Me and my crappy luck - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

thapranksta · 06-19-2006, 03:17 PM

Well, here it goes..... I've been working on a HID retrofit. So as many of you know that requires the headlights to be removed from the vehicle as well as the front bumper cover. Because I've been taking the headlights off and on so frequently, I had not put the bolts back into the bumper cover. Therefore, I had it held on by the clips only which seem to have a pretty firm hold without the bolts. I drove back to my hometown this weekend which is a considerable distance away. Because I was negligent and didn't put the bolts back in the bumper, the little black covers that go around the front wheels were severely damaged from rubbing against the wheels. Well of course I was pissed off but I knew that I could blame no one but me. I fixed it up real quick so no more damage would occur and continued to my hometown. After staying at home for a few days, I decided to leave my hometown and go back to my residence. It was just my luck that I ran over a wild dog or domestic dog or something on the highway at night. It seemed like it came from no where and I had no time to change lanes. I could not pull over anywhere so I could not really see what I hit and I'm not sure if I wanted to see it anyway. As soon as I was able to pull over though, I checked my front bumper and it was pretty much history. The bar underneath the front of my car that the bumper cover is mounted to looks like it was bent and now my car looks like it is frowning (I guess to show how the owner feels). Pretty crappy luck, eh?

I initially thought I would just need another bumper cover until I saw the bent bar underneath it. I'm thinking now that it is possible that there is even more damage.

Well on the bright side, I now have an excuse to go ahead and buy a SE bumper (I have an LE) and put fog lights in it effortlessly. I was thinking about saving a little cash by ordering a painted bumper cover off ebay and I was wondering if anyone had bought one of those painted bumper covers off of ebay or know of their quality?????????

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/NEW-P...76091744QQrdZ1

I feel better about the whole thing now even though my insurance company is still going to rape me because I attribute it to a case of "Shit happens" and my car was destined to be fucked up this weekend anyway.

No road trips for me for a while, at least not in my car. I'm trying to find the humor in all of this to keep from crying.

thapranksta · 06-19-2006, 10:05 PM

bump

southpawz · 06-19-2006, 10:16 PM

Guess one good thing is now is thet insurance can pay for the new SE bumper instead of it coming out of your pocket......unless your deductable is more than what it will cost to fix.

thapranksta · 06-19-2006, 10:31 PM

Deductible is $500 and judging from the damage, it should be much more than $500

Webb26 · 06-20-2006, 12:48 AM

Damn man, totally sucks. I feel you on that one. I'm not sure about the bumper i haven't had any experience with that...Hopefully someone else does too so i can go the same route.

Frank20 · 06-20-2006, 01:24 AM

That totally sucks! You should definitley go for buying the SE bumper though. But just don't get the one that will come pre-painted. Regardless that they have your paintcode its always better to paint a piece with the car being there at hand so it can be mounted and the color can be matched perfectly. I bought one off ebay as well. But mine was just primered black. I had a local shop paint it for me and it came out great regardless of the cost being a bit higher it was well worth it!

***DAMON*** · 06-20-2006, 06:59 AM

Ive heard the ebay bumpers have fitment issues sometimes, but I cant speak from experience

any pics of the damage? sorry to hear, smashing up your front bumper sucks

thapranksta · 06-20-2006, 09:48 PM

I'll post pics up pretty soon. How much do you save with an ebay primed bumper over a factory primed one?

***DAMON*** · 06-21-2006, 07:28 AM

for my gen 3 ebay was about 80 and the dealer wanted 300. i got a used oem one from ebay for 100

thapranksta · 06-22-2006, 08:05 PM

I'm going to let the body shop take care of everything and just charge it to the game. They are using CAPA certified replacements. Here are some pics of the damage:

Bumper

Black thing that goes behind the bumper and over the wheels

There is more damage too but these are the easy to see exterior pics. Yeah I know, sucks ass. I am getting the bumper for fog lights so that is a good thing. $500 deductible.

thapranksta · 06-26-2006, 11:45 AM

Good news is I will probably be fixed up pretty soon. Maybe about 2.5 weeks at most. The body shop wants to go ahead and get to work. The guys sound bored. lol.

Mid Life Crisis · 06-26-2006, 12:16 PM

I had a small "fender bender" a few months ago and the brace underneath was also bent. I purchased a new cover assuming that I would also have to straighten the bar. It bolted right up with no visible non fittment issues. You can still see the damage behind the cover, but who would ever look there.

I feel for you man on the onslaught of bad luck. It seems like in my life they all come at once. I guess what they say is tru..."When it rains, it pours." Hang in there man!