jasont

Last night some complete waste of a human being decided to run after hitting my parked car, so now I get to repair/replace my back bumper.

I have two quotes I received today. The first is from a local body shop that I have used before on another car and they seemed to do good work. They said they can repair the bumper and then repaint it to look like new for about $780. The other is from the largest Mercedes body shop in Texas which is also the highest volume Porsche body shop in the Southwest and 1 of only 4 Rolls Royce certified body shops in the US (blah, blah, blah - I assume they must do really excellent work). They said that a repair would not look correct given the fact it got hit right along the ridge line (pics attached) and they want to replace the bumper with a new OEM part and then paint to match for about $1680.

Assuming my insurance company agrees that the bumper needs to be replaced, is there any reason whatsoever to prefer repairing the original part over replacing it with a brand new piece? I cannot think of any reason I should take a repair vs. replace but thought I would ask for other's opinions first.

Sirex63

My advice to u my friend is that if the insurance company will pay everything for a new painted bumper then go for it ,

Do not fix , REPLACE ,

it's a Mercedes not a Corolla.

jasont

Oh, I agree, I just want to make sure there isn't something I don't know. Like maybe the original part is likely to have better fit than a replacement part (I don't see how that could be true, it's just an example of what I'm asking if anyone knows...)

CZ55

Insurance company will not agree with you to change the bumper. The damage is very minor. Good luck with dealing them.

Jons95c36amg

+1 Yeah unless its cracked they wouldnt pay for new bumper. But it looks like a paint job only.

bmoney12

I don't think they'll pay for a new bumper either. Someone hit me from behind and their license plate screws jammed into my bumper. The insurance company only agreed to pay to have the holes filled and the bumper repainted. Hopefully you'll have better luck than me!

jasont

That definitely sucks! Although, they might have gone the repair route because the filler would only have to be worked to a flat surface. Hopefully, the fact that the ridge is damaged on mine will give me a little more ammunition to fight for replacement.

Either way, I'm waiting for the adjuster to come see the car so we will see what happens.

Maybe my bumper should mysteriously crack before the adjuster gets here... Just kidding.

MW_ATL

Insurance companies are strange. In some cases you may have to let them make the repair -- then complain that it isn't right, let them look at the ill-fated repair attempt and then, and only then, they will fork out to fix it right.

I guess part of the concept is that 99% of the people will not complain after the first repair and that makes it worth it.

Sincity

There is an existing thread on insurance and bumper repairs.

jasont

Just a quick update:

The appraiser stopped by today to look at the car and he actually agreed that since it was hit directly on the body line that it makes more sense to replace the bumper rather than to try and re-sculpt the line with a repair.

Woohoo, new bumper!!