bumper repaint, remove or not?

[jy104]

I bumped into other car in the parking lot and got some scratches in rear right corner of the bumper, 5-6 round shape black spots. Tried touch-up paint but did not work.
I took it to body shop and they said that I have option to repaint whole bumper with/without removing bumper. Removing will cost about $100 more.
They said that there could be a line at the top of bumper if not removed.
What should I do?

 

[moose66]

Multiple opinions (quotes) is the first thing to do to get additional feedback/options for the repair. If it still boiled down to a decision to remove the bumper or not, I would remove the bumper. Especially if that is going to get it back to looking as close to it did prior to the incident. Good luck!

 

[Sayantsi]

Imo taking it off is the better way to do it.

A good body shop shouldn't have a line where they masked off the car, but at least they told you there would be a line. Considering there's only a handful of bolts holding the bumper cover onto the car, charging you $100 to remove it also seems overpriced considering they won't have to take the time to mask the car.

What is this shop charging you to paint the bumper anyway? You need to be mindful of the shop's reputation for quality work, and what they will do to prep the surface before hand. 90% of painting is prep - if the shop just shoots it without the proper sanding it will start to peel off the car and you'll have a bigger mess on your hands.

 

[jy104]

Thank you for your replies.
I went to four diffenrent body shops and the cost varies from 250 to 1000.
The one I prefer will charge around 300 for repainting and 100 to take the bumper off. Is it overpriced?

 

[Sayantsi]

Thank you for your replies.
I went to four diffenrent body shops and the cost varies from 250 to 1000.
The one I prefer will charge around 300 for repainting and 100 to take the bumper off. Is it overpriced?

I don't think its overpriced at $300, but for $100, I'd take the bumper off myself. It is held on with 8-12 bolts or so I believe. of course, you'd need to transport it to and from the shop, so maybe that $100 is worth it to you. Ask them to do the job for $350 and see what they say.

 

[tjc78]

I would remove the bumper. About two years ago I paid around $375 to have the bumper removed, the dent filled, and painted with three stage paint (pearl). This was at a very good body shop in NJ.