Is it Really Worth it to Do this?

[RED2001GT]

My 2002 Mustang was involved in a hit and run accident while it was parked. Whoever hit my car hit the front of my car really hard leaving the front bumper damaged with a whole bunch of deep scratches and a small dent in it. The dent is not deep at all. The dent looks like it's only about 1 millimeter or less deep and about 3" inches long. There is ALSO a small 4" inch outward crease in the bumper. The license plate is also bent and dented. The bumper is also misaligned and it is pushed into the vehicle a little bit about 1" inch on the right side just below the grill. In other words, the bumper looks a little bit misaligned.
When they hit me, my car was also pushed back a little bit and it hit another parked car that was behind me. The damage that's done to the rear bumper is minor. The left hand side of the rear bumper only has a small 3" inch diameter scuff mark that is deep inside the paint. The paint is also cracked in a 6" to 8" inch circular direction just above the scuffed area from when the bumper "flexed" itself when it hit and touched the car that was behind me.

Anyways, I just looked online at the insurance appraisal and the total cost to repair the front and the rear bumpers is $642. The $642 dollar amount does not represent any "hidden" damages that may be found when they take off the front bumper. I am also responsible to pay for the deductible which is $500 because it was a hit and run.

I have a small body shop in my town which I know that will do the repairs. They are a small shop, but I am told that they do good work. I'm hoping that this will be true.
The body shop said that they will take off the front and rear bumpers to do the repairs. They will also inspect the area behind the front bumper to see if there is any further damage. As for repairing the damage to the front bumper, they said that they will fix the 1 millimeter deep, 3" inch long dent in the plastic in the bumper (I don't know HOW they will do this?). They also said that they will "reshape" and take out the 4" inch long crease that's currently on the front bumper by using heat on it. The body shop told me that I will not be able to see any flaws or any existing damage after they do the repairs on the front bumper. As for the rear bumper, they are going to take it off and sand it down and repaint it. The rear bumper needs very minimal work to it.

I have not received the detailed appraisal report in the mail yet, nor have I seen any of the detailed report of the repair order while I was online on my insurance company's website a few minutes ago. The only thing which I saw while online was the $642 cost for the repair.

I am very worried about the repair because of the low cost of the repair order that the appraiser did. I am worried that the repair that will be done to the front bumper might not come out good. If the crease and the small 3" inch long, 1 millimeter deep dent in the front bumper is repaired with heat, will the damage be noticeable after the repair? The appraiser is unwilling to give me a brand new OEM bumper for my Mustang. Plus, if he did approve me for a brand new bumper it would be ONLY for an aftermarket bumper. The auto insurance laws up here in my state say that any car which is over 2 1/2 years old will get ONLY aftermarket parts if required. I live in a Communist state with screwed up auto insurance laws.
My Mustang will already be 5 years old in January of 2007. The body shop told me that the aftermarket Mustang bumpers do NOT fit well and that they are cheap quality. The body shop also told me that I am better off having the current front bumper repaired and that none of the damage will show after they do the repairs. I don't know whether or not to believe this especially when the front bumper has a 4" inch long outward crease in it and a 1 millimeter deep, 3" inch long dent in it?

Do you think that the front bumper will be repaired properly if the body shop uses heat to fix the crease? How about the 1 millimeter deep, 3" inch long size dent? If the front bumper is just repaired using the same bumper, will I be able to see any deformities or flaws in it from the repairs?
Also, do you think that the $642 cost is enough for this type of repair. My insurance company pays only $36 dollars an hour to the body shop for any repairs.

Please chime in on your knowledge about this. I am worried that if the front bumper is only repaired that it will not look like as nice as getting a brand new front bumper.
Do you think that the repair to the front bumper will be high quality with the method that the body shop wants to use to repair it?
Please give me your feedback.

Thanks

 

[RED2001GT]

Anybody?

 

[Robs96]

Is the dealership fixing it when you say bodyshop?

 

[streethorse]

that does seem too cheap....... even a paint job only would cost that much.
but a good shop should be able to do repair and paint with no problems.
I have repaired a deep gouge in my former 99 gt's rear bumper with
fiberglass and it came out perfect.
that color of paint is going to be fairly hard to match.......
as for heat repair..... I'm not sure about that method, but I would get a
second opinion from a ford dealer body shop.

 

[MuscleMustang1]

that does seem too cheap....... even a paint job only would cost that much.
but a good shop should be able to do repair and paint with no problems.
I have repaired a deep gouge in my former 99 gt's rear bumper with
fiberglass and it came out perfect.
that color of paint is going to be fairly hard to match.......
as for heat repair..... I'm not sure about that method, but I would get a
second opinion from a ford dealer body shop.

I've seen the damage on Red2001GT's Mustang. I am Red2001GT's friend.
Anyways, the front bumper has a 4 inch crease in it. The crease is facing outwards. And the dent looks like a 3" inch to 4" inch long line. It is about 1 millimeter deep. He told me that the body shop which he is going to take his Mustang to specializes in doing body work for his local Ford dealer. The body shop owner told Red2001GT that the crease in the bumper will be repaired by using a heat lamp of some sort on the bumper on the area where the crease is located. I don't know the procedure that they are going to use though.

As for the 4" inch long dent that looks like a line, I don't know how they are going to repair that.

The body shop owner told Red2001GT that the insurance companies in this state follow certain guidelines and they do NOT purchase a brand new OEM Ford bumper for replacement on a vehicle that is over 2 1/2 years old. They replace damaged Ford parts with "aftermarket" parts ONLY unless aftermarket parts are not available. His Mustang will be 5 years old in January 2007.
And the body shop owner also told Red2001GT that he does not recommend getting an aftermarket Mustang bumper because aftermarket Mustang bumpers are of cheaper quality and they do not fit right.

The body shop owner recommends that the front bumper be ONLY repaired. He also said that once it gets repaired that nobody will be able to tell that the bumper was ever damaged.

More than half of all the cars that the body shop repairs are Ford vehicles and the body shop owner has over 15 to 20 years of body work experience.
Do you think that the body shop owner "knows" what he is saying and that he "knows" what he's doing? Do you really think that the front bumper will look like a brand new bumper if it is ONLY repaired? There is NO WAY that my buddy Red2001GT will be able to get a brand new bumper for his Mustang. The insurance company and the insurance appraiser say that the front bumper ONLY can be repaired. The insurance company and the insurance appraiser will NOT replace the front bumper. And if they could replace the front bumper, they would replace it with ONLY an aftermarket bumper. But that is NOT going to happen. They will ONLY repair it.

What do you guys think? Will repairing the front bumper be good enough to make the front bumper look like brand new again?

 

[Orange...]

it all comes down to labour... they will get more money to repair the damage then to get a new bumper and paint it and throw it on.

If the damage is more then YOU would like "repaired" take it to another bodyshop. It always helps to find one where the employee's vehicles are mustangs or such cars, they will understand what you want and help you out.
From what you are describing I would want a replacement bumper rather then chancing a repair. Remember if they screw up the first time... they only get paid once to fix it.

Just my 2.1cents (due to the conversion rate)

 

[streethorse]

with those insurance guidelines what else can you do but let them fix it.
They are paying for the repairs right? and I dought the shop would even paint it
unless it was professionly prepped. Just take a look at some of the cars
they have done (examples of thier quality) before you commit.

 

[MuscleMustang1]

with those insurance guidelines what else can you do but let them fix it.
They are paying for the repairs right? and I dought the shop would even paint it
unless it was professionly prepped. Just take a look at some of the cars
they have done (examples of thier quality) before you commit.

The insurance guidelines in this state is what is preventing the body shop and the insurance appraiser from putting a brand new front bumper on Red2001GT's Mustang. Within the eyes of the insurance company and the insurance appraiser, they believe and say that the front bumper is NOT badly enough damaged to need to be replaced.
I am wondering whether or not the heat repair that the body shop wants to do to fix the 4" inch popped outward crease in the front bumper will actually make the bumper look like brand new again? And what about the small 4" inch long thin line dent that's in the front bumper? How that will be repaired, I am not sure? I am wondering whether or not they will be using heat treatment for the dent on the front bumper too?
But if they use filler or some type of putty to repair the front bumper, I am not sure how successful the repair will come out? But as far as I know, the insurance company and the insurance appraiser do NOT believe that the front bumper is badly enough damaged for it to need to be replaced with an aftermarket one.
I don't know whether or not the repairs which the body shop says that they are going to do will actually make the front bumper and the finish on the bumper look like factory brand new again?
What do you think?

 

[RED2001GT]

Anybody know the answer to what Muscle Mustang is asking?
Your help on this would be appreciated.
Thanks

 

[AmBo]

It's amazing what a good body shop can do. They repaired my front bumper. You tell me if you would notice. Here is a before and after (by the way, I hate whipping out these pics so you better appreciate it lol. Only reason I show you is to ease your mind about your 'minor' accident being repaired.)

BEFORE:

AFTER:
View attachment 426680

 

[RED2001GT]

It's amazing what a good body shop can do. They repaired my front bumper. You tell me if you would notice. Here is a before and after (by the way, I hate whipping out these pics so you better appreciate it lol. Only reason I show you is to ease your mind about your 'minor' accident being repaired.)

BEFORE:

AFTER:
View attachment 426560

You mean to tell me that the body shop did NOT replace your front bumper and that they ONLY repaired it by sanding it and using heat treatment on it and using filler on it?
Did you have any deep gouges and any creases or uneven imperfections in your front bumper after you had the accident like I do? I see the picture, but it's hard to tell whether or not you have any really bad gouges or creases in your front bumper from your accident.
Please fill me in on this.

Thanks

 

[AmBo]

Yes, all the above. There were TONS of deep lacerations and scratches. There was one heavy ding though the pic didn't pick it up. That is the same bumper in both pics. Completely repaired, not replaced. make sure you find a very good body shop!

 

[Kilgore Trout]

Nah, I think that price is right on. There is a possibility that further damage will be discovered during repairs but if it is just fixing and re-spraying the bumpers that price makes sense. Do they computer color match? What technique do they use for color matching? There is nothing worse than poorly matched paint, that is one of the reasons I sold my GT

 

[AmBo]

Nah, I think that price is right on. There is a possibility that further damage will be discovered during repairs but if it is just fixing and re-spraying the bumpers that price makes sense. Do they computer color match? What technique do they use for color matching? There is nothing worse than poorly matched paint, that is one of the reasons I sold my GT

If you were REALLY that concerned you wouldn't have bought ANOTHER red car.

 

[RED2001GT]

A small town body shop is doing the work for me. It's a very small facility, but people that I know who have used him say that he does excellent work. I've used him 2 years ago to do some repairs on the same Mustang vehicle which is damaged right now when the Ford Service Department bent the rocker panel seam lip underneath one side of the car when they put a a jack under my car to lift it in order to get a nail out of one of my tires. This same exact body shop did the repairs and they did a good job.
This is the ONLY body shop that I know, but I don't know them that good. All the other body shops in my area I don't know at all.

 

[RED2001GT]

Yes, all the above. There were TONS of deep lacerations and scratches. There was one heavy ding though the pic didn't pick it up. That is the same bumper in both pics. Completely repaired, not replaced. make sure you find a very good body shop!

Your response in here makes me feel a little more comfortable about the repairs which the body shop wants to do to my Mustang. At least they will take off BOTH bumpers to do the body work. One other body shop that I went to said that he would take off the front bumper to do the repairs, but that he will NOT take off the rear bumper like it should be taken off the car in order to do the repair correctly to sand down the bumper and to repaint it. He said that he would do the repairs on the rear bumper while the rear bumper was ON the car. I didn't go for that. He said that he will do ONLY the work which the insurance company tells him to do which is a bunch of bull$hit.

 

[AmBo]

Your response in here makes me feel a little more comfortable about the repairs which the body shop wants to do to my Mustang. At least they will take off BOTH bumpers to do the body work. One other body shop that I went to said that he would take off the front bumper to do the repairs, but that he will NOT take off the rear bumper like it should be taken off the car in order to do the repair correctly to sand down the bumper and to repaint it. He said that he would do the repairs on the rear bumper while the rear bumper was ON the car. I didn't go for that. He said that he will do ONLY the work which the insurance company tells him to do which is a bunch of bull$hit.

Luckily my body guy didn't do that. Instead, he allowed me to pay a little out of pocket for an 03 Cobra hood over the standard GT.