Car Repair - Cost?

MumofCR

Some b&stard drove into the back of my car yesterday at a roundabout and then sped off before we could exchange details :mad: .

There doesn't seem to be a lot of damage to my car but I think that the rear bumper needs replacing. Now my question is will this be expensive to do? I'm trying to decide whether to claim on the insurance which has a £250 excess or pay for the repair myslef. I'm stuck at work so can't get to any garages until the weekend so don't know what costs are involved.

My car is a 56 Reg Ford Fiesta.

Anyone any ideas how much this is likely to cost or where I can find the information from?

Thanks,
Sara

anewman

If you had the details of the other car their insurance would pay. I believe it would be a good idea to report the incident to the police. They probably won't do anything but it will cover your back if they turn up out of the woodwork and say you reversed into them.

The most expensive part of replacing the rear bumper will be the respraying.

MumofCR

Thanks. I did report it to the police and got a crime number etc. The guy that hit me was speeding and skidded into the back of me when he braked. The police could tell this by the tyre marks on the road so doubt I'll hear anything back from them.

thescouselander

I cant see it being worth claiming on your insurance given that you would have increased premiums for the next 3 years (even if you have protected NCD).

You might be able to source a new bumper off Ebay quite cheaply and then get it painted and fitted at a local body shop. Alternatively it might be possible to repair the existing bumper depending on how bad the damage is. I wouldn't have thought the cost to repair would be more than your excess assuming there is no other damage apart from the bumper.

Alex_the_lad

I'm only basing the following advice based on having watched a few episodes of Wrecks to Riches with Dominic Littlewood. If you've had a rear end shunt it worth getting it checked out. Modern cars basically have a plastic bumper with a tough metal bar behind it that protects the car. I may be that this bar is damaged as well - so it may be worth getting the car checked over by a garage just to make sure everything’s okay. I think most main dealers would give a free quote (I stand to be corrected!).

thescouselander

Alex_the_lad wrote: »

I'm only basing the following advice based on having watched a few episodes of Wrecks to Riches with Dominic Littlewood. If you've had a rear end shunt it worth getting it checked out. Modern cars basically have a plastic bumper with a tough metal bar behind it that protects the car. I may be that this bar is damaged as well - so it may be worth getting the car checked over by a garage just to make sure everything’s okay. I think most main dealers would give a free quote (I stand to be corrected!).

Yeah, I agree with this. Sometimes plastic bumpers can spring back hiding the true extent of the damage - its worth checking out.

Ginger_Nuts_2

Main dealer, best part of a grand probably, authorised bodyshop, prob half that, paint will probably be the guts of £300, bumper a couple of hundred and then labour

thescouselander

Ginger_Nuts wrote: »

Main dealer, best part of a grand probably, authorised bodyshop, prob half that, paint will probably be the guts of £300, bumper a couple of hundred and then labour

I reckon this sounds a bit high. I got the bonnet of my car resprayed for less than £200 all in and they did a pretty good job. I would have thought a bumper would be an easier and should cost less. The bumper itself shouldn't cost too much if got from the right place (although a brand new one will probably be expensive).

Ginger_Nuts_2

thescouselander wrote: »

I reckon this sounds a bit high. I got the bonnet of my car resprayed for less than £200 all in and they did a pretty good job. I would have thought a bumper would be an easier and should cost less. The bumper itself shouldn't cost too much if got from the right place (although a brand new one will probably be expensive).

Think the key point is I said an authorised bodyshop, as in insurance recommended, most people driving a 56 plate car would like to get a 'proper' repair carried out:rolleyes: A bonnet is easier to spray as they would blend in the tops of the wings to match the colour, a bumper has many joins to the main bodywork and takes more time to match in. If you paid £200 for a bonnet thats decent, if it included a brand new bonnet that is, if not you were stroked, a bonnet wouldnt cost much more than £100 in a decent bodyshop:rolleyes: I still stand by my price, let the op try the dealer, i'll bet close on a grand, an authorised bodyshop will be thick end of £500, that is if it dosnt need any repairs behind it:eek:

thescouselander

Ginger_Nuts wrote: »

Think the key point is I said an authorised bodyshop, as in insurance recommended, most people driving a 56 plate car would like to get a 'proper' repair carried out:rolleyes: A bonnet is easier to spray as they would blend in the tops of the wings to match the colour, a bumper has many joins to the main bodywork and takes more time to match in. If you paid £200 for a bonnet thats decent, if it included a brand new bonnet that is, if not you were stroked, a bonnet wouldnt cost much more than £100 in a decent bodyshop:rolleyes: I still stand by my price, let the op try the dealer, i'll bet close on a grand, an authorised bodyshop will be thick end of £500, that is if it dosnt need any repairs behind it:eek:

Yes, if it was an insurance job then a "proper repair" at an authorised body-shop would be the way to go but if the OP wants to avoid going through insurance and wants a cheap repair there are cheaper options that could provide satisfactory results.

As for blending the paint into adjacent panels - I wouldn't go anywhere that couldn't match the paint exactly. It can be done if the body shop is good enough (not usually the ones that only charge £100 for a bonnet re-spray).

I dont think insurance recommended bodyshops are always the way to go either - the recommended ones are usually the ones that offer the cheapest prices to the insurance companies. My OH could tell you loads of stories of bodged repairs from when she worked in motor insurance.

Ginger_Nuts_2

thescouselander wrote: »

Yes, if it was an insurance job then a "proper repair" at an authorised body-shop would be the way to go but if the OP wants to avoid going through insurance and wants a cheap repair there are cheaper options that could provide satisfactory results.

As for blending the paint into adjacent panels - I wouldn't go anywhere that couldn't match the paint exactly. It can be done if the body shop is good enough (not usually the ones that only charge £100 for a bonnet re-spray).

I dont think insurance recommended bodyshops are always the way to go either - the recommended ones are usually the ones that offer the cheapest prices to the insurance companies. My OH could tell you loads of stories of bodged repairs from when she worked in motor insurance.

Is this a new way of painting? Every bodyshop blends paint into the swage lines of the car, thats where shade lines of paint shpw up the most, if you got your bonnet done, believe me, they painted the tops of your wings also and blended it in, it's impossible to just paint a bonnet and get it to match the tops of the wings:rolleyes: And I could tell you of loads of stories of insurance companies telling bodyshops not to repair certain items so as to cut the cost down from my time in the motor trade