Not joined yet? Register for free and enjoy features such as alerts, private messaging and viewing latest posts and topics.

Bumper respray - take off or leave on?

Claying, polishing, waxing... share your secrets in here.
User avatar
GJ1
Member
Member
Posts: 250
Joined: Thu Aug 08, 2019 10:07 pm

Bumper respray - take off or leave on?

Post by GJ1 » Thu Jul 02, 2020 10:08 am

Penelope wrote: Thu Jul 02, 2020 9:56 am Be prepared to snap the side bumper brackets if you remove the bumper yourself. They're £62 a pair.
Thanks for the heads up!
07 Z4C 3.0si sport sapphire black

User avatar
maxman
Senior Member
Senior Member
Posts: 2821
Joined: Mon Jun 07, 2010 11:34 pm
Location: Wrexham

Bumper respray - take off or leave on?

Post by maxman » Thu Jul 02, 2020 10:32 am

It's unusual to break the brackets.I had my bumper off a few times and never broke them.Undo the inner wing liner.Slip your fingers in behind the bumper and have your thumb against the wing ,then pull out with your fingers.
I would take the bumper off.

PDJ
Senior Member
Senior Member
Posts: 1100
Joined: Sun May 13, 2018 10:32 am
Location: Worsley Manchester

Bumper respray - take off or leave on?

Post by PDJ » Thu Jul 02, 2020 10:35 am

GJ1 wrote: Thu Jul 02, 2020 10:08 am Be prepared to snap the side bumper brackets if you remove the bumper yourself. They're £62 a pair.
Just this week
I ordered and paid Williams BMW Manchester £43.90 for a pair.

Angelus666
Senior Member
Senior Member
Posts: 2257
Joined: Sun Aug 31, 2014 4:33 pm
Location: Essex
Contact:

Bumper respray - take off or leave on?

Post by Angelus666 » Thu Jul 02, 2020 12:30 pm

Most places will do a decent job if you ask them to. Reality most folk with a 15 year old £5k car want a cheap job...understandably so. Go back to your local and ask them for a price on bumper off and full prep, they’ll likely revise and give the job you want.

griffnut
Member
Member
Posts: 314
Joined: Wed Dec 21, 2011 11:37 am
Location: Northants

Bumper respray - take off or leave on?

Post by griffnut » Thu Jul 02, 2020 12:59 pm

GJ1 wrote: Wed Jul 01, 2020 5:46 pm Hi,
I have spoken to a local body shop (Crawley West Sussex area) and they have quoted me £200 for a front bumper respray which I thought was pretty reasonable. However, they don't take the bumper off. Would you accept this or go elsewhere? Is this fairly normal practice? A bit concerned that the finish won't be as good where the panels meet. Also would need to look out for overspray. The bodyshop looks like they are used to working on german cars.
Cheers
That's a really cheap quote, but perhaps it might better to source a company that can do a "colour match" to rest of the cars bodywork. UV rays tend change the colour from the original spec - else the bumper could end up looking like an Elastoplast.

User avatar
dhobbs
Senior Member
Senior Member
Posts: 1621
Joined: Mon Jul 16, 2012 5:33 pm

Bumper respray - take off or leave on?

Post by dhobbs » Thu Jul 02, 2020 2:18 pm

srhutch wrote: Thu Jul 02, 2020 8:14 am
dhobbs wrote: Thu Jul 02, 2020 6:47 am I was just recently recommended Impact Bodyshop next to bluebell railway when my car was in BMR performance.

Need to get my wing resprayed so was going to give them a call.
From meory the do a lot of work on Porsches. Nice to see other members using BMR, going to take my daily to them in Nov/Dec for service.
Yep they are mainly porsche repairers but BMR use them for all their work (this was from one of their mechanics)
3.0si roadster. Requisite stubby. Sound gen mod. LED numberplate lights. LED boot strip. Interior lights LED too. ZHP gearknob. Daily drive :driving:
Motor in boot. Bilstein B8 dampers. New radio, much better sounds :thumbsup:

User avatar
Penelope
Member
Member
Posts: 286
Joined: Thu Nov 28, 2019 8:42 pm
Location: London
Contact:

Bumper respray - take off or leave on?

Post by Penelope » Thu Jul 02, 2020 2:41 pm

maxman wrote: Thu Jul 02, 2020 10:32 am It's unusual to break the brackets.I had my bumper off a few times and never broke them.Undo the inner wing liner.Slip your fingers in behind the bumper and have your thumb against the wing ,then pull out with your fingers.
I would take the bumper off.
I find them to have the strain resistance of a Kit Kat. Very brittle hard plastic with zero flex. I don't think I am heavy handed but you clearly have a magic touch to get away with reusing them. The visible thin edge that sits between the edge of the bumper and wing is particularly fragile. Maybe the aftermarket ones are more solid?
2008 BMW Z4 MSport 3.0 Si Coupe in Stratus Grey with Red New England Extended Leather Upholstery. Purchased 14 December 2019 via the Forum with just 25k miles.

Online
User avatar
patriot66
Lifer
Lifer
Posts: 3465
Joined: Sun Jan 11, 2015 2:59 am
Location: Mawdesley, Lancashire

Bumper respray - take off or leave on?

Post by patriot66 » Thu Jul 02, 2020 3:59 pm

Penelope wrote: Thu Jul 02, 2020 2:41 pm
maxman wrote: Thu Jul 02, 2020 10:32 am It's unusual to break the brackets.I had my bumper off a few times and never broke them.Undo the inner wing liner.Slip your fingers in behind the bumper and have your thumb against the wing ,then pull out with your fingers.
I would take the bumper off.
I find them to have the strain resistance of a Kit Kat. Very brittle hard plastic with zero flex. I don't think I am heavy handed but you clearly have a magic touch to get away with reusing them. The visible thin edge that sits between the edge of the bumper and wing is particularly fragile. Maybe the aftermarket ones are more solid?
Like Maxman I have removed and replaced my front bumper many times over the last 5 years of ownership and never had an issue with the brackets. They were the original 2003 brackets until the summer of 2018 when I had the front bumper resprayed following a small accident. Two new brackets were fitted by the body shop at the time as part of the repair (the other partys insurance were paying ! :D ) and these have also been fine. I use exactly the same method of removal as mentioned by Maxman :thumbsup:
Sterling Grey '03 2.5i SE / Infinitas Supercharger / S.M.G / Hardtop / Gloss Black 162s / Bilstein B4s / 3.0i Brakes / DLV De-Cat & Silencer / Rebuilt VANOS / Sonar 2Xcite Lights / Carbon & Alcantara Trim / M-Sport Seats / ...& Side Covers !

User avatar
maxman
Senior Member
Senior Member
Posts: 2821
Joined: Mon Jun 07, 2010 11:34 pm
Location: Wrexham

Bumper respray - take off or leave on?

Post by maxman » Thu Jul 02, 2020 4:00 pm

Penelope wrote: Thu Jul 02, 2020 2:41 pm
maxman wrote: Thu Jul 02, 2020 10:32 am It's unusual to break the brackets.I had my bumper off a few times and never broke them.Undo the inner wing liner.Slip your fingers in behind the bumper and have your thumb against the wing ,then pull out with your fingers.
I would take the bumper off.
I find them to have the strain resistance of a Kit Kat. Very brittle hard plastic with zero flex. I don't think I am heavy handed but you clearly have a magic touch to get away with reusing them. The visible thin edge that sits between the edge of the bumper and wing is particularly fragile. Maybe the aftermarket ones are more solid?
I had bought some brackets before I took it off the first time.They were never needed,sold them on here after I sold the car :thumbsup:

PAH
Member
Member
Posts: 137
Joined: Tue Jun 09, 2020 9:28 pm
Location: Mid Wales
Contact:

Bumper respray - take off or leave on?

Post by PAH » Thu Jul 02, 2020 8:50 pm

Got mine dropped off today
Attachments
F70F725E-C84B-40D3-AF6E-C28475B2C943.jpeg
F70F725E-C84B-40D3-AF6E-C28475B2C943.jpeg (281.56 KiB) Viewed 1320 times
3.0iS 2007 Z4 E85 / Montreal Blue

User avatar
GJ1
Member
Member
Posts: 250
Joined: Thu Aug 08, 2019 10:07 pm

Bumper respray - take off or leave on?

Post by GJ1 » Thu Jul 02, 2020 9:39 pm

PAH wrote: Thu Jul 02, 2020 8:50 pm Got mine dropped off today
Keep us updated :thumbsup:
07 Z4C 3.0si sport sapphire black

User avatar
dhobbs
Senior Member
Senior Member
Posts: 1621
Joined: Mon Jul 16, 2012 5:33 pm

Bumper respray - take off or leave on?

Post by dhobbs » Mon Jul 06, 2020 2:58 pm

Just been quoted 1200 for a new front wing and respray and blend in.
Seems high personally.

What do you guys think?
3.0si roadster. Requisite stubby. Sound gen mod. LED numberplate lights. LED boot strip. Interior lights LED too. ZHP gearknob. Daily drive :driving:
Motor in boot. Bilstein B8 dampers. New radio, much better sounds :thumbsup:

User avatar
maxman
Senior Member
Senior Member
Posts: 2821
Joined: Mon Jun 07, 2010 11:34 pm
Location: Wrexham

Bumper respray - take off or leave on?

Post by maxman » Mon Jul 06, 2020 7:07 pm

Way to much.

User avatar
kis
Lifer
Lifer
Posts: 4532
Joined: Wed Jul 20, 2016 2:33 pm
Location: Surrey / West Sussex Boarder

Bumper respray - take off or leave on?

Post by kis » Mon Jul 06, 2020 7:27 pm

It's always going to be a fine line with a ageing car. You don't want to pour money in excess of £1k into the car. For most of us, that's a substantial percentage of what we paid for the car in the first place.
My E85 Z4 3.0i SMG

BMW Family History (past and present):
1 Series - E87
3 Series - E46 Coupe, E46 M3, E90 (x3)
4 Series - F36, F82 M4
5 Series - E34 (x2), E39
7 Series - E32
X5 - E53, E70
X6 - E71

Post Reply