My 2009 Fit Sport was roughed up a bit in a parking lot:



Believe it or not, the guy who hit it left his contact info, so I'm not on the hook for the repair cost.

Here's the thing - I have no idea how to proceed. In my twenty years of driving, I've never had an accident and, since I just bought the car earlier this year, I haven't found a shop in Cleveland to do repair work.

The damage is limited to the rear bumper cover. The DIYer in me wants to skip the insurance hassle, have the guy responsible cover the cost of a new bumper cover, install it myself, and call it good.

What would you do?

 

It's not just the bumper cover you're looking at: you'd also need to get it painted.

Something similar happened to Jadzia (see below) a few months ago, except it was the front bumper cover and front fender which got scuffed (and the fender was slightly buckled). I had it repaired by a local collision-repair place, and I can't see that it was ever damaged.

Collision-repair shops can do a really good job of paint-color matching these days. If you want an undetectable repair job, that's where I'd go -- especially since you won't be paying for it.

 

One thing to consider if you go the route of just replacing the bumper is color matching to a 4yr old car.

Sometimes its best to have them paint the bumper and blend the quarters and hatch for a flawless job.

Another option also depending on how bad the damage is to have the cover reconditioned and painted.

 

Contact the guy on the phone.
Ask him how he wants to proceed, cash or through insurance?

Usually he will want a quote.

Go on yelp, find a couple auto-body stores with good reviews.
Go to them, get an estimate or find the one you want to choose, being sure to tell them someone else is paying.

Present estimate to the other guy, and upon approval, get the work done.

If you want to DIY, feel free to "volunteer" at the body shop.
Why you want to do this is beyond me, perhaps volunteer your labor towards a charity.

 

Thanks for all the input! I'm stopping by a couple collision shops after work today to get quotes. I gave the damage a good once over last night, and it looks pretty superficial - nothing's cracked or dented - so here's hoping I get my baby back sooner rather than later.

4thCornerFit - It was great to see input from a Bellinghamster! I did my bachelor's (and then worked awhile) at WWU.

 

Be sure to ask the difference between a new cover and repairing the existing one. Honda's local body shop gave me a quote for a repair. When I asked about it they were surprised it was less expensive to replace the cover. It didn't surprise me; labor costs are high.

I wound up going through a different shop.

Also check the "paintless" repair guys. They may be able to do just as well without repairing or replacing and then respraying the whole cover.

Kudos to your hitter. The person that did mine didn't bother to leave a note. FYI get a police report if this happens to you (no note). Repairs under my insurance were a much lower deductible with "hit-and-run" on the "non-insured motorist" rider on my policy, than they would have been under my comprehensive insurance. The only way they'd do this is with a report. The cop was understanding and not annoyed.

 

If that's down to the plastic there's not much you can do as far as DIY. If it's just scuffed you can claybar/polish it out probably. My wife got one of those that I was able to polish out and you can't even tell it was there.

Bumper repaint/repair is almost universally $500 from my past experiences, of course this will vary from shop to shop and state to state.

Good luck getting it taken care of, did the guy say if he wanted to use insurance or pay out of pocket?