2013 Sport Rear Lower Bumper Cover | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

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2013 Sport Rear Lower Bumper Cover

Alex_D

Member
Joined
December 17, 2012
Messages
25
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Location
Silver Spring
City, State
Maryland
Year, Model & Trim Level
2016 Ford Explorer Sport
I hate myself right now for not paying attention. I was backing in, while listening to my favorite show, and it was too late by the time I realized I had hit a garage pillar:

37064BFF-A726-48CA-A43B-899E371DA37E_zpsqchomksl.jpg


6CBE4A42-B061-4A0B-962D-F7EF2F40EF6C_zpsbvty0xqk.jpg


Should I get a replacement part or just get it painted at a body shop? Has anybody had this experience before?
 



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Well it can't be painted as its a plastic piece. Your only option would be to replace. The only issue is its not going to be cheap. You'd have to order it with the proximity sensors equipped and it looks to be about 335 bucks.

You're probably looking at a few hours of labor to go with it. Maybe a couple hours but it could be more. You'll have to talk to a body shop. I'm guessing grand total you're looking at probably at least 500 bucks. Honestly if you can clean it up a bit and live with it that's probably your best choice or talk to your insurance company. First things first though: Get an estimate from a body shop and see what they can do for you. Maybe they can get the part cheaper.
 






I think there are 4 options

  1. Replace the bumper cover entirely. $$$
  2. Get a local paint repair shop to give you a quote. Plastic can be painted and retextured! They might not make it look factory new, but you won't be able to tell unless you are side by side another ex.
  3. If you are a DIY or are going to replace the cover anyway, why not try your hand at a repair? You may be able to reduce the scuff's appearance by simply hitting it with a heat gun for 10-15 seconds. Also, if you're comfortable with sanding, priming, and painting, you could attempt something like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UpSHhXn4O0
  4. Ignore it. If you drive long distances like me, you'll get lots of scuffs like this on your 'front' bumper too.
 






5. Get one from a salvage yard. Use car-part.com to locate.
 






Guessing your back up sensors were going crazy just before impact... ;)
 


















I actually just got a quote from a local shop. They charge me $175 for everything. They can even color-match it if I wanted to.

I think there are 4 options

  1. Replace the bumper cover entirely. $$$
  2. Get a local paint repair shop to give you a quote. Plastic can be painted and retextured! They might not make it look factory new, but you won't be able to tell unless you are side by side another ex.
  3. If you are a DIY or are going to replace the cover anyway, why not try your hand at a repair? You may be able to reduce the scuff's appearance by simply hitting it with a heat gun for 10-15 seconds. Also, if you're comfortable with sanding, priming, and painting, you could attempt something like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UpSHhXn4O0
  4. Ignore it. If you drive long distances like me, you'll get lots of scuffs like this on your 'front' bumper too.
 






I think there are 4 options

  1. Replace the bumper cover entirely. $$$
  2. Get a local paint repair shop to give you a quote. Plastic can be painted and retextured! They might not make it look factory new, but you won't be able to tell unless you are side by side another ex.
  3. If you are a DIY or are going to replace the cover anyway, why not try your hand at a repair? You may be able to reduce the scuff's appearance by simply hitting it with a heat gun for 10-15 seconds. Also, if you're comfortable with sanding, priming, and painting, you could attempt something like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UpSHhXn4O0
  4. Ignore it. If you drive long distances like me, you'll get lots of scuffs like this on your 'front' bumper too.

I've seen when plastic is painted/retextured and it always seems to look way off from original. Have you had good luck with this?

To OP: $175 seems like a hell of a deal.
 






You'd have to do the entire bumper, edge to edge, on the last few passes to get the texturing uniform, but it definitely won't look stock. I'm not an expert though;
Hopefully the repair shop works out for you OP. Let us know how it goes!
 






Ignore it. You'll get plenty of other scuffs over the life of the vehicle. People obsess too much over these little things.
 






Ignore it. You'll get plenty of other scuffs over the life of the vehicle. People obsess too much over these little things.

I'm in this camp too! OP, I would be elated that was all that happened if I hit a parking garage pillar!!! Honestly, the only person that is going to know about that is you. I would try to gently knock the burs off of it with a couple of runs across it with the finest grit sandpaper I could find, just to knock the burrs off. Hey, I'm the guy that parks 100 yards out in the parking lot so as nobody will come close to my Sport; so I understand you want your ride looking as good as it can...

And turn the rear parking aid back on!!! :D
 






I guess I can try to ignore it for the time being. Maybe in a year or two, I can finally replace it. Trust me, the rear parking aid is staying on for good from now on!

I'm in this camp too! OP, I would be elated that was all that happened if I hit a parking garage pillar!!! Honestly, the only person that is going to know about that is you. I would try to gently knock the burs off of it with a couple of runs across it with the finest grit sandpaper I could find, just to knock the burrs off. Hey, I'm the guy that parks 100 yards out in the parking lot so as nobody will come close to my Sport; so I understand you want your ride looking as good as it can...

And turn the rear parking aid back on!!! :D
 






I hear you on that one. The roads I drive on will definitely cause for my lower bumpers to get more scuffs.

Ignore it. You'll get plenty of other scuffs over the life of the vehicle. People obsess too much over these little things.
 






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