Bumper Repair Question

[United]

I got rear-ended today by a kid while on my way home from work.  Fortunately, all he did was bend my bumper down and twist the mounting pieces. I was in my '88 F-150.

From the looks of it, the bumper itself is slightly twisted.  The truck has 4 mounting pieces that come down from the frame.  Two inside close to the hitch and two on the outside towards the side of the truck.  The two on the outsite aren't bent any, the bumper mount was only spun around the bolt.  The two on the inside, though, are bent down about 75 degrees.

My question is, about how much will it be to fix the bumper and the inside mounting pieces?  I am also contemplating buying a new bumper and having the inside rails fixed, but that all depends on how much his insurance company is going to give me.

[Maverick]

I would imagine your most cost effective option would be a salvage yard for the mounting pieces as well as the bumper.

[nirvana]

According to my friend, he paid a body shop $1,000+ to fix a bent bumper (was pushed up about 10 degrees, enough to block the hood latch).  We fixed it in class last time and it was 4 bolts I believe.  So I'd say if you have pneumatic tools or enough of a drive, go to a scrap yard for any parts you really need and do it yourself.

[United]

Jesus, $1000?

I would fix it myself, if I thought I could.  My full intent was to do it myself, but then I looked at the bent mounting piece.  Unfortunately, the piece that was bent is connected directly to the frame, so Im afraid the only way to replace the mount it to cut it off and weld a new one to it.  I don't have the skill to do so myself.

[nirvana]

Call around, I thought it was extremely high as well.  After he paid for them to fix it he went through a big snowdrift and popped it up again.  If you have a vocational school around they might be able to weld it on fairly cheap, or just a body shop and put the bumper on yourself.

[Habu]

If you drive a F-150 and the mounts were damaged you were hit very hard. A grand for the bumper and new mounts is not that bad if you are getting a brand new one. If you want to save try to get a junkyard with a truck like yours that has front end damage. You might get the stuff for half price.

[Shuffler]

Originally posted by United
I got rear-ended today by a kid while on my way home from work.  Fortunately, all he did was bend my bumper down and twist the mounting pieces. I was in my '88 F-150.

From the looks of it, the bumper itself is slightly twisted.  The truck has 4 mounting pieces that come down from the frame.  Two inside close to the hitch and two on the outside towards the side of the truck.  The two on the outsite aren't bent any, the bumper mount was only spun around the bolt.  The two on the inside, though, are bent down about 75 degrees.

My question is, about how much will it be to fix the bumper and the inside mounting pieces?  I am also contemplating buying a new bumper and having the inside rails fixed, but that all depends on how much his insurance company is going to give me.

The insurance company will give you whatever your estimate was from the places you take it to get the estimate.

[john9001]

Originally posted by Shuffler
The insurance company will give you whatever your estimate was from the places you take it to get the estimate.

make sure the insurance company makes the check out to you only and not to you and the repair shop.

[Bodhi]

Goto a salvage yard after you get the largest estimate you can find.  Then pocket the other 3/4 of the money.

[United]

Hah, after I got to look at it in the day, turns out the mounts are only bolted on.  I found that online I can get a new replacement bumper with mounts for around $200. (http://www.jcwhitney.com/autoparts/ItemBrowse/c-10101/s-10101/p-100000278272/mediaCode-ZX/appId-10638724/Pr-p_CATENTRY_ID:10000027827210638724)

I'm going to take what I can from his insurance company, but Im not going to try and get as much as I can.  From what I understand he's a good kid and it was an honest mistake.

I'll probably end up getting a few estimates, taking the money from those and going the on-line route.

Thanks for all your help.

[Gunslinger]

Geesh if it's just the bumper, get an estimate, collect a check and do it yourself.  I still kinda regret getting my jeep fixed by somone else during the last collision (some of you might rembmer the post)  The thing should have been totaled $5800 in repair costs.

If I had some metal fabrication experience I could have done it myself.....put some custom tail lights, and painted the whole thing for less than $2k.  OR I could have replaced the body with a fiberglass one for about $4.5k

[rpm]

Hmm, sounds like a perfect segment for a TV show.