jer

Had a bit of an accident (not me, another member of the household). The garage was hit and pushed in the front bumper on my RX. The plastic is not cut nor is the fog light broken, just a bit scratched. Also the bumper has popped out from the front fender. Is this something a place like Carsmetics can fix? I don't want to claim on insurance as I don't think it should go over my 500 deductible. Since the bumper is not split,can this be popped out? Don't want to be taken by those who want to do more than is necessary- especially since this is a 10 yr old vehicle.

mowmow

If you do a new OE bumper, paint, blend, replaces fog light parts,etc it will for sure cost more than $500 deductible. IF you try to do this yourself, probably cost you lots of time on cleaning off the scratches, wet sand then compound to see where you are at, replacement fog light on flea bay shouldn't be an arm or leg. 3rd way is to talk to your bodyshop tell them it's an out of pocket repair and see if they are willing to get it done cheap for you. I've had my bumper repainted for about $300 just to give you an idea

jer

Thanks for the info. I'm going to try and work on it today. After taking a closer look, the fog light has paint but no real damage to it and the bumper is not ripped, so hopefully I can get it to pop out and see what I can buff out myself.

kiwi

from about 2000-2001 ish cars bumpers have a 30 day repair plastics.

what that means is you have about thirty days to get out your heat gun and push it back into place, after thirty days it will keep its new shape.

i would recommend removing the bumper to work on it, this will allow you to push from the back side. i would also purchase a heat gun (dont use a hair dryer, not hot enough) and be careful.

once back into shape, you can figure out what you want to do, whether its paint, a vinyl warp or perhaps a leather bra.

mandyfig

Pull it and polish, you will be surprised...do it now....the plastic will go back to its memory with heat.

sleepysurf

I stupidly pulled a similar stunt Sunday, with my 2010 RX 450h, scraping a light pole in a parking lot. Went to my local Carsmetics for a repair estimate. Unfortunately, one of the top bumper cover "clips" tore loose, so they said the entire bumper cover would need to be replaced. Full repair estimate ~$750. FYI, they said that had the clip been intact, they could have repaired it for much less. Doh!


I'll also get a repair estimate from my Lexus dealer, but I expect it will be a lot more.

jer

I had worked on mine with a heat gun but it still didn't look quite right, as I did more damage than I thought. I also popped the clip closest to the front tire. I found a local shop here and they redid the entire bumper for 450.00. Very happy with the work, as now it looks like new. Even took care of the 10 years of love bug spots (a Florida/Southern thing)!

mandyfig

Ouchhhhh!!!!

Just looking at the picture it seems feasible to heat it up and just let it relax. It will go back to pretty much the original shape, if you are lucky. I suggest that you it now. Then evaluate your options. If decent looking time to polish away.

Then if not happy, replace.

Buys you time. Also stops you from being pissed of yourself.

mandyfig

Get into the wheel fender and pop it out. Then use the heat gun (or hair blower) to pop it out some more. You will feel much better, guaranteed. Are you a hands on guy?

If you were my neighbor I will do it for you. I am salivating right now....

mowmow

sleepysurf the $750 is it out of pocket or insurance ? if it's an insurance quote then you can always work something out to pay less. Bodyshop can sometimes get you a used or 3rd part bumper and do the paint, usually a lot cheaper, I wouldn't waste time on the heat gun, because no matter how much you work on it, it still won't look right to you. Work something out with the bodyshop instead

sleepysurf

Unfortunately, the broken clips meant I need an entirely new bumper cover. My insurance deductible is $500, so I'll end up paying out of pocket. I don't want a used cover, so this will just be an expensive learning experience.

mowmow

Yes it is an expensive learning experience, depending on the used bumper condition, sometimes it's not a bad alternative and often a lot cheaper. Well good luck with repair

sleepysurf

Update.

I took the car to Lexus today for their repair estimate. They noticed that the drivers side headlight was misaligned, and upon further inspection discovered the adaptive headlight assembly was broken. That alone added $1000+ to the repair cost. I'll need to file an insurance claim after all.

I don't know if Carsmetics would have eventually discovered the broken headlight, but I feel much more confident having Lexus do the repairs.

There goes my 10 year "good driver" discount.

sleepysurf

Getting a LOT more education than I wanted.

Turns out, my insurer (State Farm) will only pay for a reconditioned or aftermarket (non OEM) bumper cover and headlamp assembly. If I want OEM, I must pony up the difference ($607 more out-of-pocket), in addition to the $500 deductible.

This is apparently the case for most insurers. See... http://oemvsaftermarket.com/

They get you "coming and going!"

mowmow

sleepysurf, you need to have an added line item in your car insurance to guarantee OE replacement. I have it on my policy so they can't go cheap when replacing anything, I have at least replaced 3 rain sensing windshield about $1800 a pop plus installation fees. There are a lot of OE headlights for sale on ebay with broken taps that you can epoxy glue back on, I would do that instead of getting a pair of aftermarket.