2: 1.1 hour covers both the removal of the bumper cover for repairs, and re-installation afterward. R&I is Remove and Install. The “bumper cover” is the painted plastic part that you can see; the impact-absorbing secion behind it is called the reinforcement.
3: Repair bumper cover: 2.5 hours is alloted to fix the damage, and it will take another three hours to repaint it.
4: Most modern cars use a clearcoat over the colored paint (which is called the basecoat). It looks like they’re calling for 1.2 hours to clearcoat the bumper; I’m not sure what the 12.00 is about.
5: Unlike hard metal fenders and doors, the urethane bumper cover flops in and out under minor parking lot impacts. A flex additive is mixed into the paint (or is it mixed into the clearcoat?), so that the paint won’t all flake off when the bumper flexes.
6: The shop has to pay to properly dispose of used paint thinner and whatnot; this is charged as a separate fee.
So it looks like they’re going to remove the bumper cover, repair it separately from the car, repaint it, and reinstall it.
Just another couple of things to throw your way if you’re helping your mother out:
Suppose the body man finds additional damage after he removes the bumper cover, like a damaged reinforcement, or even a bent frame…he’ll ask the insurance company to re-inspect the car and pay for the additional repairs…the additional payment is called a supplement.
Suppose the repainted bumper doesn’t match the car. Matching up white or black is easy, but a metallic silver or gold is rather difficult. The surrounding areas (like the quarter panels or trunk lid) can be partially repainted to make a better match…this is called a blend.
Thanks your everyone and espically Chris, because the bill wouild be 443.29 for all the labor and the deductible is 500 my mother was planning on not having the work done. She was thinking of using touchup paint on the bumper because it isn’t that bad to look at but I was concerned that there might be hidden damage.
It’s rare to have to blend an adjacent panel to match a plastic bumper, because the same paint will usually look different when applied to plastic and metal. Depending on how hard the car was hit, there may be additional damage to the reinforcement, brackets or possibly the rear body panel. One sign of possible additional damage, is to look at the gaps between the trunk, quarter panel and doors. If you know how to, you might want to remove the trunk trim panels to see if you can see any buckles on the floor or body panel. Depending on the car, you might have to remove several clips, they are usually pretty easy to damage, so you might not want to do this.
Your mother might also want to check to see if she has uninsured motorist coverage. I’m not too sure on the laws in your state, but there may be a way to get her deductible waived.