my car was parked and some asshat pulling out of his spot in front of me decided to just ram my car. it creased the bumper downwards and caused paint damage, so they're going to replace it. here is the estimate from GEICO:

replace bumper cover - $323.57
add for clear coat
replace license bracket - $23.02
replace emblem - $15
replace flex additive - $5
subtotal: $369.59

body labor: 3 hours @ $40/hr = $120
paint labor: 3.6 hours @ $40/hr = $144
paint supplies: 3.6 hours @ $26/hr = $93.96

subtotal: $727.19
sales tax: $23.16
total cost of repairs: $750.35

anything else i should be looking out for? is this a new OEM bumper cover? it's going to come to the shop unpainted and then they're going to have to match, etc, right? my car is a 2007 and only 8 months old, so the red paint surely hasn't faded.

pics to follow.

 

Sounds about right to me. General rule of thumb is double the parts cost, and that is pretty close to your estimate. If anything, $40 an hour labor sounds cheap.

I had a ding in my hood repaired and my windshield replaced after an errant rock hit me. Total was about $1200. You wouldn't have thought it could be that much, the ding was about the size of a nickel! They only painted part of the hood, but it looks fantastic. If you have a good paint guy, there should be no worries.

 

That is cheap labor. Bumper will come unpainted, so they will have to sand, primer, and paint it. Sorry to hear.

 

thats dirt cheap. dont they have to blend in the new bumper to the hood and fenders? which would cost a shitload more for geico

 

You may want to talk to Honda and check local forums (other than s2ki probably) to find out who owns a GREAT local bodyshop. I had a repair estimate from Geico of about $1200 bumped up to about $1600 by the shop, and 100% of the difference was to pay for blending, matching, etc. It looks great!

Find an awesome shop--word of mouth is usually the best way, so ask around and find a good body shop that doesn't usually touch cars that are worth less than $50k.

Good luck--sorry to hear!

 

buy aftermarket and save you $$$$

J's Racing replica CF front bumper is only $700 with good fitment verified.

 

$700 > $350. I'm confused how he saves money by paying double.

 

[QUOTE=daktruckie99,Apr 11 2008, 11:25 AM] $700 > $350.

 

If he was going to ride around with a CF bumper on a NFR then he could go with a primered OEM for $350 and still save 50% of your "awesome costs"

You have seriously skewed logic.

 

take advantage of your insurace, you pay them for this reason. dont be hesitant to bring your car to a good and expensive shop just think about how much you are paying them monthly!