Body Damage

[BinaryData]

Hey Guys/Gals,

Well, this is super embarrassing but I'd rather be embarrassed than a dumba** for not taking it seriously. Couple months back, I got stuck in a parking spot. This was out front of my apartment, someone parked behind me, and put trash cans in front of me. I was sitting there reading my mail, and discussing something with my mom. I was completely oblivious to people putting trash cans in front of my truck. As I was trying to get out, I stepped on the gas a little too much, and fought a mailbox. I lost, it won, sad days. Its starting to rust a little as well, picture doesn't show it. I'll post another picture tonight after work. Picture below;



This ones even worse than the one above. I was sitting in my designated parking spot, which has a small incline to it. I thought I got it into park all the way, but I guess I didn't because it rolled backwards. The car it smacked cracked the bumper, not major damage to it. I left a note with my # on it, my mom's #, my brothers #, my insurance company info, and apologized like crazy. I knocked on all the doors in the apartment area to find out whose it was. I got no response, no calls, nothing. I've kept pictures of the incident, just in case.I noticed no difference with the hitch or pulling a trailer but I know that it'll impede my ability to trade it in, if I so choose to do so. I thought about running and sliding underneath my truck with my legs to stop it, but I'd rather not have 2 broken legs, and I didn't know if it was going fast enough to make a difference. It was a really bad day for me. This one was about 2 months back.




So, my questions are;

Worth it to fix them?
What will it cost to get it done?
What if I do it myself in my own paint shop?
What kind of tools will I need to fix them? (besides paint tools, unless a specialized one is needed.)
Will it look the "same" as before or will you always be able to tell it was damaged?
Also, what paint color is that?

 

[daveray9]

The bumpers are fairly cheap, and easy to remove and then just toss on new ones. It would be worth it to pay to have them painted... in my opinion.. unless you have a professional shop. The paint codes are on a sticker around where the tire pressure numbers are. They will look fine, google youtube videos on remove them. I swapped my front drivers side fender myself. Also local junk yards have those parts cheap

 

[shadowhawk]

That might be the best bet... find junk yard parts in your color, even, and be done even quicker with the repairs. GL on the search

 

[BinaryData]

The bumpers are fairly cheap, and easy to remove and then just toss on new ones. It would be worth it to pay to have them painted... in my opinion.. unless you have a professional shop. The paint codes are on a sticker around where the tire pressure numbers are. They will look fine, google youtube videos on remove them. I swapped my front drivers side fender myself. Also local junk yards have those parts cheap

I've always tried to avoid junk yards for body parts. I've heard horror stories about it. However, buying a new fender is just as absurd.

That might be the best bet... find junk yard parts in your color, even, and be done even quicker with the repairs. GL on the search

I'll search junkyards as soon as I figure out the color. According to the color code sheet in this section, it's 1 of 2 colors, most likely just one. But I'd rather double check and be right. As for the shop, it's pretty much a professional shop, has all the tools and what not. But you're leaning the right way, I should pay to have it professionally done. It's worth it, especially with how gorgeous of a blue my truck is, it'd be a shame to have 1 piece lookin' like a ****.

Thanks to both of you. This forum is really shaving my bacon, there's so much information, it's unreal. Now if only the Ford forums had this kind of information, I might actually be able to get answers on my 79 F-150 and my brothers 96 F-150.

 

[BWL]

If you have the resources yourself you can get the paint from the dealer or paint supplier pre tinted and try doing it yourself. If you f it up you can just prep it and send it to the body shop to paint it the second time. Only way to know if you have the skills to do it yourself is try it. With the depth of that crease even with the fender off you'll have a hard time getting it straight and might end up too thin even if you do manage it so replacement fender is certainly the way to go.

 

[BWL]

Bumper looks straight still so I'd probably just touch that up. Dealer sells touch up paint in your paint code in spray cans. Perfect for small jobs like that. Maybe somebody knows it there's a part number for the plastic piece that clips on the bumper as that needs replacement. It's the bumper step pad.

 

[BinaryData]

If you have the resources yourself you can get the paint from the dealer or paint supplier pre tinted and try doing it yourself. If you f it up you can just prep it and send it to the body shop to paint it the second time. Only way to know if you have the skills to do it yourself is try it. With the depth of that crease even with the fender off you'll have a hard time getting it straight and might end up too thin even if you do manage it so replacement fender is certainly the way to go.

I'll probably shop around junk yards for the fender, and have a body shop paint it. It's the most logical route to go.

Bumper looks straight still so I'd probably just touch that up. Dealer sells touch up paint in your paint code in spray cans. Perfect for small jobs like that. Maybe somebody knows it there's a part number for the plastic piece that clips on the bumper as that needs replacement. It's the bumper step pad.

The bumper is bent up a little, where it smacked into the other vehicle. But for the most part, it's straight.

 

[shadowhawk]

how many miles are on the truck? if it's over 100K miles, you're not going to get top dollar anyway. Would you get back what you spend to fix it, and then some, or would it net the same?

 

[BinaryData]

how many miles are on the truck? if it's over 100K miles, you're not going to get top dollar anyway. Would you get back what you spend to fix it, and then some, or would it net the same?

~117k Miles. My goal is to make this truck nicer, and have it last longer. I'm not someone who buys new vehicles, and if I do, it's going to be a 3500. This truck is doing pretty good right now, I just want to make it nicer, and more enjoyable. I'd like to eventually give it to my mom, whose stubborn as hell about buying her own truck. She hasn't owned one since my old man died in 1998.