chevygirl

iTrader: (69)

I just had to have a new bumper put on my car and bumper repainted and the shop is suppose to be reputable but they didn't sand the rough edges from the mould on the top and around the headlamps. If has a ridge around both and now it is painted and installed. I am going to take it back but when I called they acted like it a new oem bumper and nothing was needed to be done. Has anybody ran into this on a new gm front bumper? And the bumper sits a little lower on one side is that an easy fix? My old bumper was smooth and lined up perfect.

ctjohns

iTrader: (10)

positive it is an oem bumper and not an aftermarket?

Fluffy6079

iTrader: (1)

Yeah, this sounds really suspicious. I'd be willing to bet you've been lied to, my friend. A lot of OEM parts have some sort of sticker or stamp on the backside to indicate whether or not they are really OEM. You could do a search to see where it would be on your bumper and check to see if it's there.

M.BOZZ

iTrader: (14)

Yes i have, had my front bumper replaced a while ago with a dealer one and the body shop tryed 3 bumpers ( from dealer ) and still doesn't look as strait as my old one. I thought they were BS me but i know the dealer that they ordered from. I just don't like at the front car anymore ( ha, ha )

HellaciousA

I work at a body shop and this is extremely common with brand new OEM bumper covers from GM. It's just the flash from when it comes out of the mold. A good shop will DA that down before they scuff the bumper and seal it for paint. This is also common on a lot of Toyota/Lexus bumpers and even occasionally on Audi's and Mercedes.

LT4vert

iTrader: (3)

One quick way to tell, the OEM bumper is really flexible urethane, all the aftermarket ones are a more ridgid black plastic material. There should be any fitment issues with a OEM bumper at all. Ive had these bumpers off a few times and its quite simple to re-install just like it came out without issue. Maybe they did not fully tighten the bumper cover to fender bolts( theres 4 per side...3 10mm and one 9/32 ) on the sided thats lower.

The cost difference is SUBSTANTIAL between an OEM bumper and an aftermarket. The aftermarkets can be had as low as 20 bux, so for a body shop its easy money to someone un-suspecting and not able to tell the difference. Not saying thats what happened, but I am saying it happens alot.

LT4vert

iTrader: (3)

Take some pics with the hood open and closed. Then it will easier to tell if its just poorly installed or just messed up period.

SparkyJJO

iTrader: (11)

What kind of shop doesn't think a new part needs prep work? That's ridiculous on their part.

chevygirl

iTrader: (69)

Here are some pics

Fluffy6079

iTrader: (1)

Come to think of it, I've seen this on several Camaros. I never would have guessed these could be OEM bumpers.

HellaciousA

I charge the insurance company extra to prep new raw oem bumper covers for this specific reason. If the insurance didn't authorize to pay, I make sure my customer understands that we scuff the bumper and paint it. Nothing beyond that. If the shop refuses to fix it, I would get the insurance company involved. Is there a line on your estimate/invoice stating that the shop charged to prep the bumper?

SparkyJJO

iTrader: (11)

Proper prep should always be included as part of the cost, not a separate line item for insurance to complain about.

Why would it be OK to properly prep some parts and not others?

Cole Train

iTrader: (30)

all i can see in the pics is what looks like an adjustment to the bumper to get it to line up properly. i cant tell of any other imperfections from the pics

chevygirl

iTrader: (69)

To the left of the center is where it is more noticeable in person. I told the shop up front I wanted to pay extra for their time to really get it done right and they refused to write me up an additional invoice. I told the manager that I knew most parts had to have some work done to them when new because I worked at a
Gm parts dealer and I thought my original bumper had less to fix since I was some small paint chips. Anyway I made it clear I would pay whatever it took extra but they just ordered the bumper and called me a day and a half and said my car was ready. Yes the adjustment is off but the mold is off as well. Don't think they are going to be willing to eat this bumper though to get another. I got a lot of pin holes too what causes those?

Tall Guy

iTrader: (1)

I think a lot of the OEM bumpers (and other body parts)that are still in the GM parts circulation for 4th gens are getting close to the bottom of the barrel in quality. I would bet a lot of the rough body parts circulating now were bought and returned when the 4th gens were new. The 'good' ones were used up and now all that left is the crappy rejects of 10 years ago. I went throught 3 GM dealer fenders for my 98 before I got a decent one and even that needed a little TLC.
The same thing happened with 1st gen camaro parts in the mid to late 80's. I have seen people pay top dollar for NOS 1st gen quarter panels that were still floating around in the 90's that were in worse shape than repops.
Even I would rather use a good fitting aftermarket part than a crap fitting OEM part and I am pretty picky on using OEM parts.

HellaciousA

Ultramate, CCC One, and Audatex do not include time to remove casting or flash material off of new bumper covers. Refinish labor includes time to scuff the panel and wash it for paint. Check the P-pages of any of those estimating databases and they'll tell you that. CCC One and Audatex both have separate line items for "prepping raw bumper cover" at refinish rate to take care of that.

Some shops aren't smart enough to know you can bill the insurance for that and they do it for free. A good estimator should be able to recognize that upon receiving a new part with the issue the OP is having and proceed accordingly.

HellaciousA

The pin holes are solvent coming up through the basecoat because not enough flash time was given between coats. If there is body filler on the panel, that was swirled around and trapped air inside, it works it's way out after it's been baked through the top coat. It can also be from too much air pressure in the gun, drastic change in temperature from hot to cold between priming and painting.

Fish eye might also be what you are seeing, which is from bad surface prep, silicone/contaminants in the air, or poor prior paintwork coming up through the top coat.

For either scenario, the painter may have to strip the panel again and re-shoot the basecoat/clear again.

Sounds like you need to find a better body shop.

chevygirl

iTrader: (69)

Took it back. They said that I could get another bumper and it might be better or worse. Said you can't prep a new bumper. He said they come primed. He said you can't really sand off those edges because it would change the edges and such. The paint match is perfect an he is willing to do another bumper if I can locate one that meets my expectations prior to painting. I can either live with it or go look at dealers trying to find a better bumper.

dkkc

oe an aftermarket bumpers can be stored improperly causing them to mis shape... it some times takes a lot of effort to make headlight pockets fit as well as when new...foam blocks ect.. can be used to raise area thats has dropped...paint flaws are less esy to repair...most oem dont require alot of prep on edges...sounds fishy to me..

dkkc

u can sand edges an reprime thats a fact..its a pain yes but done almost every time we install em...fit is another.. issue as said some times its hard even if its not a wreck repair due to storage of bumpers...hope this helps