how much does it cost to fix a bumper

Colargo [OP]: Sr. Member; Dec 27, 2006; 547 posts; 1 upvote

Sep 24th, 2007 6:43 pm

How much does it cost to fix a car fender? Was this an overpayment?

Ok so this happened a few weeks ago. I own a 2001 Corolla and my father was driving it at the time when someone turning out from an apartment complex hit my car on the driver's side.

The damage caused was the driver's side front fender was a writeoff and the driver's side signal light was damaged as well. Also the plastic on the wheelwell was deformed abit. Other than that, the car was fine mechanically. So the guy who hit my car was this university student who was completely apoligetic and offered to pay for all the repairs and asked us not to report the collision since his insurance was already like $400 a month.

So we drove to a nearby autobody shop that that guy recommended and the car was looked at and then a few days later the parts came in and it was repaired. My car looks almost new, except the paintjob for the fender is good, just not great. Like there's a hair lodged in the paint and there's a couple of bumps in the paintjob that look like it should have been sanded off before it was painted.

Anyways my question is how much does it cost to do the following on a 2001 Corolla 4 door?

1) replace driver's side fender
2) paint fender to match the color of the car
3) replace driver's side signal light
4) replace plastic molding on driver's door that protects against scratches etc.
5) fix the plastic surrounding the wheelwell that was abit deformed in the accident.

Anyone have a clue as to how much that would cost? I'm asking because when the guy who hit my car got the bill from the bodyshop it was for $1200 for the work and he seemed shocked. He thought that all this wouldn't cost more than a few hundred dollars. So was he ripped off? Or is $1200 a fair price for a job like this?

Sep 24th, 2007 6:48 pm

masterballer: Deal Addict; Mar 31, 2005; 3813 posts; 23 upvotes

Sep 24th, 2007 6:48 pm

1200 isnt a rip off...i know a bumper for my 97 civic cost nearly $400 installed and it wasent even painted so all that work for 1200 seems fair.

Sep 24th, 2007 6:58 pm

namewitheld: Banned; Mar 15, 2007; 120 posts; 33 upvotes

Sep 24th, 2007 6:58 pm

If he does not believe it, let him come along to a body shop and wait right there with you for the estimate. It only takes a few minutes.
By the way, if he agrees, get him to the body shop and have him sign the work order and leave the deposit and his credit card number for payment. It ain't much fun chasing them down fro your money after you have already paid.

Sep 24th, 2007 7:10 pm

ES_Revenge: Penalty Box; Mar 23, 2004; 29961 posts; 10673 upvotes

Sep 24th, 2007 7:10 pm

$1200 seems like a bit much not because of the actual damage and work required to repair it but just because whatever shop it was didn't do that good a job (visually noticeable paint imperfections FTL).

However it doesn't really matter if it was too expensive or not, the guy offered to pay, he recommended you that shop you did take it it there and got it repaired and that's what it cost. End of story, tell him to cough up the money or take him to court...

Sep 24th, 2007 7:57 pm

Colargo [OP]: Sr. Member; Dec 27, 2006; 547 posts; 1 upvote

Sep 24th, 2007 7:57 pm

ES_Revenge wrote: ↑$1200 seems like a bit much not because of the actual damage and work required to repair it but just because whatever shop it was didn't do that good a job (visually noticeable paint imperfections FTL).

However it doesn't really matter if it was too expensive or not, the guy offered to pay, he recommended you that shop you did take it it there and got it repaired and that's what it cost. End of story, tell him to cough up the money or take him to court...

Well just to clarify, the guy did pay for everything already. I mean this guy knew he was in the wrong and was completely standup and honest and took full responsibility without hesitation. He was extremely apoligetic and gave us a few dollars to compensate for our inconvience. In fact he offered to give us $50 more on top later on for our troubles. But after he got the bill and told me about it and with the look of shock on his face, I didn't have the heart to ask him for it. Seriously, if you had to get into an auto accident, he would be the ideal guy to be hit by.

As for the paintjob. It would have been perfect if the autobody guys had just taken a little extra time to make sure everything was fine before they painted it. There's like several pinhead sized raised white dots and a hair that are under the clearcoat I guess? From a distance you can't see them, but up close you can see the white dots. I mean its nothing too major and certainly I doubt even if I asked they would consider redoing the whole paintjob for the sake of a couple of dots.

Sep 24th, 2007 11:44 pm

boyoflondon: Deal Fanatic; Nov 23, 2005; 8771 posts; 5174 upvotes

Sep 24th, 2007 11:44 pm

masterballer wrote: ↑1200 isnt a rip off...i know a bumper for my 97 civic cost nearly $400 installed and it wasent even painted so all that work for 1200 seems fair.

Then you got ripped off as well!

I picked up my fender for $120! It doesn't take a genius to install the damn thing either, so you can do it yourself and save more money. Now, all you do is paint it. From the estimates, roughly $250-300 for the good body shops.

There you go ... all in all, roughly $500 ....$1200 is pretty steep IMO!