supraboytt

I think my Audi is cursed. I haven't been in any sort of accident since I first got my iscence back in 94- but since I bougt my A8 its like a mgne for problems. Since purchasing the car used- 2 months ago- i have backed into car twice- just minor scratches- then i hit another car in traffic- and knowck out the blinker- and then today i guess i had my car too far forward over a curb- and when i go to back up i rip the entire front bumper off- no sure of what thedmage is on this one- but things do not look good- hopfully it can be refastened and a few fee plastic bits replaced- but knowing my luck it will cost like 7k-anyways- just had to air some of my fustration-
my other car is a 4th gen supra tt- and i think i'm just having issues wihe dimensions of the A8
-thanks or listening

DC

skiracer

Don't feel bad about the bumper being pulled off by a parking curb- there are several people on this forum that have done the same thing, myself included . The cost to re-mount the bumper for me was $110 for a new headlamp washer that was broken, $5 for a set of new plastic "pins" that hold the bumper in place, and about 5 hours of my time to repair one of the two "L" shaped plastic brackets attached to the bumper near the ends and remount the bumper. Fortunately for me, there was no paint damage to repair. If you need to replace the front bumper because of extensive damage, I believe that the part costs around $700 and painting it would run another $500 or so. Not cheap, but not $7K. Good luck getting your Audi back on the road, and remember that you are driving a large car now- it took me a while to get used to it too.

supraboytt

that was awfully nice of you-i feel better- i suppose i over reacted-

i'm not quite sure wat to do- there is a minor scratch on the front and a pretty large scrape on the side of the bumper so i might just rplace it- and have it painted- i'm just worried its onna happen again so i might wait until i sell it-

who knows i take great pride in the appearanc of my cars so this is painful-stuff like this makes me wanna leave boston and move back to pot hole free tucson- where in my 4 years there didn't do any damage to my car-
what can you do
thanks again
DC

Jim Wilke

I pulled the air dam/bumper off, too. Broke both fog lamps and a couple of other bits, cost me $800 to fix it.

supraboytt

what yer is your A8 - it must be newer- bcause as far as i know my fogs are not part of the bumper
hopefully it will cost less- but i'm aready getting the whole " you need to replace the whole bumper and have it repainted" crap from the body shop guys

M5 ETR

Elmer Fudd???

skiracer

Time to find a better body shop. It is easier and more profitable for them to replace the bumper (mark up on the parts, less real work), so that is what they are recommending. They obviously don't have their customer's best interest at heart, they are looking out for themselves. If they can't give you very good and specific reasons as to why they can't repair the old bumper, it is time to move on. As far as the fog lamps in the bumper, I believe that they were moved from the headlamp housing to the bumper in the 2000 model year front facia makeover (I think it was 2000, anyway). If you DO have to replace the bumper, I would look into replacing it with the newer style- it is a little cleaner look, IMHO.

supraboytt

Is itpossible to replace the old bumpers with the newer stle- i certinly wouldn't be oposed to that if it came down to it.

What abut the fog lamp sitution?


I'm still waiting for the call from the body shop-but I can aready sense the news.


I'll keep you posted
thanks for the feedback

DC

skiracer

I am fairly sure that the newer front bumper can be fitted to the older cars,but I am not certain- call your local Audi service/parts department for a better answer. If you do go with the newer bumper, you could retrofit the newer style fog lamps (at additional$$), or you MIGHT be able to use your old bumper inserts that don't have the fog lamp cutouts and leave your fog lamps where they are. But unless your existing bumper is really damaged badly, I would insist that the body shop give you an estimate to repair/reinstall it rather than replacing it. Based on my experience and the current hourly rate for body shops, reinstalling the bumper with some minor fixes shouldn't cost more than $250. (I had the front bumper removed, sanded, repainted, and reinstalled for $425, and that was a first-rate paint job.) Let us know what the body shop tells you.

supraboytt

got the estimate- came to $1500- despite no damage to the bumper cover itself- they said the clips were broken and the entire asembly had to be replaced and replainted- a few oher bits as well-like washer pump

i hate auto repar places- i think they are required to have a degree in extorsion

any thoughts guys?

Do you guys think that peices of the bumper assembly can be purchased seperately?