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My wife crashed into the SC430 with her SUV and left a large dent in the back corner of the rear bumper cover.
Researching parts, I notice a "Rear Bumper Reinforcement Foam"(item #11 below). I am wondering if the prior owner who fixed the rear bumper never replaced this.
Can you visually see this foam peace if you look under the car?
She put a nice big dent in the driver side rear bumper corner. Anything I should watch for from a body shop?
My Sc430’s rear bumper cover has been replaced twice due to rear ending incidents, both at relatively low speeds (<15MPH). In both cases the foam support was still intact and did not need replacing.
My Sc430’s rear bumper cover has been replaced twice due to rear ending incidents, both at relatively low speeds (<15MPH). In both cases the foam support was still intact and did not need replacing.
did you have them use a refurbished bumper cover or get a new one (if that is even possible)?
This crash was less than 5mph but sure put a nice dent/crack in the cover.
Since both incidents were not my fault I demanded a new cover each time. Both times insurance company wanted to use, used parts and whined about it claiming the new cover was better than the existing one. They tried the “betterment” argument. But I have a friend who owns a body shop and works mainly on high-end cars. He told me refurbished parts have too many problems, especially in fitment, in his opinion. But every incident/damage is different so no two are alike.
You can't see the foam from the outside of the car.
Usually with bumper cover dents, they heat up the bumper cover and it snaps back to it's factory shape. Since it is preformed that way, it goes back that way naturally.
If the bumper isn't cracked, you could actually do it yourself with a heat gun.
If there is a crack, they can usually fix small cracks with a special glue. I doubt they need to buy a replacement. They will probably charge you for one, but will most likely repair yours.
For a better idea about these things, watch this video
I had to reply
Remind me on my tale
My wife back into my 97 Honda civic many years ago
I was not happy
If she hit the SC I don't think I want to be near her
You can pop it out with the heat gun but needs to be repainted
Depending on your insurance company you can claim it
because you are both covered
If it was me I would make her pay for an aftermarket tuner bumper
I had to reply
Remind me on my tale
My wife back into my 97 Honda civic many years ago
I was not happy
If she hit the SC I don't think I want to be near her
You can pop it out with the heat gun but needs to be repainted
Depending on your insurance company you can claim it
because you are both covered
If it was me I would make her pay for an aftermarket tuner bumper
I was beyond pissed when she called me.
I am planning on just paying out of pocket for the SC430 but her car will likely need to go through insurance.
I think I might try the heat gun as a temporary fix until the body shop can get me in for the real fix.
yep, my "RING flood light/ security camera" captured it all on video, it may have even been a little slower than 5 MPH.
Thats why I was wondering if the foam may have not ever been replaced from a prior repair.
Fortunately it appears she avoided the rear quarter side member...but you won’t know for sure until the bumper cover comes off. Betcha the foam is not damaged. Don’t think it goes out to the corner...see below.
The rip makes things more complicated, but not so bad. They will probably use a Plastic Welder to seal it up and then some kind of compound to make it smooth.
The paint is going to be the expensive part. Unfortunately you are probably looking at a $1200-1800 repair via insurance. You could probably get a body shop to do it for $800 if you pay out of pocket and don't go through insurance.
If you do it yourself and take off the cover before you work on it. It MAY be possible to heat the plastic and get it back into shape. Then use a plastic welder to seal the plastic from the back. You MIGHT be able to avoid the repaint and get buy with a < $50 repair.
The last time I was rear ended (low speed) but had the full bumper cover replaced, included paint and labor it was a shade under $1200 and that was three years ago. The OEM bumper cover is about $450 unpainted. No doubt some clips were broken etc.