Damage repair estimate?

Six6siX

Six6siX

Six6siX

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Joined
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Hertfordshire
Was waiting at a junction and the youngish lad behind me must not have been paying attention as he drove into the back of me in his Seat Ibiza - very low speed so no major damage - just a chip out of the bumper, some scuffs and scratches and a chip out of the rear diffuser.

I've had a look underneath and there are no cracks to the bumper itself that I can see and the clips and mounts all seem fine - so pretty lucky really. Was a bit annoyed by his attitude actually - fairly unbothered by it - even had the cheek to say it looks fine to me :o and then questioned if it was even my car! :/

I was ok with the option of not going through insurance since it was relatively minor and tbh I'd prefer not to have to declare even a non-fault accident - I've got all his details so I'm prepared to go down that route but it seems a bit overkill.

A new diffuser is about £70 from Mercedes (part only so + fitting) + fixing the chip and scuffs. Would you guys recommend even bothering with a proper body shop for something like this or would a chips away type job be fine? Reckon they'd charge around £160 from past experience.

I'm thinking maybe tell him £300?

Never been in a situation like this before so don't really know what the best thing to do is!

Cheers - difficult to photograph the damage due to reflection so this is my best attempt :o

Du6ZV5D.jpg


eFk8lOn.jpg
 
Chips away should be able to handle that, pics arent so clear, but i cant see any damage to the diffuser?
 
It'd hard to see it tbh - where the chip is out of the bumper, there's a chunk out of the top of the diffuser too - I think it was a protruding screw from his reg plate that went in between the gap and hit both parts.
 
Replace diffuser and touch up the chip.

I wouldn't get paintwork involved on such a minor chip tbh. The potential hassle with overspray, dull lacquer or something like this just isn't worth going into over something so small.
 
It's not just the chip though - there's a few scratches several inches long (you can see one below the parking sensor in the picture) and some small scuffs - reckon they'd buff out? I'm tempted to give it a go myself once the weather gets a bit better.
 
Tbh if it's just a tiny little chip on the bumper and diffuser, then I would just touch up the bumper, the scratch will likely polish out, and then leave the diffuser as is for moment.

Take some money off the young lad if you can, and put it aside for the future - respray the bumper properly at a later date, after it picks up more of the annoying little scratches bumpers always seem to.
 
Six6siX said:
It's not just the chip though - there's a few scratches several inches long (you can see one below the parking sensor in the picture) and some small scuffs - reckon they'd buff out? I'm tempted to give it a go myself once the weather gets a bit better.
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They'll buff out also. I think getting a paintshop involved in this would be a mistake. But do charge the kid the £300 and if it doesn't buff out then get it painted if you're desperate. Don't let that £300 go whatever you do :p
 
Give the car a good wash first, then get some polish out and I should think most of the scuff would disappear. I'd probably just touch up the chip to be honest. Where is the diffuser damaged and what is the damage to it?

I can't help but think that £300 is quite steep for this and I bet the kid won't pay that much. This then puts you in the position of having to go through insurance for something this minor and put your insurance up next year by 10-15%.
 
pepsilol said:
They'll buff out also. I think getting a paintshop involved in this would be a mistake. But do charge the kid the £300 and if it doesn't buff out then get it painted if you're desperate. Don't let that £300 go whatever you do :p
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Fair enough! Thanks for the advice. I think I'll give it a go myself and see how it looks and consider where I stand afterwards. Seems to be the general consensus. I know it's not a major bit of damage or anything but it annoys me!

You reckon £300 is a reasonable amount to ask then in any case?

Gaygle said:
Give the car a good wash first, then get some polish out and I should think most of the scuff would disappear. I'd probably just touch up the chip to be honest. Where is the diffuser damaged and what is the damage to it?

I can't help but think that £300 is quite steep for this and I bet the kid won't pay that much. This then puts you in the position of having to go through insurance for something this minor and put your insurance up next year by 10-15%.
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It's a similar but smaller chip out of the diffuser at the same point (not very visible from the picture) and another small scuff a bit further away. It's a weird 'mottled' effect plastic so you can't really polish or touch anything up as it wouldn't look right.

If it had to be repaired properly (chips away + new diffuser), I reckon it would be about £300 - but maybe you're right and I should say I'd be happy to settle for a bit less.
 
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Give the car a good clean, use some scratch remover paste and I bet you cant even see the scratches after.

That tiny little chip, touch up kit, its not really in a hugely obvious place.

£300 is taking the pee a bit methinks and not reasonable at all in my eyes for that level of damage

yes his excess could be 500, but it could be 150
 
Don't try going through insurance. Because is only minor cosmetic damage, you will still need to pay most of it and they will also pump up you premium just for the hell of it.

I had a pretty badly damaged bumper repaired on my Focus ST (way worse than this, it was properly crunched, the guy didn't think it was repairable at first) and it was patched up for £300 including painting. I doubt this will even be half that.
 
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Harsh :(

That diffuser in no way needs replaced

The scratches very much do look like a decent clean and half an hour with some Farecla Scratch remover would have them gone.
 
I remember when I got my old 406 Coupe. It had a bumper a scuff on one corner, with light scratches and a lot of paint transfer. 30 mins with the G3 it 95% cleaned up, with the remaining marks being barely noticeable.

That's what I'd try first.
 
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