I need a new bumper for my Grand Vitara.I parked my car and went to class yesterday morning. When I got out a few hours later I started walking to my car and saw that my front bumper was damaged, someone back up into my Vitara.There was no note left on my winshield, no cameras in the parking lot, just a hit and run. I called the University Policy and they said all they can do is file a report and the I just take it up with my insurance agency. Well the insurance agency that i'm on with my parents, the deductible is $750 dollars plus it will cause my premiums to go up. So I went to a body shop to see if it would be cheaper and they said just for the bumper it's $625. They said the only place they can get it is from is the dealership. I was wondering if anyone knew where a cheaper place to get one from? I've searched many websites and couldnt find a bumper.
For some reason he didn't post a pic of the bumper, but he has pics of other aftermarket body parts that he sells for the GV, and they are a total OEM match. I have taken off my front bumper a bunch of times and it's really simple to replace. The only tough part is getting it painted for a reasonable price.
Well it won't be the same as replacing it, but you can the bumper cover off and hit it with a hammer from behind. There will still be damage, but I bet w/ some work you can get somewhat close to the original shape. The paint will still be messed up, but might be savable.
Arterus, when you say you've tried many websites do you mean salvage companies? The GV is not that common, but you might luck out and find one there. Here in Canada the salvage yards all belong to a service that lists the parts available at any salvage company in the country. I'm sure there must be a similar system in the USA.
As wookee says, it might be possible to save your bumper cover by carefully pushing out the dent from behind, perhaps with a bit of heat. I can't remember if it made of ABS or PVC, but its not very thick. The lower grill is a separate component but that doesn't look too badly damaged.
Also, you should expect to find some minor structural damage behind the cover. The energy absorbing components are right behind the damaged area of your cover. A couple of non-repairable hollow plastic beams (5) and two steel bars that are part of the frame structure (6).
As themeat424 says, its not that hard to remove the cover, its been described a couple of times in the forum. If you need help with that, let us know.
I'm not an informed about this matter other than having our front bumper repaired and repainted this spring. The damage was quite different from this, and included a couple of cracks under the bottom edge. There was no hidden damage. It cost $500 to repair and repaint.
If I were you, I'd show this to a few repair places. It looks to me like it was hit by a "soft" object, most likely a similar bumper. There don't appear to be any cracks, but there may, as annfan said, hidden damage. Given that the deformations are not sharp-edged, it may well be possible that a good shop can restore it to, or near to, the original shape. I'd guess that the scuff marks can be polished out, saving the cost of repainting. The grille may be pushed out of shape by the bumper. It doesn't look broken, so it may return to shape as it's released, or can be persuaded to fit properly again.
I'd also take a look around the parking lot for the culprit. They will have a bumper with a damaged corner with your paint on it at the same height. Most people habitually park in the same places, even if they go elsewhere for a few days to avoid being found.
I think it was a tail hitch that did the damage, There's are a lot of trucks around my campus that have them. I would love to find the person who did it but there are like 18,000+ students that attend my University. I really appreciate the help.
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New Front Bumper?
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