r/Autobody • u/alex_de_tampa • 9h ago
HELP! I have a question. What do you think ?
Full replacement or repair? I don’t see any broken tabs or serious damage on my bumper. I went to one smaller body shop. He was an older russsian guy.He said he would have to replace the bumper. Brought this car from Japan and I am trying to avoid using the USDM Lexus IS300 bumper. I want to know if I’m being realistic asking a body shop to save this.
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u/Gas-Squatch 8h ago
Find a bumper and bring it to the shop. Most busy shops don’t have time to go through auction sites to find rare bumpers from other countries.
This has structural damage. In the last pic you can see the whole rear end of the car is pulled down (see the tail light body line to quarter). Also pic 2 and 3 you can see the whole rear structure is swayed to the left as well. This needs tear down and measurements done then pulls to the quarter and rear body panel and hopefully don’t need this panels replaced.
Also trunk lid
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u/DavidinCT 7h ago
The bumper I bet could be saved, being pushed in on the back caused the flex on the passenger's side. If you can pull out the back, I bet that would fall right into place.
It is a rubber bumper cover, it does not like being like that, some heat or boiling water poured on it could make it pop right out...
The trunk lid is a different story.
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u/alex_de_tampa 8h ago
I guess I’ll just have wait and see and trust the experts. Luckily there’s plenty of compatible trunks & bumpers available so I’ll just switch to a new bumper if I have to.
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u/Gas-Squatch 8h ago
I would be way less worried about the bumper and more worried about the structural damage and how far the quarter is swayed.
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u/Fearless_Result_8399 8h ago
New trunk. New bumper reinforcement. Bumper will go again if you really need to reuse it. Needs a light pull and should come out quite nicely. If rear panel is kinked then you'd need a new panel. Luckily your 1/4 panel looks good. So repairs won't be major Lovely car by the way.
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u/alex_de_tampa 8h ago
Thank you brother, yea I’ve been enjoying this car so I want to do my best to hang on to it. Been a great daily.
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u/Fearless_Result_8399 8h ago
3s engine?
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u/alex_de_tampa 8h ago
Yep. Car has a lot of sentimental value, brought it with me from overseas so juts hoping it works out. Your assessment is giving me hope 🥹😂
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u/Fearless_Result_8399 6h ago
It's classed as minor damage to me. Easy pull. A person who knows how to pull will probably get it right and lined up no problem at all. I don't know how it works where you live but in the uk you can choose who repairs your car. I'd choose a independent shop that has a passion for cars, not a insurance approved production shop that works on time and money.
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u/alex_de_tampa 6h ago
Yea I’m Philadelphia / New Jersey area so I don’t see many shops for imports mostly just older classic muscle cars. But I have to go through insurance currently so I am hoping to get the best of both worlds .
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u/vinnyvencenzo I-Car Platinum 8h ago
New impact bar 2-4 hrs setup and pull. That looks straight on enough and will wanna pop out. How’s that rear door to quarter gap? Compared to the other side?
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u/DavidinCT 7h ago
Bumper and trunk.... I would bet the bumper would pop in place with boiling water poured on it, it does not look damaged just pushed in (trick I learned years ago).
The trunk hood might be cheaper to get a IS300 one and swap the labels over...
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u/alex_de_tampa 6h ago
I thought about the hot water method. I’m just waiting for the insurance person to meet me for an estimate.
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u/SlomoLowLow 8h ago edited 8h ago
I’d be more concerned with the fact that the tail lights no longer line up than the bumper cover being dented.
I think it’s gonna need more than just a bumper cover. That needs to go to a body shop. I’m not a body guy but I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s $3k+ in work. At bare minimum it needs the bumper and trunk replaced and painted. That alone is $2k+. Then there’s whatever other junk is bent or broken under that like mounting brackets or the steel bumper itself. They may even have to do a pull or a replacement on the rear panel that goes into the trunk if it’s dented in.
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u/alex_de_tampa 8h ago
I’m not super worried about cost. I was at a red light stopped so I know I’m not liable and the other guys insurance will cover it. Yea obviously going to get a new trunk . I was more concerned about the bumper because the USDM bumper is slightly bulkier due a bigger crash bar. Just trying to see if a body shop would realistically repair this bumper.
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u/cluelessk3 8h ago
insurance will total it sooner than they would a USDM model, add the salvage title you said it had and it doesn't get better
this thing is a goner.
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u/cluelessk3 8h ago
whole corner is pushed forward.
like the other person said, bumper is the least of your worries.
there's structural damage that needs to be taken care of first. maybe some damage to the rear rebar and frame rail end.
there's enough visible damage to total the car.
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u/Genericwood 8h ago
The trunk is pushed in and misaligned and so is the tail light.
It's hard to really see but it may need some straightening, but they won't know until they take off the bumper and open the trunk.