Hi All, So, I got rear ended last night. Any suggestions on a great place to get my back bumper fixed in West LA -- or Santa Monica area? Best to go through a dealer? There was no structural damage, just need a new bumper. Attached pic -- not a lot of damage, but worth fixing for sure. Thanks, S
Sorry to hear about the accident. Buy a bumper cover and replace it yourself. The damage doesn't look bad. Is insurance paying for it? If you were to repair the bumper cover and repaint it, you'd be looking at more than what a used OEM bumper cover would cost. Even if it's the wrong color, respraying it with the right color shouldn't cost more than $350.
The dealer's body shop that did front-end repairs on my car guesstimated $750 to repair 2 scratches and repaint my rear bumper, so I imagine a resprayed used bumper would be significantly less expensive than the repair! I just wonder if it will look right when it's finished. I imagine a body shop would want to feather the new paint into the hatch and the rear quarter panels to make sure the new blends with the old. Maybe that wouldn't be an issue since you have the horizontal top of the bumper meeting the vertical panels and the light won't hit them at the same angle to make any difference stand out. If insurance will pay to have the damage repaired, the paint blending could be done within the bumper. That would be my first choice to start with, but I'd consult a couple shops to make a decision.