Bumper Repair Versus Replacement
If you’re involved in a collision and your car bumper is damaged, your car insurance should be able to cover the cost of repairs. Over the year’s bumpers have increased in size, effectiveness and aesthetic appeal. As a result, they’re now more costly to repair or replace so it is worth checking specifications relating to bodywork in your car insurance policy.
The UK is home to many car insurance providers. If you decide to compare different car insurance policies online, be aware that cheap car insurance policies tend to offer limited cover and may not necessarily include your bumper.
As cars have developed, bumpers have become more effective. They now help to reinforce the vehicle, protecting passengers and engine parts during a collision. There were 170,591 road accidents reported to the police involving personal injury in 2008, 6% fewer than in 2007[1]. One of the reasons why this figure keeps decreasing year on year may be the increased effectiveness of bumpers along with other improved safety features.
However, while bumpers are now more effective in serious collisions, they may not fare so well in minor scrapes. The ergonomic design of many modern bumpers may increase the overall attractiveness of a vehicle, but this design change also has disadvantages: although bumpers now form an integrated part of the vehicle’s overall aesthetic appeal, they no longer function as effectively as sacrificial, shock absorbers.
Rather than cushioning low impact bumps and grazes, modern bumpers are easily marked, scratched, cracked and dented. Although bumpers were originally designed to protect your car, it is now possible to buy buffers to protect your bumper! In addition, because bumpers are now an elegant part of a car’s overall bodywork, if you’re involved in an accident and your bumper is damaged it can often be more complex and costly to replace.
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The purpose of any automobile bumper is to absorb low-speed impacts and protect the rest of the vehicle's body from damage. Until the early 1940s, bumpers were basically steel bars bolted onto a vehicle's front and rear - with relatively large gaps between them and the body. These bumpers were relatively featureless, straight pieces of metal that occasionally featured a small degree of curvature. Bumpers used to be the product that could take a beaten, no more, yes they still take the brunt of the impact on low-speed collisions, they also damage much easily then the bumpers of yesteryear when slightly tapped or scrapped.
Depending on your age, you may not remember the bumpers of yesteryear. They were all metal and all chrome plated and could take a few punches before you had to fix or replace them. Today it a lot different, and it is also costly unless you find your local bumper repair shop that specializes in bumper repair, they are not all about replacing and charging astronomical fee’s. Most modern-day bumper repair shops specialize in repairing the bumper and bringing it back to it protective use and its appearance without replacing the whole thing and costing the owner a arm and a leg.
Now I am not talking about your local body and fender shop, yes they have their purpose as we know, but not all shops repair bumpers they replace them with new or used bumpers, not the same. The repairing of a bumper today is a specialized trade and only skilled and trained technicians can perform this repair. Before you make your insurance claim and get a new or used bumper put on your vehicle, and maybe have to lay out of pocket to cover your deductible, check out your local bumper repair shop and get a quote, you may be very surprised at how much you may save.