A1 S-Line 2014 (PDC) Rear Bumper

[richa1]

Hi guys,

Hoping someone can help me out here...

I've got a split in my rear bumper, which has split the mounting points too (really slow speed bump), and keep looking for a replacement. It doesn't look like there are any aftermarket bumpers available, and all of the ones on eBay have far more damage than mine (in Misano Red, at least - other colours have less).

My options are:
1) Get a different colour one, and get it resprayed. Does anyone know if this is possible - to go from either a blue one that I've found, or a white (painted, not just primed) to the red.
2) I've found a genuine Audi one, brand new, for sale, but will need painting as it's just primed.
3) Find someone to fix the split, and the mounting bracket. Is that possible? Pic attached.
4) Just go to Audi and let them sort it (I was quoted £360 for an unprimed bumper directly from Audi).

Prefer not to go through insurance (although I did notify them...technically I know I'm supposed to, but many wouldn't!), as I think my premium will increase by too much over the next few years as a result, plus there's the excess too.

What would you guys do?
 

Thanks! 
Rich

[PedWills]

Hi Rich

I've always found the websites that fire off a parts enquiries to a load of different parts dealers on their books to be most useful. Pretty sure I used http://www.carsite.co.uk and their parts section to get mine, last time was for a wing mirror (mine came in the right colour but maybe it will be trickier with the red?), but also used it for my mrs who broke a random bit of trim around the headlight of her mini which for some reason was proving difficult for the garage we use to get hold of. We got one quoted and sent out within a week so worth a shot. Imagine autotrader and all the other big sites offer similar services.

Hope this helps 👍

[Magnet]

Hello Richard,

My recommendation would be to get yours professionally repaired and repainted, since I would think that actually finding a secondhand replacement, getting yours taken off, refitting and repainting the new one would not be cost effective. Similar with an aftermarket - questionable fit? 

Insurance? ....’ although I did notify them....’

Um!? Too late now, but claim or not, they are now aware that you have been involved in an accident, and even if you don’t claim, it could affect your renewal premium. 

Kind regards,

Gareth.

[richa1]

8 hours ago, PedWills said:

Hi Rich

I've always found the websites that fire off a parts enquiries to a load of different parts dealers on their books to be most useful. Pretty sure I used http://www.carsite.co.uk and their parts section to get mine, last time was for a wing mirror (mine came in the right colour but maybe it will be trickier with the red?), but also used it for my mrs who broke a random bit of trim around the headlight of her mini which for some reason was proving difficult for the garage we use to get hold of. We got one quoted and sent out within a week so worth a shot. Imagine autotrader and all the other big sites offer similar services.

Hope this helps 👍

Hi! I'd tried a couple, but no luck so far, but will check out carsite, thank you! Any option is always welcome 🙂 I'll let you know how I get on if I find one! Cheers 🙂

[richa1]

2 hours ago, Magnet said:

Hello Richard,

My recommendation would be to get yours professionally repaired and repainted, since I would think that actually finding a secondhand replacement, getting yours taken off, refitting and repainting the new one would not be cost effective. Similar with an aftermarket - questionable fit? 

Insurance? ....’ although I did notify them....’

Um!? Too late now, but claim or not, they are now aware that you have been involved in an accident, and even if you don’t claim, it could affect your renewal premium. 

Kind regards,

Gareth.

Hi Gareth,

Do you think that's an option then? I wasn't sure if it was possible due to the split. I totally agree that finding a replacement is difficult - I've been trying on and off for ages now. The ones that do crop up on eBay usually have other damage to them, or are scratched to hell, so would need a full respray anyway. Obviously you're probably in a different area to me, but do you know of any decent guys that

I know... I had so much going on in my personal life when it happened, and so I called them, not really thinking about the excess. Thankfully I told them (afterwards!) that it was a notification only, not a claim, so it's been logged as such. My renewal came through about a month later and it was pretty much the same as the previous few years, so thankfully they haven't adjusted it (and they were still the cheapest at the time).

Many thanks!
Rich

 

[Magnet]

Hello Rich,

I think you have answered your own question regarding buying secondhand, and it’s reasonable to expect that many of the secondhand ones will have been retained salvage having fitted new ones under insurance claim. 

Re. repairing yours? Yes, I would say it would be repairable and splits can be repaired by plastic welding. 

If it were mine, I would be working out the economics of replacing with secondhand and repainting, then taking advice on well trusted smaller local bodyshops, and getting a couple of estimates. For recommendations, visit a couple of local smaller used car sales sites and ask them who they would suggest. These boys work on tight limits, and need good work done at reasonable cost, so are always a source of local knowledge. 

Kind regards,

Gareth.

p.s. Phew! glad you didn’t suffer a premium increase following notifying the insurers that you had had an accident. I wouldn’t take it for granted the ‘for information only’ works, since the general question now is worded around ‘Have you been involved in any accidents’? Not whether you have made any claims. 

[richa1]

Hi Gareth,

Cheers for the reply! Yeah, that's exactly what I've found. Thanks for sanity checking my thoughts!

I didn't realise plastic welding was a thing, so cheers for opening my eyes to this. Will look into it, and definitely get in touch with a couple of local places. Sounds like it's certainly a workable option, and would remove the need to find a matching bumper!

re: insurance - I know - I may or may not have had little bumps in the past that weren't notified, and covered out of my own pocket, but I have no idea what was going on in my head at the time of calling them this time 🤦‍♂️.

Thanks for your time 🙂

Rich