Replace VS. Repair
 

Morning guys

I went and got an estimate for the damage to my rear bumper and was quoted $500. I backed into a truck (no damage to the truck) and scuffed up the bumper and cracked it by the tailight. I had wanted to have it repaired to keep the original panel on the car for resale value but spending $500 to repair it when I can easily find a silverstone ap2 rear bumper for $250-300 makes me question if I should fix it or replace it.

What do you guys think? Should I repair it and keep the original panel, at a higher cost or should i replace it at a lower cost.

Moving to S2000 Body and Paint.

Thank you sir.

Take a picture of the damage to document it for the next owner and buy the cheaper bumper.

i snapped a few pics and posted one on here in another thread a few down from this one. I have a records book that I update with all the maintenence records of the car so i think im going to take your suggestion. Thanks

additionally, I would be buying this bumper off of another member on here. Its coming off an 07 and I own an 04. how drastic are the color differences between years?

As long as it's Silverstone, it shouldn't look too different. But be aware that the paint would be 3 years newer and might've been kept under different conditions so it could look better/worse/the same.

I totally don't understand why the next owner of your car would rather have a crashed and repaired bumper than a new one.

Just get the new one, who even cares about the original bumper cover.

The rear bumper has the VIN sticker on it. If you look at the buying guide on this forum, you'll clearly see one of the things mentioned is to look at all the panels to make sure that the VIN's match.

Of course a new bumper >repaired one. However, in the event that I ever sell or trade it in (not probable but who knows where i'll be in 5 yrs) I know someone will notice the non-matching numbers, claim that the car has been in an uber serious accident, etc... however, spending $500 to repair the bumper vs $200-300 for getting a used one in good shape dosen't make sense. Ovbiously, id rather get the used one so as long as its in good shape.

The maching VIN's isn't THAT big a deal to me, but I wanted to see what you guys thought. ;)

^I think the pictures would be fairly sufficient for most prudent buyers that also do their due diligence (i.e. get the car inspected).