Someone went into the back of my car. 1,500 to replace rear bumper

Lostinspace

I've a Seat Leon car. Someone went into the back of my car at a roundabout recently. I got their details as there was a crack in the bumper.

I contacted my insurance to let them know. I contacted Seat main dealer for a quote and was quoted over €1,500 to change the rear bumper (bumper cost, 10 hours labour, painting, cables, vat). It seems like an awful lot for a bumper.

I haven't contacted the person yet but I imagine they won't be too happy to hear the news. Am I right to go to a main dealer in this situation or should I go elsewhere for a quote?

punisher5112

Lostinspace wrote: »

I've a Seat Leon car. Someone went into the back of my car at a roundabout recently. I got their details as there was a crack in the bumper.

I contacted my insurance to let them know. I contacted Seat main dealer for a quote and was quoted over €1,500 to change the rear bumper (bumper cost, 10 hours labour, painting, cables, vat). It seems like an awful lot for a bumper.

I haven't contacted the person yet but I imagine they won't be too happy to hear the news. Am I right to go to a main dealer in this situation or should I go elsewhere for a quote?

It's totally up to you. Ball is in your court.

If the person is genuine and you seem to be you could find a repair garage that is going to cost less but also do just as good a job once you know they are reputable.

Did they offer to pay or do they plan on letting insurance do it?

Is the car very old or new?

If it's recorded on insurance the car value will be less depending. There are a lot of things that can rise the cost also.

Lostinspace

It's a 2010 car. I want to sell it soon enough so maybe it's better to not go through insurance. I haven't contacted them yet but I will so in the next day or two to find out what way they want to do it. Would you know of any reputable body repair garages in Dublin by any chance?

Atlantic Dawn

Tell them the price as soon as possible to see what their angle is, some people will think a new bumper is €100 and painting is €29.50, they live in a sort of fairly land with regard to repair prices.

BorneTobyWilde

Best to repair the damage if its a crack only. Why dismantle it to fit new bumper and have the trouble of cables and man hours. I'm sure a top shop could repair it to as new with a repair and a spray.

punisher5112

Nearly 6 years old it all depends what is there.

You can claim on insurance and even turn down to have repairs but you will be given the quote amount minus VAT.

Is the car immaculate low mileage etc.....

Its really up to you what way you go.

Did the other driver give any problems or have they been in touch. Did they offer to pay?

BorneTobyWilde

A picture would be great...

jluv

Not knowledgeable about cars at all but had similar happen.
Bought new Mondeo. 23 hours later someone hit it causing a rip in the bumper. As the car was so new the dealer wouldn't entertain repair and replaced with new bumper. Cost 1000. That was a year and a half ago..

Car99

Had a dent crease from a very slow garage forecourt tip from a reversing car . Needed new door to put it back as was , looked like nothing but cost €1500 to get fixed by bodywork shop non main dealer.2010 astra. So depending on cost of bumper and colour of car, matching may require more than the bumper paint, €1500 isn't crazy .

colm_mcm

Back when I sold cars (around6 years ago) a new Toyota bumper painted and fitted was €750ish. Is their other damage or something?
10 hours labour is a bit excessive for a bumper.
A main dealer could very well be farming the work out and sticking a nice margin on top.

Lostinspace

BorneTobyWilde wrote: »

A picture would be great...

colm_mcm

What cables are they replacing? Did they mention damage behind the bumper?

Lostinspace

colm_mcm wrote: »

What cables are they replacing? Did they mention damage behind the bumper?

Here is the quote. It's only based on a picture i sent them and subject to change if there is further damage:

Blazer

Lostinspace wrote: »

Here is the quote. It's only based on a picture i sent them and subject to change if there is further damage:

10 hours labour is bull****.
I had a tip recently and needed my front xenon light and ecu replaced along with the side panel and he front bumper with the built in washers etc.
Total labour quoted ?? 4.5 hours.

Benevolent Misanthrope

10 hours of labour to clip a bumper off and another on and fiddle with the lights. What a con.

barneygumble99

Bumper won't be painted when it comes to the dealer. Probably has to be prepped and painted etc. Takes time to do it right. Maybe not 10 hours but it's not a rush job either.

another story as to why people don't trust garages.

BorneTobyWilde

Looks like bumper flexed and cracked the paint, but bumper looks ok to me.
Needs a sand and paint, I see no damage, cracks or dents.

Squall Leonhart

Was rear ended recently, initially looked like just bumper damage, but boot door and boot floor got bent too (lock busted, door wouldn't close), it ended up costing nearly 3,500 in repairs (her insurance paid).

My point is be sure you know it's just superficial damage and that there's nothing else lurking underneath. Though, from your picture it seems pretty straightforward.

Rew

Someone hit my front bumper on an A3 a few years ago. They did a fair bit of damage so had I got a quote from Audi main dealer and (they were next door to each other) Soraghan on the Navan road. Turned out that Audi would only have ordered the parts and handed it off to Soraghan . The Audi dealer weren't setup to do anything more then servicing so they sub contract it all and add a margin on top. Soraghan are the people a lot of Insurance Companies use for repairs id give them a shout.

BorneTobyWilde

You could actually paint just the piece where number plate sits. There is a shape there, like a separate panel.

Nekarsulm

Why is Car Hire one hour thirty minutes, yet labour is ten hours?

How do they know you need fournew brackets, when they have only looked at a photo?

tuxy

Nekarsulm wrote: »

Why is Car Hire one hour thirty minutes, yet labour is ten hours?

It will take them 8 hrs 30 mins to paint the bumper before the OP arrives.

jelutong

€325 +vat for paint and sundries. Does that seem expensive?

Nekarsulm

tuxy wrote: »

It will take them 8 hrs 30 mins to paint the bumper before the OP arrives.

Either I'm stupid, or I'm missing the obvious......
They are hardly going to paint a new bumper and then tell the OP to drive in with the car to have it fitted.
And would any garage not have a "loaner" car for customers?

colm_mcm

jelutong wrote: »

€325 +vat for paint and sundries. Does that seem expensive?

that's a month of sundries

screamer

Jesus I've a seat Leon older but same shape as yours and id be lucky to get 1500 for the whole car! Id not be happy to fork out that kind of money for a cracked bumper on a 6 year old car.

Aint Eazy Being Cheezy

Car hires a day and a half at €25/day, not 90 mins!

TallGlass

That could be fixed for less than 300€. A friend had a similar issue and got it sorted. Excellent job was done also. I'd be hesitant to hand over 1500€ for that.

SCOOP 64

Wouldn't like to be that person getting a bill for €1500 and seen the very little damage they done to the bumper, maybe you should both visit a independent and see if it will be more reasonable , i know it was the other person fault but should you fleece them?

rizzodun

I think the OP has to be commended for second guessing the cost rather than ploughing right ahead as is their right seeing as the other person is claiming.

The cost looks excessive for sure, but plenty of others wouldn't give a toss as they're not paying.

I'd hate to have a genuine accidental tip in this country.

Nekarsulm

Aint Eazy Being Cheezy wrote: »

Car hires a day and a half at €25/day, not 90 mins!

Hits head off table, repeatedly........... 😖

go to another garage and tell them that it was a hit and run, not that someone else will be paying.

CoDy1

glasso wrote: »

go to another garage and tell them that it was a hit and run, not that someone else will be paying.

This. If a garage thinks insurance is paying out and not you, then they will more than likely factor in the cost of a weeks holiday in spain into the quote. If you say its you that is paying, they know you will probably be getting quotes else where and therefore make their quote more 'competitive'

DakarVert

TallGlass wrote: »

That could be fixed for less than 300€. A friend had a similar issue and got it sorted. Excellent job was done also. I'd be hesitant to hand over 1500€ for that.

Yup.... €1500 is insane.

Best thing to do OP is source a bumper from a breakers, Same colour and have it fitted. Won't be on insurance database and it'll blend in. (Can nearly always tell fresh paint unless the rest of the car is polished)


No wonder insurance is mental when stuff like that costs €1500!!

colm_mcm

To be fair, it's not the OPs fault someone hit his car. A new bumper is needed.
This can be got for much less than quoted without going down the road of second hand parts.

Roger Mellie Man on the Telly

Do people sometimes pocket the cash and not bother fixing the car?

colm_mcm

Course they do

Years and years ago a Budweiser truck spilt a load of bottles out the side while it was coming onto a roundabout, literally flew under the wheels of my car. Damaged an alloy and burst two (premium) tyres (which were nearly shot anyway)
You'd wanna see the people getting out of their cars and clearing away the unbroken bottles
Anyway got a price from Fiat for the replacement wheel and fitting 2 good years, company paid up promptly (luckily had some spare steelies to keep me going) Found a set of much nicer new abarth wheels and tyres for a good bit less on Buy and Sell (yes, it was that long ago)
Still have the original wheels in the shed at home.

bazz26

DakarVert wrote: »

Yup.... €1500 is insane.

Best thing to do OP is source a bumper from a breakers, Same colour and have it fitted. Won't be on insurance database and it'll blend in. (Can nearly always tell fresh paint unless the rest of the car is polished)


No wonder insurance is mental when stuff like that costs €1500!!

That's fine on a banger but on a 2010 car I wouldn't be dicking around with a second hand panel on such a fresh car especially when the OP isn't liable for what happened to their car.

There is plenty of acceptable middle ground between an over the top quote from a main dealer and a second hand bumper from a scrap yard.

Shemale

A new bumper is about €1,000 including labour, but can easily get a bumper from a scrap yard for about €300.

Tipped a neighbours car doing about 5kmph and left a small dent, left a note and he got a quote of €350, I didn't have it so put it through the insurance who settled it for €1100 even though I sent them the estimate for €350.

twowheelsonly

colm_mcm wrote: »

Back when I sold cars (around6 years ago) a new Toyota bumper painted and fitted was €750ish. Is their other damage or something?
10 hours labour is a bit excessive for a bumper.
A main dealer could very well be farming the work out and sticking a nice margin on top.

Back in January 2000 my Mrs had a 2 week old Scenic that a neighbour reversed into with a ladder sticking out the back of his van. Carved up the bonnet and needed a replacement.
Quote from Renault Main Dealer - £800
Quote from Panel Beater/Bodyshop - £400
Same Bodyshop does all of that Renault main dealers work. (Cork)
Easy decision considering that it was a neighbour and he was very good about it.

DakarVert

bazz26 wrote: »

That's fine on a banger but on a 2010 car I wouldn't be dicking around with a second hand panel on such a fresh car especially when the OP isn't liable for what happened to their car.

There is plenty of acceptable middle ground between an over the top quote from a main dealer and a second hand bumper from a scrap yard.

It's 6 years old so hardly new? (I drive a 2008 so not biased and Ik very particular with my cars)

I'd much much rather put a good 2nd hand bumper on for €300 or so and settle outside of insurance.


Put it through insurance and the car will have a marker against it, Fit a bumper the same colour and no-one would ever know and it won't be 'fresh' paint so will blend perfectly.


OP would be in the exact same position as before, No need for a new bumper.



The likes of these 'big' claims for small damages aswell as the 'sore' neck is the reason insurance premiums are so high!! (Nothing against the OP)

Skatedude

It can depend on the car, some bumpers are very simple and can be fitted very cheaply and quickly, others can be ridiculously complicated .
here's a seat leon.
https://www.google.ie/imgres?imgurl=http%3A%2F%2Fimages.esellerpro.com%2F2366%2FI%2F342%2F5%2F1M6825201AAB41.jpg&imgrefurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fitm%2FSEAT-LEON-REAR-BUMPER-INNER-TRIM-IN-BLACK-FOR-AUQ-ARY-ENGINE-2001-TO-2003-1M6825-%2F270654511145&docid=MceJFYN-2aLjDM&tbnid=IuiqLA1PaC_spM%3A&w=447&h=699&safe=off&bih=764&biw=1536&ved=0ahUKEwiw94eRjPXMAhWHvBoKHf_NALEQMwgrKA8wDw&iact=mrc&uact=8

colm_mcm

Different model Leon

SarahS2013

I got a bumper on my old Golf changed by VW after a similar situation and it was €800 parts and labour?! Don't know where they're going with €1500!

colm_mcm

They're going to town

colm_mcm

colm_mcm wrote: »

They're going to town

....for a night out with strippers and coke

Sam Kade

jelutong wrote: »

€325 +vat for paint and sundries. Does that seem expensive?

But sundries also covers shoe leather wear, expensive cloths, boiler suit wear etc

Stallingrad

Dreamland prices. That looks like a smart repair to me, call in to DentPro.

colm_mcm

The bumper is creased where it's been up against the bar behind it. The OP deserves the bumper to be in the same structural condition as it was last month. Any repair done will compromise the bumper. As in if he tips off something, the bumper won't act the same as it would if it hadn't been repaired.
I'm all for saving money, but in this case, the OP didn't damage it himself, so there's a balance between paying €1500 and getting a SMART repair done.
If the bumper cracks again in the same place, I doubt the other party will be willing to pay for another repair.

Hellrazer

People are all very quick to say its a rip off price when you really havent a clue.

That price is probably about bang on for a replacement rear bumper.
The 10 hours isnt just for changing the bumper--Its for painting and prepping and fitting.Youre also forgetting about the VAT.

Ive looked through my last 10 estimates here for rear bumper replacements and they range in price from the lowest being 1200 to the top being 1900.

Why should anyone whos been rear ended accept a second hand part/shoddy repair when it wasnt their fault?
You want it done to manufacturers specifications then you get it done right and pay the going rate--whether thats too high or not is for the insurance companies to decide.