Many accidents referred to as fender benders might more properly fit the description of bumper benders. The bumpers on the front and rear of your vehicle play a vital role in minimizing the damage caused by automotive collisions, but they may do so at the cost of their own beauty and structural integrity.
Whether you have recently suffered damage to your car's bumper or you simply want to know what to do in case of future bumper damage, a little knowledge can go a long way toward helping you make the right decisions. Let these frequently asked questions (and answers) put you on the right path.
How Do Bumpers Protect Your Car in a Collision?
Although bumpers can reduce the overall impact forces conveyed by a collision impact, they don't actually protect occupants as their prime purpose. Instead, the car's frame crumples in strategic areas to protect you and your passengers from injury. The bumpers serve to minimize the extent of the damage to your car's front or rear end.
Today's bumpers offer a combination of light weight and shock absorption. While classic cars and modified vehicles may sport steel bumpers, the majority of modern car bumpers mostly consist of plastics supported by an inner steel or aluminum bar. This assembly goes onto a metal frame secured by hooks to the car's exterior.
What Kinds of Damage Can a Bumper Sustain in an Accident?
In a light collision, the plastics inside the bumper may prevent any serious damage from occurring. Even so, a glancing blow can scrape the paint, crack the plastic, or leave a layer of the other car's paint on your bumper. More severe impacts will cause the bumper to split open, dent, or crumple inward.
An impact can also damage the hooks that attach the bumper to your car. In this situation, one end of the bumper may sag awkwardly or drag along the ground. If both hooks break, your entire bumper assembly may simply fall off.
Why Does Bumper Damage Need Professional Attention?
A damaged bumper can't protect your car from damage as it normally would. While you might have no trouble driving with the damaged bumper, the next impact could do serious harm to critical components. As a result, you may have to repair or replace parts of your cooling or exhaust systems, hood, trunk, or grille.
A loose bumper presents its own set of potential hazards. Even if the bumper hasn't yet detached from the car, the vibrations from continued driving may loosen it further. If your bumper comes off, it might either collide with another vehicle or get underneath your own vehicle's wheels, which could cause you to lose control of the vehicle and potentially have another accident.
When Should You Replace a Damaged Bumper Instead of Repairing It?
A bumper that has sustained only scratches or other surface damage may respond to repair efforts. Your auto body shop technicians can often hammer or pull the dents out of old-fashioned steel bumpers. An instrument called a nitrogen plastic welder can correct deformities in modern plastic bumpers.
Auto body experts know how to repair bumper scratches and scuffs quickly and effectively. Your auto body technicians will clean and sand the area in need of repair before applying filler and paint to create a flawless final result.
However, if the repair requires extensive work, sometimes you have no choice but to replace the entire bumper. This situation may occur whenever the metal support beam or hooks have sustained irreparable damage. You may also need a full replacement if your bumper contains a damaged airbag, lighting, parking assist, or blind-spot monitoring system.
The auto body experts at Automotive Super Sports have the skills, tools, and experience to evaluate your bumper damage, recommend the right solution, and then perform the necessary fixes.
Contact us with any additional questions you may have.
