Plow hit my car

Plow hit my car, it was a pickup with work boxes on the sides. Rode up on the bumper.

Turn signal light no longer exists at all, is pulled out of the car and broken just a dangling wire and bulb. The plastic part (black) where the light attaches might need replacing.

Metal panel is pushed in behind the light.

Front bumper has a nasty groove from the start of the curve to in front of the head light. The work box rode over the bumper and
tore the light out and the chrome piece out of the bumper.

Gouge is very deep.

I'm pretty upset as the car was in beautiful shape. I mean it was real nice.

So I'm going to say the corner light is probably $40, but the metal work, paint and if they can fix the bumper, I doubt it.

How much you think this is gonna cost?

Pics.

The plastic part where the bulb attaches is part of the headlight housing. You'll need a headlight.

Corner lights are way less than $40. Like, $10 at any junkyard ever.

What kind of wagon? Caprice or Roadmaster? If it's a Caprice, just get a new bumper and forget it. Easy.

Curiousnapper wrote:

Plow hit my car, it was a pickup with work boxes on the sides. Rode up on the bumper.

Turn signal light no longer exists at all, is pulled out of the car and broken just a dangling wire and bulb. The plastic part (black) where the light attaches might need replacing.

Metal panel is pushed in behind the light.

Front bumper has a nasty groove from the start of the curve to in front of the head light. The work box rode over the bumper and
tore the light out and the chrome piece out of the bumper.

Gouge is very deep.

I'm pretty upset as the car was in beautiful shape. I mean it was real nice.

So I'm going to say the corner light is probably $40, but the metal work, paint and if they can fix the bumper, I doubt it.

How much you think this is gonna cost?

It depends on whether you are paying for it, or the snow plow driver's insurance is paying for it. Where are you located? It should be in your sig.

Person was my neighbor. He was being nice clearing all the 4 foot tall snow heaps for the street.

No good deed goes unpunished...

I want to do this proper but not involve insurance, so I am looking to try and fix this myself or on the cheap by doing the headlight replace, and perhaps even the buffing of the pain smears.

The body work I am not so certain how to approach. Bumper is plastic so I have no idea how you fix gouged plastic. It's not like metal where you can just take a bar of lead to it...

Pat (buickestate) would know a thing or two about bumper refinishing. Shoot him a PM.

Actually Ray if anyone knows about getting their wagons fixed after a accident its YOU buddy! .You could write a book about it,sorry I couldnt resist the urge!Snapper,the damage appears minimal so just take your time to do it right. 

Looks to me like that dent in the fender could be worked out especially if the fender was removed from the car. It may also be possible to buff most of that scuff away. The leading edge of the fender would probably need some touch up feathered in. Get some opinions from a couple paintless dent repair folks.

Stingroo wrote:

Pat (buickestate) would know a thing or two about bumper refinishing. Shoot him a PM.

It wasn't Pat that refinished that bumper...

Curiousnapper, PM me and I'll get you started on what you need to fix that.....

The headlight looks like it is not damaged, but the bracket has the pivot broken. The brackets are inexpensive. Corner light is cheap. Do you have a single or dual bulb? You can get a repair system for plastic at Harbor Freight for about $90. You need a compressor, and some of the urethane repair sticks. Once you have filled it, you sand and paint to match. Getting a used one in the junk yard is cheap, but you have to get it painted either way. Having the bumper cover shipped by Greyhound is about $60 from almost anywhere. Like mentioned above, I would have a paintless dent guy look at the fender. It might only cost $75 to get the panel straightened. You will be getting it painted to some extent anyway, and could have it done with the bumper cover.

Where in God's name is Picatinny Arsenal?

Superior Finish wrote:

Stingroo wrote:

Pat (buickestate) would know a thing or two about bumper refinishing. Shoot him a PM.

It wasn't Pat that refinished that bumper...

Curiousnapper, PM me and I'll get you started on what you need to fix that.....

Well then.

I stand corrected. PM this guy ^

When I read "plow hit my car" I had visions of something much worse. From what I can see the bumper cover looks very repairable, as does the fender. Any local shop should be able to fix that kind of damage easily. Get a few estimates, and share them with your neighbor. As you mentioned, buffing the damaged areas with both coarse and fine compound will get rid of the clear coat smearing. I would think maybe 2 hours body damage for the fender, another 2 hours for the bumper cover, partial paint time on the cover, and paint time on the fender,and clear coat on both panels, plus the headlight and side marker. Not a big deal, thankfully for you and your unlucky neighbor.

Same here. I was expecting much worse.
It about what my waif e did to the HHR SS backing out of the driveway (Same driveway that she's backed out of for 30 years).

I was anticipated major crumple zones in the tail. A bumper, headlight and maybe a fender is relatively minor when you consider what could have happened.

lakeffect wrote:

Same here. I was expecting much worse.
It  about what my waif e did to the HHR SS backing out of the driveway (Same driveway that she's backed out of for 30 years).

I was anticipated major crumple zones  in the tail. A bumper, headlight and maybe a fender is relatively minor when you consider what could have happened.

Thank you for all the replies. I greatly appreciate the help.

The biggest problem I face is where I live.

The surrounding area has some of the highest incomes in the country, so finding a repair shop is going to be major problems for me.
When most of the cars they fix are $90,000 bmws who is going to care about small work paid in cash? They have the insurance gravy train lined up year round.

I'll wait on the PM from the more knowledgeable people and I will post updates as I go along in the repair.

Once again thank you for all the replies, this is a great community.

I have a DGGM front fender of a Roadmaster without wood if that helps.

Stingroo wrote:

Superior Finish wrote:

Stingroo wrote:

Pat (buickestate) would know a thing or two about bumper refinishing. Shoot him a PM.

It wasn't Pat that refinished that bumper...

Curiousnapper, PM me and I'll get you started on what you need to fix that.....

Well then.

I stand corrected. PM this guy ^

No, you were right Sting...Pat did his own bumper and fender on his Chevy...sorry Robert.  lol

But Superior Finish is the place to talk too.

Curiousnapper wrote:

lakeffect wrote:

Same here. I was expecting much worse.
It  about what my waif e did to the HHR SS backing out of the driveway (Same driveway that she's backed out of for 30 years).

I was anticipated major crumple zones  in the tail. A bumper, headlight and maybe a fender is relatively minor when you consider what could have happened.

Thank you for all the replies. I greatly appreciate the help.

The biggest problem I face is where I live.

The surrounding area has some of the highest incomes in the country, so finding a repair shop is going to be major problems for me.
When most of the cars they fix are $90,000 bmws who is going to care about small work paid in cash? They have the insurance gravy train lined up year round.

I'll wait on the PM from the more knowledgeable people and I will post updates as I go along in the repair.

Once again thank you for all the replies, this is a great community.

I really wouldn't worry about that. Body shops exist like any other business-they are there to make money. Some jobs are small, others are big. That is just the way it goes. I'm a retired insurance appraiser, and I have also been a body shop manager at 2 different shops over the years. If you get a cold shoulder from a shop (which I would find highly unlikely) go to another shop. Unless you live in a very remote area, everywhere I have been in this country has plenty of privately owned body shops. Unless you go to a dealership, most shops are privately owned. So go out and get a few estimates and don't worry if your car is not a new BMW.

Curiousnapper wrote:

The surrounding area has some of the highest incomes in the country, so finding a repair shop is going to be major problems for me.
When most of the cars they fix are $90,000 bmws who is going to care about small work paid in cash? They have the insurance gravy train lined up year round.

You need to dump the defeatist mind set first,. if you assume the worst your demeanor will encourage it,..
finding a sympathetic shop doesn't seem like a major problem.

I,d definitely try the old "can you help me fix this" approach,.ask for tips on how to repair it,. get ahold of a paintless dent removal guy,. you can polish the paint scrapes yourself,.
Robert is very knowledgeable,.and is experienced at "panel" touchups,..you'll be fine,. its only a very minor scrape,.not much drama here really.

I was expecting something a little more exciting,.

Major OUCH on that picture! That one won't buff out.

Good points Nick.

I would assume the color of your money is tha same as the guy with the BMW. There are times when "small jobs" are needed when waiting for other parts for the BIG jobs. Do you need the car NOW, or can you give him 2 weeks oi fit it in around other big buck tasks that have time limits.

It's easier tor to cut some $$$ slack for a guy who isn't making high demands of the shop's priorities.

O.k. after checking around the lowest price I got was $800.

Sounds about right for the damage visible in the picture. But, like most other things in life, you get what you pay for. Don't ever get body work done just on price alone. Check out other jobs at his shop that are done or nearly done. The general condition of your car should also dictate how much to spend on the repair. If it is a flawless 10,000 mile original car, spend a few more bucks for some more attention to detail. Just an average daily driver with pre existing dings and scratches? Maybe that $800 quote is right on the money. It sounds like this is your first experience with a body shop, so don't be afraid to ask questions. It's the only way to educate yourself and not get ripped off.

Anyone have a picture of a wagon with the bumper cover removed?

It is the same as the Sedan....

I JUST deleted all of the pics from Pat's Pontiac wagon.....

You mean a picture... like this one?

Ray you need to paint that firewall!

I know I do. It's really the only thing that's still red on the car.

Don't feel bad Ray, mine is still gray.

Superior Finish wrote:

Stingroo wrote:

Pat (buickestate) would know a thing or two about bumper refinishing. Shoot him a PM.

It wasn't Pat that refinished that bumper...

Curiousnapper, PM me and I'll get you started on what you need to fix that.....

true but then there was the rain issue....I did refinish it after the rain, so far my work has proven to be rain proof......

....Until it got cold, and shattered.

500 repaints, and YOU get "that" one. Never before, and not since....

I will say that I will never use new Chinese knockoff bumpers again. Used or NOS replacement parts only since that debacle.

800 seems high when all you need to replace is the corner light they were only 28 bucks Canadian last time I checked for a Chinese repop.
from what I see in the picture the extent of the body work is to wet sand, touch up some base then clear coat then cut and buff, 4 hours prep time, 1 hour booth time, 2-3 hours cut and buff, at 80 bucks shop rates and taxes come out close to your 800 quote

if you were close to Robert I know he could fix you up for less, he may know of a guy in your area who can do the same work for less.

here is mine after I re worked it



body work isn't magic, I took my sedan from this





to this in one day, with no material costs. just my time and labour

Thanks for all the pictures.

The driver side front quarter, do I have to remove the headlights to get it off?

if it were me, I would buff the heck out of it, then touch up the gouge, and replace the corner light. It will look a lot better while you formulate a plan for a more permanent fix. You will be surprised how much a good rubbing compound will get out.

Curiousnapper wrote:

Thanks for all the pictures.

The driver side front quarter, do I have to remove the headlights to get it off?

You have to remove the headlight to get the fender off, and to make it easier, remove the hood as well.

I recommend removing the hood because it's easier to do those 4 bolts than it is to mess with all the torx head screws that hold the hinge onto the fender.


There's also a hidden screw up by the windshield along the plastic wiper cowl. In the corner, you can peel away some foam/rubber weather stripping and you will find it. I think it's a 10mm, but it might be a 13. I forget.

Remove headlight, undo front bolts holding the fender to the core support, then reach under and remove the bolts that secure it to the bumper (removing the bumper is pretty easy, too, actually, since you'll be doing that already). Then make sure you hit all the bolts that are under the wheel well, and don't forget the one at the very bottom of the fender along the back that is right under the rocker trim.

Also, you will have to open the door to get access to two of the bolts that secure the fender to the car.

It's fairly simple to remove. The only annoying part is the hood, which again, I recommend just removing entirely and getting hinges from your donor fender if at all possible.

The hidden bolt is a 13MM.

94Woody wrote:

The hidden bolt is a 13MM.

A rusty 13mm bolt!  

Ah.

Hey, 33% shot on a B-body if you bring a 7, 10, or 13.


That almost looks like my car... the red firewall, haha.

That is my old 92 Sedan, I really miss that car. Yes, Flash, she was VERY rusty