Damage to Camry Front-End and Bumper: Recommended Fix?

[Yuko]

Long story short, someone cut across two lane into me and I jammed on my brake to avoid hitting him. I locked up and slide onto the curb, jumping it, and hitting one of those metal construction stakes. Of course that other guy drove off but luckily the damage was minimum.

Here some pictures of the damage.
You can see where that metal stake touch the bug deflector.


Close-up of damage, no damage to the headlight or hood.


Close-up of lower cracks


Her new scar...


I have inspected underneath, the suspension, wheels/tires and all was good other than chunks of dirt and grass in the wheels and frame. It still tracks straight but I suspect the right strut to be bent as it is slightly pushed back and one of the anti-rattles on the FR brake is loose.

As for the bumper cover, does anyone have an idea to repair this? I was planning to remove it, epoxy most of the smaller cracks from the inside and stitch the larger cracks with black zip ties. (That's what they do to damaged rally cars.) I can’t find a good used bumper and have no money for a new one at the moment.

Thanks

[Yuko]

How about fiberglass? Any suggestion?

[Vlad1024]

Drill holes at the ends of the cracks so they don't crack. Epoxy, bondo(not structural), and/or zipties.

It's probably the a-arm that's bent, not the strut.

[Yuko]

Originally Posted by Vlad1024

Drill holes at the ends of the cracks so they don't crack. Epoxy, bondo(not structural), and/or zipties.

It's probably the a-arm that's bent, not the strut.

The control arm is what I was afraid of. I'll see the full extent when I have it on the lift.

The bumper cover was replaced before and was only about 1.5 yrs old until this happen. I'll try to stop it from crack further. I wish that metal stake wasn't there but hey, it better than hitting a streetlight or a tree.

But can body filler be used on bumpers to smooth it out? I don't think it's flexible enough.

[Vlad1024]

You could probably tell what's bent just by sticking your head under the car. Bondo can be used on bumpers but in very small quantities on something that is secured. So fiberglass or epoxy(or carbon fiber if you're a boss) over the holes, bondo to smooth it out, and paint. zipties can be used as a temporary measure.

[Yuko]

Epoxy is going to be my best shot as it's cheaper and I have no real skill with fiberglass. I was thinking about zip ties but I don't feel like adding more holes to the bumper now.

[fenixus]

instead of plain epoxy I'd use the bumper repair Bondo (black color) designed for fixing bumper cracks. it fixed my cracked bottom of front bumper on V6 (bottom part cracked into 2 halves in middle and 2 tiny pillars detached from that).

this is something like that, Bondo Epoxy Bumper Repair kit:


since it's black, you wouldn't even have to worry about finishing it, painting and such on your car.

[Yuko]

Originally Posted by fenixus

instead of plain epoxy I'd use the bumper repair Bondo (black color) designed for fixing bumper cracks. it fixed my cracked bottom of front bumper on V6 (bottom part cracked into 2 halves in middle and 2 tiny pillars detached from that).

since it's black, you wouldn't even have to worry about finishing it, painting and such on your car.

Thanks. How long has your repair lasted? Took me a while to find it on the O'reilly website but $9 is not bad. I wanted to patch the bumper, fill and smooth it, and instead of paint, I might design a simple vinyl design and lay it over the repair to cover it. You know, made lemonade out of lemon.

But it has to wait as this week are finals at UTA. Study, study, study....

[xpeed]

Here's a link to the website I use to shop around for OEM-quality parts/replacements in case you do need a new one for a low price.

http://www.autopartswarehouse.com/se...umper+Cover%29

As for your question. Epoxy is the only option I can think of for you. Use a mesh cloth or thin mesh aluminum as a bond and start applying it over the surface of the damaged area and beneath it as well. Apply around two layers to keep it reasonably sturdy. This should help as a temporary fix until you can get a new one.

[Yuko]

Thanks for the link. I actually can get a brand new bumper cover and have it painted (primer, color-match base, and clear) for less than $200 here. But I'll wait until summer. What's on the Camry right now was my new painted bumper that I paid only $176 for over a years ago. If only that guy didn't cut me off...How many bumpers will I go through?

Originally Posted by xpeed

As for your question. Epoxy is the only option I can think of for you. Use a mesh cloth or thin mesh aluminum as a bond and start applying it over the surface of the damaged area and beneath it as well. Apply around two layers to keep it reasonably sturdy. This should help as a temporary fix until you can get a new one.

That sound about right, I just have to piece it together for now. One the bright side, the hood, headlight, fender, and grill is undamaged.

[JohnGD]

What's the coverage of the 0.4oz Bondo kit? Maybe 4" x 4"?

I also came across this 3M/Bondo repair solutions page while looking around:
http://3mcollision.com/how-to/body-department

I think you want the one-side cosmetic (non-structural) repair process and materials list:
http://www.3mcollision.com/media/doc...cess-Chart.pdf
http://www.3mcollision.com/media/doc...oduct-list.pdf

The advantage of the epoxy repairs is you still have good painted surfaces elsewhere on the bumper. A $50 eBay unpainted bumper can be painted later but won't look as great in the mean time.

[Yuko]

Wow, didn't know how much materiel and work is needed to repair it properly. Thanks for pulling that up. I can get a new unpainted bumper from Certifit locally for $35 but the shop that painted the bumper in the car now closed and they did a good job on it. Would have look as good as before.

[fenixus]

front bumper cover at $35 from local certifit??? that's a steal. I would get just that and get it painted in maaco or myself with a spray can (another $40 for VIN-matched base coat and clear coat) ...

front bumper covers for my cars in Certifit are $120 and $90 (local shop price in NJ, listing prices are like 25% more) ... still nice price as formerly I was finding them at much higher prices like $250...

Originally Posted by Yuko

Wow, didn't know how much materiel and work is needed to repair it properly. Thanks for pulling that up. I can get a new unpainted bumper from Certifit locally for $35 but the shop that painted the bumper in the car now closed and they did a good job on it. Would have look as good as before.

[Yuko]

I didn't think it was that cheap. The TYC bumper I have now fits and looks fine so the Depo from Certifit should work fine too. The local pick-and-pick wants only $20 for a bumper cover, not bad but it’s very difficult to find it in black, let alone getting the Gen4.5 model. One salvage yard wanted $500, yes, $500 for a USED green 2000 Camry bumper. I told the guy I can get a NEW bumper cover and have a body shop color match it with lifetime warranty for much less. His defend; the one they have has the foam in side and its factory paint… Prices around here are so crazy.

Originally Posted by fenixus

front bumper cover at $35 from local certifit??? that's a steal. I would get just that and get it painted in maaco or myself with a spray can (another $40 for VIN-matched base coat and clear coat) ...

front bumper covers for my cars in Certifit are $120 and $90 (local shop price in NJ, listing prices are like 25% more) ... still nice price as formerly I was finding them at much higher prices like $250...

[fenixus]

^wow! $500 for a used bumper!!?? with road dings and chips?? that pnp yard must have been crazy or something ... I can get NEW OEM (!) bumper painted with warranty and installed in a local shop for that price ... or even less ...

new OEM one for my v6 ride is $198+s/h from toyotapartszone (or $269 MSRP from local stealer) plus painting. I think I could paint it myself with spray cans (primer, base coat and clear coat) in some cardboard makeshift booth behind the block.
I can install it myself easily, I was removing and re-installing front bumpers a few times on both cars. it's actually very easy and only parts that are one time use are some plastic clips here and there.

yeah, TYC makes OK replacement body parts, just do not ever get their head lamps if you ever need one. lens beam focus is OK, but horizontal/vertical adjusters are usually so fragile they will break apart in 5 seconds ... or sometimes they are broken out of the box.
DEPO lamps suck too (terrible lens beam focus) unless you install them with a projector retrofit.