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Yesterday I was driving my friend's car and I accidentally brushed it up against something and scratched up the rear plastic panel of her car. It's a Jeep Liberty, and nothing with paint on it was damaged at all, it was one of those plastic panels that are above the wheel well.
Here's an idea as to where the damage is. I didn't get a chance to take a picture of the damage, but it's a series of scratches, pretty obvious ones, along that panel above the well, and then a very, very slight minor scratch on the bumper area.
I told her I'd fix it, about a million times because she was flipping out beyond all reckoning. Part of that is because she JUST got the car, and the other part is because she's pretty easily excitable and freaks out. But I have no idea how expensive something like this will be. I was hoping that since it's a plastic panel that it'd be a cheap part to replace, and that it'd be something you could just pop on and off so it wouldn't be that expensive. Or that maybe they could even buff it out.
It's purely cosmetic damage on the plastic sections with no paint work involved. I haven't the foggiest clue how much it'll be, but I was wondering if anyone here had any experience fixing something like this and might be able to ballpark it for me? I'm waiting for my rebate to come back to pay for it (there goes that, but hey, it was free money anyway right?). I've had a lot of experience fixing my own car, everything from snapped off sidemirrors to bent door panels to serious front end damage, but never any cosmetic plastic pieces like this.
I'll be shopping around at body shops for the next couple weeks to find the best price, but I was hoping someone could lift my spirits with a low number, or confirm my fears with something more disastrous.
You didn't say what year the car was, but I looked up a rear bumper cover for a 2007 Liberty on that site and they list it for about $100. Shipping may high for such a large/awkward component. It's not clear from the photo whether that is a one piece wrap-around bumper cover or if there is a separate side piece. If it's a separate piece, the price will be different (and probably less) than that.
A Jeep dealer will be able to help you figure out which part exactly that you need and can provide a part number which you can use to shop around online for the best price. Or you can bite the bullet and just pay the dealer price for it - it'll probably be about 20-25% more than from an online source. Whatever you do, only get a genuine factory part. Aftermarket body parts are notoriously poor quality.
Putting it on will likely not require any special tools other thank a socket set and some screw drivers, but it could be pretty time consuming. Time is the biggest cost at a body shop, so if you can manage to do it yourself you'll save a lot of money.
Posts: 3275 | Registered: May 2007
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It's possible that I could do it myself, or with help. The friend in question's dad is a real car guy. He restored his own classic car, or at least, he did a lot of the work on it and has a multitude of tools in his garage, so, I think as long as I buy the part and he directs me, I might be able to do it myself. I hadn't considered the possibility. I'll check with the dealers first.
Posts: 21898 | Registered: Nov 2004
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