So I’d just backed out of a parking space in my apartment complex. I paused to put myself back into “drive” and to give some time for some guys standing in the middle of the lot to move. Suddenly, WHAM. A car parked directly across from me backs out without looking again and hits me.
There’s no visible damage to his car (that I could tell). The bumper of my '00 Civic, however, was hit right on the bumper, down and to the right of the gas cap location, so it’s a little out of joint (pushed a little down and inward). The other driver helped get it back closer into joint, though the seam between the bumper and the part of the car above it SEEMS a little bigger; I can’t really tell.
Now, because of the apparent (non-)damage situation (and no one seemed to be injured), no police were called, which may have been foolish, I now realize. What I’m wondering is, how the bumpers on cars like mine are attached, and if there’s any way to figure out if whatever damage or new weakness there might’ve been will “cascade” across the bumper and eventually cause it to fall off. I need to take it in for an oil change very soon anyway, so I can get it at least looked at professionally… How much might it be to fix, if fix indeed is needed?
that’s actually the “fascia” or bumper cover; it’s usually held on with a mix of snap-in clips, push pins, and some screws to the sheet metal. The actual bumper is under that fascia, and it’s a big steel thing that’s bolted to the body.
if the fasteners on that side of the fascia are all broken, there’s a chance that while driving, the air flow will pull it away from the body; I’ve seen some cars with the corner of it flapping in the wind.
There’s also an excellent chance that, while it won’t fall off, your bumper is done in terms of being an effective bumper. Most of a modern bumper’s impact-resistance is in the form of a sturdy foam-like substance that crushes during impact to save the rest of the car, and that stuff is only good for one crush. The bumper may look just fine but may now be mostly decorative.
Of course, in a ten year old car that may not be a big issue for you.
From that minor hit, your bumper is not going to fall off. If there’s some loose fascia pieces, that could be loose, but you would see that. When the bumper is mounted, there is some adjustment built into the bolting system so it can be lined up properly with the body. Even a minor hit throws that alignment off badly, but does not loosen the bolts generally. If it did begin to shake, it could easily be tightened up and maybe aligned better too. If it’s a clunker, don’t do anything. (Possibly dope slap the neighbor.)