Need some advice on body repair done.
 

Last week I got my car back from the repair shop after I was rear ended. The insurance adjuster said the bumper would be replaced as there was a small tear in the plastic. When I first saw the repairs it looked pretty good, but the light was not so great that day as it was raining. Well this past weekend I am checking it out more fully and notice that there is a piece of cloth stuck between the bumper part and the quarter panel that was there before the wreck. Mind you it was a really small piece that I could never get out. I also notice that the bumper paint has the same fine scratches in it as the rest of the car ( I know I need to clay bar and wax, I was planning on doing that before it got wrecked). Anyway my question is – how can I tell if this is a new bumper or if they repaired the old one?

Have you seen the repair bill? Is the new bumper on it? Can you see anything at the point where the tear was?

Look real close for any suttle differences between it and the front bmpr as far as dry dull or rough spots. Look for "nibs" (dirt in the clearcoat) runs,sags etc. I can pretty much gaurantee that bmpr was not even removed for repair,if that piece was still there. Check the area where the tear was closely for sand scratches,swelling(looks like a raised circle).
Best thing to do is take it to another shop and ask the painter isf it has been painted before,he will know what to look for. good luck!

Sorry to double post....also ask the painter about the "color match". If he says its way off take it back to the shop and complain. This is perhaps the hardest thing for a painter to do but a "good" painter can get it really close. Silver is one of the hardest colors to match.

Sounds like the bumper was repaired and painted on the car, and then somebody pockets the cash from the insurance claim.

I would have asked for my old bumper cover back. There should be an invoice for the purchase of the new part. Look under the rear end of the car toward the rear bumper. Do you see anything that looks like body filler, or a repair? Body shops can only work with what an insurance company pays.

I'm assuming this accident was not your fault and this is the other's guy's insurance company picking up the tab.?.?.? If an adjuster tells you a new part, you get that in writing before turning your car over to the repair folks.

I'm not trying to lecture, and I hope you did indeed get a new bumper cover. But it sure doesn't sound like it.

Yes the other guy's insurance was supposed to pay for it. Initially they approved a reconditioned bumper, but I asked them for a new one since I've had my car 13 months and have 11,000 miles on it. They agreed to the new one but I couldn't get them to put it in writing, so I went thru my insurance company's concierge service. At first they gave me the run around about putting a new bumper, but after I explained to them that the other guys insurance was paying they told me a new bumper was approved. I turned the car in on Tuesday and got it back on Thursday. When I picked up the car the invoice wasn't available only the estimate. Is it too late to get the copy of the invoice? I'm going to request it tomorrow.

Sounds like you didn't get a new or even a reconditioned bumper. Go back to the shop and ask for a copy of the invoice detailing the work that was done (don't call ahead). It should have been available when you picked up the car unless they were trying to hide the lack of replacing the bumper from you.

Any reputable shop should have given you a copy of the invoice showing as PAID and some sort of warranty paperwork.

+1!

See what you can get from them. But if you accepted the car (and I understand being without it can seem like hell) then you might just be stuck with what you got.

However, if it looks good to you and you've got your baby back, can you live with it? I know that probably doesn't help much. Insurance companies (especially the 'other guy's') don't make things easy.

It looks good and yes I could probably live with it, but I just don't like being taken for a fool. I would probably have never questioned it if didn't have that piece of cloth still stuck in the same spot from before the accident. Also this would be the second time this bumper has been repaired. So that is why I was insisting on a new one.