gmurad

Hey guys,

I've had the car for 3 weeks and already cracked the front bumper :/ I guess it happened when I was leaving a parking lot where the exit is very steep. It didn't sound like it broke anything but I can't think of anything else.

The picture is attached. When looking at the car from a standing position you can only see a small part of the crack.

I'm thinking of these options:

1 - Install a CF front lip, it will fit right under the cracks and only a small part of the crack will be visible. Is this a bad idea?

2 - Replace the whole bumper. I want to avoid doing this as I just bought the car 3 weeks ago, a new bumper seems very expensive.

3 - Somehow repair the cracks. Would this be a much cheaper than the other options?

EDIT: Not sure if it matter but I have parking sensors.

Are there any other options?

Thanks!

olszowa12

I'm not sure about the labor prices in your area, but I would have the bumper welded (plastic welding) and painted.

If it's too expensive, just get a CF lip from eBay for about $400 shipped

vtune

Lip would be a very bad idea. It will probably rip the rest of your bumper off since it needs to be bolted onto the bottom of your bumper. You have two options, plasti-weld it and re-paint, or buy a new bumper. Go to a good shop, that has a clean paint booth. Cost should be $1,000 and up for plasti weld and paint. New bumper should cost you $1,200 + $400-500 paint.

gmurad

I'm also in Toronto, do you know a good shop here?

Thanks!

gmurad

This seems a bit ridiculous. It's just a crack, it's not like I'm missing parts of the bumper and most of the crack is not even visible.

I barely hit the bumper on the ramp(I wasn't going fast) and it got cracked. I can't believe this will be a 1K repair job!

vtune

Consider what they have to do, remove bumper and all bits, remove paint, plasti-weld and strengthen, prep for repaint, repaint, re-assemble bumper and all parts. $1,000 is not much for this car.

olszowa12

Ouch, $1k seems really steep.
This job would cost max $300 at a professional shop in my part of the world.

Just get a CF front lip and use 10-12 bolts to hold it up.

gmurad

I'm considering the front lip idea, I'm not sure exactly how they are attached to the bumper, I think I might get away with not bolting the cracked area.

How do people install front lips? Is it usually a DIY thing or do people take it to shops?

vtune

the cf styles install with 8 - 12 screws drilled and bolted on the bottom of the bumper. Plus some urethane / 3m tape to seal the gaps. Can be a diy if you have help and can lift the front.

jvanbrecht

You could probably do the repair and leg work yourself, and pay someone to paint it, or
try your hand at painting.

Remove the bumper, sand, either plastiweld, or from the inside using fibreglass or CF matting and the appropriate adhesive/chemical prep products, sand the crack area down a little, and some filler, sand, prime, send off to paint.

http://www.automotivetouchup.com/ (I have no affiliation) sells OEM paint colors for our cars in spray cans all the way up to gallon cans, and all the prep materials you would need to respray your bumper, and its not hard.

abcut973

Yep you could do that yourself sanding, filling, sanding primer. That will save you half of the cost at least. Even better if you have a buddy owning a paint boot you could just try painting it yourself.

gmurad

I feel like I can comfortably do all the parts involved in this DIY, except for removing the bumper. I have the tools to lift the car up, but how hard is it to remove the whole bumper?
My Fog lights are cracked, so I could fix them at the same time.

Thanks again.

abcut973

removing the bumper cover is the easiest part
2x10mm bolts on each side close to the side markers, 2 more on each side of the grill. A few more from under as well as the clips from the wheel wells and you are almost done.

Mort

I don't think a lip is a valid repair option in this case. The crack in the bumper extends above the area the lip will cover. Personally I would see that every time I looked at the front of the car. Other people will easily notice that crack as well. Get a proper repair done and move on.