I've got a slight annoying problem

[wkornfeld]

Okay, backed up in to a car accidentally of course. Put an extremely small wrinkle in the bumper that's only noticeable if you're looking for it. This was about a month ago. Now, I came outside of Target yesterday and noticed that somehow, somewhere, someone hit me with their front plate/bumper and created another small line on the back bumper. Now, went to get an estimate today and they said they were going to remove the bumper and use a heat gun to get out the wrinkles. Anyone have experience with this? I wanted to just replace the bumper cover since we're paying the $500 deductible anyway. The cost to use a heat gun.... $600. Now after 20 Years without an accident paying $100/month for insurance, I don't give a shit about cost. I want the bumper replaced so that down the line it doesn't come up as a damaged/fixed bumper. Instead, Damaged/replaced. Or something to that extent. Now... my thoughts. I'm gonna take a hammer to the bumper and put a hole in it. That way it gets replaced, not repaired. Are there any positives or negatives to this potential action!? Besides the fact that it's not really right, I don't care. What would you do?

[V8weight]

This is what I do every day. There is absolutely no problem with fixing the bumper. They'll heat up the bumper to remove the low spots, than its sanded flat, adhesion promoter is applied, then the bumper is primed, blocksanded, than refinished. there will be no evidence of the repair once its finished. you would not believe the memory that these plastic bumpers have. When heated, they want to go back to their original shape. My shop puts a life time warranty on all repairs, and they should as well. If they don't, than find another shop. Don't break your bumper, they'll probably still have to fix it per your insurance companies guidelines, and then the repair will just be more complicated. I'm sure the shop would love to just replace the cover, but your insurance probably won't allow it, as it is not necessary.

[sakimano]

RS6? pics? stories?

[...Mark...]

This is what I do every day. There is absolutely no problem with fixing the bumper. They'll heat up the bumper to remove the low spots, than its sanded flat, adhesion promoter is applied, then the bumper is primed, blocksanded, than refinished. there will be no evidence of the repair once its finished. you would not believe the memory that these plastic bumpers have. When heated, they want to go back to their original shape. My shop puts a life time warranty on all repairs, and they should as well. If they don't, than find another shop. Don't break your bumper, they'll probably still have to fix it per your insurance companies guidelines, and then the repair will just be more complicated. I'm sure the shop would love to just replace the cover, but your insurance probably won't allow it, as it is not necessary.

Then.

[serumk]

Okay, backed up in to a car accidentally of course. Put an extremely small wrinkle in the bumper that's only noticeable if you're looking for it. This was about a month ago. Now, I came outside of Target yesterday and noticed that somehow, somewhere, someone hit me with their front plate/bumper and created another small line on the back bumper. Now, went to get an estimate today and they said they were going to remove the bumper and use a heat gun to get out the wrinkles. Anyone have experience with this? I wanted to just replace the bumper cover since we're paying the $500 deductible anyway. The cost to use a heat gun.... $600. Now after 20 Years without an accident paying $100/month for insurance, I don't give a shit about cost. I want the bumper replaced so that down the line it doesn't come up as a damaged/fixed bumper. Instead, Damaged/replaced. Or something to that extent. Now... my thoughts. I'm gonna take a hammer to the bumper and put a hole in it. That way it gets replaced, not repaired. Are there any positives or negatives to this potential action!? Besides the fact that it's not really right, I don't care. What would you do?

Keep in mind that the insurance company has the legal obligation to return it to its "pre-loss condition," so if the body shop repairs it, and it doesn't come out looking like it did before the hit, they've got to try something else.

If you punch a hole in it, you'd be putting yourself at risk of prosecution for insurance fraud, and the body shop might be less than willing to deal with you -- not to mention I don't see it being very easy to punch a hole in it with just a hammer. I'd just let the body shop give it a try and see if it looks okay, if it was me.

[wkornfeld]

Well I figured I'd just back very slowly into a concrete pole... LMAO(I could really never do that)

Here is my cause for concern to begin with. I trust that they can fix it... Insurance is only going to have to pay $100 on top of my $500 deductible(which is retarded anyway but that's life) And last but not least. When we traded in our G35 for the S4 the jackass walked around the car with a paint depth gauge to make sure the factory paint was still on the car... I don't dare want to have to deal with taking an additional hit(more than the current economy) because of .001mm of difference in paint depth.

[...Mark...]

Next time someones riding your ass brake check them so they tap your bumper and have your car fixed on their insurance companies dime..

Problem solved..

[tosh11]

I once used a hairdryer on a honda accord bumper to fix a dent about the size of a softball. it actually worked really well...

[serumk]

Well I figured I'd just back very slowly into a concrete pole... LMAO(I could really never do that)

Here is my cause for concern to begin with. I trust that they can fix it... Insurance is only going to have to pay $100 on top of my $500 deductible(which is retarded anyway but that's life) And last but not least. When we traded in our G35 for the S4 the jackass walked around the car with a paint depth gauge to make sure the factory paint was still on the car... I don't dare want to have to deal with taking an additional hit(more than the current economy) because of .001mm of difference in paint depth.

There would still be a paint depth difference if the bumper is replaced.

Shit happens. For example:

Some pricks stole the wheels and tires off of my Accord, doing $4,000 worth of damage 1 month before I was going to turn the lease in.

If you need another example, AutoCheck (like CarFax) shows that the same car was in a head-on collision in which the airbag deployed. Not the case -- it was even parked in my driveway, not being driven during the time-frame of the alleged accident. I could have had CarMax buy me out of the lease with some cash returned to me if not for this.

That's life -- unfortunately, you have to roll with it.

PS - The reason the jackass walked around your G35 with a paint depth gauge is that someone probably traded a car in that had been wrecked, and the dealership took a huge loss on it. If it makes you feel better, when I turned in my Accord (which had been painted in several areas as a result of the wheel theft damage) they checked the panels' paint depths, noted they had been painted, and didn't consider it abnormal, or penalize me for it.

[serumk]

I once used a hairdryer on a honda accord bumper to fix a dent about the size of a softball. it actually worked really well...

That is one of the more awesome stories I've heard in a long time. Are you joking, or did you really do this?

[S-Fore]

Paint Meters are not that common. In CA however, alot of dealers use them. Due to the volume, they happen to come across repaints more than the usual. Its really a tactic for offering less on a trade. Their main concern, is that it was not "wrecked" and nothing is bent or twisted in the chassis. I traded my RX for my Q7 and they noted that the door was painted. I actually replaced the door skin, and signed a waiver that the car was never in a serious accident. They still gave me the same amount. A good wholesaler knows w/out a paint depth meter. Cars come from factories everyday with paint imperfections/inconsistencies.

[V8weight]

RS6? pics? stories?

Its kind of a sore subject. On Dec 6th, I traded my 2004 S4 in on the RS6. I immediately realized something was wrong with the DRC, and brought it back to the dealership to have it checked out on Dec. 15th. The DRC was shot, and they are replacing the whole system with KW V3 coilovers, but as of today I still haven't gotten it back. I'm making $770 payments on a car I only put 200 miles on. didn't even get a chance to snap any pictures.

Mark, I'm truly sorry if I offended you with my poor grammar, but truth be told, I tend to drink. That post was kind of late in the evening.

[tosh11]

That is one of the more awesome stories I've heard in a long time. Are you joking, or did you really do this?

Yea the day my friend bought his accord it was hit in a praking lot and the driver drove off. He was quoted about 500 to fix the bumper so we just heated it up with a hair dryer and it popped out no problem. Im sure we were lucky to have it work out so well but it looks great now, can't even tell it was hit.

[wkornfeld]

Okay so the first quote was for $600... They just said they'd pop it off. The second quote was for $1350 and their opinion was that the cover needed to be replaced. That was without me saying anything to the nature of what I truly wanted. KARMA! Sweet...

[serumk]

Tosh, that is excellent.

[Lugi20]

Mark, I'm truly sorry if I offended you with my poor grammar, but truth be told, I tend to drink.

If you can't forgive him for that, you can't forgive him for anything... I'm with you brother!

[FastB7S4]

Mark, I'm truly sorry if I offended you with my poor grammar, but truth be told, I tend to drink. That post was kind of late in the evening.

LOL!!