How Much Work Might A Bumper Require After A Collision?

16 December 2021
 Categories: , Blog


Your vehicle requires bumper collision repair services. However, you may wonder just how much work this is likely to involve. Fortunately, there are usually a few signs of just how extensive the damage and subsequent bumper repair services needs might be.

Age and Type of Vehicle

Modern bumpers use systems that lessen the impact of collisions under most circumstances. Foremost, they use flexible fascia covered in flexible paint. Consequently, a car built after the 1990s will usually have plastic components with quite a bit of give in a low-speed fender-bender accident.

Older vehicles and some newer trucks tend to have stiffer bumpers. If one is in an accident, the bumper is likely to suffer more damage and require greater repairs.

Similarly, some off-road vehicles and 4x4s have stiffer bumpers to handle the abuse of their main use cases. The trade-off is these designs tend to be more expensive to repair once the bumpers are seriously damaged.

Level of Damage

Especially with cars that have the modern bumper, light damage is often a fairly straightforward repair job. Frequently, there may be some cracking in the pain or a hole in the fascia. The worst-case repair scenario for these incidents involves a technician removing and replacing the fascia. Oftentimes, the hardest part is matching the paint code. In the best-case scenario, they may be able to buff out the cracks in the paint and send you on your way.

Where bumper repair services jobs get tough is when the damage is deeper. Most bumpers are bars behind the fascia, and these attach to the car's frame through a shock absorber or a material that serves the same purpose. When those components suffer damage, a technician has to remove everything so they can inspect them and the frame. Once those parts are replaced, they can proceed with installing a new fascia and repainting the vehicle.

Frame Damage

If there is frame damage, there's a decent chance the insurer will total the car. Some states require a rigorous inspection of a vehicle with a repaired frame before they'll let it back on the road. Also, many bumper collision repair services businesses don't handle this work for liability reasons.

Turnaround Times

A shop can sometimes get a commonly owned car with minor issues back on the road in less than a week. The less common a vehicle is, the harder getting parts will be. The same also applies if you're trying to match an unusual paint code. Under those circumstances, a shop may need several weeks to obtain everything for the job.


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