How much is this going to cost to fix?

[Geekman]

Wasn't my fault, and no I didn't get the registration. Have reported it but I reckon I'm unlikely to have any luck, especially as the police are so busy today




Bumper is obviously wrecked, headlight washer is damaged, lower grill is damaged, edge of wing is bent but not scratched, foglight seems to be okay. Sent the pictures to a local guy and he said it would be around £1000 which seems insane. Car is a 2007 mazda 3 sport.

Edited by Geekman on Friday 18th January 15:15

[joe_90]

Easy 1K +. Hence if possible I just work from home and bks to all that.

Just think of the number you had in mind, double it, add a bit, then add VAT.

[mattball]

Find a scrapyard with a car in your colour. Decide which parts you want to buy. Sounds like you could get away with just a bumper.

If you're lucky you'll get one for under 100 and then just fit it yourself.

[Stoatman]

Wings knackered though isnt it ?. As above easy 1K plus at a body shop. Mrs has a mazda 3 and we were quoted 600 quid for a rear bumper and then to spray it.

[GreatGranny]

It adds up very quickly.

Bumper + fitting + paint

Lower grill + fitting + paint

Wing straightened + paint

Headlight unit looks misaligned to me or it that because the wing is bent.

I would check wheel alignment and tracking as well.

Not looking forward to my drive home :-(

[V6Alfisti]

Assuming the wing is fixable I would hazard a guess at:-

Bumper £250+vat
Grill £60+vat
Headlamp washer £15+ vat (assuming these are just sprays and nothing fancy)
Paint will be £350+vat for both panels and a little panel fix for the wing from a local quality painter, or nearer £500+vat for a dealer.

Also they will have to check the protection behind the front bumper is in good order, as this could be more.

So 1k doesn't seem that far off from a decent repairer.

You could do it far cheaper, using parts/bumpers from a damaged car in the same colour (but obv one without front damage).

I suspect the wing/bumper would be bolt on/off and done within half a day.

Edited by V6Alfisti on Friday 18th January 14:01

[HustleRussell]

V6Alfisti said:

Assuming the wing is fixable I would hazard a guess at:-

Bumper £250+vat
Grill £60+vat
Headlamp washer £15+ vat (assuming these are just sprays and nothing fancy)
Paint will be £350+vat for both panels and a little panel fix for the wing from a local quality painter, or nearer £500+vat for a dealer.

So 1k doesn't seem that far off from a large authorised repairer.

You could do it far cheaper, using parts/bumpers from a damaged car in the same colour (but obv one without front damage).

I suspect the wing/bumper would be bolt on/off and done within half a day.

I'll go with this. £1k+ to be expected I'm afraid.

[Geekman]

fking ing stting ttting bks.

Really could do without that kind of bill at the moment. People are such s

[Krikkit]

Sorry for your bad luck, but how didn't you get the reg?

[james_gt3rs]

Looks like the wing and bumper damaged, £1000 I'd say. Lucky the headlight was untouched.

What's the betting it was a 4x4 thinking they have tonnes of grip?

[Geekman]

Krikkit said:

Sorry for your bad luck, but how didn't you get the reg?

Wasn't in the car at the time, my friend saw them driving away but is useless with cars so didn't get a very good description. I'm 18 so I'd be just as fked if I went through insurance.

[Alex@POD]

It depends how well you want it to fixed be straight away, you can pick up the parts for less than £150 and fit them yourself, then start saving up for a respray... The wing should bend back in place although will need work later on.

[snotrag]

Geekman said:

I'm 18 so I'd be just as fked if I went through insurance.

You'd be mad to go through insurance. Unfortunately the easiest thing for you to do is get onto the breakers and ebay etc, get a bumper delivered and swap it over.

[skyrover]

that's a DIY job...

hardest part will be getting all the bits quickly

[Chrisw666]

snotrag said:

You'd be mad to go through insurance. Unfortunately the easiest thing for you to do is get onto the breakers and ebay etc, get a bumper delivered and swap it over.

This.

You'll probably find all the parts second hand in the right colours and will not damage your insurance premium.

[Geekman]

snotrag said:

You'd be mad to go through insurance. Unfortunately the easiest thing for you to do is get onto the breakers and ebay etc, get a bumper delivered and swap it over.

Yeah, there's no way I'll be going through insurance!

Alex@POD said:

It depends how well you want it to fixed be straight away, you can pick up the parts for less than £150 and fit them yourself, then start saving up for a respray... The wing should bend back in place although will need work later on.

The previous owner had slightly scraped the wing anyway so I'm not bothered about it looking perfect. The problem I have is that I'm completely useless at anything like this so I just doubt I'd be able to do it. If anyone knows someone in the south east that's handy enough I'd happily pay them!

[CoolC]

Here's one on Ebay with a good front end.

Wrong colour, but it'd get you back on the road quickly, getting it painted later. Bumper replacement is usually pretty straight forward just time consuming with lots of screws and clips.

[beeblebrox]

Geekman said:

I'm 18 so I'd be just as fked if I went through insurance.

If you're not planning to tell your insurers, you might want to get your number plate cropped out of those photos quick sharp.

[HustleRussell]

Geekman said:

Wasn't in the car at the time, my friend saw them driving away but is useless with cars so didn't get a very good description. I'm 18 so I'd be just as fked if I went through insurance.

Bummer. I'm sorry for you.
What's your policy excess? If you have an inclination towards DIY, it may well be cheaper to repair that with used parts than your excess would cost. IMO don't ever expect it to be perfect afterwards though.

[Alex@POD]

Geekman said:

The previous owner had slightly scraped the wing anyway so I'm not bothered about it looking perfect. The problem I have is that I'm completely useless at anything like this so I just doubt I'd be able to do it. If anyone knows someone in the south east that's handy enough I'd happily pay them!

It looks like the damage is "superficial", as in nothing behind the bumper has been damaged or ripped off. Any repair on the front of the car would involve taking the bumper off first, so there shouldn't be anything complicated to remove, you'll be fine even with limited skills. Get yourself a Haynes manual for guidance and you'll have it done in a couple of hours!
In the meantime, I would make sure there are no sharp edges, cover the hole in duct tape, and keep driving as it is until the parts turn up.