Granted, the parking spots here seem tighter than SoCal.
Looks like I'll be taking it to the shop to get fixed. At $600, I may as well just do it out of pocket since my insurance deductible is $500.
Two things; In my car's case I was pretty pissed and wanted to fix it, but the body shop guy talked me out of it. He said, I hate to charge you the money and you will hit something else in a month-it is a bumper afteral.
Second, I know there is a "nonchargeable" amount hidden in the insurance claims that does not go on your records and would not affect your premiums. You might find out how much that is and take that (minus deductible) from your insurance.
Meh, I'd polish it and put on a good coat of wax/sealer. Bumpers are going to pick up dings, you might as well wait until you have a few of them or a serious crack/gouge before shelling out money on a new bumper cover. The back bumper on my 2011 BMW is in similar shape. I can't see spending hundreds of dollars fixing a scuff knowing a few months from now something else will happen.
If you're now living in a dense urban area/downtown, do wait to get it fixed. Cars pick up a lot of minor damage there compared to the burbs.
The main reason I was debating on the OEM bumper was because my brother has connections and I could get it for "cheap". And he wanted to cover all bases to see what was the cheapest route. Turns out, although I could get the bumper for a dang good price, it'd still cost a lot more than taking it to the shop. The quotes I got from the shop are about $600.
Sorry I can't take a good picture of the damage. No gouges or holes, which is good, but just missing layers of paint/plastic.
I have to admit, I'm surprised how many of you said "wait until it gets hit again". In all the years I've been driving, I've never been hit like this before. I rarely even got door dings. Lucky? Maybe. I moved to Oregon 4 weeks ago, got hit on the bumper and I have two big door dings. Obviously they don't take care when they open their doors. Granted, the parking spots here seem tighter than SoCal.
Looks like I'll be taking it to the shop to get fixed. At $600, I may as well just do it out of pocket since my insurance deductible is $500.
Just do what I told you. You WILL be surprised, how much of it will be gone.
Thing is, replacing cover is a jinx. Same goes for windhield. You replace windshield - new one is destined to go boom in matter of first few weeks.
Psichick, NO CONNECTIONS IN THE WORLD will give you price of ebay or Certifit. I replaced cover on son's Eclipse - was $60. ENTIRE cover.
Covers do not come primed. They come covered in some sort of wax, that is very hard to wash off. Done few, I know.
I would call around and find a used bumper from a totaled car in the same color. I have replaced fenders that you could never spot later as not original.
Just do what I told you. You WILL be surprised, how much of it will be gone.
Thing is, replacing cover is a jinx. Same goes for windhield. You replace windshield - new one is destined to go boom in matter of first few weeks.
Psichick, NO CONNECTIONS IN THE WORLD will give you price of ebay or Certifit. I replaced cover on son's Eclipse - was $60. ENTIRE cover.
Covers do not come primed. They come covered in some sort of wax, that is very hard to wash off. Done few, I know.
I took at look at eBay and Certifit. Certifit doesn't carry anything for my car (according to the closest stores catalog) and the one bumper being sold on eBay has a lot more damage than mine does and would require it to be sanded, fixed, and repainted. So might as well fix my own for that cost.
Sorry everyone, but personally, I don't see missing paint as "minor" damage. I'm sure it is to many of you, especially if you are constantly getting hit like this. Door dings w/o missing paint is minor. Missing paint is bad IMHO. Especially when the area covers about 8" worth of my fender/bumper and I have to look at it everyday. I'm pretty anal about my car and how it looks. Let's put it this way. My mom hit my car in the driveway accidentally and since I lived at home, insurance wouldn't cover it. I sold my beloved MR2 instead of getting it fixed.
As for where I live, if anything, I went from city to suburban area. I don't understand how y'all pick up bumper damage so much. I have never had bumper damage (unless I got rear-ended). Almost 25 years of driving and this is a first for me. Minus accidents to the point of insurance getting involved, the most damage I've had to a car is small door dings. Makes me wonder how y'all park/drive.
I would call around and find a used bumper from a totaled car in the same color. I have replaced fenders that you could never spot later as not original.
I may do this since the shops I got quotes from are super busy and can't take me until September.
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