Is this a smart repair?

[Eleven]

And if so does anyone know a repairer near Nottingham who could do it?

Many thanks.

[Eleven]

t400ble said:

Not really a quick repair

Cannot get another bumper?

That would be slow and expensive. I've had worse repaired at a body shop but I am hopeful that a good smart repairer with some sort of plastic welding could do it.

[Eleven]

Squiggs said:

A bit of plastic welding here, a bit of filler there, sand, prime, flat, paint, lacquer, bake and polish.
Yes it can be done smart.

What should it cost?

[Eleven]

rb5er said:

New bumper

It certainly isn't.

My last Range Rover had a rear bumper smashed quite badly; much worse than that. It was repaired invisibly with fibreglass and repainted.

[Eleven]

rb5er said:

Sorry yes, although anything can be repaired with enough time and money, depending on the car you might be best to get another bumper rather than risk a repair that may well still be visible after. Many smart repair efforts are terrible and the price negligible depending on what car it is and what the damage is. The protruding plastic and shape of damage may make a smart repair difficult.

New bumper would be my choice if it was my pride and joy, if it was a cheap daily driver I would be either trying to source a cheap second hand bumper or a smart repair as a last option. Just my opinion. Depends on cost and how "invisible" you want the repair to be.

It's not a cheap car. It's a fairly new Range Rover Vogue. However my experience is that a half decent "corner" repair is largely invisible due to the shape of the bumper and given that it's a working vehicle there's a fair chance it will get bashed again before long. Not worth a new bumper which would cost what painted? A grand?

[Eleven]

naka said:

Give me a call and I'll have a chat to you about it.
www.getsmart-repairs.co.uk

I left you a voicemail a couple of days ago. Just left another!

[Eleven]

Squiggs said:

RTBmotorsport said:

Needs to be a bodyshop. That kind of damage is more than just a morning or afternoon job.

I have to disagree ......
Other than the split that can be plastic welded the rest of the process is no different to repairing badly gouged damage that needs filling - and a badly gouged repair should be able to be completed in about 3.5 hours.
This may require an extra couple of skims adding on 30 mins or so, with the welding taking about an extra 15 mins at the beginning of the process.
A competent Smart repairer should be able to complete the repair in about 4 to 5 hours - which in my book is either a morning or afternoon.
If it took much longer then he was obviously unsure of the repair process and shouldn't have taken it on.

It's booked in for Wednesday afternoon, smart repair on my drive.

[Eleven]

Okay chaps, so here is the before and after.

[Eleven]

schmunk said:

How much, if you don't mind me asking?

I have similar damage on my side-skirt after driving over a fking rock that some fking fker had placed on the edge of his narrow fking driveway that I fking had to fking drive into.

£240 inc VAT

[Eleven]

Squiggs said:

Good work!
Maybe some of those that said it couldn't be done Smart will now be eating their words - especially if the OP keeps the car, manages not to damage that corner again and puts up another pic of it still looking just as good in a few years time.

One of the reasons a smart repair makes sense on that car is that it is my work car. Also the NSF corner is the one most likely to get a rub in the future. Yes, £240 is not pocket change but a new bumper fully re-sprayed would be how much? For someone then to ding it again in a few months,

I must say that the quality of the work is no worse than I've seen from my local main dealer's body shop, who have had the benefit of proper facilities.

I am very pleased with the outcome.

[Eleven]

tortop45 said:

Well done.So your be going back to them next time.......

It turned out I'd used him before for my wife's Mini. He did a good job on that too, though the job was far less difficult. Given what a mess the Range Rover looked it's quite remarkable.

[Eleven]

7even said:

rb5er said:

7even said:

rb5er said:

The protruding plastic and shape of damage may make a smart repair difficult.

.

Nonsense! It would only be difficult if you didn't know what you were doing. Any experienced tech would do a job like that before breakfast.
Now im not going to list the repair process for something like this as its not in the interest of the readers (also I get in trouble with those in the know as to what and to who I divulge)
Price for a job like this, I would charge around £220-250 and would need the car for a morning or afternoon.

Well we will see how it comes out, but if it were my car I would be sourcing a second hand bumper and getting it sprayed properly. I think you will likely still probably be able to tell there was damage after this repair is carried out, I have pointed out where cars have been damaged in the past when people have said they had an "invisible" smart repair done. I guess it depends how fussy someone is and their eye for detail. I`d rather spend £500 and get the job done properly personally but then maybe thats just me.

Edited by rb5er on Monday 15th December 17:53

As I said all in a days work for a "competent" repairer. Far too many people writing off this trade because of a minority of cowboy traders. But then I suppose its pretty much the same in any game.... almost.

Glad to see its saved you a shed load of money compared to the alternative of having to source a half decent bumper and getting it perhaps repaired and re painted.

It's not just the money, it's the convenience. I think back to many times over the years I've had far more minor dings sorted by a body shop. Car away for a week, big expense, hugely inconvenient.

We live in fortunate times that a lot of car-related woes can now be resolved swiftly, cheaply and at home.