My 1996 Explorer XLT was hit by a hit and run driver while parked on the street early this morning. Luckily, my Explorer was tuff enough to pull off her front bumper and license plate in the process (she had a Toyota of some kind) and the wheels of justice are already turning.
My Explorer was pushed into the car in front and then both of us were pushed at least 20 feet. Based on the oil stains and the sounds I heard, the hit and run driver hit my car, panicked, and then hit the gas. My rear bumper is bent up at an angle of at least 60 degrees, including the "step" where the trailer hitch goes. The car in front of me wasn't so lucky...a few thousand pounds of American metal vs a Japanese sedan = USA all the way!
I'm insured against uninsured motorists, so either way I should be OK. But I'm wondering if it's easy to remove/replace the bumper in a collision situation like this.
It looks to me like the brackets, bolts, and bumper take most of the energy in the impact, so as long as I can get the bumper assembly off, I should be OK to just bolt on the new assembly. IE, it looks like the only other thing besides the bumper/brackets/bolts that could be deformed in a mild accident like this one is the frame, and that seems unlikely. She hit me pretty much dead on the 6 o'clock position and it looks like the force was transmitted evenly along the frame.
Any thoughts? Is this a repair that seems like it would be straightforward or tricky? I hate body work because it sounds so easy in theory (just pop out the dents! Easy!) and often ends up being hard in reality.