Am I Being Overcharged for Subaru Crosstrek's Rear Bumper?

mmelvinpie

So I rear-ended someone in a parking lot the other day while going into a parking spot. I was going about 10mph, if not slower. We decided to settle it without involving our insurance because we're both pretty young and any repair would be cheaper than the amount I would end up paying for insurance after this. His rear bumper got dislocated about an inch at most and a couple scratches. My car only got some minor scratches. Here's a picture of the damage on the other guy's car (Sorry if the picture is sideways).

Today he gave me the estimate the repair shop gave him and it came out to be about $830 (new bumper+labor). He also added "They won't be able to just repair the paint and plastic because it's all one piece and has texture they can't repair." I'm just a bit taken aback because it didn't seem that bad and it looked like it could just be popped back in.

Is this a fair price for this much damage or am I being overcharged?

jfl

I have a 2013 Impreza (very similar to the CrossTrek). Rear bumper replacement was $843 after someone rear-ended my one month old car.

mmelvinpie

@jfl said:
I have a 2013 Impreza (very similar to the CrossTrek). Rear bumper replacement was $843 after someone rear-ended my one month old car.

thanks for the input. how bad was the damage to your bumper?

jfl

Here's what I posted on Meet the Members last November.

"Last week, when I've had my Impreza ~30 days & less than 1100 miles:

I'm stopped at a signal, the car behind me and cars all around me are STOPPED. The idiot behind me suddenly slams into me! The light was still RED (I checked). Hit hard enough to dent and punch holes in my bumper.

He couldn't provide specific insurance information but fortunately my insurance is working on it and waived my deductible. Should be fixed in the next few weeks."

And a follow-up: "...but removing the bumper cover they found a bent bar. order and delivery of the part delays completion 'til friday."

mmelvinpie

Wow if the other car hit you hard enough to dent and puncture your bumper, I'd say that the repairs would sound like they'd cost $800.
The thing is that the bumper of the car I rear-ended didn't even get dented and only got some minor scratches that could've easily been buffed out. The only substantial damage was the displacement of the bumper, which was only about an inch at most like I said. Honestly it looked like it only needed some new clips, not a new bumper. So judging by what you've said, it sounds like I might be getting overcharged by the repair shop for the damage.

jfl

I think the guy was revving up his engine, showing off. He hit he pretty hard from a standing start.

The bumper was around $270, a few hours labor easily matches that. They're also painted by the body shop which is both materials and labor. It adds up fast.

I think your cost would be similar if they buffed, reset, and repainted the bumper. The labor to fill/shape/smooth would probably exceed the cost of the new bumper. Body work requires skilled labor, replacing parts requires less skill.

Wish I could put a more positive spin on this...hope it works out for you.

kyfdx

$700-$900 sounds about right for new bumper cover, paint and labor... even without underlying issues.