So, some guy smacked the back end of my Z with his Cherokee today; his foot slipped off the brake while we were both stopped at a light.

Damage seems primarily to the bumper skin, though one marker light is shoved in a bit (not broken far as I can see) & there are a couple depressed/creased points that might indicate some styrofoam displacement below:








His fault, of course, and damage to his Jeep amounted to a cracked plate holder.

I have full coverage on the car since I use it for work, but I'd like to cut the guy a break if I can & if he's feeling honest - - sucks to have a claim against your five-day-old insurance policy when you're young, I know - - & I'd also like t o cut myself a break in dodging the pain of dealing with the insurance people. If he's got brains (& he seems to, even if his driving needs wome work), we can do this like gentlemen & save him money and me a buttload of paperwork and hassle.

We exchanged info and numbers, but he seemed open to the idea of just paying cash if it can be fixed 'for not much money.'

Questions for those with experience with this type of damage:

1) Can this be fixed well (good-quality job, not schlock) for a few hundred bucks & minimal downtime?

2) Does anyone know a shop (preferably in the Anaheim/Yorba Linda or Chino/Pomona/Ontario regions) who could do a good job on this for that few hundred bucks?

3) Would it save me money to pull the skin off myself and just take it for repair/repaint? I know the "big time" shops always claim that they have to repaint half the car to get a decent match... but I also know that I was able to have paint mixed that matched EXACTLY the existing paint on my -7 for a touch-up job I did myself. The Z's only 10 years old, not 30, so matching just the bumper should not be a huge issue seems to me.

I'm gonna get a couple retail shop estimates (probably from Solsbee's in Anaheim, and maybe Cherry in Chino) but I'd really like to know if this is something I can do the simple way, or should just dump on the insurance people & deal with all the legal crap, which I hate?

 

Nobody knows nobody? Bummer.

 

The guy I work with used to be near Ontario Mills, but moved his shop to Torrance. So no help.

Matching that paint is going to be your biggest challenge.

Good luck!!

 

Bumpers are pretty hard to match with the sheetmetal body panels anyways, and that's due to polyurethane/plastic bumper vs. the metal quarter panels. Paint reacts differently. I would take it to any major insurance approved shops, their work should have life time warranty. Shops like Caliber Collision or Hi Tech Collision are major corporations in the body repair business. They have numerous branches in most city in CA and some other states, I think. I would personally prefer Caliber Collision. Good luck...

 

The whole bumper will need to be stripped down to fix them gouges, primered to level it out again, then sprayed. A spot job will not blend as nicely with the pearls/metallics. If it were to be a scuff only, I would say wetsand it down and re-clear. G/L

 

Just get them new or used. Its a newer car so its a dime a dozen

 

Got two estimates from reputable shops; one near work, one near home. Range is basically $760-$850, lifetime warranty on the paint, possibly $60 more if the styro underneath is busted up.

Only drag is the 3-5 day estimated turnaround.

The instigator has been advised, and I gave him until this afternoon to tell me if he wants to put cash in my hand or if he wants it to go through insurance. I suspect he'd prefer to do cash (in the long run, it'll cost him less) but doesn't have it available. I remember those days myself, but I'm not willing to wait forever or let things get complicated, like with payments or some such. Time's too valuable, and I think I'm being fair with him as is.

If he does go cash, I may look into finding and installing a right-colored replacement myself, mainly because of the time delay in getting it done - - 3-5 days without my daily is undesirable right now.

Thanks for the advice, folks.