arentz07

I am currently in a bit of a dilemma. I've got some damage from being recently rear-ended. However, from looking at the car from the outside, I don't think the average person would ever know, even up-close. The only way you'd know it was damaged was if you pressed against the bumper (the upper, painted half, as opposed to the gray portion below). The bumper has some give to it, and if you press hard enough, some broken clips are revealed where the painted part meets the gray part. There's no paint damage that I have been able to find - and I think the bumper was actually hit below the painted part, on the plastic gray part.

When returning a leased car, there's typically an inspection that's done close to the time of the lease end. Do you think the inspector would notice this damage? Is it worth fixing now as opposed to waiting till the inspection?




Sorry my car is so damn dirty

Also, my lease is up in over a year, just want to plan ahead a bit.

Burrcold

arentz07

I took it to three different shops, and all three said the clips were broken and that it would need a new bumper.

edit: I got estimates between of about $1130, $1340, and $1450.

a1rh3adsz

Do you know for sure the clips are broken? Did the shop take off the bumper to inspect the clips? I am saying this because i had one part/one clip area gap and i took off the bumper and snap the clips back in place. I try to snap/push the gap in place with the bumper on and it does not work. The bumper needs to come off because the lower part hooks and overlaps the bump clips.

arentz07

In my particular case, it's possible to press against the bumper and reveal the clips. It has some give now that it's been hit. None of them took the bumper off, but one of them specifically mentioned what you are talking about - trying to see if it could snap back on. To me it looked like they had been broken off.

tofuprod

Personally, I would notice it, I'm beyond OCD when it comes to many things - but your dealer may not be.
As stated above, I would try and see if you can resnap it back in place or otherwise use a clear epoxy.

arentz07

I just asked my sales associate what his opinion was, just to get SOMEONE's opinion from the dealer, and he says it's probably better to eat the cost at lease turn-in time. He said that in his experience, it's usually cheaper - plus, there's the possibility of an early lease-end waiver that could save me more money than the repair would cost anyway. So I am considering just not fixing it at all, knowing that.

E46CT

I'd remove the bumper and see if you can massage the piece back into place. remove it, inspect why it's doing what it's doing. and remedy with tape, clips, glue whatever you have in your aresenal. doesn't look like a hard fix. i'm sure i could rig something up.

Burrcold

Miintt

I'm pretty much in the same situation with my car except the clips only show on the right side for me. My lease isn't up for a while but I'm thinking I'm just gonna turn it in like that and see what they say. Let us know how it goes if you decide to do the inspection like that

Break2

Just do the inspection and if they see it, get it repaired.

arentz07

Will do!

Yeah that's pretty much where I am sitting at the moment. Today I messed with it a bit and managed to get it to stay in a slightly higher position where the gap is even smaller, so the look doesn't bother me.

blazers7

I just returned my 2016 IS200t F-Sport in December. I did the pre-inspection through AUTOVIN and it passed with no fees charged.....I had scuffed rims, damaged sidewall on a tire, baseball sized dent on the door and worn tires (30k on the original tires). I just got the final report and was not charged a fee for excessive wear and tear. I think you'll be okay, but depends on your inspector... Schedule that AUTOVIN inspection at least 3 weeks before because they were pretty backed up. Good luck man!