MoElkQ5

So, unfortunately my first time on this forum coincides with the first time that I've BACKED MY Q5 INTO MY GARAGE. As you can see, the (slow-speed, may I add) collision was not pretty, probably due to the mess at the back of my garage and in addition to bad-looking scratches, there is definitely a hole in my bumper... yes, a hole. It's a 2012 Q5 with only 9000 miles on it so this one did get straight to my heart.

I'm not completely car-ignorant, but I thought I'd come on here and see if you guys have any tips on how to go about getting my rear bumper replaced. Also, I've heard that cost (w labor) is all the way from 1100 to 1900 so I'm not sure what I should expect, please chime in if you have any idea about that. Your help is much appreciated,

Mostafa

snagitseven

Been there, done that. If it's just the bumper cover that's damaged, a new one is not necessary. It can be removed, repaired and repainted by any good body shop and will look like new. Should be about $500-$600 or so - much more cost effective (about $1000 less) than replacing and painting a new one.

MoElkQ5

Ok thanks, I was hoping someone would tell me that. I'll do my research and I'm sure I'll be back here if I decide I can replace it on my own.

One last thing though; are you telling me that my best option for a clean job would be to order a new bumper cover and have a good body shop here in LA install for me or to get my existing one repaired? Considering it has a small hole through it, I was under the impression that I would have to totally get rid of it and I'm sure there's a good price discrepancy between the two options.

jbbarrette

I think he's saying to have yours repaired. Personally, depending on the cost of a new one, I would go the new route.

ColdBrew

I would have the piece replaced. It also looks like the piece above it is damaged as well (low resolution picture). They may or may not be able to be repair it without removing it (which adds cost).

Depending on the cost to repair and your deductible, you may just want to let insurance fix it.

snagitseven

If done by a body shop, a new bumper cover will have to be painted as well which is another reason it would cost $1000-$1200. If you know how to replace it yourself, the discounted part costs about $430 plus the cost to have it painted for another $200 or so. I've had bumper covers removed, repaired, repainted and reinstalled by a quality body shop for $500 and when finished, they looked like new.

Motor Head

Give DC AutoCraft in Burbank a call. This body shop did an excellent job repairing my rear bumper. The repair looked OEM.

Motor Head

It appears your rear bumper will need to get replaced.

snagitseven

And you've determined this how? You can tell from the photo that it's unrepairable? Small holes as seen in the photo can be filled, sanded and repainted with no visible defects by a quality body shop that knows what they're doing. Only if the bumper cover was completely malformed, severely dented or showing large cracks would a replacement would be necessary and at least from the OP's photo, I'm not seeing that.

Coolieman1220

yes that is one way to do it but most shops will not want to do that. the amount of labor that goes into that, they'd rather get the same money doing less work by putting a new bumper cover on. patching it is never easy nor is it time friendly.