How do I remove my rear bumper?

[Will'sBimmer]

Well somebody rear ended me yesterday and I took it out to my mechanic to have a look at it. Well when I got there he said he couldnt even take off the cover to have a look at it because he was too busy. he also tried to get me to buy a new one for 350 and paint and install for 150. hahaha. they cant even paint at that place. i am going to have to get my car repainted because the gloss dripped and there is debry and weird impressions on my paint job. terrible!!! He told me to come back tomorrow. yeah right!!! I wont go back to him ever again. As long as I can DIMyself then I will never have someone do it for me. So my question is.

How do I remove my rear bumper cover to see what damage i do have and if I can fix it reall quick instead of paying 500 dollars!!!!!!!!

[cooljess76]

There's paint and bodyshops, auto upholstry, automotive mechanics, muffler and brake shops, radiator shops, automotive electrical shops, etc etc. Have you ever been to a paint and body shop? There's alot more involved in painting that you might want to believe. You wouldn't expect your mechanic to have a spray booth with all of the equipment needed to paint a car would you? Besides the tools(paint mixer, spray guns, body allignment tools, sanders, grinders, welders, climate controlled booth w/an air/water seperator, air filtration system, heat lamps, anti-dust vacume and tens of thousands of dollars in other equipment) it's a totally different trade altogether. Paint and body is an art. As is welding, wiring, wrenching and everything else I mentioned. Why wouldn't a mechanic be expected to paint cars? Same reason a radiator shop isn't going to reupholster your interior.

If you want to DIY, more power to you. But honestly if you're replacing the bumper and buying all of the materials and tools to refinish it, you're looking at spending almost as much as it would cost to take it to a body shop and have it done correctly. Good luck, sorry to hear you got rear ended.

[BleMW]

yo to take it off, there are a couple bolts on the inside of the sides on either side of the bumper... um you unbolt those, i believe there are "hook" things or bolts holding the actual bumper cover to the rear bumper. (you are talking about the cover?)

anyway i believe once the cover is off, the bumper bolts are readily visible

[Will'sBimmer]

No No. I belive I confused you Cooljess. They do paint at that body shop that I go to. I know the owner and everyone who works there for over ten years. they have all the equiment to paint with also. They just dont have a good paint booth. You know what I mean??? I got my paint job done there and that is when they let the gloss drip and run and all that crap got on it before it dried. They painted it before I bought it so I had nothing to do with that. O well. Enough about the paint and the shop and all of that. The real point is I want to take off my rear bumper so I can have a look see at everything. Does anyone know how to take one off??????

[Will'sBimmer]

Originally Posted by BleMW

yo to take it off, there are a couple bolts on the inside of the sides on either side of the bumper... um you unbolt those, i believe there are "hook" things or bolts holding the actual bumper cover to the rear bumper. (you are talking about the cover?)

anyway i believe once the cover is off, the bumper bolts are readily visible

Wonderfull!!! I will try this right away. Thanks!! I have been waiting this whole time for someone to post back.

[cooljess76]

Originally Posted by Will'sBeamer

No No. I belive I confused you Cooljess. They do paint at that body shop that I go to. I know the owner and everyone who works there for over ten years. they have all the equiment to paint with also. They just dont have a good paint booth. You know what I mean??? I got my paint job done there and that is when they let the gloss drip and run and all that crap got on it before it dried. They painted it before I bought it so I had nothing to do with that. O well. Enough about the paint and the shop and all of that. The real point is I want to take off my rear bumper so I can have a look see at everything. Does anyone know how to take one off??????

oooohhhhh!!!!! my mistake.

Yeah, I wouldn't take my car back to them after that either. I never took my bumper off. I think there's some clips in there that might break, so be careful. How bad is the external damage?

[Will'sBimmer]

Here are some pics of the damage. Not bad and thank God for that. The dent I think I am going to have to live with unless I want a high bill. I know the bumper doesnt look to off place but I swear it looks like the top half is pushed in and it makes the bottom kinda stick back and out. You know what I mean?? Well I know I can get the shock compressors from my old wrecked Ti. So hopefully that will be it and nothing else will be bent up when I get it off.

[ATF]

Originally Posted by Will'sBeamer

The dent I think I am going to have to live with unless I want a high bill. I know the bumper doesnt look to off place but I swear it looks like the top half is pushed in and it makes the bottom kinda stick back and out.

HA! I have the same bump on the back of my Ti, PO must have been a putz.

[cooljess76]

would it be possible to have the insurance company fix it?

[ATF]

Originally Posted by cooljess76

would it be possible to have the insurance company fix it?

+1

Does the other person in the accident have insurance?

[Will'sBimmer]

no he didnt have insurance

[campaiar]

Originally Posted by Will'sBeamer

no he didnt have insurance

Ouch..... -1,000,000