Twit scraped my rear bumper, £££ to fix?

[lillia]

The lovely weather yesterday inspired me to undertake an impromptu trip to surprise a friend who was conducting business out by Lakeside. Drove into the car park at the shopping centre, found a lovely parking spot on the (one-way) section leading away from the entrance to Primark. This was only my second visit to Lakeside in this car, and I already knew from previous observation just how terrible many of the patrons were at parking. So I parked well within the double white lines, made sure that no parts were sticking out. In short, I did everything I could to ensure that an unthinking moron would not manage to touch the car, no matter how badly they drove. Satisfied, I left the car. Had a quick meeting, arranged for an evening adventure, did a brief spot of shopping, picked up some food and went back to car after less than an hour.

And stood there in disbelief.

The rear nearside bumper was quite visibly, and very recently scraped, removing the paint in parts. No note on the windscreen. And not a soul in sight, save for the security guard pacing the floor up the road in Primark. The car beside me had no signs of damage, however the ones in front of and beside me did. In fact the one beside me had such fresh damage that I wondered for a second whether the perpetrator had been stupid enough to park on the other side of me after having scraped my bumper. Took a few photos of my damaged car. Also took photos of the cars around. The security guard was helpful. He suggested I ring the mall security on the courtesy phone and ask them to check their CCTV footage. Another helpful gentleman came, took details. Unfortunately the cameras were not trained at that section of the car park, so they would not have footage of the incident, but may be able to look at cars approaching and leaving the general area. They will contact me if they spot anything. To safeguard myself more than anything else, I filed a report and received the all-important police report number for insurance purposes. My 45-minute visit turned into a 3-hour ordeal. But the police at Grays were very helpful and accommodating. Have never done anything like this before, so had no idea what to expect. We'll see what happens. If I catch that bugger(!).

The thing is, to many, the damage is not significant - but it is to me - I have now joined the ranks of pitiful people in London with banged-up/scratched up cars, and this makes me really, really sad. The car was looking so good before.

Now to my question: my insurance excess is either £350 or £500 - I can't remember which at the moment.

1. How much would it cost to fix the bumper and make it look decent again? Obviously, if it isn't much then I would cover the cost(s) myself.
2. What would the job entail and how long would it take?
3. Can anyone recommend a place in London?
4. I would not mind having the entire car machine polished at the same time if possible, to remove a few surface scratches. I don't suppose any of the expert DIY-ers on the forum would be up to the job for a sum that would not bankrupt me?

All suggestions are welcome. I am calmer now, but last night I just wanted to hit something/someone.

[40s]

o.k. lillia calm down it's not the end of the wold .I know it looks bad and every time you go to get in the car your eye is drawn to the skuf. but it dosen't look to bad.the car will still drive as it should,you could go to a paint shop and get a match of the same colour for say about ten pounds.just find someone able to do the job on the cheap. ten min job.

[stevo48]

That does indeed look like very minor damage, I do however understand how you are feeling having your pride and joy damaged by some careless moron who should learn to park.
I personally would use autoglym high resin polish, a soft cloth and a little elbow grease should see that as good as new.

[Paul Wildsmith]

always worth trying a gentle rub with autoglym (my favoured make) - I once thought I'd done terrible damage to a wing, but most of it was paint from the lamp post! However, autoglym however good won't replace the paint! I did similar damage to my car last year (backed into a low (but not low enough) rock. I think I paid my paint man about £90. The alternative, assumming only a little paint mising is to touch up oneself - it won't look like new, but would just cost the price of the paint tube.

Where possible I always try to park on end positions, or at far reaches of supermarkets, or even just very badly across two spaces (well, that's Volvo drivers for you ..). Actually my main problem is occasional passengers (in laws are the worse) who think nothing of just throwing the door open regardless of what you may be near. I try and keep the doors locked, then leap out to open it for them (this also helps ones reputation as a helpful son in law ...)

[JamesV70R]

A friend of mine has a similar size + style of scrape on the front of his Alfa's bumper - He has been quoted £90 for a repair. I'd expect that would be around-about what you'd be expecting to pay for that.

They might even be able to "touch up" any extra stone chips etc for a few extra £ while they've got the paint, so it would be the perfect opportunity to get rid of any little annoyances in the paint!

[lillia]

Thanks for all your tips and suggestions. I am slowly coming to terms with it, but am still a bit annoyed about the whole thing. And you're right. It was enough to look at the photographs this morning; I have still not been able to look at the car in the flesh today, I have a feeling it would be too depressing.

How about places to get this fixed? I really don't mind driving a bit (under an hour) to a good place to get it done. Would like to get it fixed this week if I can - sooner, rather than later.

I do have a Volvo touch up stick (base metallic + clear coat) that I bought before the summer, but I think the amount of missing paint would require more than that. And I would not dare try to do something like that myself, might make it worse.

[arcturus]

You could try the mobile paint people. Can't remember what they are called. They come to your house. Fixed up the bumper a couple of years ago, good enough so that I won the class at the BKV. I believe even Halfroads offer that service in store.

[Ninja59]

looking at that i would seriously consider taking it to a professional detailer iirc around your way there is a fair few but it might be worth ringing James at Auto Finesse hes london way and will give your a proper op. of whether it will polish out or just respray (personally i would avoid SMART repairs at all cost i have had/seen some good and frankly awful work and sadly the latter is more common it all depends on how good you want the finish and if necessary james or one of his guys could find a decent BS)

[Chaddie]

My old man had a couple of scraps like that on his bumper and a dent, he got a quote from someone in the local supermarket car park (think it was Chips Away) and they came to his home to do it, they filled the dent (to big to pull out) & sprayed the whole bump.

He was selling the car so wanted it doing, they charged him about £150 and made a really good job, I could tell because I knew where the dent was, but the spray and colour match was near perfect.

[gibble king]

looks like someone from opposite behind you reversed into you not from parking to the sides....got all the hall marks of reverse and turn scraping ...swines...you have my sympathies..i hope you stiff them good and proper on the charges

[Volvo2002]

That is very minor mate. I have a Door crease on my S40 presently that is on show to the whole world. It's getting fixed next week for £120.00

[docjd]

So annoying-but could have been a lot worse!
Mobile guys should be able to help if it still shows after polishing!

[lillia]

looks like someone from opposite behind you reversed into you not from parking to the sides....got all the hall marks of reverse and turn scraping ...swines...you have my sympathies..i hope you stiff them good and proper on the charges

Thanks, that's what I thought at first, but the road is very wide, so the cars on the other side are far away. The car park has a system of one-way roads with the parking bays being slanted, so that cars drive into them and reverse out. That makes it pretty awkward to reverse in and drive out, since the driver would then have to make a wide arc to get out - they can't drive out towards the left because it is a one-way road. We think that either someone either drove past the parking space to the left of my car and then attempted to reverse into the space, or they drove into the space from the set of bays in front of the car (slanted the other way) and then failed to make the arc wide enough when driving out. Much like you have said, it is most likely to be due to an abysmal reverse manoeuvre.

Anyway, I have a bit of time now to ring around and drive out to get some quotes and I wonder, has anyone ever used Braydon Motor Company in Hackney for actual body work? I know they service cars, but only just noticed a very limited description, though mainly about insurance claims and accidents. I'm thinking that since they are Volvo specialists, they would be able to match the colour if no-one else can!

Thanks for the tip Ninja59, I'll ring James at Auto Finesse in a moment.

[Anadinolin]

lillia, when i visit lakeside (which is frequently given my location :P) i always go round to the bus stop (drive round and you'll see a random car wash booth, that is where im talking about) and park in the multi-storey round there, the bottom floor is just diasabled, the next floors upwards arent, and theres a walkway into debenhams on the third floor, i would suggest parking there - less crowded ;)

[lillia]

:) Thanks, now you tell me! The very sympathetic security (CCTV) guard suggested something similar (if I ever go back!). Apparently there is a "Level 1" in one of the car park buildings beyond the bridge that few people know exist. Some staff use it, but that's it. He says it's always empty. Most people drive onto Levels 2 and 3, because apparently you have to drive down to Level 1 after entering. He even suggested I park across two spaces (that's what he does), much as Paul Wildsmith did previously. That will be my tentative new strategy from here on - but I doubt it would work at Lakeside.

All this time I've been seeing people parked across two spaces, it has never occurred to me that this could be a strategy to avoid car park damage! But now that I think about it, cars like that always have lots of space around them. Only the brave venture near.

I paid a visit to Braydon and they gave me an estimate for the bumper, which was very reasonable, "around £90" he said, hopefully not much more. I thought I could get them to polish out the few scratches, but apparently they don't do things like that. I'll have to look around for a good detailer to deal with that - I didn't get to speak with the guy at Auto Finesse, but from the website the services they offer seem comprehensive. I'll ring them and try to schedule something as soon as it's safe to touch the bumper. How soon after spraying a car can it be detailed?

[gjd]

:) He even suggested I park across two spaces (that's what he does), much as Paul Wildsmith did previously. That will be my tentative new strategy from here on - but I doubt it would work at Lakeside.

All this time I've been seeing people parked across two spaces, it has never occurred to me that this could be a strategy to avoid car park damage! But now that I think about it, cars like that always have lots of space around them. Only the brave venture near.

Hello

I suggest you read the signs at the carpark before you try this. Many of the carparks around "Out Of Town" shopping centres such as Lakeside are operated by private companies. They might try to clamp or fine you for failing to park within the markings of a designated space.

[volvorocks]

The lovely weather yesterday inspired me to undertake an impromptu trip to surprise a friend who was conducting business out by Lakeside. Drove into the car park at the shopping centre, found a lovely parking spot on the (one-way) section leading away from the entrance to Primark. This was only my second visit to Lakeside in this car, and I already knew from previous observation just how terrible many of the patrons were at parking. So I parked well within the double white lines, made sure that no parts were sticking out. In short, I did everything I could to ensure that an unthinking moron would not manage to touch the car, no matter how badly they drove. Satisfied, I left the car. Had a quick meeting, arranged for an evening adventure, did a brief spot of shopping, picked up some food and went back to car after less than an hour.

And stood there in disbelief.

The rear nearside bumper was quite visibly, and very recently scraped, removing the paint in parts. No note on the windscreen. And not a soul in sight, save for the security guard pacing the floor up the road in Primark. The car beside me had no signs of damage, however the ones in front of and beside me did. In fact the one beside me had such fresh damage that I wondered for a second whether the perpetrator had been stupid enough to park on the other side of me after having scraped my bumper. Took a few photos of my damaged car. Also took photos of the cars around. The security guard was helpful. He suggested I ring the mall security on the courtesy phone and ask them to check their CCTV footage. Another helpful gentleman came, took details. Unfortunately the cameras were not trained at that section of the car park, so they would not have footage of the incident, but may be able to look at cars approaching and leaving the general area. They will contact me if they spot anything. To safeguard myself more than anything else, I filed a report and received the all-important police report number for insurance purposes. My 45-minute visit turned into a 3-hour ordeal. But the police at Grays were very helpful and accommodating. Have never done anything like this before, so had no idea what to expect. We'll see what happens. If I catch that bugger(!).

The thing is, to many, the damage is not significant - but it is to me - I have now joined the ranks of pitiful people in London with banged-up/scratched up cars, and this makes me really, really sad. The car was looking so good before.

Now to my question: my insurance excess is either £350 or £500 - I can't remember which at the moment.

1. How much would it cost to fix the bumper and make it look decent again? Obviously, if it isn't much then I would cover the cost(s) myself.
2. What would the job entail and how long would it take?
3. Can anyone recommend a place in London?
4. I would not mind having the entire car machine polished at the same time if possible, to remove a few surface scratches. I don't suppose any of the expert DIY-ers on the forum would be up to the job for a sum that would not bankrupt me?

All suggestions are welcome. I am calmer now, but last night I just wanted to hit something/someone.

Lillia

Quoted your long post as it is so annoying that people will hit cars and b*gger off.

Had it myself in a 3 day old Rangie (yes 3 day old) years ago and cost about £200 to polish out along with a minor crack.

Would love to meet these people face to face...

.........but hey....

have a JD and coke.....chill out and pay the repair......do not worry.

The worry will make you further ill

These things happen.

Not nice but try not to worry

Best regards

[Bill_56]

I share all of your precautions when using supermarket car parks, but morons can always find a way. Funny how you sometimes just get a 'feeling' about some car parks, and you just know they'll attract more morons than usual.

That said, I (erm) once backed my own car out the the garage while Dad was visiting, forgot he was parked in the drive, and took a swipe of paint off his Astra bumper. There was no cracking, just scratched and paint flaked off. I phoned a bodyshop near where he lives (in Glasgow) and arranged to get it fixed for £50. The silver-metallic refinishing was perfect and, five years on, has stayed perfect (he still has the car).

Yours will no doubt cost quite a lot more because mine was 5 years ago, it wasn't London, and it wasn't a Volvo. Thought it might help, though. :)

[lillia]

Lillia
.........but hey....

have a JD and coke.....chill out and pay the repair......do not worry.

The worry will make you further ill

These things happen.

Not nice but try not to worry

Best regards

Thanks, I had some gin with maraschino cherry juice and lemon. Followed by a brandy. Followed by lots of ranting. Followed by green tea! :) Just to keep things healthy.

I am pleased to say that I picked up my car from Braydon yesterday. They re-sprayed that side of the bumper and removed some minor, i.e., hard to see dents that had been in the car when I bought it (nearside passenger doors and offside passenger door - thank goodness I rarely have passengers!). Final sum: £198.00. Not bad at all.

To top it off, they washed and polished the car as well. They were so sweet about it, I felt like hugging them (I didn't, of course).

Bill_56: I suppose the reason I was so shocked was that I am always so careful about where I park, it's not as if I had not taken the relevant precautions - but as you say, morons will find a way!

[Ninja59]

does not look bad on that focused in pic got a larger one to show more of the car? for perfection i would say many BS dont do a final finish polish to enhance the gloss. it might be worth running some Menzerna 203s over it :) it will bring abit more gloss out if you want anymore than that then 85rd/85re will bring a little more bling to the party...

[lillia]

Ninja59: Here you go... two days later.

I'll try to buy that long-lasting bumper treatment Gtechniq C4 that I have been reading about and give the bumpers a once-over before winter.

[Ninja59]

Ninja59: Here you go... two days later.

I'll try to buy that long-lasting bumper treatment Gtechniq C4 that I have been reading about and give the bumpers a once-over before winter.

you dont want c4 for paint....thats for trim you want c1 or c2 or a decent sealant such as Finish Kare 1000p, werkstat Acrylic Prime/Jett/Glos, OptiSeal or a decent wax durable wax such as collinite 845/915.

if you go down the gtech route ensure that all surfaces are completely clean decontaminated (tar remover'ed, iron removed, clayed be careful on fresh paint) .

oh and for meaness mine the grey wearing werkstat acrylic and the d2 wearing colly 845....

http://i1018.photobucket.com/albums/af301/Ninja59/ecf4bd4c.jpg?t=1313774944

[lillia]

Sorry, when I said "bumper" this time, I meant the grey plasticky bits below the newly repaired bumper, :) what you call "trim". So I'll go around the car and do all those parts that are not painted.

Thanks for the tips!

[foggyjames]

In a way, my feelings are a little mixed on painted bumpers. I mean the clue is in the name - bumpers. They ought to absorb the effects of a minor touch without doing themselves hundreds of pounds worth of damage. No-one is perfect, and sooner or later you're going to make an error of judgement. I have a pretty good record with such things, but I kissed a wall in a multi-storey (on the 4th or 5th ramp I decided not to back up...that was a mistake!) a couple of years ago and took off a layer of paint. At least it was my own car.

On one level, I can't argue that there's ever an excuse for not leaving details, but I can understand why people don't - many people are skint nowadays, and when a small error leads to hundreds of pounds worth of damage, completely unnecessarily...I can see how people say "you bought the silly car,
you pay the bill". And yes, I do own two cars with painted bumpers, but still...!

Audi A3s and mk1/2 Mondeos seem to be the worst offender. A3 bumpers seem to fold in on themselves at the lightest touch, requiring a new bumper. A friend did £800 of damage to one, and there wasn't even a mark on his 760. A guy at work has done something similar to his own A3! The Mondeo bumpers splinter with light contact, exposing the foam behind. I'm sure you've seen one. The sale of goods act springs to mind...!

I've got to comment in this, though...

they filled the dent (to big to pull out)
...that's back to front! You shouldn't go deeper than about 1mm with filler, or it's liable to crack - it's not sufficiently flexible. You pull / hammer deep dents as best you can, then skim with filler to finish (unless you're a genius, in which case you do it all in steel...we are not worthy!). Very light dents can be fillered. My university housemate did a smooth tailgate on a Micra with a couple of litres of P45...it was about 15mm deep, and didn't end well...

cheers

James

[lillia]

Thank goodness Volvo bumpers are strong, or the damage (and cost) would have been much worse!

I can confess that shortly after receiving the car, I backed into a low metal post/stump (about the height of the boot). I was going slowly, but even so, the impact was such (and such a surprise) that I immediately jumped out and raced to the back to survey the damage. There was no indentation, not even a scratch, on the car. This would have been smack in the middle of the bumper. I knew that I had hit the stump, which was clearly dented where it had previously been smooth. But try as I might, I could not identify where on the car had come into contact with the stump. Boy, was I relieved! That's when I realised that I had a very sturdy car. :) In all the years I have been driving, this was the first and only time that I have ever backed into something. I felt so lucky that I vowed never to have a repeat incident.

The amount of scratching that was visible after the Lakeside incident indicated to me that there must have been some sort of impact before the failed manoeuvre. So it left me steaming because the person not only made solid contact with the bumper, he/she then continued to attempt a manoeuvre that scraped both the back and side of the bumper, and then did a runner, adding insult to injury!

[foggyjames]

I once managed to back directly into an un-seen bollard. Luckily for me, my aim was so good that it hit the towbar, dead-on...! :) That was a lucky escape!

I had the misfortune to hit a badger in the V70R last year, and it did far less damage than I expected it to, based on how big the bang was. The bumper was cracked, but could have been a lot worse, and I lost a mudflap, foglight, and the bumper trim. Other than that...no harm done!

cheers

James

[40s]

looks good, glad you got it all sorted and all spik and spam, lets hope something like this happens to the BALLOON that bumped it,