He started by asking how to reduce his friend's cost

Buddy of mine backed into my 2000 S last night.... not a big deal but the receiver on his SUV punched a hole in my front bumper. Since he is a friend, I want to do this on the cheap - he has a $1,000 deductible but we have no idea if this applies to my car etc.... he has a vmail into his agent now. So I want to do this on the cheap for him. Questions:

1 - Source for a bumper? Pelican Parts has it new but for will call only and around $972... Maybe a dismantler? DC Automotive (he drive down there all the time from Philly) does not have any in stock (so says their website)
2 - What parts am I going to need beyond the bumper? Looks like I need a new "fish lip" for the center vent. Should I take it apart, look around, reassemble, order, take it all to a body shop for painting - bring the painted bumper home and reassemble? Paint match???? You get it.

My assessment is that the bumper absolutely needs to be replaced as there is a tear. The bumper appears to not be pushed in at all.

Any ideas what the typical cost will be should I just drop it off at a body shop as is, or can I really save some money for him by buying parts, such as used, myself? Opinions?
Pic 1:

Pic2:

My buddy called and apparently there is no deductible when applied to my car so no worries, a new bumper and done right is on order.

On another subject, I could have prevented this by starting my car and putting the lights on as soon as I got into the car. Instead I was futzing with storing my camera, installing my radar detector, mounting my cell phone, etc. etc. and took a long time. Technically it was his fault, but I could have done a few things - which I will now start doing.

pay the deductible well, that's what he gets for running into another car. Why should he as your friend, true friend, expect you to accept a substandard repair due to his carelessness.

I would have also posted that chances are slim to none (closer to none) that you found have found any acceptable repair that would deliver anywhere near the final result and for anything cheaper than just taking the car to a qualified shop and having the car restored to its precollision condition. Repaired/salvage bumper covers in my experience are worse than what's on the car being repaired. And even if a body shop would accept the cover after proper painting (and probably trying to get the thing to fit wtih even gaps, etc.) you'd end up with well a poor repair.

The front bumper will have to come off before any further damage can be determined. Chances are there's none. The front end of these cars are a bit less delicate than the rear end.

Sincerely,

MarcW.

His insurance is Ohio Casualty and they want me to go to one of three shops in the area for an estimate. After the estimate, I can get that shop to do the work, or take the estimate to another shop as long as that shop meets the estimate price (or i guess I pay the difference). They gave me three shops near me, and does anyone have any experience with them?:

- Pro Team Collision in King of Prussia
- Faulkner Collision in Plymouth Meeting
- Direct Paint and Collision in Havertown

Opinions? I may take the estimate over to Karrosserie in King of Prussia (just a few doors down from Pro Team). Thanx....

Bruce,

Ol' Lead Foot's MY08 Audi A4 Quatro has had two visits to Thompson's Porsche of Bucks County (ex-Holbert's). She now has two new fenders - left and right.....one her fault and one a hit and run parking lot caper. I digress.....

George, in the body shop did a great job, mainly paint matching due to the fact that the bent fenders were replaced. The labor rates for body work and painting is $46.00 hour. I don't know how that compares with the three shops you mention, but Thompson's must be competitive.

Bill

The smiley is because there is currently a separate discussion on that topic.

I recently had my bumper repaired. It had several pushed in spots from SUVs backing up into me over time as well as gouges, scrapes, and other issues. It was expertly repaired (no need to purchase a new bumper) and it now looks absolutely perfect.

... is just that, a plastic skin.
It is not the bumper and has no other function than aesthetics and aerodynamics.
So if you pull the skin off and find no damage to the underlying structural pieces, you should have no problem in repairing it.
It will save you (and/or your friend) a lot of money and if done properly it will not be visible at all.
Happy Boxstering,
Pedro

Pedro Bonilla
1998 Boxster 986 - 314,000+ miles: [www.PedrosGarage.com]
PCA National Club Racing Scrutineer - PCA National HPDE Instructor - PCA Technical Committee (Boxster/Cayman)

---

Racecar spelled backwards is Racecar

"Racing is life. Anything before or after is just waiting" ... Steve McQueen as Michael Delaney in "LeMans"

"If you wait, all that happens is that you get older"... Mario Andretti

"Being second is to be the first of the ones who lose" ... Ayrton Senna

Minus 40 degrees... Is that Fahrenheit or Celsius?

The estimate is just over $1,600 and includes a new bumper and that fish-lip trim. He has no deductible so no out of pocket expenses for either of us. Odd though, the insurer requires the shop to attempt to source a used bumper and requires the estimator to document calls to three dismantles. Then it goes to the insurance company computers and they do some sort of search for a used part. I can now take the estimate to any shop if they match the price and the job can be re-opened if there is hidden damage. I've contacted a "high end" shop that does exotics etc. and usually has a double-than-average labor rate but they said they will take it.

Overall, I think Ohio Casualty is ok, but the "used" bit is bothersome.

Bruce accept a subpar repair of his car through no fault of his own simply because Bruce's friend was careless.

Sincerely,

MarcW.

and repairing a bumper is not sub-par if it's done right. My repaired bumper is indistinguishable from new, for example.

In fact, replacing the bumper doesn't guarantee a good job but it pretty much guarantees a higher cost.

My CRX's transmission was acting up, and the Honda dealer offered finding a junker to reduce my cost, but I had them repair mine. I trusted their mechanics, and felt I knew what I'd be getting having the specific issues within the original gearbox addressed. It's gone about another hundred thousand miles with no problems.

Minus 40 degrees... Is that Fahrenheit or Celsius?

or trying to repair the orignal damaged one is not likely to result in an acceptable job result let alone a better job result.

Sincerely,

MarcW.

for other cars. For most other makes of cars, there tons of salvaged bumpers to use. Often times the car owner doesn't give a hoot about the result as long as it 'looks' ok as he or she rushes by the repaired areas to get in the car and drive off.

My experience is though with Porsches while the insurance company will of course follow the same procedure the candidate bumpers that come in even if any come in at all will prove to be unacceptable (in worse condition/shape than you have on the car) and the body shop (if it deserves to be working on your Boxster at all) will rightly reject these candidate replacement bumpers and you'll end up with a new one.

Sincerely,

MarcW.

Bruce,
There must be something in the water around here.My niece's husband backed up in his driveway Saturday and put some nice gouges in my bumper cover.
I have a 2008 boxster. The estimate from the body shop is just under $1500 and that is with a new bumper cover.
I'm using Classic Coach Works in Collegeville. There is a Classic Coach Works in Upper Darby and one in West Chester that Porsche of the Mail Line recommends.
Good Luck with the repair, my car goes in Friday

My Boxster has now been to D&A Autobody in Levittown, PA twice. It's there now after a Boxster v deer interaction.
They've been fast, good work and pleasant to deal with.
The local Porsche dealer (which is now Don Rosen) uses them.

BTW - I have a 2000 Boxster and this will be either my second or third bumper. The first time I used the dealer in White Plains, NY and they had overspray everywhere - not that I have any need for them location-wise, they're still on my 'never again' list.

Andrew