Bumper Repair

[kcrw02]

I have a 2011 Pilot LX. I have had it now 10 days less than 1 yr. Lastnight backing out of my driveway I turned too soon and clipped the fire hydrant located next to my driveway. The front passenger inner fender cover got a hole poked in it by the outlet nozzle and the corner of the bumper got pulled away. The first 2 or 3 retaining tabs that attach the bumper to the fender were broken.

Today I went in to get estimates and I started at a honda dealer not on State Farm's prefered list and they want to replace bumper. One of the shops that my dealer recommended is on their list and they said SF would want to try and get the tabs fixed before replacing the bumper. The estimator told me they would plastic weld the tabs back together and "they would be the same as before."

I don't know much about plastic welding. It sounds like a cheap half-assed solution to me. Am I correct in this judgement? And do I need to puch SF in to doing a proper repair or is plastic welding sufficient?

My other concern is Honda Finance. This is a leassed vehicle. Are they going to be cool with a plastic weld repair or will they require bumper replacement?

 

[Trav]

Plastic welding works okay but i would ask the leasing company if this acceptable to them so they don't ding you on the back end.

 

[kcrw02]

I just called Honda finance. For insurance claims under 1k they do not require any documentation be sent in. For repairs 1k-5k they require estimate and repair bill be sent in.

The new bumper is $1140, and repair is $690. So if I do the repair they would not know he difference and she acknowledged this as true. But she clarified they expect the vehicle to be in original condition. It seems to me plastic weld is not original condition. I know it did not come with plastic melted together, but is it just as strong?

 

[440Magnum]

My daughter clipped a concrete wall with her Cherokee and caved in the passenger's side bumper end cap. A new bumper end-cap cost $25 and took me an hour to install. I actually replaced the caps on both sides so they'd match for a total of ~70 bucks shipped. And people ask me why I like Jeeps so much...

 

[FL_Rob]

If it(weld repair) looks brand new and keeps "factory mounted"...no worries.