How much for a front bumper respray?

[TW]Fox

[TW]Fox

[TW]Fox

Man of Honour
Joined
17 Oct 2002
Posts
160,240
Guys,

My front bumper is the last part of the car which could do with a refresh - as it has 30k miles worth of lovely stonechips and scratches on it from god knows where. Car should be fantastic afterwards as its literally the last 'panel' that has any marks etc. it also has a nice selection of weird scrapes on it above the numberplate where some prat in a taxi backed into me.

I usually get all my bodywork done at BMW but I'm becoming less than amused by having to go back and get irritating things rectified after (Such as overspray, runs in the paint etc etc) every time I have anything done.

So I'm considering using an independant. How much should I be looking to pay for a good job?

I'll need the front bumper removed, resprayed and refitted with a perfect colour match. BMW want £300. If I can get it done for less than this AND get it done right first time, then great.

Some ballpark figures would be pretty good, most places wont quote without seeing the car first which is a pain!

Cheers :)
 
I had a quote for £120 to do the civic, and that included the splitter. Thats an indy bodyshop.
 
[TW]Fox;15925805 said:
Really? Maybe I should start a thread to find out how much I should pay elsewhere, what do you think? :p
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I'm suprised you have to ask given the numerous threads on the subject but hey :p

Or phonebook? ;)

Or get off your lazy ass and go get some quotes in person!
 
[TW]Fox;15925876 said:
I normally do but this whole having a job thing is really taking up valuable car fiddling time :(
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You're posting on the forum :p

Indys can vary. At the moment a price might seem too good, but it seems they're taking work to keep busy and cash flow. My colleague knows two indys who are in a similar position with attractive prices where I can check out other work they've done (their own cars etc). Wish I had the money to take them up on it really.

£300 will be easily beatable and you're smart enough to pick a place that won't cause too many problems I'm sure. Just pick up the phone and check them out.
 
You will save a whack if you can get the bumper off yourself and re-fit, even if you leave the car with them knocking off that labour should represent a healthy saving.

It cost me £160 to get my rear wing sprayed after it's nice keying. £200-£250 seems to be a pretty average figure for a bumper spray and if I was wanting mine done I would be expecting to pay around that.

Not having an intimate knowledge of your 5 series bumper, is there anything which would need masking off - Bump strips, chrome etc? Or is the whole thing colour coded?
 
If you removed the bumper yourself I would imagine around £100ish at an independant for an "acceptable" job, however, from reading your previous posts I get the impression you would replace a seat if someone broke wind on it. I would be looking at a paintshop that does restoration/high end work, expect to pay around the £200-£250 mark though at least.

I never understand why people use main dealers for paintwork other than for warranty purposes, which is generally a waste of the paper it's printed on.
 
Do you know who does your dealers bodyshop work? Maybe just use another dealer who uses another bodyshop? Direct answer to your question - I have no idea, sorry.
 
My dealer has its own bodyshop. Once I have been back 2 times the job is spot on but they seem to have no quality control and I feel likle a nuisance consantly going back when I find more stuff wrong, just want it done right first time.
 
I agree with you about BMWs bodyshops, an 8 year old with parkinsons and a supersoaker could do better work.

My friend bought a pretty decent air compressor from Aldi for like £80, came with spray guns and everything, since then we've been doing all our own and our mates re-fibreglassing, sanding and respraying. Works out very cheap, plus you get the satisfaction of knowing the job is done right and to your standards. Only problem is it takes up your weekend... :(
 
Some of the most incredibly perfect paintwork I've ever seen has come from some of the crappiest shoddy grubby workshops the world has ever seen. And most of the crap work I've seen has come from places that give you coffee and cakes and magazines.

Bottom line really is to find the right PERSON, not the right place. It's the human element that is the difference between an ace job and a mess.

I'd be looking to pay £250 to a craftsman.
 
As you know I paid £120 for my front bumper to be resprayed, he didn't take it off but has done a cracking job compared to the mess that was there before, flattened it all back and got a great colour match. But would obviously require you to come up to your grandmas for a few days!
 
[TW]Fox;15926113 said:
My dealer has its own bodyshop. Once I have been back 2 times the job is spot on but they seem to have no quality control and I feel likle a nuisance consantly going back when I find more stuff wrong, just want it done right first time.
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I think it's a genuine shame when someone like Fox (who obviously is a fastidious owner) has had to resort to feeling like this.

These are the sort of people main dealers should be trying to hang on to as customers.
 
[TW]Fox;15926113 said:
My dealer has its own bodyshop. Once I have been back 2 times the job is spot on but they seem to have no quality control and I feel likle a nuisance consantly going back when I find more stuff wrong, just want it done right first time.
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I'd stick with BMW as at least you know you can get any problems rectified. I'm presuming they give you a courtesy car as well as for some of the other prices quoted I wouldn't expect one.
 
I have had everything they've got atm including the Mini Cooper :p

I would be happy to pay a craftsman 250 for a perfect job. Thing is how do you find such a person? How do you know how good the work is until its done?
 
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